Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 9:41

"Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye would have no sin: but now ye say, We see: your sin remaineth." — John 9:41 (ASV)

The negative result is illustrated by the Pharisees’ response. Jesus’ remark in v.39 makes him the pivot on which human destiny turns. The Pharisees, assuming that they could “see” without his intervention, asked in resentment, “Are we blind too?” Jesus’ reply indicated that if they had acknowledged blindness, they could be freed from sin; but since they were asserting that they could see when they were really blind, there was no remedy for them. Deliberate rejection of light means that “the light within... is darkness” (Matthew 6:23).