Bible Strands
John 7:20
“You have a demon,” the crowd replied. “Who is trying to kill You?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The crowd answers Jesus directly after He asks why they seek to kill Him and rebukes them for not keeping Moses’ law.
The words — The Greek δαιμόνιον ἔχεις (daimonion echeis) literally means “you have a demon,” serving as a blunt counter-accusation to Jesus’ preceding question.
The thread — The crowd levels this same charge in John 8:48 and John 10:20, while Mark 3:21 records His family claiming He is out of His mind.
Why it lands — The text records an immediate reversal of accusation where opponents claim spiritual oppression to deflect moral accountability, asking the reader to identify moments they dismiss a message because it challenges their own expectations.
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
The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?
Cross-references
- John 10:20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”
- John 8:48 The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”
- 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.
- Mark 3:30 Jesus made this statement because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
- 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!
- Matthew 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’
- Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons.”
- Acts 26:24 At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”