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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadSpurgeon Verse Expositions - John 9:1 - 9:41
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
We will first read about one of our Lord’s miracles, and then, as many of us will be coming to the communion table, we will read about the Lord’s supper.
Joh_9:1-3. And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents:
That is, the sin of the man or of his parents was not the cause of his being blind.
Joh_9:3. But that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
What a very blessed way of looking at evil,—as an opportunity for God to manifest the power of his works of grace by getting rid of it! I wish that everyone here would look upon the evil within his own heart in this very hopeful light, and say, “There is something in me for God to conquer. There is some spiritual disease in me for the great Physician to heal. There is space in my poor soul for the Lord himself to work some miracle of mercy.”
Joh_9:4-7. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when, no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
You notice, brethren, that the disciples wanted to know how the man became blind; but Christ removed his blindness, and gave him sight. I have known a great many puzzle themselves about the origin of evil. Christ did not come to explain that mystery; he came to put an end to evil. That, is an infinitely more practical object than that of speculating about how evil first entered the world, or how it entered any individual soul. He will tell you how to get rid of it. What a blessed way of healing Christ used! He could have spoken, and the man’s eyes would have opened at once. He who said, “Let there be light,” and there was light, in the first creation, could have said the same thing to this blind man, and light would at once have entered his eyes. Instead of that, he chose to use means, and the means did not appear to be very likely to effect the cure. Jesus covered the man’s eyes with clay, and bade him go and wash it off again. Is this the way to give him sight? Yes, Our Lord often uses means that seem to be very unlikely to accomplish his purpose, But he always uses the right means. Often, when he is going to open a man’s eyes spiritually, he first makes him feel more blind than ever he was before in all his life. A sense of deeper darkness hangs over him just before the dawn of eternal day. Perhaps, even this very hour some words of mine, human and imperfect as they must be, may, nevertheless, have the truth in them, just as the clay was made efficacious by the spittle from the Saviour’s blessed mouth; and if so, there will be healing Work wrought among blind hearts tonight. God grant that it may be so!
Joh_9:8-9. The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he; others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.
There is an end of all question about the matter; he says, “I am the very man.” No one knew this better than he did, and therefore he was the one to say it.
Joh_9:10-11. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
A very plain story, very well told. It is the story of every soul that gets the eternal light. “Christ told me to believe in him; I did believe in him; and. I received the blessing,” There are not many incidents in the narrative, and there is nothing very romantic; but it is a simple and plain declaration of what Christ had done for him; and, blessed be God, just as sight was given to the blind man, Christ still gives salvation to all who trust him.
“
There is life at this moment for thee;
Then look, sinner,—look unto him, and be saved,—
Unto him who was nail’d to the tree.
“It is not thy tears of repentance or prayers,
But the blood that atones for the soul:
On him, then, who shed it, believing at once,
Thy weight of iniquities roll.
“But take, with rejoicing, from Jesus at once
The life everlasting be gives:
And know, with assurance, thou never canst die,
Since Jesus, thy righteousness, lives.”
Oh, that he would do the same thing, in a spiritual sense, this Sabbath day! On another occasion, when he had wrought a miracle on the Sabbath, and the Jews therefore sought to persecute him, and slay him, he said to them, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” The Sabbath day was often Christ’s chief working day; may he make it to be so again now!
Joh_9:15-17. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight, He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
There was no mistake about that matter in the mind of the man whom he had healed; none but a prophet, mighty in word and deed, could have wrought such a miracle as that.
Joh_9:18-21. But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: but by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age, ask him: he shall speak for himself.
And so he did. He was one of those people who can speak for themselves; and it is greatly to be wished that many more of those who have been cured by Christ could do the same. He was a conscientious man, who, without fear of offending or any desire to curry favor, spoke out honestly what he knew,—nothing more.
Joh_9:22-27. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had, agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him. Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?
