When the blessed Evangelist is making it manifest to us that they were immoderately vexed at the making of clay on the sabbath, he fitly hints at the absurdity of the thing, by adding: Now it was the sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay. > > 15 Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him, How didst thou receive thy sight?
They busy themselves about the manner of the healing, stirring up as it were the fire of malice which was in them to a greater heat, and ask unnecessary questions, not failing, as it seems to me, to recognize the miracle. For is it not altogether absurd to suppose that they, who had come bringing to them the man who aforetime was blind, had not expressed at all the reason for which they had brought him? But as if they were not sufficient to accuse Christ, the magistrates compel him to confess with his own mouth what had been done, believing that by this means the malicious accusation would have greater force. For observe that they do not ask simply and barely if he had been healed, but they seek rather to hear how he received his sight; this was what they were particularly anxious to hear:----"He made clay, and anointed mine eyes." For it was in this that they foolishly conceived all the transgression of the law to lie, and imagining that laws from above were violated, they thought they were righteously vexed, and that punishment ought to be inflicted on Him Who vexed them.
> > And he said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes and I washed, and do see.
" For it was in this that they foolishly conceived all the transgression of the law to lie, and imagining that laws from above were violated, they thought they were righteously vexed, and that punishment ought to be inflicted on Him Who vexed them. > > And he said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes and I washed, and do see.
They receive eagerly, as if it were a sort of food for their envy, his confession of the marvel, and gladly seize upon the excuse for their rage against Jesus. For the man who had been blind relates everything on this occasion |26 very simply, and speaks very abruptly, in brief expressions praising as. it were his Physician: for he is somewhat astounded at the nature of the deed. Probably he may have thought in his mind that Jesus had miraculously enabled him to see by anointing him with clay, an unusual medicament; and it seems to me that it was very significantly and with sharp meaning that he said He made clay, and anointed mine eyes. For it was as though one might suppose him to say: I know that I am speaking to a malicious audience, but nevertheless I will not on that account conceal the truth. I will requite my Benefactor with my thanks; I will be above unseasonable silence. I will honour by my confession the Physician, Who did not trouble me by an elaborate process of healing, or perform the operation by the knife and surgery, or effect what was necessary by compound mixtures of drugs, or adopt any ordinary method, but rather exhibited His power by strange devices. He made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. It is perhaps worthy of notice that the man very rightly added, as the climax to his description of these events, the words: And do see. For it is almost as though he said: I will prove to you that the power of the Healer was not exerted in vain; I will not deny the favour I received, for I now possess what I formerly longed for; I, he says, who was blind from birth and afflicted from the womb, having been anointed with clay, am healed, and do see. That is, I do not merely shew you my eye opened, concealing the darkness in its depth, but I really see. I am henceforth able to look upon the things which formerly I could only hear about. Lo! the bright light of the sun is shining around me: lo! the beauty of strange sights surrounds my eye. A short time ago I scarcely knew what Jerusalem was like; now I see glittering in her the temple of God, and I behold in its midst the truly venerable altar. And if I stood outside the gate, I could look around on the country of Judea, and should recognise one thing as a hill and another as a tree. And when the time changes to evening, my eye will no longer fail to notice |27 the beauty of the wondrous objects on high, the brilliant company of the stars, and the golden light of the moon. Thereupon I shall be amazed at the skill of Him Who made them; from the beauty of the creatures I as well as others shall acknowledge the Great Creator. So that however little breadth of imagination or elegance of argument he uttered, his language is pregnant with all this power when he adds: and do see, after saying: He made clay and anointed mine eyes. For the preacher's style of argument, which we employ, does not exclude all that is graceful in imagination, or reject it as useless. He therefore who had received mercy from Christ, when questioned before the priests, speaks as we have said, declaring in a truly innocent manner, and to the best of his ability, the power of the One Who had healed him.
> > 16 Some therefore of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God, because he keepeth not the sabbath.
In their folly they say He is not from God, Who has the power to work the works of God; and although they see the Son crowned with an equal measure of glory with the Almighty Father, they are not ashamed unreasonably to cast upon him the blame of impiety; and disregarding the report of the miracle, they attack the Wonder-worker with their peculiar envy, and carelessly accuse as an evildoer Him Who knew no sin. They foolishly believe the whole law to have been broken by His daring to move one finger on the sabbath, although they would themselves loose their ox from the stall and lead it away to water; moreover, if a sheep fell into a pit, as it is written, with much eagerness they would lift it out. So they strain out the gnat, according to the Saviour's word; for this was their ordinary custom. With much folly and very desperately they do not give credit to Christ for the marvellous deed, nor from the work of healing do they henceforth acknowledge Him to be what He is; but they cavil pettily about the sabbath, and, as if in their opinion all virtue was observed by merely remaining unemployed on the sabbath, |28 they totally deny His relationship to God, saying that He was not from God; although they ought rather to have understood that the One before them had authority over His own laws, and that it was pleasing and acceptable to God to do good even on the sabbath, and not to leave without hope one who needed mercy. For whenever will any of you refuse to praise the doer of good deeds, or what set time can exercise a tyranny against virtue? Yet while they admire the ancient hero Joshua, who captured Jericho on the sabbath, and commanded their forefathers to do such things as are customary for conquerors, and himself by no means observed the proper sabbath rest; they persistently attack Christ, and as their personal ill-feeling prompted them, not only strive to take away from Him the glory due to God, but also to rob Him of the honour due to holy men. And being stirred up by their mere malice to speak very inconsiderately, they pour forth a charge of impiety against Him Who justifies the world, and for that very purpose came from the Father to us.
> > But others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such signs? And there was a division among them.
And being stirred up by their mere malice to speak very inconsiderately, they pour forth a charge of impiety against Him Who justifies the world, and for that very purpose came from the Father to us. > > But others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such signs? And there was a division among them.
