John 9:40 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?”

NIV: Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, 'What? Are we blind too?'

NASB: Those who were with Him from the Pharisees heard these things and said to Him, 'We are not blind too, are we?'

CSB: Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, "We aren't blind too, are we? "

NLT: Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, 'Are you saying we’re blind?'

KJV: And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?

NKJV: Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”

According to Jesus' prior statement, those who are willfully ignorant of spiritual matters claim they have knowledge—"sight"—when in reality they're spiritually blind. A major component of Jesus' conflicts with religious leaders was their arrogance. Too often, these men started from the assumption that they knew best, and Jesus could not be true, simply because He didn't agree with them. As Jesus pointed out, that wasn't because God had failed to provide evidence (John 5:36). It was because these men refused to accept the truth (John 5:39–40).

As part of their debate against Jesus, the Pharisees now ask a pointed question. This is meant to be rhetorical—they ask with the assumption that the answer is an obvious "no." By their own standards, the Pharisees were the most moral, well-educated, and spiritually capable of men. One can imagine a modern Pharisee asking, sarcastically, "you're not saying I don't understand spirituality!" and laughing.

Jesus' response, in the next verse, shows that this is exactly the case. Worse, for the Pharisees, is their arrogance and presumption. Those who recognize their weakness and need for truth find forgiveness and grace (John 9:35–38; Mark 9:24). Those who claim they have knowledge will be judged according to their own standards (John 9:41).

John 9:35–41 shows Jesus meeting with the man He has healed, formerly blind since birth. His healing, and subsequent conversation with the Pharisees, has resulted in the man being excommunicated from his synagogue. Jesus reveals His identity to the man, and explains how this episode summarized His earthly ministry. The Pharisees, once again, prove their spiritual stubbornness, giving Jesus an opportunity to connect greater knowledge with greater responsibility.

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.