John 9:30
in John 9“That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The man answered and said unto them, Why, herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence he is, and yet he opened mine eyes.
KJV
The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
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This verse in John 9
Commentary
16 notes on this verseWhy herein is a marvellous thing - As if he had said, This is wonderful indeed! Is it possible that such persons as you are, whose business it is to distinguish good from evil, and who pretend to know a true from a false prophet, cannot decide in a case so plain? Has not the man opened my eyes? Is not the miracle known to all the town; and could any one do it who was not endued with the power of God?
This site's exposition
That is remarkable indeed
on John 9:30-34
The beggar argues from ground the whole room holds, that God listens to the worshipper who does His will. No one had ever heard of eyes born blind being opened, so this healer comes from God. The court answers with his birth and throws him out.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
"The man answered and said unto them, Herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners; but if any man is a worshipper of God, and doeth His will, him He heareth." He speaks still as one only anointed. For God heareth even sinners. For if God heard not sinners, in vain would the publican, casting his eyes on the ground, and smiting on his breast, have said, "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner." And that confession merited justification, as this blind man enlightenment. "Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing." With frankness, constancy, and truthfulness [he spoke]. For these things that were done by the Lord, by whom were they done but by God? Or when would such things be done by disciples, were not the Lord dwelling in them?
Let our opponents-that is, they who speak against their own salvation-inform us [as to this point]: The deceased daughter of the high priest; the widow's dead son, who was being carried out [to burial] near the gate [of the city]; and Lazarus, who had lain four days in the tomb,-in what bodies did they rise again? In those same, no doubt, in which they had also died. For if it were not in the very same, then certainly those same individuals who had died did not rise again.
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of John, Book 6 · Written before 444.
proposed
I am astonished, he says, and very justly, that you say you do not know One Who is borne witness to by such holiness and by the Divine power shown in His actions; yet you are thought to incessantly give attention to God's teaching, you administer the law, you make the verbal study of the sacred Words your great delight, you possess the chief power among the people and especially may be expected to know who are good teachers. For who ought to rightly know those who by God's power work wonders, if they do not who are appointed to minister in holy things and who have been put in charge of the venerable mysteries? And by saying that he is astonished that they are altogether ignorant respecting the Divine sign, so wonderful and strange, which had been wrought upon him, the man covertly and by implication rebukes them, hinting that they were so far removed from sanctification and fitness for piety, that they shamelessly confessed themselves utterly ignorant of Him Who is truly holy, that is, Christ. For let us lay bare what we believe to have been the concealed thought. If that is true which is somewhere well said: Every beast loveth his like, and a man will cleave to his like, how then if they were holy and good did they turn away and refuse to cleave to Him Who was holy and good? Certainly therefore that which was spoken was pregnant with a rebuke of the accursed policy and behaviour of the Pharisees. And I think another thing also will help to make this manifest. For I think that the diligent student who devotes his attention to such expressions will perceive more distinctly that which seems to be hidden in each. What then is this? Many rumours went about through all Judaea concerning our Saviour Christ, but they spoke of Him only as a Prophet. […]
"Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not whence He is, and He doeth such miracles." "That a Man, who is not one of the distinguished or noble or illustrious among you, can do such things; so that it is in every way clear that He is God, needing no human aid."
The Medieval Church1 voice
"You," he says, "Jews, reject my Healer because you supposedly do not know where He is from. But I say that He is all the more worthy of admiration because, not being among the notable and distinguished people among you, He can accomplish such deeds …
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
The man answered and said to them: In this indeed is a marvelous thing, that you know not whence he is, and he opened my eyes. He did not say impious, lest he provoke them, but marvelous, because he himself marveled at their hardness; and …
1344 Now, the blind man's argument against the Pharisees is presented. First, he is amazed at their hardness of heart; secondly, he refutes their false opinion (v 31). 1345 Concerning the first, we must recall that we are not amazed at what happens frequently, and …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And with what strength and clearness of reason! So had God opened the eyes of his understanding, as well as his bodily eyes. Why, herein is a marvelous thing, that ye - The teachers and guides of the people, should not know, that a man who has wrought a miracle, the like of which was never heard of before, must be from heaven, sent by God.
The man answered and said unto them,....
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
We see in these verses how much wiser the poor sometimes are than the rich. The man whom our Lord healed of his blindness was evidently a person of very humble condition. It is written that he was one who "sat and begged." (See v. 8.) Yet he saw things which the proud rulers of the Jews could not see, and would not receive. He saw in our Lord's miracle an unanswerable proof of our Lord's divine commission. "If this Man were not of God," he cries, "He could do nothing."
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner--not wishing him to own, even to the praise of God, that a miracle had been wrought upon him, but to show more regard to the honor of God than ascribe any such act to one who was a sinner.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
So irresistible was his argument that their rage burst forth in a speech of intense Pharisaism, "Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?"--thou, a base-born, uneducated, impudent youth, teach us, the trained, constituted, recognized guides of the people in the things of God!
