XXXIV.

JOHN IX.

The Jews had sought to stone Jesus, but their violence raised no fear, no confusion in him. Calmly He passed out from among them. No man could take his life from him; when the time appointed of the Father came, then would He lay it down of himself; * till then, none could lay hand on him to harm him, and calmly He went on his way to do the works that

still remained to be done.

Oh, that we could so trust, and so do! And why should we not? All who believe in Jesus are members of his body. Saved by him, in him we are safe. Why then should we fear? Till the time appointed by our Father comes, there is nothing that can have power to hurt the lives He has given for his service. And looking forward to that time, are we not willing to lay down our lives at his command? Why then should we hesitate or fear? Pardon and pity our weakness, Holy God, give us strength to feel that the Saviour is ever near, and that with him we may calmly pass through every trial, seeking only to do thy will.

Many sufferers of every kind, continually waited round the Temple, hoping for alms from those who went in and out. It is written:

JOHN ix. 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 same belief was strong among the Jews, which the three

*John x. 18.

friends of Job expressed, when they tried to convince him that every affliction was a direct punishment from God; and they had also, it seems, taken up the foolish opinions of some of the heathen nations round them. These believed that the souls of men passed from one body into another, to be rewarded or punished according to their good or bad actions; and the disciples do not seem to have been quite free from this notion, when they could ask whether a man had been born blind because of his own sin.

Verse 3. "Jesus (corrected this mistake, and) answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”

That is, this blindness is not caused by any particular sin of theirs. Jesus did not in answer mean that this man and his Parents were more free from sin than others; but that they had not, by any particular sin, brought this affliction upon themselves. He gives indeed a reason for it, which is very remarkable, and which we shall do well to consider. The man was not born blind because of his own or his parents' sin, "but that the works of God should be made manifest (should be shown forth) in him." This calamity of his was, as all other things are, part of a plan of mercy, by which the faith of all might be strengthened, and the happiness of all increased. For in him was to be shewn forth one of the signs the prophets had given by which the Saviour was to be known, the giving sight to the blind.*

God overcomes Satan even by his own weapons, without sin there would have been no suffering; but it is in the sufferings of men, that God chiefly shows his goodness by the support and comfort He gives.

And surely it should reconcile us to many a trial, if by us, and in us, the works of God are manifested. Help for body or mind is always at hand, for Christ is ever near.

*Isaiah xxxv. 5.

Jesus having answered that neither had the blind man nor his parents sinned, but that his blindness was permitted that the works of God should be manifested in him, added,

Verse 4. "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work."

A strong reason this, spoken to every one of us, to serve God in our appointed duties while we can, who knows how soon the power may be taken away. When we would delay that which it is clearly our duty to do, let us call to mind our Saviour's

words," the night cometh, when no man can work." And Jesus said moreover,

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

Most true are these words of his, "I am the light of the world." There is none other.

Verse 6. "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."

We should have thought that putting clay on a man's eyes would have been more likely to cause blindness than to cure it, but by this act of his, Jesus shows that his power can turn those very things which might seem likely to harm us, into the means of good.

The common affairs of life, like the thick clay, we might well expect to close our eyes altogether against the light of God's truth, and so without the power of Christ they would; but they can be so used as to bring good to us and glory to him. His touch can turn even the things of clay into the means of healing the darkness of man's spiritual sight.

Not by this means only was the blind man cured.

Verse 7. "Go, wash (said the Saviour,) in the pool of Siloam, which (name, adds the Apostle John who writes this history,) is by interpretation, Sent:

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John must have had a reason for giving here the meaning of the name of the pool in which the blind man was to wash away the clay; but we will not interrupt the story of the miracle, to inquire what it might be. The blind man

Verse 7, 8." Went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?"

This poor man was well-known to the dwellers in Jerusalem. He had his place near the Temple, where he sat and begged, therefore, there were few which did not know his history, that he was born blind, and great was their astonishment, when "he came seeing." So great, that some could not believe that it was indeed the same man, but thought they were deceived by a strong likeness.

Verses 9-13. "Some said, This is he: others said He is like him but he said, I am he. 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. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not."

This poor man simply told his tale. He adds not a word. Perhaps being blind, though all around him were excited by the appearance of Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles, he may not have understood the cause of the tumult. The name of Jesus seems to have been all that then was known to him. Bewilderment must have followed the sudden gift of sight. He

had never yet seen Jesus, but he had heard his voice, and felt his power. He had at once obeyed his command, and thought came in time, and cleared his understanding. So shall it be with us; if we simply obey the word of Christ, and seek the means He has pointed out in his Scriptures, light shall be given us, and "what we know not now we shall know hereafter." [When the number is divided, read from 1st verse.]

Verse 13. "They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind."

The case was too difficult for the crowd to decide upon. They referred it to the council, in which were many Pharisees. Perhaps they were curious to know whether they would own the person who had done this wonderful miracle, to be the very Man of whom Isaiah had prophecied, that He should open the eyes of the blind. Perhaps they were the more perplexed what to think of him, because

Verse 14. "It was the sabbath-day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.”

The Pharisees were not able to deny that the man now brought before them seeing, was the same as him they had been used to see blind, as he sat and begged. They repeat the question before asked by his neighbours,

Verse 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."

Nothing but the plain facts could be got out of this man, and these were beyond their power to deny; but some of the old opposers of Jesus thought to throw dust, as it were, in the eyes of the people, and to get rid of their evident inclination to