St John Chapter ix : Verses 13-22
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| They bring him that had been blind to the Pharisees. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
13 They bring him that had been blind to the Pharisees.
14 Now it was the sabbath, when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
15 Again therefore the Pharisees asked him, how he had received his sight. But he said to them: He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and I see.
16 Some therefore of the Pharisees said: This man is not of God, who keepeth not the sabbath. But others said: How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
17 They say therefore to the blind man again: What sayest thou of him that hath opened thy eyes? And he said: He is a prophet.
18 The Jews then 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,
19 And asked them, saying: Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then doth he now see?
20 His parents answered them, and said: We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:
21 But how he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: ask himself: he is of age, let him speak for himself.
22 These things his parents said, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had already agreed among themselves, that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
13 Ἄγουσιν αὐτὸν πρὸς τοὺς Φαρισαίους τόν ποτε τυφλόν.13 Adducunt eum ad pharisaeos, qui caecus fuerat.14 ἦν δὲ σάββατον ⸂ἐν ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ⸃ τὸν πηλὸν ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἀνέῳξεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς.14 Erat autem sabbatum quando lutum fecit Jesus, et aperuit oculos ejus.15 πάλιν οὖν ἠρώτων αὐτὸν καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι πῶς ἀνέβλεψεν. ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Πηλὸν ἐπέθηκέν μου ἐπὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, καὶ ἐνιψάμην, καὶ βλέπω.15 Iterum ergo interrogabant eum pharisaei quomodo vidisset. Ille autem dixit eis : Lutum mihi posuit super oculos, et lavi, et video.16 ἔλεγον οὖν ἐκ τῶν Φαρισαίων τινές· ⸂Οὐκ ἔστιν οὗτος παρὰ θεοῦ ὁ ἄνθρωπος⸃, ὅτι τὸ σάββατον οὐ τηρεῖ. ⸀ἄλλοι ἔλεγον· Πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος ἁμαρτωλὸς τοιαῦτα σημεῖα ποιεῖν; καὶ σχίσμα ἦν ἐν αὐτοῖς.16 Dicebant ergo ex pharisaeis quidam : Non est hic homo a Deo, qui sabbatum non custodit. Alii autem dicebant : Quomodo potest homo peccator haec signa facere? Et schisma erat inter eos.17 λέγουσιν ⸀οὖν τῷ τυφλῷ πάλιν· ⸂Τί σὺ⸃ λέγεις περὶ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἠνέῳξέν σου τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς; ὁ δὲ εἶπεν ὅτι Προφήτης ἐστίν.17 Dicunt ergo caeco iterum : Tu quid dicis de illo qui aperuit oculos tuos? Ille autem dixit : Quia propheta est.18 Οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν οὖν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι περὶ αὐτοῦ ὅτι ⸂ἦν τυφλὸς⸃ καὶ ἀνέβλεψεν, ἕως ὅτου ἐφώνησαν τοὺς γονεῖς αὐτοῦ ⸂τοῦ ἀναβλέψαντος⸃18 Non crediderunt ergo Judaei de illo, quia caecus fuisset et vidisset, donec vocaverunt parentes ejus, qui viderat :19 καὶ ἠρώτησαν αὐτοὺς λέγοντες· Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς ὑμῶν, ὃν ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι τυφλὸς ἐγεννήθη; πῶς οὖν ⸂βλέπει ἄρτι⸃;19 et interrogaverunt eos, dicentes : Hic est filius vester, quem vos dicitis quia caecus natus est? quomodo ergo nunc videt?20 ἀπεκρίθησαν ⸀οὖν οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπαν· Οἴδαμεν ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς ἡμῶν καὶ ὅτι τυφλὸς ἐγεννήθη·20 Responderunt eis parentes ejus, et dixerunt : Scimus quia hic est filius noster, et quia caecus natus est:21 πῶς δὲ νῦν βλέπει οὐκ οἴδαμεν, ἢ τίς ἤνοιξεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἡμεῖς οὐκ οἴδαμεν· ⸂αὐτὸν ἐρωτήσατε, ἡλικίαν ἔχει⸃, αὐτὸς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ λαλήσει.21 quomodo autem nunc videat, nescimus : aut quis ejus aperuit oculos, nos nescimus; ipsum interrogate : aetatem habet, ipse de se loquatur.22 ταῦτα εἶπαν οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐφοβοῦντο τοὺς Ἰουδαίους, ἤδη γὰρ συνετέθειντο οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἵνα ἐάν τις αὐτὸν ὁμολογήσῃ χριστόν, ἀποσυνάγωγος γένηται.22 Haec dixerunt parentes ejus, quoniam timebant Judaeos : jam enim conspiraverunt Judaei, ut si quis eum confiteretur esse Christum, extra synagogam fieret.
