John 9:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.

NIV: We know he is our son,' the parents answered, 'and we know he was born blind.

NASB: His parents then answered and said, 'We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;

CSB: "We know this is our son and that he was born blind," his parents answered.

NLT: His parents replied, 'We know this is our son and that he was born blind,

KJV: His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:

NKJV: His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;

These parents have been called before a council of Jerusalem's religious leaders. In the gospel of John, this cadre of scribes and Pharisees, and those who follow them, are referred to as "the Jews." The reason for their summons is a miracle Jesus has performed: giving sight to a man who had been blind from birth (John 9:1–7). In an effort to investigate—and hopefully to discredit Jesus—the religious leaders interrogate the man's parents to see if the person claiming to have been healed really is their son, and if he really was blind his entire life.

The parents' response is timid and short for a reason. Verse 22 will explain that the religious leaders of Jerusalem have already declared a punishment for anyone who follows Jesus: excommunication. The formerly-blind man's parents seek to tell the truth, but they're clearly not willing to say anything beyond the bare facts which they, themselves, can know. Their testimony will continue in the next verse, including their plea for the interrogation to focus on their son.

John 9:13–34 describes the Pharisees' reaction to Jesus' healing of a man born blind. Rather than being swayed by an obvious sign of divine power, they look for excuses and criticisms. Seeking to discredit the miracle, they interrogate the man's parents, who timidly defer back to their son. The healed man knows nothing more than this: ''though I was blind, now I see.'' His matter-of-fact responses to the Pharisees highlight their obvious prejudice. As a result, they excommunicate the healed man from the synagogue. Jesus will meet with the man in the next passage to give more context for the miracle.

Jesus encounters a man who has been blind his entire life. In typical fashion for that era, the disciples assume this condition is due to some specific sin--either the man's sin or his parents' sin. Jesus challenges this idea, and heals the man. His restoration leads to interrogation, as the Pharisees try to discredit Jesus' miraculous work. The healed man's simple, straightforward perspective embarrasses the religious leaders, who excommunicate him in frustration. Jesus is able to meet with the man, explaining more about His identity and the purpose of His ministry. Jesus also reminds the Pharisees that those who ought to know better, spiritually, will be held more accountable as a result.

Jesus has begun to actively confront the false teachings of local religious leaders. His most recent debate included a heated exchange with the Pharisees, where Jesus claimed to have existed before Abraham. This resulted in an attempted stoning for blasphemy. Here, Jesus continues to antagonize religious hypocrites by healing a man who was born blind. The ensuing ruckus further exposes Jerusalem's religious leaders as shallow, prejudiced, and false. This event launches Jesus into another lengthy discussion of His ministry, recorded in chapter 10, including several crucial teachings on His role as Shepherd.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.

Accessed 5/5/2024 10:18:05 PM