John 9:33 - Printer Friendly

ESV: If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

NIV: If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.'

NASB: If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.'

CSB: If this man were not from God, he wouldn't be able to do anything."

NLT: If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.'

KJV: If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.

NKJV: If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

When Jesus healed a man born blind, His religious critics responded in a predictable way. Jesus had already challenged them for willful ignorance (John 7:17), and for "refusing" to follow their own Scriptures in order to believe in Him (John 5:39–40). Here, these men have twice interrogated the healed man (John 9:13, 24), looking for any reason to dismiss Jesus' work. The formerly-blind beggar, for his part, responded with bravery and remarkably clear thinking. His overall point, delivered with heavy sarcasm, has been that Jesus' miracles themselves ought to be evidence enough that He's been sent by God.

Here, the healed man makes this statement in clear and direct terms. This is almost identical to the conclusion Nicodemus brought to Jesus earlier in the gospel of John (John 3:1–2). This verse is the summary of the man's response to the insults of the scribes and Pharisees, who tried to reject Jesus as a "sinner" instead of accepting His miracles.

At this point, the religious leaders of Jerusalem have been thoroughly embarrassed. They have failed to debunk Jesus' miracle. They have responded in angry insults to one of their witnesses. And, they've been "taught" some common sense spiritual truth by a man they consider beneath them.

The following verse is exactly the kind of reaction one would expect from these kinds of spiritual hypocrites. Rather than countering the man's argument, or challenging his facts, they resort once again to insults.

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.