Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 10:20

"And many of them said, He hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him?" — John 10:20 (ASV)

The reaction of the populace was divided. To Jesus’ enemies, his claims seemed so exaggerated and so contradictory to the popular understanding of the unity of God that they could be attributed only to the irrational and blasphemous utterance of a demoniac (cf. 7:20; 8:48). On the other hand, many of the crowd regarded Jesus as thoroughly sane. After all, demoniacs do not cure the blind. The reference to the miracle narrated in ch. 9 shows that it must have left a strong impression in Jerusalem.