These hearers asked to answer the charge against Jesus with plain sense. First they pointed to His words: they did not sound like a madman's. Barnes describes them as "sober, grave, pious, full of wisdom." Then they pointed to His works. Gill notes their question refers to the recent case of Christ curing a man born blind (John 9:1-7). A demon does not give sight to the blind, so the charge did not fit the facts.

No reply from the other side is recorded, and the scene moves to the feast of dedication (John 10:22). The answer is self-evident, and John 9 had already given it. The healed man said, "Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing" (John 9:32-33).

The question looks back to the miracle of John 9, where Jesus opened the eyes of a man "blind from his birth" (John 9:1). That healing had already split the Pharisees, some asking, "How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?" (John 9:16). So the division here continues the argument that began with the blind man.

Jesus' works speak for Him. Later He tells His opponents to "believe the works" even if they will not believe Him (John 10:38). This group was doing just that: they let the healing of the blind man weigh against the slander.

Barnes adds that "It is not the fault of the gospel that there are divisions, but of the unbelief and mad passions of men." Jesus came to give life (John 10:10), and the evidence of His goodness was there for anyone willing to look.