LXXXI.
CONTENTION OVER THE MAN BORN BLIND.
(Jerusalem.)
dJOHN IX. 1-41.
[Some look upon the events in this and
the next section as occurring at the Feast of Tabernacles in October, others
think they occurred at the Feast of Dedication in December, deriving their
point of time from John x. 22.] d1
And as [461] he passed by, he saw a man
blind from his birth. [The man probably sought to waken compassion
by repeatedly stating this fact to passers-by.]
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or
his parents, that he should be born blind? [They assumed that all suffering
was retributive, and asked for whose sins this man suffered, regarding
it as a case of extreme hardship, for to be born blind is uncommon, even
in the East. Their question had reference to the doctrine of transmigration
of souls, the man being regarded as possibly having sinned in some pre-existing
state.] 3 Jesus answered, Neither did
this man sin, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made
manifest in him. [Jesus found a third alternative to their dilemma.
The man's parents were sinners, but neither their sin nor the beggar's
own sin had caused this calamity. It had come upon him as part of God's
plan for his life; it was part of the providential arrangement by which
God governs the world.] 4 We must work
the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when
no man can work. [As to the duration of his earthly works, Jesus classifies
himself with his disciples, for his humanity, like ours, had its season
of activity, or day, which was practically terminated by the night of death.
After his resurrection, Jesus performed no miracles of healing.]
5 When I am in the world, I am the light of the world. [In the spiritual
sense, Christ is ever the light of the world, but while he lived among
men, even the privileges of physical light were imparted to him.]
6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the
spittle, and anointed his eyes with the clay.
7 and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which is by interpretation,
Sent). [Jesus probably used the clay to aid the man's faith. His so
doing gave the Pharisees a chance to cavil at Jesus for breaking the Sabbath.
If later rabbis report correctly, the traditions of that day, clay might
be put on the eyes for pleasure on the Sabbath, but not for medicine, nor
might the eyes be anointed with spittle on that day. As [462] to
the pool of Siloam, see page 327.
It was probably called Sent because its waters are sent to it from the
Virgin's Fountain through a tunnel cut through the hill Ophel. For the
Virgin's Fountain, see page 194.]
He went away therefore, and washed, and came seeing. [He did not
come back to Jesus, but came to his own house.]
8 The neighbors therefore, and they which saw him aforetime, that he was
a beggar, said, is not this he that sat and begged?
9 Others said, It is he: others said, No, but he is like him. [The
conclusion of the neighbors is very natural. Such a cure would slightly
change his appearance, but in any event the impossibility of the cure would
raise doubts as to the identity of the cured.] He said, I am he.
10 They said therefore unto him, How then were thine eyes opened? [They
question as to the manner, not as to the fact.]
11 He answered, The man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine
eyes, and said unto me, Go to Siloam, and wash: so I went and washed, and
I received sight. [He speaks of Jesus as one well known. He had learned
who sent him before he went to Siloam. We shall note how opposition enlarges
the faith and the confession of this man.]
12 And they said unto him, Where is he? He saith, I know not.
13 They bring to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. [They
wanted to see how the Pharisees would deal with Jesus' miracles. See McGarvey's
"Credibility," page 112 f.]
14 Now it was the sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay, and opened
his eyes. [Such conduct on the Sabbath raised legal questions of which
the Pharisees were also the recognized judges.]
15 Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight.
And he said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and I
see. [The Pharisees ascertained no more than the neighbors had learned.]
16 Some therefore of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God, because
he keepeth not the sabbath. But others said, How can a man that is a sinner
do [463] such miracles? And there was
division among them. [The cause for division is apparent. One party
laid stress upon the Jewish tradition and judged Jesus a sinner because
he had violated them. The other party laid stress upon the sign or miracle
and argued that one who could do such things could not be a violator of
God's laws.] 17 They [both parties]
say therefore unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, in
that he opened thine eyes? [Each party asked the opinion of the blind
man, hoping to get something to aid their side of the argument--one party
trusting to the man's gratitude, and the other to his fear of the rulers.]
And he said, He is a prophet. [A far more pronounced confession
than that which he gave in verse 11.]
18 The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him, that he had been
blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him
that had received his sight. 19 and asked
them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth
he now see? [The man's advocacy of Jesus as prophet suggested to those
cunning diplomats that there was collusion between Jesus and the man, and
that the cure was fraudulent. They therefore denied the cure and sent for
the parents, to whom they put the threefold question as to sonship, blindness
and cure.] 20 His parents answered
and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind
[thus they answer clearly as to the first two points]:
21 but how he now seeth, we know not; or who opened his eyes, we know not:
ask him; he is of age; he shall speak for himself. [The emphasis in
this verse lies in the pronouns. Thus the parents timidly declined to answer
the third point, alleging that their son is old enough to answer for himself.]
22 These things said his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the
Jews had agreed [informally] already, that if any man should confess
that him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
[The parents, having heard the unrestrained, freely spoken account given
by their son as to his healing, had [464] no
doubt in their own minds as to who effected that healing. They therefore
declined to speak because of fear, and not through lack of knowledge.]
