Limitless Word
Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane! Why do you listen to him?”
John 10:20 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
  • BSB Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”
  • ESV Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”
  • NKJV And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?”
  • NASB Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?”
  • NLT Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?”

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Many accuse Jesus of being demon-possessed and insane, urging others not to listen. They dismiss His claims as madness.

Overview

Unable to refute His works, His opponents attack His sanity and attribute His words to a demon. This charge recurs in the Gospels against Jesus. It shows the hardness of those who reject the shepherd's voice.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • John 7:20The multitude answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill you?”
  • Mark 3:21When his friends heard it, they went out to seize him: for they said, “He is insane.”
  • John 8:52Then the Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets; and you say, ‘If a man keeps my word, he will never taste of death.’
  • John 8:47–48He who is of God hears the words of God. For this cause you don’t hear, because you are not of God.”
  • John 7:46–52The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this man!”
  • Acts 26:24As he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are crazy! Your great learning is driving you insane!”
  • Acts 25:19–20but had certain questions against him about their own religion, and about one Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.
  • John 9:28–29They insulted him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
  • Acts 18:14–15But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked crime, you Jews, it would be reasonable that I should bear with you;
  • Isa 53:8He was taken away by oppression and judgment; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living and stricken for the disobedience of my people?
  • Matt 9:34But the Pharisees said, “By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons.”
  • Matt 10:25It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!
  • Acts 26:30–32The king rose up with the governor, and Bernice, and those who sat with them.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 10:20YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 10:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.