Even these still think too meanly, speaking and reckoning as of a mere man; only, being convinced by the marvellous deed, they give the palm to Christ rather than to the law; and, putting the proof afforded by the Divine sign in opposition to the sabbath rest on this occasion, they appear in a better light as just judges. Yet, was it not acting greatly in opposition to the precepts laid down respecting the sabbath, to withdraw altogether the charge of transgression, and to acquit Him of sin, Who had not hesitated, when He thought fit, to do something even on the sabbath? But, coming to this conclusion by reasoning which seems unanswerable and has much common sense in it, they argue thus. For it is manifest and acknowledged beyond question, that to those who neglect the Divine law, and set at nought precepts ratified from on high, God would never give the power to achieve |29 anything wonderful. To Christ, however, in the opinion of the Jews, He gave such power, although He slighted the law respecting the sabbath. Certainly the doing something on the sabbath, does not necessarily involve sin, but neither can any one doubt that the doing of good works is far better than remaining unemployed on that day. At all events, as the Saviour Himself somewhere else says, it is permitted to the Levites to minister on the sabbath, and they exercise their functions on that day without blame, or rather their remaining unemployed would be blamable. For would any one find fault if they were detected sacrificing oxen on the sabbath, or even attending to other kinds of offerings? He would on the other hand more probably accuse them if they were not doing their duty and fulfilling the regulations of Divine service. When therefore things dedicated according to the law for the good of certain persons are brought to the Divine altar even on the sabbath without prohibition, is it not more fitting still that a kind action should be performed unto a man, for whose sake the marvellous deed might be acceptable even on the sabbath? By just reasoning therefore, some of the Jews are inclined to an excellent judgment, and putting off by an effort from the eyes of their understanding the mist of ignorance that characterises their nation, they admire the glory of the Saviour, (although as yet not very ardently, for they speak of Him less worthily than they ought;) and they separate themselves from those who are actually condemning Him. For the one part unholily allowed themselves to be swayed by envy more than by just reasoning, and treat as a transgression that which in its nature could not in any wise be blamed; whereas the others, rightly considering the nature of the action, condemn such a foolish accusation.
It is of course possible that it was with reference to some other matter that they chose to say: How can a man that is a sinner do such signs? Perhaps, to put it briefly, they are eager to defend the general practice of holy men. For, say they, if we allow that it is quite possible |30 for habitual transgressors to make themselves glorious by extraordinary actions and to be seen working marvellous deeds, what is there any longer to hinder those fond of making accusations from bringing charges against most of the prophets, or indeed by and bye attacking the blessed Moses himself, and lightly esteeming one so venerable, even though he was borne witness to by the most mighty actions of all? These men therefore may be contending for the reputation of the fathers as at stake in Christ, treating the circumstances respecting Him as a sort of pretext for shewing their love towards them.
> > 17 They say therefore unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of Him, in that He opened thine eyes?
These men therefore may be contending for the reputation of the fathers as at stake in Christ, treating the circumstances respecting Him as a sort of pretext for shewing their love towards them. > > 17 They say therefore unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of Him, in that He opened thine eyes?
They imagine those who are disposed to judge fairly to be wandering in their wits, and they seem to me to have forgotten altogether Him Who says: Judge righteous judgment; and having been taken captive as it were in the bonds of envy, they cannot endure to listen at all to any word that honours Christ. Turning away from any one wishing to speak of His miracles as from some one most hostile to themselves, and mistrusting their own powers of explanation, they haughtily address their words to the man that had been healed. Again they ask what had been many times told them, having already proclaimed their belief that He Who had performed an action contrary to the sabbath was both worthless and wicked. They think that in this way the blind man will join them in condemning Him, and take his cue from their words; that he will suppress all outward signs of gratitude, out of fear and trembling before their anger, and readily charge Jesus with contempt of the law, because of its being the sabbath. Evil therefore was the design of the Pharisees, and it cannot be doubted that it was foolish also. For how could the voice of one thankless man weaken the force of the miracle? And would not Christ's Divine glory appear, if it so happened that the blind man, overcome by fear, should deny the kindness he had received, in order to |31 avoid suffering anything from those wont to inflict pain? But envy is powerful to persuade those who are bursting with it to eagerly do any thing in their passion, even though it involves conduct very fairly open to ridicule. The mind which is free from such thoughts, however, is not entangled by foolish arguments; but, ever preserving its natural excellence untarnished, is borne directly towards a right conclusion, and does not go beyond the limits of troth. Mean therefore and insolent are the Pharisees, thinking that those who choose to think and speak rightly are wandering in their wits, and endeavouring to compel the man to speak evil words concerning Him Who had miraculously bestowed on him an unhoped-for blessing. But he was disposed to express gratitude and had been brought nigh to a clear knowledge by means of the miracle.
> > And he said, He is a prophet.
Mean therefore and insolent are the Pharisees, thinking that those who choose to think and speak rightly are wandering in their wits, and endeavouring to compel the man to speak evil words concerning Him Who had miraculously bestowed on him an unhoped-for blessing. But he was disposed to express gratitude and had been brought nigh to a clear knowledge by means of the miracle. > > And he said, He is a prophet.
They receive a sharp arrow into their hearts, who do not admit fair and just reasoning, and are eager to seek that only which gratifies their malice. For, as it is written, the crafty man shall not meet with prey. For their zealous design is upset, contrary to their expectation; and they are greatly disappointed of their hope when to their surprise they receive the reply: He is a prophet. For the man who had been healed, judging very rightly, agrees with the opinion of the other party. For they, not unwisely considering the nature of the action, maintain that a man who was a sinner could not perform such a deed: and he upon whom the marvel has been wrought, all but pursuing the same track of argument, declares Jesus to be a prophet, not yet having accurately learned Who He is in truth, but adopting a notion current among the Jews. For it was customary with them to call wonder-workers prophets, deeming that their holiness was thereby borne witness to by God. Accordingly, just as they wisely determine not to dishonour the majesty of the Divine sign oat of reverence for the sabbath, but argue from it that |32 He Who wrought it was altogether guiltless of sin; so also I suppose this man, thrusting aside the petty cavil respecting the sabbath, with worthier thoughts gives glory to Him Who had freely given him sight, and, having allotted him a place amongst holy men, calls him a prophet. He seems to me, moreover, not to have thought too highly of the regulations of the law; for [otherwise] he would not have admired Jesus so much, or raised his Physician to the rank of a prophet in spite of his apparent transgression of the sabbatical law. Having certainly derived benefit from the marvellous deed, and having arrived at a better state of mind than that of the Jews, he is therefore obliged to admit a superiority to legal observances in the Wonder-worker, Who, in doing good works, deemed an infringement of the law altogether blameless.
