Born Blind, Now Seeing
Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?” John 9:40 · Berean Standard Bible
Some Pharisees standing nearby ask, 'Wait—are you saying we're blind too?'
They ask the question expecting Jesus to say no. After all, they're the religious experts. Surely He can't mean them.
Pharisees who heard Jesus' words challenge Him, assuming they must be the exception.
You can almost hear the offense in their voices. They know Jesus is talking about them, but they can't believe He would dare suggest that they—the teachers—are the blind ones.
Some Pharisees present perceive the implied accusation and ask 'mē kai hēmeis typhloi esmen' (surely we are not blind too?)—using 'mē' to expect a negative answer, betraying their self-assurance.
The question's grammar reveals their confidence that they cannot possibly be blind. Yet Jesus' teaching inverts their assumption, making their very certainty evidence of their blindness.
Pharisees who overheard Jesus' statement challenge Him, expecting Him to affirm their spiritual sight.
The Pharisees take the bait, asking a question that sets up Jesus' devastating final pronouncement on spiritual blindness and culpable ignorance.
38“Lord, I believe,” he said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”
40Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?”
41“If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
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.
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