23 Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.
24 So [following the suggestion of the parents, and because a miracle
could not now be denied] they called a second time the man that was
blind, and said unto him, Give glory to God: we know that this man is a
sinner. [Taken in their English sense, these words would mean, "praise
God and not Jesus for what has been done," but the phrase "give God the
praise" is, in Hebrew usage, an adjuration to a criminal to confess his
guilt (Josh. vii. 9; I. Sam. vi. 5). The idea may then be paraphrased thus:
confess that you and Jesus have conspired to work a pretended miracle.
It is your best course, since we know all about the frauds of Jesus and
will soon unearth this one.] 25 He
therefore answered, Whether he is a sinner, I know not: one thing I know,
that, whereas I was blind, now I see. [As to the doings of Jesus, whether
fraudulent or not, he could not answer, but he could say that there was
no sham or deception about his eyesight.]
26 They said therefore unto him, What did he to thee? how opened he thine
eyes? 27 He answered them, I told you even
now, and ye did not hear; wherefore would ye hear it again? would ye also
become his disciples? [Perceiving that their boasted knowledge as to
the frauds of Jesus was untrue, and that they were even then questioning
him to obtain material to be used against Jesus, he declines to repeat
his statement and shows them that he understands their sinister motive
in questioning him by ironically asking them if they wished to become disciples
of Jesus.] 28 And they reviled him,
and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are disciples of Moses.
29 We know that God hath spoken unto Moses: but as for this man, we know
not whence he is. [In Jewish estimation, Moses stood next to God. To
forsake Moses for another prophet was to be an apostate. Such reviling
was a severe test, but the man stood it.]
30 The man answered and [465] said unto
them, Why, herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence he is, and yet
he opened mine eyes. [The man answers contempt with contempt; with
biting irony he declares that the miracle of his healing is no wonder at
all when compared with the fact that such wonderfully learned men should
be totally ignorant of so great a miracle-worker as Jesus. Thus he scorned
their superlative claim to infallible knowledge, expressed in verses 24
and 29.] 31 We know [he takes
up their style of speech] that God heareth not sinners: but if any man
be a worshipper of God, and do his will, him he heareth. [Such was
the teaching of the Old Testament--Prov. xv. 29; Isa. i. 15; Mic. iii.
4; Jas. v. 16, 17.] 32 Since the world
began it was never heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind.
[The Old Testament contains no record of such a miracle; the case stood
alone as a marvel of power.] 33 If
this man were not from God, he could do nothing. [He draws the same
conclusion which the better element of the Pharisees had drawn. See verse
16.] 34 They answered and said unto
him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? [They
give here the Jewish answer to the question asked in verse 2. Do you, so
stamped a sinner from birth, presume to teach us, the heads of Israel?
They had been denying that he had been blind; they now inconsistently taunt
him with blindness as an evidence of his sin.] And they cast him out.
[The vast majority of commentators take this as an immediate act, and hence
allege that the language refers to his being cast out of the hall or place
where they were assembled, and not to his being excommunicated. Their reason
for this is found in the fact that the man could not be excommunicated
without a formal meeting of the Sanhedrin. But there is nothing to show
that the act was not a deliberate one, including a formal meeting, etc.
We agree with DeWette that his expulsion from a hall "would not be important
enough to occasion verse 35."] 35
Jesus heard that they had cast him out [His was a sad plight, indeed.
To be put out of the synagogue [466] was to
be put on a level with the heathen, and to be left without a country or
a religious fellowship]; and finding him, he said, Dost thou
believe on the Son of God? [Being cut off from all that came through
Moses, Jesus was leading him into all that came through the Son of God.]
36 He answered and said, And who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?
[The form of the man's question showed that he regarded a knowledge of
the Son of God as a privilege beyond all hope or expectation, and the reply
of Jesus is suited to this idea.]
37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and he it is that
speaketh with thee. [Thus the unhoped for had been actually and sensually
realized. To the outcast of the synagogue here and to the outcast of the
nation at Jacob's well (John iv. 26), how fully Jesus revealed himself!]
38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
39 And Jesus said [not addressing anyone in particular, but rather
as summing up the whole incident], For judgment came I into this
world, that they that see not may see; and that they that see may become
blind. [The life course of Jesus attracted the needy and repelled the
self-satisfied, and was therefore a continuous judgment. Those conscious
of their deficiencies and ready to ask for light received it (verses 36-38),
while those satisfied with their own opinion became daily more blinded
by their bigotry. See verses 24 and 34, and Matt. xi. 25.]
40 Those of the Pharisees who were with him [not as disciples, but
for curiosity's sake] heard these things, and said unto him, Are we
also blind? 41 Jesus said unto them,
If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see: your sin
remaineth. [If you were conscious of your spiritual darkness, and sought
light, you either find it or not be blamed for your failure to do so. They
could see if they would, and were responsible for their blindness.] [467]
[FFG 461-467]