> > 18, 19 The Jews 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, and asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?
The envy against the Healer which is hot within them does not allow them to believe what is acknowledged by all; and, swayed by the frenzy of madness, they of course care little for the discovery of truth, and speak falsely against Christ. First they applied pressure to the man himself, and now they are seen to be no less rashly distressing his parents, but with the very opposite result to that which they intended. They propose a most superfluous question to the man's parents, and they seem to me, in their unbounded folly, to dishonour the very law which they so venerated and so extravagantly upheld. For the neighbours, as it is written, brought him that aforetime was blind, and setting him face to face with those who were asking these questions, they reported most clearly that he had been born blind, and bore witness that now he had received sight. Thus, whereas the law distinctly says that every matter is established by the mouth of two or |33 three witnesses, they set aside the testimony not merely of two or three but probably of many more, and go for further evidence to the parents of him who was healed, thus acting contrary to the law as well as to good manners. But the law is nothing to them when they are eager to accomplish something agreeable to their private pleasures. For when the testimony borne to the miracle, by the voices both of the neighbours and of the man who was healed, put them out of countenance sorely against their will; they expected to be able to persuade those now being questioned, to make light of truth, and rather to speak as they wished them to speak. For see in how overbearing a manner they put their question, saying: Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? For they all but avow their certain intention to treat them very dreadfully, and they frighten them with unbounded fear, calling as it were by compulsion and violence for that which they wished to hear, namely the answer: "He was not born blind." For they had but one object and that an impious one, namely, to loosen the hold which Christ had on the multitudes, and to turn away the simple faith of such as were now overcome with admiration. And just as men who strive to take some well-fortified city environ it on every side and besiege it in all manner of ways; at one time they are eager to undermine the foundations, at another they strike blows with battering-rams against the towers: so the shameless Pharisees lay siege to the miracle with all their evil devices and leave no method of impiety untried. But it was not possible to disparage as unworthy of credit what was well known to all, or to distort that at which many had marvelled into a less certain conviction.
> > 20, 21 His parents answered and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: but how he now seeth, we know not; or who opened his eyes, we know not: ask him; he is of age to speak for himself.
They acknowledge as true that which was in no wise doubtful and for which it was hardly likely they would |34 suffer anything disagreeable; for they say that they recognise their own offspring, and do not deny what really was the case at his birth, but distinctly affirm that he was born with the affliction. Nevertheless they shrink from relating the miracle, leaving the nature of the deed to speak for itself, and maintaining that it would be much more suitable to put the question as to how he had been healed to their son himself. Fear of danger is certainly a powerful motive to turn men aside from what it befits them to do. Being greatly alarmed by the harshness of the Pharisees, they do not observe that which is somewhere well said: Strive for the truth unto death. It is likely that they did suffer something of another sort; for the poor man is always timid, and, losing through, his poverty the power to offer bold resistance, often takes refuge in an unwilling silence, and a forced acquiescence: as if already completely crushed in spirit by the vexation of poverty, he seems insensible to being burdened with other misfortunes. We suspect that the parents of the blind man suffered something of this sort, even though their answer on the whole is composed with great plausibility. For every one would agree that the recognition of the man as their son was a matter as to which it was far more reasonable to interrogate them than the man himself, whereas the question as to the Physician was one not so much, for the parents to answer as for him who had experienced the benefit of the wonderful operation. Thus they distinctly acknowledge what they know, inasmuch as they are fairly called upon for this; but what he could tell more truly, since he had the more accurate knowledge, about that they call upon him to give information. And it is not without Divine guidance. I think, that they added to their speech the words: He is of age. For this too seems to indicate the impiety of the Pharisees. Because, if he that received sight was qualified by his time of life to form a sound opinion; when he relates the miracle and how he was treated, he will not speak with the mind of a boy, but with an understanding now well matured, and probably |35 able to support by argument those speakers with whom he agrees. This then will of necessity tend to shew the utterly shameless incredulity of the Pharisees. For behold! they will believe neither the neighbours nor the blind man himself, although it is not with an immature intellect that he gives evidence, nor on account of a boyish understanding does he easily glide into falsehood; but he is of age, a fact which prevents his being ignorant of the nature of affairs.
> > 22 These things said his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man should confess Him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
Well and fitly does our Lord Jesus the Christ utter this woe at the heads of the Pharisees: Woe unto you lawyers! for ye took away the hey of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. For again let the devout person consider if the beauty of truth will not correspond to these words; for Christ could never be deceived. For behold! besides the unwillingness of any one of them to teach the doctrine of the presence of the Christ among them, they both terrify with cruel fear those who could perceive Him by the brilliance of His actions, and, by imposing a severe compulsion in their savageness, hinder any member of their company who seemed disposed to do so from acknowledging His miracles. For by putting out of the synagogue him who was right-minded and therefore disposed to believe, the wretches do not blush of their own authority to alienate in a manner from God him who cleaves to God; and to persuade him that the Lord of all is a partaker of the madness against all which they themselves possess. The admirable Evangelist however defends such, and says that the persons questioned were overcome by fear and therefore unwilling to say that the Christ had healed their son: so that by exposing the magnitude of the fury of the Jews, he might make it evident to those that come after. For what could be more inhuman than the conduct of these men, who deem right-minded persons worthy of |36 punishment, and bring under the necessity of being punished, such as at all understand Him Who was proclaimed by the Law and the Prophets? And we shall find from the sacred Scriptures that the unholy design of the Jews was not unknown to the holy Prophets. For He Who searcheth the hearts and reins, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart, to Whom all things are naked and laid open, saith by Isaiah: Woe to the rebellious children: thus saith the Lord, Ye took counsel, but not of Me; ye made covenants, but not by My Spirit; to add sin to sin. For he who saith that Jesus is Lord most certainly will speak in the Holy Spirit, according to the words of Paul; but any one who professes the contrary will not speak in the Holy Spirit, (how could it be possible? ) but rather in Beelzebub. Surely then the covenants of the Jews were not made by the Holy Spirit, for they added sins to sins. They first of all draw down the doom of disobedience upon their own heads, and then they communicate it to others by forbidding them to confess the Christ. Surely the design is full of the grossest impiety, albeit the Psalmist laughs at those who to their disappointment engage in a fruitless undertaking, saying: Thou O Lord shalt confound them in Thy wrath, and the fire shall devour them; their fruit shalt Thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men: for they intended evil against Thee; they imagined a device which they are not able to perform. For they were quite unable to carry out a design which fought against God, although often and in ten thousand ways they attempted to obscure the glory of Christ.
