John 9:41 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

NIV: Jesus said, 'If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

NASB: Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now that you maintain, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

CSB: "If you were blind," Jesus told them, "you wouldn't have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.

NLT: If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,' Jesus replied. 'But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

KJV: Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

NKJV: Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.

The Pharisees, of all people, ought to recognize the Messiah when they see Him. Nobody in Jesus' era was more passionate about Scripture, or obedience to God. Unfortunately, most of the Pharisees—but not all (John 3:1–2; Luke 23:50–51)—were really more concerned with tradition and status than truth (John 5:39–40; 5:45–47). By worldly standards, these men had more spiritual "sight" than anyone else. So, when Jesus indicated that His ministry was meant to give spiritual sight to those who sought it, and reveal spiritual blindness to those who thought they were wise, the Pharisees responded with arrogance. Their response, in essence, was to say, "you obviously aren't saying we're spiritually blind."

Here, Jesus clarifies: this is exactly what He's saying.

Further, Jesus' statement here underscores an important principle, which is that God holds people accountable only for what they know, but holds them absolutely accountable for it. Those who come to God in humility, admitting weakness and seeking truth, are met with grace and forgiveness (Mark 9:24; John 9:35–38; Matthew 7:7–8). Those who think they are wise, who claim to have spiritual sight, will be judged accordingly (James 3:1). This is especially true of those who, like the Pharisees, have knowledge and deliberately choose to ignore it.

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.