He was a sharp, ready-witted man, who was not to be enticed into making any rash and unguarded statements, he knew what he did know, and he kept to that; and whenever any of you are assailed by the enemies of Christ, you will do well to imitate this man, and neither be abashed by their frowns and sneers, nor yet be too ready to cast your pearls before swine.
Joh_9:28. Then they reviled him,—
That is the usual way with the men of the world; when they cannot beat a man in argument, they begin to call him bad names: “They reviled him,”—
Joh_9:28-31. And said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners:
That is to say, he does not work miracles by them; he does not hear their prayers, and give them the power to open blind men’s eyes.
Joh_9:31-33. But if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born bland. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.
Christ could not have given sight to the blind man if he had not himself come from God. This was good reasoning, and it would have been convincing if the objectors had been willing to be convinced by the truth.
Joh_9:34. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?
“Holy and learned people like us, Pharisees, do you set up to be our teacher?”
Joh_9:34-38. And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
Then was his cure indeed complete. He had seen Christ spiritually as well as naturally, and fell at his feet, and worshipped him as the Son of God.
Joh_9:39-41. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, if ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
This exposition consisted of readings from John 9, and 1Co_10:15-33, and 1Co_11:1.
Joh_9:1-3. And as Jesus passed by he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
We are not to look upon such afflictions as any indication of special sin on the part either of the person or the parent. Of course, sin lies at the root of all our suffering as a grit generic fact, but not so that we may attribute such an affliction to any one sin. The disciples, you see, dear friends, are thinking about difficult problems. Their Master is thinking about how, practically, to meet the difficulty, and to this day there are a large number of Christians, professors, and even ministers, who occupy their time about questions which really are to no profit. If they could be answered, nobody would be the holier or the better. What does it matter to us what is the origin of evil? Far more important to turn the evil out than it is to find out how it came in. Very frequently, you know, after there is a terrible calamity or accident, we have an inquiry as to how it was done, and then we think the thing is all attended too. It would have been better, perhaps, to have an inquiry, before it was done, as to how it could be prevented. Our Lord has that wisdom — that practicalness. He begins to deal with the evil rather than to raise questions about it. Yes, and he sees in that evil a good coming out of it. He says that this man was blind, that the works of God might be made manifest in him
Joh_9:4-7. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And said unto, him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
Our Lord used instrumentality. It did not appear, however, to be very likely to achieve his purpose. The clay seemed more likely to blind than to give sight, yet if the Lord chooses to use the poor and weak instruments that seem nothing better than dust and spittle, he has the glory of the grand result. If he takes the humble ministry of his servants and uses it in the pulpit, or in the Sunday School, or anywhere else, he has all the more glory, and is the less likely to be robbed of it because he uses such unlikely means.
Joh_9:8-9. The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was, blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he:
We are sure of it.
Joh_9:9. Others said, He is like him:
They were cautious bodies.
Joh_9:9. But he said, I am he.
He knew there was no mistaking his witness.
Joh_9:10-11. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
Very straightforward, very concise, very accurate, and when we make answer about our conversion, it is always well to take this for a copy —not too many flourishes, no coloring. He even leaves out about the spittle, but he gives it all as he can recollect it; so when you are talking about the Lord’s love to you, and his way of converting you, it is quite sufficiently remarkable, without any touch of rouge. Let it be given just as it is.
Joh_9:12. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said I know not.
Enough for him to know what he did know — that his eyes were opened, and how it was done. So sometimes I have known persons come upon the new convert with a question which has rather baffled him, and he has been troubled, because he could not answer it. Do not let it trouble you. You are not expected to know everything. The very best and most honest thing is to say, “I know not”
Joh_9:13-14. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
So you may be sure that the Pharisees would be down upon him for that, because, according to the Rabbis, the making of the clay to put upon this man’s eyes would be a kind of brick-making, and they would bring him in guilty of brick-making directly. So did these men pervert things and make men guilty where no offence had been committed whatsoever.
Joh_9:15. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
He is shorter with them. Some tales grow in telling. His gets shorter.