Annotations
13. They bring him that had been blind to the Pharisees. They brought him to the Pharisees, that they might examine the matter. This was done by the purpose of God, that the miracle might be fully attested and made widely known, so that the Pharisees could not deny it. Whence S. Augustine says, “The blind man confessed, the heart of the wicked was broken.” “They bring him to the Pharisees, as being judges, and therefore assembled in their house of judgment.” This house seems to have been a synagogue, close to the temple; for a question of religion and belief was at stake, which the Pharisees had to decide by examining the miracle, and to judge accordingly whether He who wrought it was the Messiah or not.
14. Now it was the sabbath, when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. This is added to show their evil disposition; for they sought occasion against Jesus, and wished to detract from the miracle in consequence of its seeming violation of the law. For in truth to make clay in order to give sight to the blind, is not a breaking but a sanctification of the Sabbath.
17. They say therefore to the blind man again: What sayest thou of him that hath opened thy eyes? And he said: He is a prophet. That is a specially holy man, a wonder-worker. So Abraham (Gen xx. 7) is called a Prophet (see what is said on 1 Cor. xiv. ad rem, and Ecclus. xlviii. 12, on the various meanings of the word Prophet). “Being at present not anointed in heart, he did not confess Christ to be the Son of God. But yet he did not speak falsely of Him. For the Lord said of Himself, “A prophet is not without honour, save in His own country.”
They asked the blind man the same question again and again, out of bitter hatred of Christ, and also to involve him in the same guilt with Christ. They wished also to elicit something out of his mouth to make him contradict himself, that so they might convict him of a lie. But God caught them in their own craftiness. For by this frequent examination, the consistent confession of the blind man, and consequently the glory of Christ, shone forth. S. Chrysostom wisely says,
👉 “It is the nature of truth to become stronger by the snares laid against it.”
And that was now the case, for the parents are brought forward, who fully acknowledged their son, and confirmed his words.
18. The Jews then 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. They hoped to elicit something from them to refute either the blind man or Christ, “by finding that he was not born blind,” says S. Chrysostom, or was not quite blind but dim-sighted, or that he regained his sight by magic, and not by the miracle wrought by Christ. “They sought,” says S. Augustine, “how they might accuse him, that they might cast him out of the synagogue,” as they shortly afterwards did. Theophylact states that this was their dilemma. It is either false that your son now sees, or that he was blind at first. But it is admitted that he sees, it was therefore false that he was, as he says, previously blind. His parents reply cautiously. They knew him to be their son, and that he was born blind. But how he gained his sight they knew not. They speak with prudence so as not to deny the truth, nor yet incur the peril of excommunication. And hence they say, “He is of age,” meaning, says S. Augustine, “we should justly be compelled to speak for an infant, for it could not speak for itself. But he is a man who can speak for himself, therefore (say they) ask him.”
22. These things his parents said, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had already agreed among themselves, that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. “But it was no evil to be put out of the synagogue,” says S. Augustine, “for they expelled, but Christ received him.” “But the parents said this, because they were less firm than their son, who stood forth as an intrepid witness of the truth,” says Theophylact.
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SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.
The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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