Therefore they were turned back, that is, were driven from the face and presence of the Lord of all, justly being addressed with the words: Walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which ye kindled.
> > 24 So 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.
Therefore they were turned back, that is, were driven from the face and presence of the Lord of all, justly being addressed with the words: Walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which ye kindled. > > 24 So 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.
Being unable to stop the man from speaking well of |37 Christ, they attempt to attain a similar end by another method, and proceed to entice him in a sort of coaxing way to fulfil their private aim. Trying by many arguments to make him forget Christ altogether, and not even mention Him as a Physician, they say most craftily that he ought to ascribe glory to God on account of the marvellous deed, thus pretending piety. Nevertheless they bid him agree with and believe themselves, even when they maintain the highest impiety possible by saying that He is a sinner, Who came to destroy sin. They bring forward no proof whatever of this slanderous assertion, but being boasters and thinking something great and extraordinary of themselves, merely because they were leaders of the people, they command implicit confidence to be put in their discernment of character, and lay it down as a matter of duty. For the words, We know, will be found pregnant with surpassing arrogance by those who closely examine what they imply. But thou mayest in no small degree wonder at the foolish mind of the Jews from this also, that whereas they decree that glory should be ascribed to God on account of the miracle, since He alone is the doer of such deeds, they condemn One Who works the works of God by His own might; and not only do the miserable people act thus themselves, but they compel others to agree with them. Yet when they aver that by their own unaided knowledge they are sure that Christ is a sinner, they are ignorant that they assert something most harmful to themselves. For, being wont to boast greatly of their learning in the Law, and exhibiting intolerable conceit about the Sacred Scriptures, they will suffer a greater penalty; because, it being in their power to know the mystery of Christ, which by the Law and the Prophets in many ways is typified and proclaimed, they with much heedlessness cling to their self-imposed ignorance; or, if they possess accurate knowledge, are always most pertinaciously unwilling to do what they ought. For they ought rather to instruct the mind of the common people to comprehend the mysteries of Christ, and to try to lead |38 others to the knowledge of what it behoved them to know. But they, profuse in arguments and mighty in boasts, and crying out with far too high an opinion of themselves: We know, set aside the words of the Law, account the voice of Moses as nothing, and think the declarations of prophets to be as vain as those of the thoughtless mob; for they quite fail to take notice of what the voice of the prophet foretels will happen at the time of Our Saviour Christ's coming, for he says: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear; then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall be distinct. For the paralytic was healed at the pool of Bethesda, and after passing through thirty and eight years in his infirmity, as it is written, by one word of the Saviour he took up his bed and leaped away like a hart: yet when they ought to have admired Jesus for that, they lamented the breach of the sabbath, and, holding that the law had been transgressed, disparaged the excellence of the miracle.
At another time, when an evil spirit had been cast out of him, the dumb man spake; but they fell into such terrible folly as not to gain even a little profit from it. The blind man received sight, the prophetic announcement was fulfilled, the word of the Spirit was brought to pass to the uttermost, and what? Again at this they go mad, they condemn the Wonder-worker, they attribute sin to Him Who is able to shine forth with Divine brightness, and Who displays as actually now present that which had been expected long ages before.
> > 25 He therefore answered, Whether He be a sinner, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
Again at this they go mad, they condemn the Wonder-worker, they attribute sin to Him Who is able to shine forth with Divine brightness, and Who displays as actually now present that which had been expected long ages before. > > 25 He therefore answered, Whether He be a sinner, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
The benefit which the man formerly blind had received from Christ appears to have been twofold: his understanding was in some way enlightened at the same time as his bodily eyes, and as he possesses the, light of the physical sun in his fleshly eyes, so the intellectual beam, I mean the illumination by the Spirit, takes up its abode |39 within him, and he receives it into his heart. For hear how he resists the abominable conduct of the magistrates out of his great love towards Christ, and how cleverly he reproaches them as being well-nigh intoxicated and beside themselves. But he frames h.is speech with proper respectfulness, and giving them their due honour as the ruling order, courteously says: Whether He he a sinner, I know not. We do not argue from this that the man was unaware that Jesus was not a sinner, but shall rather suppose that he so addressed those men with the following design. For he may be imagined to speak thus. Though compelled against my will to acquiesce in what is wrong, I will not endure to slander my Benefactor: I will not join myself to those who wish to dishonour Him Who deserves all honour: I will not say that such a Wonderworker is a sinner: I will not give an unjust vote against One Who is mighty to work the works of God. The miracle wrought in me does not permit me to consent to your words: I was blind and I see. It is not another man's account of His doings that I have believed: I am not carried away by the reports of mere strangers: it is not cures effected upon others that I am led to admire. I myself, he says, am a proof of His power: I stand here seeing, having been formerly blind, as a sort of monument, exhibiting the excellence of His love for men, and flashing forth the greatness of His Divine power. Something like this I conceive to be the real significance of the words used by him who had received his sight. For to say: Whether he be a sinner I know not; and immediately to add: One thing I know, that, whereas I was Mind, now I see, is not in the style of a simple statement, but shews a deeper meaning of very wise reasoning.
