John 9:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”

NIV: We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from.'

NASB: We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.'

CSB: We know that God has spoken to Moses. But this man--we don't know where he's from."

NLT: We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.'

KJV: We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.

NKJV: We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”

Here, the religious leaders of Jerusalem continue to claim that they have a greater connection to truth than Jesus does. Their second attempt at interrogating a miraculously healed man is backfiring: the man has sarcastically pointed out their prejudice (John 9:27). In return, these educated men resort to insults and verbal abuse (John 9:28, 34).

Their claim not to know where Jesus comes from is further proof of stubbornness and dishonesty. Jesus' miracles are specifically meant to be "signs" of His divine power and approval (John 12:37–38). And yet, these men immediately reject the miracles because, to them, Jesus is a "sinner." They know the Scriptures of the Old Testament, but refuse to follow them to their intended conclusion: that Jesus is the Promised One (John 5:39–40). The only reason these man cannot identify Jesus' origin is pride: they do not know, or believe, because they do not want to know (John 7:17). Here, as in most cases, a person's intent is far more powerful than any evidence or reason others might provide.

The formerly-blind beggar's sarcastic answer has not only exposed their fragile egos, it has exposed their lack of reason. Things are about to get even worse for the scribes and Pharisees, however. The man they are insulting is about to strike back with an even more powerful point of logic.

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.