John 9

Joh 9:1-41.

THE

OPENING OF THE

EYES OF

ONE

BORN

BLIND, AND

WHAT

FOLLOWED ON

IT.

1-5. as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from birth--and

who "sat begging"

(Joh 9:8).

2. who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind--not

in a former state of existence, in which, as respects the wicked, the

Jews did not believe; but, perhaps, expressing loosely that sin

somewhere had surely been the cause of this calamity.

3. Neither . . . this man, &c.--The cause was neither in himself

nor his parents, but, in order to the manifestation of "the works of

God," in his cure.

4. I must work the works of him that sent me, &c.--a most interesting

statement from the mouth of Christ; intimating, (1) that He had a

precise work to do upon earth, with every particular of it arranged and

laid out to Him; (2) that all He did upon earth was just "the works of

God"--particularly "going about doing good," though not exclusively

in His programme of instructions, so to speak; hence, (4) that as His

period for work had definite termination, so by letting any one service

pass by its allotted time, the whole would be disarranged, marred, and

driven beyond its destined period for completion; (5) that He acted ever

under the impulse of these considerations, as man--"the night cometh

when no man (or no one) can work." What lessons are here for others, and

what encouragement from such Example!

5. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the

world--not as if He would cease, after that, to be so; but that He

must make full proof of His fidelity while His earthly career lasted by

displaying His glory. "As before the raising of Lazarus

(Joh 11:25),

He announces Himself as the Resurrection and the Life, so now He

sets Himself forth as the source of the archetypal spiritual light, of

which the natural, now about to be conferred, is only a derivation and

symbol" [ALFORD].

6, 7. he spat on the ground, and made clay . . . and he anointed the

eyes of the blind man--These operations were not so incongruous in

their nature as might appear, though it were absurd to imagine that they

contributed in the least degree to the effect which followed.

(See

Mr 6:13

and see on

Joh 7:33.)

7. Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, . . . Sent,

&c.--(See

2Ki 5:10, 14).

As the prescribed action was purely symbolical in its design, so in

connection with it the Evangelist notices the symbolical name of the

pool as in this case bearing testimony to him who was sent to do

what it only symbolized. (See

Isa 8:6,

where this same pool is used figuratively to denote "the streams that

make glad the city of God," and which, humble though they be, betoken

a present God of Israel.)

8-15. The neighbours therefore . . . said, Is not this he that sat and

begged--Here are a number of details to identify the newly seeing with

the long-known blind beggar.

13. They brought to the Pharisees--sitting probably in council, and

chiefly of that sect

(Joh 7:47, 48).

16, 17. This man is not of God, &c.--(See on

Joh 5:9;

Joh 5:16).

Others said, &c.--such as Nicodemus and Joseph.

17. the blind man . . . said, He is a prophet--rightly viewing the

miracle as but a "sign" of His prophetic commission.

18-23. the Jews did not believe . . . he had been born

blind . . . till they called the parents of him that had

received his sight--Foiled by the testimony of the young man

himself, they hope to throw doubt on the fact by close questioning his

parents, who, perceiving the snare laid for them, ingeniously escape it

birth-blindness, leaving it to himself, as a competent witness, to

speak as to the cure. They prevaricated, however, in saying they "knew

not who had opened his eyes," for "they feared the Jews," who had come

to an understanding (probably after what is recorded,

Joh 7:50,

&c.; but by this time well known), that whoever owned Him as the Christ

would be put out of the synagogue--that is, not simply excluded,

but excommunicated.

24-34. Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner--not

wishing him to own, even to the praise of God, that a miracle had been

wrought upon him, but to show more regard to the honor of God than

ascribe any such act to one who was a sinner.

25. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, &c.--Not

that the man meant to insinuate any doubt in his own mind on the point

of His being "a sinner," but as his opinion on such a point would be

of no consequence to others, he would speak only to what he knew as

fact in his own case.

26. Then said they . . . again, What did he to thee? &c.--hoping by

repeated questions to ensnare him, but the youth is more than a match

for them.