> > 26 They said therefore unto him again, What did He to thee? how opened He thine eyes?
For to say: Whether he be a sinner I know not; and immediately to add: One thing I know, that, whereas I was Mind, now I see, is not in the style of a simple statement, but shews a deeper meaning of very wise reasoning. > > 26 They said therefore unto him again, What did He to thee? how opened He thine eyes?
They again resort to questioning, and inquire about the manner of the Divine sign; not doing this out of good feeling or a laudable curiosity, but placing and reckoning |40 the speaking well of Christ by any living being as baser than any villainy and worse than any wickedness, they stir up all these matters afresh; thinking perhaps that the man would no more repeat the same words, but would vary his account of the event, and say something inconsistent with his former answers, so that they might lay hold of the contradiction and denounce him as an impostor and a liar. For, supercilious in their excessive cleverness, they imagined the force of the miracle to depend on the mere words of the man, as though it were not evident from the fact of what had been done. And moreover, I think that they may have experienced something of this sort: such as are not backward in hating others unjustly, when they are making inquiries about anything done by them which does not seem to have been rightly done, wish to hear it from the witnesses not once only but over and over again, whetting as it were into keener action the anger which seems too feeble. For, conscience, ever testing our motives, makes us uncomfortable, and ceases not to accuse us of injustice, even though from passionate prejudice we may feel a certain pleasure in the unjust action. The man who had been healed is accordingly provoked and urged against his will to go over the story again and to answer the same questions, while they almost make signs to one another to observe closely whether something illegal might not have been done in the working of this Divine sign on the sabbath. For conscience checks the savage design that rages within them, and (so to speak) puts a bridle on them, though they are unwilling to admit its interference.
> > 27 He answered them, I told yon even now, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again?
For conscience checks the savage design that rages within them, and (so to speak) puts a bridle on them, though they are unwilling to admit its interference. > > 27 He answered them, I told yon even now, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again?
It seems superfluous now, he says, to tell the story over again to an incredulous audience, and it is useless for you to inquire so often concerning these things, when you do not gain anything whatever, although you learn and have conclusive evidence. But you bid me now again reiterate |41 the same words for no good purpose, as experience proclaims. For hereby the man who had been healed thoroughly convicts the Pharisees of unreasonableness, of turning away their ears from the truth, as it is written, not being laudably angry at the law being broken, but by these questions bidding him who wished to speak well of the Wonder-worker to appear in the character of an accuser, rather than accepting him as an admirer. For this was in truth their aim, since the transgression of the law was altogether a matter of indifference to them, and passed over as quite unimportant. On this account they set aside just judgment and were only bent on gratifying their prejudice; forgetting God, Who says: The priest's lips shall guard judgment and they shall seek the law at his mouth.
> > Would ye also become His disciples?
He has now confessed distinctly, and without any evasion, that he has been made a disciple, if not by argument yet in consequence of the marvellous deed; and has become a believer, accepting his miraculous sight in the place of instruction. For when he said to them: Would ye also become His disciples? he as it were revealed his own condition of mind, that he was not only willing to become, but actually had already become, a disciple. And in some degree even before he had fulness of faith, acting upon the precept: Freely ye received, freely give, he was prepared at once and very unselfishly to communicate his advantages to them. He affirms unhesitatingly and often his account of the marvellous deed, if they had only considered his narrative really as instruction. He certainly therefore observed in an excellent way that in the Book of Proverbs: He speaketh in the ears of them that hear.
It seems probable that some deep and hidden meaning is obscurely intimated in these words of his, and I will briefly state what it is. There were some of the magistrates who recognised that the Wonder-worker was in truth Christ, but keeping their knowledge of Him buried (so to speak) within their hearts, they as yet were |42 unsuspected by the majority of their companions. And our witness will be the wise Evangelist himself, where he says that the rulers knew that He was the Christ, hut hecause of the Pharisees they did not confess it. The proofs of this will be strengthened also to some extent by Nicodemus, boldly exclaiming and saying to Our Lord Jesus Christ: Rabbi, we know that Thou art a Teacher come from God, and that no man can do these signs that Thou doest, except God be with Him. Certainly therefore some of the rulers knew, and the report of this was spread abroad throughout all Jerusalem. The majority of the Jews suspected that the rulers knew, but were determined not to confess it through malice and envy; and that this also is true, we will shew from the evangelical writings themselves. For the blessed John himself somewhere says that Jesus stood teaching in the very temple and explaining things which, at least to the understanding of His hearers, seemed to be breaking the law. And when the magistrates of the Jews did not proceed at all against Him, nay, did not venture so much as to say: "O fellow, cease teaching what does not harmonize with our ancient laws," they brought suspicion on themselves among the multitudes as we have just observed. Thus for instance it is written: Some of them of Jerusalem said, Is not this He Whom they seek to kill? And lo, He speaketh openly and they say nothing unto Him. Can it he that the rulers know that this is the Christ? Surely he all but says, "Those whose lot it is to be leaders know that He is indeed the Christ; see, although they are generally considered to be desirous of killing Him, He is speaking with very great boldness and they do not rebuke Him even so much as by words." Accordingly, this suspicion being spread abroad through all Jerusalem, the blind man had at some time heard it, and had this report about these men ringing in his ears. Gracefully therefore reproving them, as we may suppose, he says: "Surely it is to no purpose that ye bid me again utter the same words and again speak the praise of the marvellous deed: or do ye indeed consider the narrative a pleasure, thirsting even |43 now for instruction from Him, although, overcome by fear of others, ye allow ungrateful cowardice to stand in the way of such excellent knowledge?"
Gracefully therefore reproving them, as we may suppose, he says: "Surely it is to no purpose that ye bid me again utter the same words and again speak the praise of the marvellous deed: or do ye indeed consider the narrative a pleasure, thirsting even |43 now for instruction from Him, although, overcome by fear of others, ye allow ungrateful cowardice to stand in the way of such excellent knowledge? "
> > 28 And they reviled him, and said, Thou art His disciple; but we are disciples of Moses.
