9:24 Then they summoned 4 the man who used to be blind 5 a second time and said to him, “Promise before God to tell the truth. 6 We know that this man 7 is a sinner.”
1 tn Grk “the blind man.”
2 tn Grk “since he opened your eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
3 tn Grk “And he said, ‘He is a prophet.’”
sn At this point the man, pressed by the Pharisees, admitted there was something special about Jesus. But here, since prophet is anarthrous (is not accompanied by the Greek article) and since in his initial reply in 9:11-12 the man showed no particular insight into the true identity of Jesus, this probably does not refer to the prophet of Deut 18:15, but merely to an unusual person who is capable of working miracles. The Pharisees had put this man on the spot, and he felt compelled to say something about Jesus, but he still didn’t have a clear conception of who Jesus was, so he labeled him a “prophet.”
4 tn Grk “they called.”
5 tn Grk “who was blind.”
6 tn Grk “Give glory to God” (an idiomatic formula used in placing someone under oath to tell the truth).
7 tn The phrase “this man” is a reference to Jesus.
8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Grk “a thief, and having the money box.” Dividing the single Greek sentence improves the English style.
10 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. This is one of the indications in the gospels that Judas was of bad character before the betrayal of Jesus. John states that he was a thief and had responsibility for the finances of the group. More than being simply a derogatory note about Judas’ character, the inclusion of the note at this particular point in the narrative may be intended to link the frustrated greed of Judas here with his subsequent decision to betray Jesus for money. The parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark seem to indicate that after this incident Judas went away immediately and made his deal with the Jewish authorities to deliver up Jesus. Losing out on one source of sordid gain, he immediately went out and set up another.