John 9:23

John 9:23, in plain English

The narrator repeats it so you don't miss it: the parents said 'ask him' because they were afraid of being expelled.

Why it's here

John wants to make sure you understand the climate of fear that surrounded anyone connected to Jesus.

Who's speaking

The narrator underscores the parents' fear as the reason for their guarded response.

Where it sits in the story

This repetition is John's way of highlighting the injustice. The parents had to choose between honesty and survival.

The scholarly reading

The narrator reiterates the causal link between the parents' fear of excommunication and their deflective response, emphasizing the oppressive climate surrounding Jesus' ministry.

Language and setting

This repetition serves a Johannine literary function, bracketing the explanation of the parents' fear (vv.22-23) as an inclusio that underscores the institutional hostility facing Jesus' followers.

Voice

The narrator summarizes the parents' motivation, closing the parenthetical explanation.

Significance

John drives home the point: the parents' response wasn't cowardice but calculated survival under a regime that had criminalized faith in Jesus.

21But how he can now see or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.”

22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.

23That was why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”

24So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”

25He answered, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!”

Read all of John 9 — A man blind from birth receives sight, and the Pharisees interrogate him relentlessly. His simple testimony dismantles their theology piece by piece.