We almost see the Evangelist smile as he says this. For he beholds those whose lot it was to hold sacred offices degraded in mental stupor so far as to make an object of reviling that which was so excellent, namely discipleship under Christ; smitten with a worthy love of which, some of the saints say: How sweet are Thy words unto my throat, sweeter than honey and honeycomb unto my mouth. And again another, as if speaking to Our Lord Jesus the Christ concerning those that disobey Him, says: Consume them, and Thy word shall be to me a pleasure and delight, yea the joy of my heart. But they attach no value to His sacred words, and think that one who is being instructed by Him is worthy of blame even on that account alone; and holding so far true opinions even against themselves, they speak of the Christ as the blind man's teacher, and Moses as their own. For in very truth the Gentiles were illuminated by Christ through the Evangelical teaching, and Israel died in the types given by Moses and was buried in the shadow of the letter. Wherefore also Paul somewhere says of them: Unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil lieth upon their heart. And there is no doubt that it was as a type of the Gentiles that we were as in a picture delineating the history of the blind man, fashioning, as in a type, the incidents connected with him to express the truth concerning them.
Yet this also is signified, that to suffer reproach for Christ's sake is a thing delightful and most honourable; for the very means by which those who do not shrink from becoming persecutors think to vex those who love Him, become (though the persecutors know it not) sources of joy to them. Yea, those who persecute Christians cause their excellence to shine more conspicuously, and do not |44 so easily succeed in causing them injury. The abandoned Pharisees then, disparaging as seems probable themselves more than Christ, say of the blind man: Thou art His disciple; and being elated and puffed up with pride, foolishly say of themselves: 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.
The abandoned Pharisees then, disparaging as seems probable themselves more than Christ, say of the blind man: Thou art His disciple; and being elated and puffed up with pride, foolishly say of themselves: 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.
Boldly do they speak again, armed with that folly which is so familiar and dear to them; and in undiminished shamelessness they once more boastfully exclaim: We know. And when they add: that God hath spoken unto Moses, thereby recognising that he deserved great honour, they in another way again insult him, seeing that they take no account of his precepts. For they ignorantly condemn One Whom as yet they know not, or rather they dishonour Him in spite of what they have learnt concerning Him, although the Law forbids them to act unjustly and quarrelsomely towards any or to judge at all in this way. Something of this sort they say again now: "confessedly God hath spoken unto Moses; there is no sufficient reason for any to be in doubt on this point; He enacted laws by him, and laid down regulations how every thing is to be done. Certainly therefore, he says, he is a transgressor of the sacred Scriptures, who has contrary opinions to those expressed by Moses: and manifestly the law concerning the sabbath has been broken, for thou wast healed on the sabbath: it is righteous not to acknowledge one who is detected in this matter and therefore condemned. Now we have good reason to say that He has not observed the Divine law. " Then, when they say of Christ: We know not whence He is, they surely do not say so as being ignorant Who or whence He was, for they are elsewhere found publicly confessing that they know all about Him. Is not this the carpenter's Son, Whose father and mother we know? How then doth He say, I am come down out of heaven? Certainly therefore we can not accept this statement: We know not whence He is, as indicative of ignorance, |45 but we shall look upon it as the expression of the arrogance which was in them. For, throwing contempt on their own previous judgment, and setting it altogether at naught, they make this statement concerning Him. Perhaps indeed their words indicate that they argued as follows; for it is only fair to their arguments that we should scrutinise them more carefully. "We know," say they, "that God has spoken unto Moses: certainly therefore we must believe without hesitation what was spoken by him, and observe the commandments given him from God. But this Man we know not, for God hath not spoken unto Him, nor have we recognised any such thing with regard to Him. " But the Pharisees, wont to be wise in their own conceit, and boasting much of their knowledge of the Divine word, ought to have considered that God the Father thus speaks, when by the all-wise Moses He proclaims the future advent of Jesus: I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak unto them as I shall command Him. And whatever man shall not hearken to whatsoever that Prophet shall speak in My Name, I will take vengeance on him.
Surely any one might have rebuked the Jews with good reason, and said: O ye who only know how to disbelieve, if ye are so readily persuaded by the words of Moses, because God hath spoken unto him, ought ye not to believe Christ in the same way, when ye hear Him publicly declaring: The words that I say unto you are not Mine, but the Father's Who sent Me; and again: I speak not from Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He hath given Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. Certainly therefore the words of the Pharisees are a mere excuse, a fiction of vain reasoning. For if they say they ought rather to follow Moses, on this account, that God spake to him; why do they not think similarly with regard to Christ, when He distinctly says what we have just mentioned? But while in part they honour the law, and pretend to hold God's will in high esteem, in another way they violate it and dishonour it |46 greatly by refusing to accept its proclamation concerning their time, that namely which was announced by it concerning Christ, that by His Incarnation He should appear in the character of a Prophet.
> > 30 The man answered and said unto them, Why, herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence He is, and yet He opened mine eyes.
I am astonished, he says, and very justly, that you say you do not know One Who is borne witness to by such holiness and by the Divine power shewn in His actions; yet you are thought to incessantly give attention to God's teaching, you administer the law, you make the verbal study of the sacred Words your great delight, you possess the chief power among the people and especially may be expected to know who are good teachers. For who ought to rightly know those who by God's power work wonders, if they do not who are appointed to minister in holy things and who have been put in charge of the venerable mysteries? And by saying that he is astonished that they are altogether ignorant respecting the Divine sign, so wonderful and strange, which had been wrought upon him, the man covertly and by implication rebukes them, hinting that they were so far removed from sanctification and fitness for piety, that they shamelessly confessed themselves utterly ignorant of Him Who is truly holy, that is, Christ.
