Charles Spurgeon Commentary John 9:34

"They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out." — John 9:34 (ASV)

And do you teach us?

Wonderful, that "us." Do you teach us? Folly, ignorance, and pride go together. This man, in the simplest and most unaffected manner, had told his story and urged his argument, and now they abuse him and exalt themselves. Do you teach us? No, great Pharisees, he does not teach you, for you will not learn.

And they cast him out.

That is the last argument. Out with him. Now we have defeated him.

They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins,

It is the old rule, "Abuse the plaintiff." Nothing could be said.

Now abuse the man. He has answered you, and his arguments are too hard for you. Now throw hard words at him. Thou wast altogether born in sins.

And they cast him out.

It was a great mercy for him that they excommunicated him; one of the greatest blessings that could come to him was being cast out of the synagogue, and being cast out of the society of such men as those Pharisees were.

They answered and said unto him,

What could they say to him? Nothing but more reviling and abuse.

You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us? And they cast him out.

That is the last argument of all. "We cannot answer him, so let us turn him out!"

They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? (John 9:34)

"Such learned men as we are, with such culture and such insight as we have, 'do you teach us?'"

They answered and said to him, You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?

Can you not hear them say it? "A blind beggar, who has just begun to see, 'Do you teach us?' – D.D.'s, men who are learned in the law, 'Do you teach us?'"

Well, brothers, if a man has only one eye, he may teach those who have none, for the old proverb says, "In the realm of the blind, the man with one eye is king."

Yet there is another proverb on this subject, and that is, "In the realm of the blind, the man with one eye gets hanged."

That was likely to be the case here; the blind Pharisees could not bear the man who could see. He knew too much for them.

They answered and said to him, You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?

Their dignity was touched; their superlative wisdom lifted them so much above this poor man that they said, with the utmost disdain, "Do you teach us?"