27. I have told you already . . . will ye also be his disciples?--In

a vein of keen irony he treats their questions as those of anxious

inquirers, almost ready for discipleship! Stung by this, they retort

upon him as the disciple (and here they plainly were not wrong); for

themselves, they fall back upon Moses; about him there could be no

doubt; but who knew about this upstart?

30. The man answered, Herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not

from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes--He had no need to

say another word; but waxing bolder in defense of his Benefactor, and

his views brightening by the very courage which it demanded, he puts it

to them how they could pretend inability to tell whether one who opened

the eyes of a man born blind was "of God" or "a sinner"--from above or

from beneath--and proceeds to argue the case with remarkable power. So

irresistible was his argument that their rage burst forth in a speech of

intense Pharisaism, "Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou

teach us?"--thou, a base-born, uneducated, impudent youth, teach

us, the trained, constituted, recognized guides of the people in the

things of God! Out upon thee!

31. they cast him out--judicially, no doubt, as well in fact. The

allusion to his being "born in sins" seems a tacit admission of his

being blind from birth--the very thing they had been so unwilling to

own. But rage and enmity to truth are seldom consistent in their

outbreaks. The friends of this excommunicated youth, crowding around him

with their sympathy, would probably express surprise that One who could

work such a cure should be unable to protect his patient from the

persecution it had raised against him, or should possess the power

without using it. Nor would it be strange if such thoughts should arise

in the youth's own mind. But if they did, it is certain, from what

follows, that they made no lodgment there, conscious as he was that

"whereas he was blind, now he saw," and satisfied that if his Benefactor

"were not of God, He could do nothing"

(Joh 9:33).

There was a word for him too, which, if whispered in his ear from the

oracles of God, would seem expressly designed to describe his case, and

prepare him for the coming interview with his gracious Friend. "Hear

the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His word. Your brethren

that hated you, that cast you out for My name's sake, said, Let the

Lord be glorified; BUT HE SHALL

APPEAR TO YOUR JOY, and they shall be ashamed"

(Isa 66:5).

But how was He engaged to whom such noble testimony had been given, and

for whom such persecution had been borne? Uttering, perhaps, in secret,

"with strong crying and tears," the words of the prophetic psalm, "Let

not them that wait on Thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my

sake; let none that seek Thee be confounded for my sake, O God of

Israel; because for Thy sake I have borne reproach . . . and

the reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon me"

(Ps 69:6, 7, 9).

35-38. Jesus heard--that is, by intelligence brought Him.

that they had cast him out; and when he had found him--by accident?

Not very likely. Sympathy in that breast could not long keep aloof from

its object.

he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?--A question

stretching purposely beyond his present attainments, in order the more

quickly to lead him--in his present teachable frame--into the highest

truth.

36. He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on

him?--"His reply is affirmative, and believing by anticipation, promising

faith as soon as Jesus shall say who He is" [STIER].

37. Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him--the new sense of

sight having at that moment its highest exercise, in gazing upon "the

Light of the world."

38. he said, Lord, I believe: and he worshipped him--a

faith and a worship, beyond doubt, meant to express far

more than he would think proper to any human "prophet"

(Joh 9:17)

--the unstudied, resistless expression, probably of SUPREME faith and adoration, though without the full

understanding of what that implied.

39-41. Jesus said--perhaps at the same time, but after a crowd,

including some of the skeptical and scornful rulers, had, on seeing

Jesus talking with the healed youth, hastened to the spot.

that they which see not might see, &c.--rising to that

sight of which the natural vision communicated to the youth was

but the symbol. (See on

Joh 9:5,

and compare

Lu 4:18).

that they which see might be made blind--judicially incapable of

apprehending and receiving the truth, to which they have wilfully shut

their eyes.

40. Are we blind also?--We, the constituted, recognized guides of

the people in spiritual things? pride and rage prompting the question.

41. If ye were blind--wanted light to discern My claims, and only

waited to receive it.

ye should have no sin--none of the guilt of shutting out the light.

ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth--Your claim to possess

light, while rejecting Me, is that which seals you up in the guilt of

unbelief.