For let us lay bare what we believe to have been the concealed thought. If that is true which is somewhere well said: Every beast loveth his like, and a man will cleave to his like, how then if they were holy and good did they turn away and refuse to cleave to Him Who was holy and good? Certainly therefore that which was spoken was pregnant with a rebuke of the accursed policy and behaviour of the Pharisees. And I think another thing also will help to make this manifest. For I think that the diligent student who devotes his attention to such expressions will perceive more distinctly that which seems to be hidden in each. What then is this? Many rumours |47 went about through all Judaea concerning our Saviour Christ, but they spoke of Him only as a Prophet. For thus the Law prophesied that He would come, saying: The Lord our God will raise up a Prophet from among your brethren; yet they hoped that when He was revealed in His proper time He would instruct them in things above the Law, and by unfolding the truer intent of the Lawgiver would educate them in worthier wise. And thou needest not wonder that there was among the Jews such a hope and opinion, when even among the other nations the same opinion was spread abroad. For instance even that Samaritan woman said: We know that Messiah cometh (which is called Christ): when He is come, He will declare unto us all things. Most clearly therefore the Jews knew that Christ would come, (for this is what Messiah meaneth), and would interpret to them the higher counsel of God; and moreover that He would also open the eyes of the blind was declared by Isaiah, who says distinctly: Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened. But there was also another opinion prevalent in Jerusalem, forasmuch as the prophet Isaiah speaks of the Ineffable Son of God the Father as quite unrecognised, saying: Who shall declare His generation? The Jews, here also distorting the force of the words in accordance with their own notions, imagined that the Christ would be altogether unrecognised, no one whatever knowing whence He was: although the Divine Scriptures establishes for us very evidently His birth in the flesh, and therefore exclaims: Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son. And that the mind of the Jews in this again was uneducated as regards the comprehension of essential truths, when they supposed that the Christ would be unrecognised, it is easy to see, from what the blessed Evangelist John declared to be evident concerning Him, when speaking to them of Jerusalem. For some of them of Jerusalem said, Is not this He Whom they seek to kill? And lo, He speaketh openly, and they say nothing unto Him. Can it be that the rulers indeed know that this is the Christ? |48 Howbeit we know this Man whence He is: but when the Christ cometh, no one knoweth whence He is.
While the Jews therefore are thus absurdly laying down these opinions concerning Christ, the man who had been blind already forms [right] ideas about Him, quickly drawing inferences from the marvellous deed, and all but seizes on the words of the Pharisees in confirmation of his own reasoning. For he says: Why, herein is the miracle, that ye know not whence He is, and yet He opened mine eyes. Two signs, he says, I have, and very clear ones, of His being the Christ. For ye know not whence He is, but yet He opened mine eyes. Certainly therefore this is evidently He Who was foretold by the Law, and borne witness to by the voice of Prophets.
> > 31 We know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and do His will, him He heareth.
Having already in some measure shewn his delight in the proclamations made by the Prophets and the Law as now fulfilled, both in its being unknown whence Christ was, and in the eyes of the blind being opened, he collects for himself aids to faith from every quarter, and thus discovers something else also. Starting from necessary and acknowledged principles, he makes a show of going on to the inquiry as to what is profitable and fitting, and constructs what may be termed a piece of reasoning well-pleasing to God. For he maintains, and surely there are good grounds for so thinking, that the God Who loves justice and virtue never hears those who love sin; and laying this down as indisputable and universally acknowledged, he introduces as a contrast the opposite statement as true, and as gainsaid in no quarter, I mean of course that everywhere and always the Lord of all listens to such as are habitually pious. And although the conclusion to be drawn was designed to refer to the Christ alone, it was so constructed as if it had reference to a general and universal principle. For as I have already pointed out by anticipation, the man who had been blind has an unworthy |49 conception of Christ and has not yet learnt accurately that He is by nature God; so that he thinks and speaks of Him as a Prophet, to Whom he might without blame ascribe piety: but this does not rightly apply to Christ at all, because He is by nature God, receiving the worship of the pious as it were a spiritual sacrifice.
> > 32 Since the world began it was never heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind.
Pained as it seems very keenly, and grieving as we may say over their revilings against Christ, so as to be vexed beyond endurance because they contemptuously said; Thou art His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses, he is eager to speak on behalf of his Master; hence he draws a sort of comparison between the achievements of Moses and the brilliant deeds of Our Saviour, showing that as the latter is greater in wonder-working, so far He is the better. For indeed, is it not a matter of course that he who accomplishes the greater work should be in every way superior in glory? Surely it is not to be doubted. And at the same time he probably signifies something of this sort. Whereas a very ancient prophecy foretells and declares thus concerning the coming of Christ: Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and no one ever before caused astonishment by having done any such deed; now it has been fulfilled by Him and Him only, Whom you (I know not why, he says) do not scruple to call a sinner. Moreover, a great company of holy prophets are spoken of, and a number not easily computed of just men are mentioned throughout the Sacred Scriptures, but since the world began it was never heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind. Is it not therefore certain that this is the Christ, Who accomplishes the declarations of the Prophets, Who thoroughly and completely fulfils the things proclaimed of old? For if no other besides Him opens the eyes of the blind, what henceforth shall stand in the way of faith? What shall turn us aside from accepting Him? Or how can we fail, every doubt being |50 cast aside, to attain by the very easiest way the mystery of knowing Him?
Thus in these words also the man who was healed speaks on behalf of the Saviour Christ. And see how cleverly he puts together the argument of his plea. For it would really have been altogether outspoken and frank to say that Christ was better and more illustrious than Moses and the Prophets, but it was not unreasonable to suppose that the Pharisees, frantic at that, would have pretended that they were contending for the saints thus insulted, and with a good excuse would have attempted to punish the man, that he might not live and be looked upon as a monument of Christ's glory and a sort of representative of the Divine power which Christ possessed: wherefore, craftily avoiding the passion that might arise, and depriving their murderous thoughts of this pretext for development, he diverts the application of the argument to what is universal and indefinite, saying: Since the world began that which Christ had wrought upon him had never been done by any one. This was nothing else than shewing that Christ was certainly greater and more glorious than all, since He manifested by His actions such power and authority to be possessed by Him, as none of the saints had ever possessed. Thus he crowns his Physician with excellent honour in every thing, taking for justification the marvellous deed never before accomplished or attempted, namely, the removal of blindness.