Besides, he has to deal with captious people; end then the least said the soonest mended; and this shrewd man thought so.
Joh_9:16-17. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
He could see that.
Joh_9:18-24. But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? How then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But by what means he now seeth, we know not; he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him. Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.
How piously these Pharisees can talk; and generally in the name of God all sorts of mischief begin. When men are persecuting the Son of God, yet still they take the name of God upon their lips. Did they not burn the martyrs to the glory of God? Oh! yes, and so did these men thus slander Christ by saying, “We know that this man is a sinner,” and yet they spoke about giving God praise.
Joh_9:25. He
Our shrewd friend of the opened eyes.
Joh_9:25-27. Answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? He answered them. I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?
The man is sharp, acute, cutting.
Joh_9:28-29. Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
The word “fellow” is supplied by the translators. There is no such word there, because they did not know a word bad enough with which to express their scorn.
Joh_9:30-33. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. 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.
He proves; he administrates. The thing is as clear as possible, and yet they refuse to see it.
Joh_9:34. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins,
It is the old rule, “Abuse the plaintiff.” Nothing could be said. Now abuse the man. He has answered you, and his arguments are too hard for you. Now throw hard words at him. “Thou wast altogether born in sins.”
Joh_9:34. And dost thou teach us?
Wonderful, that “us.” “Dost thou teach us?” Folly, ignorance, and pride go together. This man, in the simplest and most unaffected manner, had told his tale and urged his argument, and now they abuse him and exalt themselves. “Dost thou teach us?” No, great Pharisees, he does not teach you, for you will not learn.
Joh_9:34. And they cast him out.
That is the last argument. Out with him. Now we have defeated him.
Joh_9:35.Jesus heard that they had cast him out: and when he had found him,
What a blessed thing to be cast out, if Christ finds us! Many and many have been put out of the synagogue and treated with contempt, but then outside Jerusalem they found their Lord, for there he died without the camp, and his people need not be ashamed to go after him bearing his reproach.
“When he had found him.”
Joh_9:35-38. He said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord. that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him. Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
He does not appear to have been a Unitarian, therefore; and if those persons had their eyes opened, they would do the same. “He said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.”
Joh_9:39. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Christ is the turner of the tables. Did not the virgin mother sing, “He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and he hath exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things, but the rich he hath sent empty away”? So he ever does.
Joh_9:41. Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind,
Really could not see.
Joh_9:41. Ye should have no sin;
If you really did not know better, were totally and altogether without knowledge — then you would have no sin compared with what you now have.
Joh_9:41. But now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
You acknowledge that you have sinned with your eyes open, and,
therefore, your sin is all the greater.
Joh_9:1-2. And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth, And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
The procedure of these disciples is very much like that of many people in these days; they are much more ready to ask questions about sufferers than they are to sympathize with them. If the hearts of the disciples had been in a right condition when they saw this blind man, they would have said, “Lord, cannot this poor mania eyes be opened?” But, instead of risking like that, they were full of idle curiosity, which prompted them to raise metaphysical difficulties, and to ask foolish questions. So they wanted to know how it was that the man came to be born blind. Was it in consequence of some sin on the part of his parents, or through some sin of his own in a previous state of existence, (for some of them seem to have had even that foolish notion,) or was it because of some sin of his, which God foresaw that he would commit, and therefore laid this affliction upon him from the hour of his birth?
Joh_9:3. Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
That is to say, this blindness was not the result of special sin in any individual, but God intended that his works of mercy and of grace should be manifested through his affliction. It is a cruel thing when every form of malady or disease is traced to some fault in the person who has to suffer from it. This is infamous; I had almost said infernal; for Satan himself could hardly devise a more false and wicked thing than to say that, because a man is a special sufferer, therefore he must have been a special sinner. It is not so; for, often, some of God’s truest children — some of those who live nearest to him — are those who keep the night watches through pain, or they are bedridden from year to year, or are deprived of some of their limbs, or in some other way are full of suffering. This is in order that, in their case also, the works of God should be manifest in them as they were in this poor blind man.
