The Jews believed that judgment overtook all on earth; those who were good and obedient had every earthly blessing, and those who were wicked were punished here below for their sins. And therefore, the disciples thought that the blind man was punished either for his own sins or those of his parents. But on the contrary, this blindness was only an occasion for the grace of God to be manifested.
It was a false conclusion to believe that all misfortunes were punishments inflicted by God for sins. All the ills of humanity are surely the consequence of sin, because they would not have existed had not sin entered into the world, and on account of it God needs often to punish even His own children. Christians have many chastisements because of their sins, but if they are subject to the will of God, these chastisements produce the peaceable fruits of righteousness for those who are exercised thereby (Heb. 12:1111Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (Hebrews 12:11)). God sends them to break the man’s self-will, and means to make him feel His powerful hand. We never could have a really bad and rebellious will (but we might have lightness in the heart) without well knowing it, and then the Lord makes us know it by means painful to the flesh.
Jesus heals this man not only for his own good, but for the glory of God, that the works of God might be manifest. Man ever seeks but his own profit and good, seeks salvation as he seeks wellbeing, amusements; he would make this world an earthly paradise, but God will not have that, but presents to us something better, a paradise in heaven; and men are quite opposed to this, they seek to make this world something delightful to enjoy without God. We have in Cain the history of every man; for the sinner has been cast out of the presence of God and made a vagabond on the earth; but he seeks to adorn the world with the arts of industry, and he builds a city. The Hebrew word Sod, where Cain went forth to dwell, means vagabond; and thus he establishes himself in this vagabond world; he calls the city which he built after the name of his son, in order to have a great name in this world, and then he beautifies his city with riches, with industry, with arts, and with music. Behold the world! the things in themselves are not bad, but man uses them but to live pleasantly without God. He is the sinner who has given the same instructive impulse to all men.
At v. 4, Jesus says that while He was in the world He was the light of the world, then the darkness would come, that is, when He would be rejected; and we in this dark night have the light, because we have Christ in our hearts. When Jesus leaves the world, it is night morally. Christ in heaven is for us Christians, who have Him in our hearts, a still greater light; but this night is far advanced, and the day is at hand (Rom. 13:1212The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12)).
The clay of which Jesus made the mud is a figure of the humanity of Christ, and the mud is a figure of the humanity and divinity of Christ together. This mud makes the blind man blinder so to speak; so the effect of the presence of Christ on men made them still more blind. The blind man does not see till after he has washed. in the pool of Siloam, that means “ sent:” that is to say, that when the Holy Spirit has revealed to a man the person of Christ, as sent of the Father, then only his eyes are opened, and he sees clearly, The presence only of Christ makes blind men blinder, but when Christ is revealed in the heart by the work of the Holy Spirit, then the word of God becomes sure, and the man is in himself the witness to, and certainty of the truth of the word gone forth from the mouth of Christ (1 John 5:1010He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. (1 John 5:10)).
The Pharisees with all their wisdom must ask this man who had opened his eyes. It was evident that God had done this, but men prefer their own opinions, and with them there comes division amongst them (v. 16). In their hearts they were persuaded that it was God who had done it, but they would not allow it. The same thing often happens. Many men know the truth, but they do not want to follow it, nor to confess it, for fear of the things of this world. The hatred man bears to God, shows he knows He is God. So in Acts 7 the leaders gnash their teeth against Stephen because they saw he spoke the truth, but they did not like it. This is thorough conviction, but it is not faith; the world knows that God has a right to the possession of their hearts, but man will not submit, for he hates God.
The devil always gives good reasons for doing bad things, as in this case he suggests to them that it was the Sabbath, and that Jesus broke it, for the purpose of condemning Him. The miracle was so evident that the devil would not have been so able to deceive the people by making them believe it was not a miracle: the proof was in the blind man himself. The father and mother have not courage to say much to the rulers, but they say enough for the truth. Now the blind man has not only received the consciousness of blessing received in himself, but he has also received the word of Christ as that of God, recognizing Him as a prophet, and that is a great deal to say, for if He be a prophet, all He says would be the truth. To believe the fact of the miracle was not the most important thing, because the Pharisees also believed that; but when the Holy Spirit works in the heart one believes the word of God himself. The blind man has perfect confidence in Christ; his heart is won. When the state of the heart is formed by the power of Christ, then there cannot be any doubt; all the reasonings of man are vain.
The blind man, because of his testimony, is cast out; and then Jesus gives us an example of how He receives His sheep cast out by men. First, the blind man had believed in His word, but he did not know Jesus as Son of God; once that confidence is established in his heart, he quickly believes when Jesus tells him, I am the Son of God who speaks to thee, and then he worships Him. Once we have received the word of God, we are disposed to receive all that it contains. I may have much to learn, but the work in the heart is done when one has believed. All is simple when God works. How much blinder the Pharisees get than they were before, when they have rejected the words and works of Christ. And this is a natural condemnation. All is finished for them. Christ had not come to judge. Nevertheless, the effect is such; therefore, I said, natural condemnation. To pretend to see, when one does not see, is a very serious thing. A man may be ignorant, but if he resists the truth he always becomes the blinder. When one receives Jesus only externally and not in the heart, then he becomes a stumbling stone; one cannot persevere. But this blind man was truly of the Lord’s sheep; but he is found in the Jewish fold, and has followed Jesus. Jesus must have His own sheep: and the blind man has got Christ.