Joh 9:24-34 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 24 Give God the praise - Having called the man a second time, they proceeded to deal with him in the most solemn manner; and therefore they put him to his oath; for the words above were the form of an oath, proposed by the chief magistrate to those who were to give evidence to any particular fact, or to attest any thing, as produced by or belonging to the Lord. See ; , and . But, while they solemnly put him to his oath, they endeavored to put their own words in his mouth, viz. he is a sinner - a pretender to the prophetic character, and a transgressor of the law of God:

John 9:24-34

Verse 24

Give God the praise - Having called the man a second time, they proceeded to deal with him in the most solemn manner; and therefore they put him to his oath; for the words above were the form of an oath, proposed by the chief magistrate to those who were to give evidence to any particular fact, or to attest any thing, as produced by or belonging to the Lord. See Jos 7:19; 1Sam 6:5, and Luk 17:18. But, while they solemnly put him to his oath, they endeavored to put their own words in his mouth, viz. he is a sinner - a pretender to the prophetic character, and a transgressor of the law of God: - assert this, or you will not please us. Verse 25

Whereas I was blind, now I see - He pays no attention to their cavils, nor to their perversion of justice; but, in the simplicity of his heart, speaks to the fact, of the reality of which he was ready to give them the most substantial evidence. Verse 27

I have told you already - So he did, Joh 9:15. And did ye not hear? Ye certainly did. Why then do you wish to hear it again? Is it because ye wish to become his disciples? The poor man continued steady in his testimony; and, by putting this question to them, he knew he should soon put an end to the debate. Verse 28

Then they reviled him - Ελοιδορησαν. Eustathius derives λοιδορια from λογος, a word, and δορυ, a spear: - they spoke cutting, piercing words. Solomon talks of some who spoke like the piercings of a sword, Pro 12:18. And the psalmist speaks of words that are like drawn swords, Psa 55:21, words which show that the person who speaks them has his heart full of murderous intentions; and that, if he had the same power with a sword as he has with his tongue, he would destroy him whom he thus reproaches.

We are Moses' disciples - By this they meant that they were genuine Pharisees; for they did not allow the Sadducees to be disciples of Moses. Verse 29

We know not from whence he is - As if they had said: We have the fullest assurance that the commission of Moses was Divine; but we have no proof that this man has such a commission: and should we leave Moses, and attach ourselves to this stranger? No. Verse 30

Why herein is a marvellous thing - As if he had said, This is wonderful indeed! Is it possible that such persons as you are, whose business it is to distinguish good from evil, and who pretend to know a true from a false prophet, cannot decide in a case so plain? Has not the man opened my eyes? Is not the miracle known to all the town; and could any one do it who was not endued with the power of God? Verse 31

God heareth not sinners - I believe the word ἁμαρτωλων signifies heathens, or persons not proselyted to the Jewish religion; and therefore it is put in opposition to θεοσεβης, a worshipper of the true God. See the note on Luk 7:37. But in what sense may it be said, following our common version, that God heareth not sinners? When they regard iniquity in their heart - when they wish to be saved, and yet abide in their sins - when they will not separate themselves from the workers and works of iniquity. In all these cases, God heareth not sinners. Verse 32

Since the world began - Εκ του αιωνος, From the age - probably meaning from the commencement of time. Neither Moses nor the prophets have ever opened the eyes of a man who was born blind: if this person then were not the best of beings, would God grant him a privilege which he has hitherto denied to his choicest favorites?

Opened the eyes of one that was born blind - It will readily appear that our Lord performed no surgical operation in this cure: the man was born blind, and he was restored to sight by the power of God; the simple means used could have had no effect in the cure; the miracle is therefore complete. That there are cases, in which a person who was born blind may be restored to sight by surgical means, we know: but no such means were used by Christ: and it is worthy of remark that, from the foundation of the world, no person born blind has been restored to sight, even by surgical operation, till about the year of our Lord, 1728; when the celebrated Dr. Cheselden, by couching the eyes of a young man, 14 years of age, who had been born blind, restored him to perfect soundness. This was the effect of well directed surgery: that performed by Christ was a miracle. Verse 33

If this man were not of God, etc. - A very just conclusion: God is the fountain of all good: all good must proceed from him, and no good can be done but through him; if this person were not commissioned by the good God, he could not perform such beneficent miracles as these. Verse 34

Thou wast altogether born in sins - Thou hast not only been a vile wretch in some other pre-existent state, but thy parents also have been grossly iniquitous; therefore thou and they are punished by this blindness: Thou wast altogether born in sins - thou art no other than a sinful lump of deformity, and utterly unfit to have any connection with those who worship God.

And they cast him out - They immediately excommunicated him, as the margin properly reads - drove him from their assembly with disdain, and forbade his farther appearing in the worship of God. Thus a simple man, guided by the Spirit of truth, and continuing steady in his testimony, utterly confounded the most eminent Jewish doctors. When they had no longer either reason or argument to oppose to him, as a proof of their discomfiture and a monument of their reproach and shame, they had recourse to the secular arm, and thus silenced by political power a person whom they had neither reason nor religion to withstand. They hare had since many followers in their crimes. A false religion, supported by the state, has, by fire and sword silenced those whose truth in the end annihilated the system of their opponents.