They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The most striking thing here is how they twist their own beliefs to attack the man. They once suggested his blindness might be from parental sin, but now, unable to counter his logic, they emphatically declare he was "altogether born in sins," meaning his entire being was inherently corrupt, a chosen vessel for divine punishment. This reveals their desperation to discredit him by any means, even by contradicting their earlier positions.
They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Frustrated by the man's unwavering testimony that Jesus, not God, healed him, the religious leaders resort to insults. They accuse him of being utterly sinful from birth, implying his blindness was a divine punishment, and declare he has no right to teach them. In their anger, they expel him from their presence, effectively excommunicating him.
When logic fails, how do people lash out? The religious leaders turned the man's healing into an accusation based on their flawed theology.
The Pharisees, unable to refute the undeniable miracle, resorted to personal attacks. They claimed the man was 'altogether born in sins,' implying his blindness was a divine punishment for some pre-natal sin, either his own or his parents'. This reveals a deep-seated prejudice: associating suffering directly with sin, a belief system that God would later challenge through the book of Job.
A Flawed Theology
This perspective wasn't just a personal insult; it was a theological statement. It suggested that God's favor was evident in outward prosperity and health, and that any suffering was a sign of divine disfavor. They twisted the man's calamity into proof that he was a sinner, and therefore, unqualified to speak truth, especially against their esteemed position.
The Insult of Teaching Them
Their anger intensified because this 'unqualified' man, who had been blind and begging his whole life, dared to teach them – the supposed spiritual authorities. His simple, clear testimony about Jesus exposed their own spiritual blindness and arrogance. They couldn't handle being corrected by someone they deemed an outcast.
Being cast out by religious leaders feels like a profound rejection. But what does this exclusion truly mean when seen through God's eyes?
The phrase 'they cast him out' likely signifies excommunication from the synagogue. This wasn't just a social ousting; it was a severe religious and social punishment in Jewish society. It meant being cut off from the community, from worship, and potentially seen as being cut off from God's favor.
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A Vow of Silence
By casting him out, the religious leaders intended to silence him and discredit his testimony about Jesus. They wanted to isolate him and make sure no one would listen to his experience. It was their ultimate attempt to maintain their authority and suppress the growing influence of Jesus.
God's Counter-Move
What the leaders saw as the end of the man's public witness, God saw as the beginning of a deeper encounter. Jesus actively sought him out after he was cast out. This shows that worldly rejection often precedes divine acceptance and deeper revelation.
Understand the original words
hamartia · Greek Noun
A state of moral depravity and rebellion against God, present in all humanity since the Fall. It encompasses both the act of wrongdoing and the inherent condition of being alienated from God.
The religious leaders, clinging to their perceived righteousness and authority, reject the undeniable miracle and the clear testimony of the formerly blind man. Their excommunication, intended to isolate and shame him, instead pushes him into Jesus' arms, highlighting the tragic irony of their 'sight' that leads to greater spiritual blindness.
c. 30 AD— this verse
Healing of the Man Born Blind
Jesus heals a man who has been blind from birth, a miraculous act that sparks controversy among the Jewish authorities.
c. 30 AD
Man Cast Out of the Temple
The man healed by Jesus is excommunicated (cast out) by the Jewish religious leaders for testifying about Jesus and refusing to deny Him.
c. 30 AD
Jesus Encounters the Healed Man
Jesus finds the man who was cast out and reveals Himself to him, leading the man to worship Jesus as the Son of God.
c. 30 AD
Pharisees' Blindness Highlighted
Jesus explains that He came for judgment, that the seeing might become blind and the blind might see, a statement that causes some Pharisees to question their own spiritual state.
This prophecy speaks of God's judgment against those who reject Him, which directly parallels the rejection and excommunication faced by the man healed by Jesus.
3 John 1:10This passage describes Diotrephes, who maliciously gossiped and refused to welcome brothers, mirroring the hostile and exclusionary attitude of the Pharisees towards the formerly blind man.
Matthew 10:14Jesus instructed his disciples to shake the dust off their feet when rejected, reflecting the act of casting out the man who, by speaking truth, was themselves cast out by the religious leaders.
John 7:49The Pharisees' contemptuous statement that the crowds are cursed because they don't know the Law echoes their disdain for the blind man, whom they consider inherently sinful and unqualified to teach.
Acts 7:58The stoning of Stephen and his being cast out of the city before his martyrdom shows a historical precedent of believers being violently expelled for their faith, similar to the man in John 9.
barnesJohn 9:34: "They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out."
Wast born in sins - That is, thou wast born in a state of blindness a state which proved that either thou or thy parents had sinned, and that this was the punishment for it. See John 9:2 . Thou wast cursed by God with blindness for crime, and yet thou dost set up for a religious teacher! When people have no arguments, they attempt to supply their place by revilings. Wh…
ellicottJohn 9:34: "They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out."
(34) Thou wast altogether born in sins. —Their reproach now takes the most malignant form, and shrinks not from casting in his teeth the calamity of his birth as the mark of special sin. “Thou didst come into the world,” these words mean, “bearing the curse of God upon thy face. Thou hast said that God heareth not sinners. Thy life in its first moments bore the marks o…
The most striking thing here is how they twist their own beliefs to attack the man. They once suggested his blindness might be from parental sin, but now, unable to counter his logic, they emphatically declare he was "altogether born in sins," meaning his entire being was inherently corrupt, a chosen vessel for divine punishment. This reveals their desperation to discredit him by any means, even by contradicting their earlier positions.
Frustrated by the man's unwavering testimony that Jesus, not God, healed him, the religious leaders resort to insults. They accuse him of being utterly sinful from birth, implying his blindness was a divine punishment, and declare he has no right to teach them. In their anger, they expel him from their presence, effectively excommunicating him.
Frustrated by the man's unwavering testimony that Jesus, not God, healed him, the religious leaders resort to insults. They accuse him of being utterly sinful from birth, implying his blindness was a divine punishment, and declare he has no right to teach them. In their anger, they expel him from their presence, effectively excommunicating him.
"They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out." — The most striking thing here is how they twist their own beliefs to attack the man. They once suggested his blindness might be from parental sin, but now, unable to counter his logic, they emphatical…
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Last reviewed October 2026