Joh_9:4. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day:
“I have no time to go into these questions with you, merely to satisfy your curiosity. ‘While it is day,’ I must go on with the work which I was sent into the world to do.”
Joh_9:4-7. The night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
There was no long discourse to be delivered while this poor man was waiting to see what would happen to him. Our Lord spoke just a few words to his disciples, and then went at once to the miracle he intended to perform. “When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.” Our Saviour sometimes works without means, at other times by means, and occasionally he uses means which at first sight appear not to be the best to produce the designed result. To put clay on a blind man’s eyes, does not seem a very likely operation for giving him sight. And, oh! dear friends, when God uses us as his instruments, and makes us to be like this clay upon the poor blind man’s eyes, I am sure that there is much about us that might make us feel as if we should rather hinder than help; and when we do the best we can, what is there in us that is of any value? I think I once saw the pen with which Milton was said to have written part of Paradise Lost.
Poor pen! It could not remember the great poet, could it? Yet, he had used it to noble purpose. As I looked at it, I did not think of ascribing a single stanza of that matchless poem to the pen with which Milton wrote. So, beloved, we are the pens that the Lord uses when he means to write his messages of grace upon the hearts of saints and sinners; but we are such poor pens, such feeble instruments to be held in his hand, that we wonder he can ever make use of us. This blind man did exactly as he was bidden to do. What a blessing it was for him that he received the clay on his eyes, and simply went and washed it off again as the Saviour bade him! That was all he had to do, and then he came back seeing clearly. Oh, if sinners were only attentive to gospel directions, and then were obedient to them, without adding to them or taking from them, how many more blind eyes would be very speedily opened, and how greatly would Christ be glorified!
Joh_9:8-9. The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.
With that downright simplicity and shrewdness which marked his whole character, the man said, “I am he.” He did not go beating about the bush at all, but he straightway acknowledged that he was the man of whom they were speaking.
Joh_9:10-11. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash; and I went and washed, and I received sight.
I admire the brevity of his statement, the boldness of it, and the simple naiveté of it. The way in which he told the story did not embellish it in the least degree; in fact, it could not have been embellished without spoiling it. And when you, dear friends, are giving an account of your own conversion, describing the way in which salvation became yours, tell it as simply and plainly as ever you can. It will never be so well adorned as when it appears in its own naked simplicity and beauty. I commend this man’s example to all of you who have to give your testimony before you are admitted as members of the church; when speaking of your conversion, put the narrative in as plain and simple a form as this man adopted.
Joh_9:12-14. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
Therefore, this act of Christ would be something horrible in the eyes of the Pharisees. They would make out that Christ, when he made the clay, had turned brickmaker on the Sabbath day, thus violating the traditions of the fathers, just as, on another occasion, they said that he allowed his disciples to go threshing on the Sabbath, when they gathered ears of corn in the field, rubbed them between their hands, and ate the grain because they were hungry. The Rabbis regarded that as an act of threshing, and a very serious violation of the law; and now that Jesus had himself made clay, and opened a man’s eyes with it, they held up their hands in holy horror, —nay, in impious horror, — that Christ should do such a thing on the Sabbath.
Joh_9:15. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
He makes his story shorter as he goes on telling it. These people were unworthy of the words he spoke to them, and therefore he gave them as few as possible.
Joh_9:16-17. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
That was as much as he then knew. By thoughtful consideration, he had come as far as to know that Jesus must be a prophet.
Joh_9:18-21. But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: but by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.
They also were shrewd. They did not wish to get themselves into trouble, and therefore they said as little as they could, and referred the Pharisees to their son, who was quite able to answer them.
Joh_9:22-24. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him. Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.
