Bible Strands
John 10:20
Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Amid a division among the Jews over Jesus’ teaching, a group of onlookers voices direct rejection toward Him. They address the surrounding crowd, demanding to know why anyone would heed His words.
The words — The text records πολλοὶ (polloi) as “many” and δαιμόνιον (daimonion) as “a demon,” capturing the crowd’s accusation that Jesus possesses a demon and is insane. The verb ἔλεγον (elegon) indicates this was a repeated declaration among them.
The thread — This charge recurs in John 7:20 and John 8:52, where crowds similarly accuse Jesus of demon possession, and aligns with Mark 3:21, where His family claims He is out of His mind.
Why it lands — The verse presents a direct challenge to Jesus’ claims and sets up the logical rebuttal in the following verse. It requires a reader to evaluate whether the observed works support the accusation or expose its contradiction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
Cross-references
- John 7:20 “You have a demon,” the crowd replied. “Who is trying to kill You?”
- Mark 3:21 When His family heard about this, they went out to take custody of Him, saying, “He is out of His mind.”
- John 8:52 “Now we know that You have a demon!” declared the Jews. “Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death.
- John 8:47 Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
- Isaiah 53:8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away, and who can recount His descendants? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was stricken for the transgression of My people.
- Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.”
- Matthew 10:25 It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
- John 7:46 “Never has anyone spoken like this man!” the officers answered.
- John 9:28 Then they heaped insults on him and said, “You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses.
- Acts 18:14 But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio told the Jews, “If this matter involved a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to hear your complaint.