John 9:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?”

NIV: He answered, 'I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?'

NASB: He answered them, 'I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?'

CSB: "I already told you," he said, "and you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don't want to become his disciples too, do you? "

NLT: Look!' the man exclaimed. 'I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?'

KJV: He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?

NKJV: He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

The religious leaders of Jerusalem are looking for any excuse to reject Jesus and His miracles. They have already interrogated the subject of Jesus' latest healing (John 9:13), as well as the man's parents (John 9:18). When no damning evidence results, they once again summon the formerly-blind man and ask him some of the same questions again, suggesting that he is lying (John 9:24) and looking for inconsistency in his answers.

Instead of playing along, the beggar thoroughly embarrasses the religious elites. He responds with an answer which is honest, yet cuts the Pharisees and scribes deeply. In short, this uneducated man says, "I already told you this—are you asking because you want to believe in Jesus, too?" That, of course, is exactly the opposite of what these men want. They've threatened anyone who accepts Jesus with excommunication (John 9:22), and have already proven that they're insincere in their rejection of Him (John 9:16). This means the beggar's answer is almost certainly sarcastic.

This casual, confident response sends the religious leaders into a tantrum. Rather than acting as impartial judges, these men will resort to insults (John 9:28; 34). Unfortunately for them, this will only make the situation worse, as the beggar continues to counter their bile with common sense truth.

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.