They thought that they could smooth the man over, so that he would say no more. “We know — we who know everything, we who are the rulers and teachers of the people, — we know that this man is a sinner.” That might have closed the mouths of many men; but, on that occasion, they had before them a person who could not easily be made to believe all they chose to say, — a sharp, shrewd man, who had keener eyes in his head, even when he was blind, than they had while they could see.
Joh_9:25. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
“About that point, I am perfectly certain, whatever question there may be concerning anything else.”
Joh_9:26-28. Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?
Then they reviled him, —As they could not answer him, they reviled him. It is the old plan which is still followed by certain lawyers, “No case; therefore abuse the plaintiff.” “They reviled him,” —
Joh_9:28-29. And said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: As for this —
They did not say “fellow,” because they meant something worse than that, something which they could not express: “As for this — “
Joh_9:29-30. We know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
They were the gentlemen who said, “We know,” and they wanted, a little while before, to silence him by parading their superior knowledge; so now he turns upon them, and says, “Herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.”
Joh_9:31. Now we know that God heareth not sinners:
He meant men who are living in known sin, impostors and deceivers. Of course, God would not hear sinners of that stamp.
Joh_9:31-33. But if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. 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.
This was bravely spoken. The man did not, at that time, know the Godhead of the Saviour, but he felt that he must have come from God, that he was one of God’s servants, or messengers, or prophets, therefore he avowed what he knew. Dear friends, always act up to the light you have enjoyed. If you have starlight, thank God for it, and own it before men, for then he will give you moonlight; and if you have moonlight, walk by it, thank God for it, and own it, and he will give you sunlight; and when you have sunlight, walk in it, and so, one of these days, you will come to that light which is as the light of seven days, the light of God himself.
Joh_9:34. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?
Their dignity was touched; their superlative wisdom lifted them so much above this poor man that they said, with the utmost disdain, “Dost thou teach us?”
Joh_9:34-35. And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out;
Oh! if there are any of you who are suffering persecution for Christ’s sake, who have been cast out of any company because of what he has done for you, I do not think you need any sweeter comfort than this one line: “Jesus heard that they had cast him out;”
Joh_9:35-37. And when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God ?He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
I scarcely remember that, up to this time, the Lord Jesus had given such a manifestation of himself to anyone except to the Samaritan woman at the well. When she mentioned the Messiah, he said to her, “I that speak unto thee am he;” and here he reveals himself to this man as the Son of God, which was somewhat more than that woman probably meant by the term “Messias.”
Joh_9:38. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
Which proves that the man was not a Unitarian. “He worshipped him” who had opened his eyes, and we also will worship him for ever and ever, blessed be his holy name!
Joh_9:39-41. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. It would have been better for them if they had known their blindness, and applied to him who could give them sight, and forgive their sin.
Joh_9:1. And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
Therefore the man could not see Jesus, but the more important matter was that Christ could see the blind man. And you, dear heart, may not yet have learned to look on Christ, but he can look on you in your blindness, and a look from him will speedily work a wondrous change in you.
Joh_9:2. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Many of Christ’s disciples are still occupied in asking questions that serve no practical purpose, like this one, “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Joh_9:3. Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents:
That is to say, sin on their part was not the cause of his blindness.
Joh_9:3. But that the works of God should be made manifest in him
Human nature is a platform for the manifestation of divine work. The more in need you are, dear friend, the more room there is for God’s mercy to operate upon you.
Joh_9:4-7. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he Spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.”
Christ used very simple means to cure this man’s blindness, very unlikely means, apparently, to produce the desired effect. It might have seemed, indeed, that the man would have been wore in the dark than ever when his eyes were plastered over with clay, yet the Lord chose to work in that way.
And so, when the poor preacher feels as if he was nothing and nobody, and that his agency may rather hinder his Master’s work than help him yet still his Lord can work through his weakness, and get to himself glory notwithstanding his servant’s infirmities.
Joh_9:8-9. The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.
“There is no question about my identity, I am the same man whom you have seen sitting and begging, and I now come before you with my sight fully restored.”