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
We see in these verses how much wiser the poor sometimes are than the rich. The man whom our Lord healed of his blindness was evidently a person of very humble condition. It is written that he was one who "sat and begged." (See v. 8.) Yet he saw things which the proud rulers of the Jews could not see, and would not receive. He saw in our Lord's miracle an unanswerable proof of our Lord's divine commission. "If this Man were not of God," he cries, "He could do nothing." In fact, from the day of his cure his position was completely altered. He had eyes, and the Pharisees were blind. The same thing may be seen in other places of Scripture. The servants of Pharaoh saw "the finger of God" in the plagues of Egypt, when their master's heart was hardened. The servants of Naaman saw the wisdom of Elisha's advice, when their master was turning away in a rage. The high, the great, and the noble are often the last to learn spiritual lessons. Their possessions and their position often blind the eyes of their understanding, and keep them back from the kingdom of God. It is written that "not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called." (1 Cor. 1:26.) The Christian poor man never need be ashamed of his poverty. It is a sin to be proud, and worldly-minded, and unbelieving; but it is no sin to be poor. The very riches which many long to possess are often veils over the eyes of men's souls, and prevent their seeing Christ. The teaching of the Holy Spirit is more frequently to be seen among men of low degree than among men of rank and education. The words of our Lord are continually proved most true, "How hard it is for rich people to get into the Kingdom of God!" "You have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them unto babes." (Mark 10:23; Matt. 11:25.)
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A marvelous thing - This is wonderful and amazing. Know not from whence he is - That you cannot perceive that he who has performed such a miracle must be from God.
How the passage was read
On John 9:1-41On John 9:1-41
Clay on the Sabbath, and the synagogue door
“He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle.” On the tradition's categories of Sabbath labor, kneading is forbidden work (one of the thirty-nine, Mishnah Shabbat 7:2), and mixing spittle with dust to a paste is kneading. Unlike the healings done by a word alone, here Jesus performs a nameable act, on a man blind FROM BIRTH, the definition of a chronic condition that, on the categories, could have waited until sundown. The scene reads as deliberate: the Light of the World (9:5) works on the day of rest precisely to force the question of who He is, and the interrogation that follows splits the Pharisees themselves: “How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?” (9:16).
The parents fear being “put out of the synagogue” (9:22). Honesty about dating helps here: the formal liturgical measure some scholars connect with that phrase (birkat ha-minim, a synagogue benediction concerning heretics, discussed in the Talmud at Berakhot 28b) took shape at Yavneh after AD 70, and both its date and its original scope are debated among scholars. John narrates real local expulsion in Jesus' years; the entry does not read a later formal ban back into the scene. What the chapter itself gives is sharper than any institution: a man healed, cast out, and found by Jesus at the door: “Lord, I believe.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Shabbat 7:2 (kneading among the categories) · Berakhot 28b (Babylonian Talmud, the later benediction; dating debated)
The words behind it
23 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀπεκρίθη | apekrithe | Answered | G611 → | 231 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἄνθρωπος | anthropos | man | G444 → | 549 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| εἶπεν | eipen | said | G2036 → | 925 times |
| αὐτοῖς· | autois | to them; | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐν | en | In | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| τούτῳ | touto | this | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| τὸ | to | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θαυμαστόν | thaumaston | an amazing thing | G2298 → | |
| ἐστιν | estin | is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| ὑμεῖς | humeis | you yourselves | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| οὐκ | ouk | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| οἴδατε | oidate | know | ||
| πόθεν | pothen | from where | G4159 → | 29 times |
| ἐστίν, | estin | He is, | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| καὶ | kai | and yet | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἤνοιξέν | enoixen | He opened | G455 → | 77 times |
| μου | mou | my | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| τοὺς | tous | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ὀφθαλμούς. | ophthalmous | eyes. | G3788 → | 100 times |
ἀπεκρίθηAnswered
apekritheG611 →231 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
ἄνθρωποςman
anthroposG444 →549 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
εἶπενsaid
eipenG2036 →925 times
αὐτοῖς·to them;
autoisG846 →5565 times
ἐνIn
enG1722 →2738 times
τούτῳthis
toutoG3778 →1381 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
τὸ<the>
toG3588 →19766 times
θαυμαστόνan amazing thing
thaumastonG2298 →
ἐστινis
estinG1510 →2333 times
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
ὑμεῖςyou yourselves
humeisG4771 →2973 times
οὐκnot
oukG3756 →1664 times
οἴδατεknow
oidate
πόθενfrom where
pothenG4159 →29 times
ἐστίν,He is,
estinG1510 →2333 times
καὶand yet
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἤνοιξένHe opened
enoixenG455 →77 times
μουmy
mouG3165 →1936 times
τοὺς<the>
tousG3588 →19766 times
ὀφθαλμούς.eyes.
ophthalmousG3788 →100 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 119:18Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law.
it leads to
- Ephesians 1:17–18
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
- Isaiah 35:5
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…
- Isaiah 32:3
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
- Matthew 13:13
This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’
- Ephesians 1:17–18
Through
Isaiah 29:14Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”
it leads to
- Habakkuk 1:5
“Look at the nations and observe—be utterly astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you.
- 1 Corinthians 1:19–24
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
- Habakkuk 1:5
Through
Isaiah 29:18On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
it leads to
- Matthew 11:5
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
- Matthew 11:5
Where this verse is studied
About John
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, John; Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 44; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 9; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 6; Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book V; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 58; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.