> > 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.
Thus he crowns his Physician with excellent honour in every thing, taking for justification the marvellous deed never before accomplished or attempted, namely, the removal of blindness. > > 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.
He who had just received sight and been miraculously freed from his old blindness, was quicker to perceive truth than they who had been instructed by the law, for see, see how by very many and wise arguments he demonstrates the utter baseness of the Pharisees' opinion. For when they absurdly said of Christ: As for this Man we know not whence He is, he in reply severely rebukes them for their unfairness of thought, when they deny all knowledge of One Who worked such wonders; it being evident to all |51 that one who was not from God would be unable to do any of those deeds which are only accomplished by Divine energy. For God works such deeds through the saints only, and would never bestow upon a stranger who had not yet entered on the way of godliness the ability to boast of such glories. Else let the dumbfoundered Pharisee come forward and say what is henceforth the distinction with God between the holy and the profane, the just and the sinner, the impious and the devout. For if He enables each equally to become glorious by the same means, there is no longer any distinction, but at once all things are brought into confusion, and we will say with good reason that which is written: How shall we fitly serve Him, and what will be the profit if we appear before Him? For if, as one of the Greek poets said:
> > 11 Ἴση μοῖρα μένοντι, καὶ εἰ μάλα τις πολεμίζοι,
and the evil and the good are held in equal honour, will it not be useless to experience bitter hardships on account of virtue? But we will not consider that these things are so, and wherefore? Because: Them that honour Me, saith God, I will honour; and he that despiseth Me shall be despised.
For my part, I would ask the self-conceited Pharisees, if God indifferently works such deeds even by the hands of sinners, why the magicians of Egypt did not achieve the same things as the great Moses? Wherefore could they not do equally wonderful works and carry off the same glory as he did? But thou wilt say that Moses' rod when it fell on the ground became a serpent, and those of the magicians became so in like manner. We answer that their rods were not transmuted into serpents, but a deceit was practised, and something which appeared to men like the form of serpents deluded them into error; a certain magical art made their rods look like serpents: whereas Moses' rod was truly changed into a serpent and suddenly |52 received the nature of that beast. And from the distinction which is laid down in the Sacred Scriptures thou wilt see that what I have said is true. For Moses' rod swallowed up their rods: for since the latter were merely in the outward form of serpents, but the former was truly and in nature that which it appeared to be, it was provoked to anger that they should look no longer like rods but like living beings, and devoured them with unheard of power beyond the power of an [ordinary serpent], God rendering such a difficult thing easy to it. And again, let the Pharisee tell me why these magicians, who caused their own rods to take the outward form of serpents, did not exhibit a leprous hand made clean, but in despair openly confessed: This is the finger of God? And tell me why the priests of Baal did not bring down fire from heaven, and yet Elijah brought it down? Are therefore God's ways certainly characterised by respect of persons? God forbid! But because He is just and a lover of just men He works His gracious miracles through the agency of the saints, but by no means through the agency of the sinful. With excellent reason therefore the man who had been blind rebukes the impudent pratings of the Pharisees and convicts them of an erroneous opinion, when they say He is not from God Who is proved to have a Divine Nature by His power of working miracles.
> > 34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
With excellent reason therefore the man who had been blind rebukes the impudent pratings of the Pharisees and convicts them of an erroneous opinion, when they say He is not from God Who is proved to have a Divine Nature by His power of working miracles. > > 34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
Hard of acceptation to most people are the wounds of refutation, and the consequent correction of error. They are certainly welcome and sweet to the wise, since they convey much profit, and have an improving tendency, although they may carry with them a painful sting. But to those who love sin they are bitter, and wherefore? Because, having fixed their mind on debasing pleasures, they turn away from any warning that draws them thence as vexatious, and deem it a loss to be diverted from their pleasures, setting no value on what is truly profitable. |53
For just as they who fall overboard from a ship, and, being caught by the current of a river, are not strong enough to resist it, and, thinking it dangerous to swim in opposition to the waves, are simply borne on by the current; so I think these men, of whom we were just speaking, overcome by the tyranny of their own pleasures allow those pleasures to rush on unbridled, and decline to offer any resistance whatever. Hence the wretched Pharisees are displeased, and crying out like wild beasts against him who brought forward excellent arguments, they welcome the beginnings of anger, and spouting forth the extreme rage of madness, unlawfully revile him; and somehow recurring to the haughtiness so natural to them, say that the blind man was born in sins, thus maintaining the Jewish errors, and ignorantly supporting a doctrine that will not hold together. For that no living person, either on his own account or on account of his parents, is born either blind or with any other bodily infirmity; moreover, that God does not visit the sins of their fathers upon children, not unskilfully, in my opinion at least, we have shown at some length, when we had to explain the words: Rabbi, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind? Since therefore the man who had been born blind knew how to refute the Pharisees, he was on that account not only reviled, but cast out by them. And here again learn that what was done is typical of a true event: for that the people of Israel were going to utterly loathe the Gentiles as nurtured in sins from erroneous prejudice, any one can recognise from what the Pharisees said to that man. And they expel him, exactly as they who plead the doctrine of Christ are expelled and cast out by the Jews.
> > 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out.
And they expel him, exactly as they who plead the doctrine of Christ are expelled and cast out by the Jews. > > 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out.
The inspired Evangelist says that our Lord Jesus Christ heard, not implying certainly or of necessity that any one reported the fact to Him, but because, as one of the wise somewhere says: The Spirit of the Lord filleth the world, |54 and the ear of hearing heareth all things. Surely He hears, as the Psalmist says: He that planted, the ear, doth He not hear? and He that formed the eye, doth He not perceive? When therefore we suffer insult on His account, or endure any grievous thing from those who are wont to fight against God, we are bound to believe that most assuredly God is a looker-on, and listens as it were to the trial that comes upon us: for the very nature of the occurrence, and the sincerity of those who are dishonoured on His account, cry aloud in His Divine Ears.
> > And finding him, He said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?