Joh_9:10-11. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, a man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
It was only a short story, but it was very sweet to him, and he told it with no excess of detail, but with all its salient points. He was a sharp, shrewd man of few words, but those few words were weighty. Friend when thou tellest the story of Christ and his love to thee, do not embellish it with flowers of speech. There is enough in what Christ has done to make it shine without any fine words of thine. The beauty of Christ’s work is such that it is most adorned when unadorned.
Joh_9:12. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.
There are a good many things concerning Christ which you may not know, but if you know that he has opened your eyes, you may be well content with the knowledge of that until he shall be pleased to reveal more about himself to you.
Joh_9:13. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.
I am sure that this was a very distressing sight to them, for there was nothing that ever grieved their hearts more than for Christ’s power to be displayed. They did not want to see the blind man whose eyes Christ had opened; if the miracle brought Christ any glory, it brought them just so much misery.
Joh_9:14-15. And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.
That seemed to be the principal question with them; they always wanted to know the manner in which Christ’s cures were wrought.
Joh_9:15. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
That is shorter than his previous account of the miracle. When Pharisees ask a carping question, the shorter the answer the better; it is a pity to cast pearls before swine.
Joh_9:16-17. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes! He said, He is a prophet.
He was a brave man, who dared to say what he believed whether he offended or pleased. He did not know much, but what he did know he did know, and he was quite certain about it. There are some men whose breadth of knowledge is as remarkable as its shallowness. It is like water upon the meadows when a river overflows its banks, and covers a wide area, but there is scarcely an inch of depth. Give us the narrower river that is deep, and that can bear onwards to the ocean a noble fleet, rather than the wide expanse of useless, shallow water.
Joh_9:18-21. But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: but by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.
They were timid, but they were also shrewd enough to let their son speak for himself, as he was quite able to do.
Joh_9:22-24. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age ask him. Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.
They thought they could get over him by giving him a little of what they called good advice: “Praise God, but be quiet concerning this man; depend upon it, he is a sinner.”
Joh_9:25-28. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciple? Then they reviled him, —
Of course, that is the usual way with those who are in the wrong. Abuse the plaintiff when you cannot answer his case. “Then they reviled him,” —
Joh_9:28-30. And said, Thou art his disciple but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
Where could he have come from but from God? Who could have wrought such a miracle unless he had been sent from God?
Joh_9:31-33. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. 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.
That was very forcibly spoken. Oh, that all of us, whose eyes Christ has opened, would speak for him as bravely as this man did! Our cure has been quite as clear and quite as notable as his was, so let us not be ashamed to testify for him before gainsayers and opposers.
Joh_9:34. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?
“Such learned men as we are, with such culture and such penetration as we have, ‘dost thou teach us?’”
Joh_9:34. And they cast him out.
It was a great mercy for him that they did excommunicate him, one of the greatest blessings that could come to him was that of being cast out of the synagogue, and being cast out of the society of such men as those Pharisees were.
Joh_9:35. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; —
Jesus knew all that had happened to this man, but someone probably related the story to him; and our Lord knows all about each one of us, and he knows whether anyone here is suffering for his sake or for the truth’s sake. Jesus knew that they had cast him out; —
Joh_9:35. And when he had found him, —
For he always finds those whom the world or false professors have cast out, —
Joh_9:35-36. He said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
He was a sensible man, and he had the sense to perceive that knowledge rightly used leads to faith. He desired to know in order that he might believe; and if you ever say that you cannot believe, but are anxious to do so, then make enquiry as to what is to be believed, examine the evidence concerning it, and so faith will come to you by the operation of God’s good Spirit.
Joh_9:37-40. And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
“Are we blind?” It seemed impossible to them that it could be so. Jesus answered them with scathing words: —
Joh_9:41. Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
“If what you have done had been done in utter ignorance, you would have been comparatively guiltless; but you have sinned against light and knowledge, with a most determined antipathy to the grace of God, and therefore your sin remaineth in all its scarlet hue to condemn you.”