John 9:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.

NIV: The man answered, 'Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.

NASB: The man answered and said to them, 'Well, here is the amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes!

CSB: "This is an amazing thing! " the man told them. "You don't know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes.

NLT: Why, that’s very strange!' the man replied. 'He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from?

KJV: The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.

NKJV: The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!

The religious leaders of Jerusalem have made it clear they will not accept Jesus, no matter what. Even though His miracles are "signs" of His divinity (John 12:37–38), they instead find excuses to doubt or dismiss them (John 9:16). These men know the Scriptures, but ignore what those texts say about the Messiah (John 5:39–40). Their problem is not a lack of intelligence or even ignorance. Their problem is pride and hard hearts. They do not want to understand (John 7:17). Worse, they respond in angry insults when someone challenges them for their prejudice (John 9:28, 34).

The same man who sarcastically challenged the scribes and Pharisees earlier now responds to their insults. Once again, his tone is sardonic, biting, and confrontational. All the same, his point is much the same as the one he previously gave (John 9:25). Despite what people might claim they don't know about Jesus, what we do know about Jesus is more than enough to make the right conclusion! The religious leaders are trying to dismiss Jesus for being an outsider—the healed man is pointing out that this is a poor excuse.

The once-blind man isn't done, either. In the face of abuse and interrogation by the religious leaders of his home, this man will proceed to teach the self-styled teachers of Israel what they ought to understand.

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.