Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 10:20
And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
20. He hath a devil ] See last note on Joh 8:48, and comp. Joh 7:20.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He hath a devil – Joh 7:20.
Is mad – Is deranged, or a maniac. His words are incoherent and unintelligible.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 20. He hath a devil, and is mad] So, then, a demoniac and a madman were not exactly the same in the apprehension of the Jews; no more than the effect is the same with the cause which produces it. Some will have it that, when the Jews told our Lord that he had a demon, they meant no more than that he was deranged; but here these matters are evidently distinguished. They believed him to be possessed by a demon, who deranged his faculties, and that he must have been a wicked man, and a deceiver, thus to be put under the power of such a spirit.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Some of the people said, He hath a devil, and is mad; for (as was said before) this was the opinion of the Jews concerning all that were mad and distracted, that it was by the influence of the devil, and they were infested with an evil spirit.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And many of them said, he hath a devil, and is mad,…. It was a notion of the Jews, that madness or distraction was from the devil, and therefore these two are here joined together, having a devil, and being mad: there is a spirit which they call Tazazith, and which, they say z, is an evil spirit that takes away the understanding of men; and under the influence of such a “demon”, the Jews thought Christ to be: and therefore say,
why hear ye him? he is a lunatic, he is distracted, he is a madman; how can you bear to hear such ranting blasphemous stuff, which no man in his, senses would ever utter? nor is anything he says to be regarded, since he is not in his right mind; but is under the power and influence of some evil spirit, which instills these wild and frantic notions into him, and puts him upon venting them; but surely no sober man will ever heed to them.
z R. David Kimchi, Sepher Shorash rad. .
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He has a demon and is mad ( ). As some had already said (John 7:20; John 8:48 with the addition of “Samaritan”). So long before in Mr 3:21. An easy way of discounting Jesus.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And many of them said,” (elegon de polloi eks auton)”Then said many of them,” of the Jews, those who were frustrated, unsettled about Jesus and His work said, their own nature as children of the devil themselves, Rom 8:7; Mat 15:18; Joh 8:44; 1Jn 3:10; Mat 5:20.
2) “He hath a devil, and is mad; (diamonion echei kai mainetai) “He has a demon (is demon-obsessed- and he raves,” or is mad, a mad-dog man, But it appears that it was rather they who were mad or irrational, Mar 3:2; Act 26:11. Little wonder that they were divided, for the Sadducees among them denied the existence of angels, spirits, and the resurrection, thus not conceding devils existed, see? Act 23:8.
3) “Why hear ye him?” (ti autou akouete) “Why do you all heed him?” or listen to Him at all? The answer is that they saw too much holiness in His character and too much good in His deeds to accept the charge that He had a devil (demon) or was mentally deranged. That Jesus was mad, demon possessed, or deranged, was surely false as well as a similar charge Festus later tried to pin on the apostle Paul, which he refuted, Act 26:24-26.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
20. He hath a devil. They employ the most offensive reproach which they can devise, in slandering Christ, that all may shudder at the thought of hearing him. For wicked men, that they may not be forced to yield to God, in a furious manner, and with closed eyes, break out into proud contempt of him, and excite others to the same rage, so that not a single word of Christ is heard in silence. But the doctrine of Christ has sufficient power in itself to defend it against slanders. And this is what believers mean by their reply,
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(20) He hath a devil, and is mad.Comp. Note on Joh. 8:48. The words and is mad are explanatory of the possession by a demon.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
Ver. 20. He hath a devil, and is mad ] It was a wonder if the heavens did not sweat, the earth melt, and hell gape at the hearing of these horrid blasphemies. Tigers rage at the fragrance of sweet spices; so did these monsters at our Saviour’s sweet sermons.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
devil = demon. Greek. daimonion. Compare Joh 8:48, and Mat 12:24.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Joh 10:20. , many) They were wont to take in the worst light His most lofty and sweetest discourses.[283][283] , why hear ye Him?) It is a case full of danger, when even hearing is refused.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 10:20
Joh 10:20
And many of them said, He hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him?-Some attributed his speech and works to a demon. [The Jews believed that demons could produce supernatural effects. (Mat 12:24). They used this as a foundation in explaining the miraculous power of Christ.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
devil
demon. (See Scofield “Mat 7:22”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
He hath: Joh 7:20, Joh 8:48, Joh 8:52, Mat 9:34, Mat 10:25, Mar 3:21, Act 26:24
why: Joh 7:46-52, Joh 8:47, Joh 9:28, Joh 9:29, Isa 53:8, Act 18:14, Act 18:15, Act 25:19, Act 25:20, Act 26:30-32
Reciprocal: 2Ki 9:11 – this mad fellow Pro 23:9 – he Isa 59:15 – maketh himself a prey Jer 29:26 – for every Mat 11:18 – He Mar 3:30 – General Luk 7:33 – He Luk 11:15 – He Joh 8:22 – Will 1Co 2:14 – they 1Co 14:23 – will Heb 12:3 – contradiction
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Joh 10:20-21. And many of them said, He hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him? Others said, These are not the sayings of one that is possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? In the other instances quoted above the division of feeling had been between some and others: here, where the Jews are in question, many are driven by the words of Jesus to more bitter hostility, repeating and extending the charge of which we read in chap. Joh 7:20, Joh 8:48. But there are others whom the miracle related in chap. 9 had impressed, though at the time they did not stand up against the action of their party (chap. Joh 9:34). The effect produced on them by the miracle which Jesus wrought is now deepened by His teaching: as in the case of Nicodemus the sign prepared the way for the instruction of the words. In the question asked we have the same association of teaching and miracle. A man possessed by a spirit of evil could not say such things as these: a demon (though he might be supposed able to cast out another demon) could not restore to the blind their sight. It is interesting to observe in these last words the tendency of the Evangelist to close a section with words that recall its opening, thus binding all the parts of a narrative into one whole.