39 And Jesus said, `For judgment I to this world did come, that those not seeing may see, and those seeing may become blind.'
`And this is the judgment, that the light hath come to the world, and men did love the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil;
to open their eyes, to turn `them' from darkness to light, and `from' the authority of the Adversary unto God, for their receiving forgiveness of sins, and a lot among those having been sanctified, by faith that `is' toward me.
Again, therefore, Jesus spake to them, saying, `I am the light of the world; he who is following me shall not walk in the darkness, but he shall have the light of the life.'
`The Spirit of the Lord `is' upon me, Because He did anoint me; To proclaim good news to the poor, Sent me to heal the broken of heart, To proclaim to captives deliverance, And to blind receiving of sight, To send away the bruised with deliverance,
For God did not send His Son to the world that he may judge the world, but that the world may be saved through him;
wherefore he saith, `Arouse thyself, thou who art sleeping, and arise out of the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee.'
in whom the god of this age did blind the minds of the unbelieving, that there doth not shine forth to them the enlightening of the good news of the glory of the Christ, who is the image of God; for not ourselves do we preach, but Christ Jesus -- Lord, and ourselves your servants because of Jesus; because `it is' God who said, Out of darkness light `is' to shine, who did shine in our hearts, for the enlightening of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
to the one, indeed, a fragrance of death to death, and to the other, a fragrance of life to life; and for these things who is sufficient?
What then? What Israel doth seek after, this it did not obtain, and the chosen did obtain, and the rest were hardened, according as it hath been written, `God gave to them a spirit of deep sleep, eyes not to see, and ears not to hear,' -- unto this very day, and David saith, `Let their table become for a snare, and for a trap, and for a stumbling-block, and for a recompense to them; let their eyes be darkened -- not to behold, and their back do Thou always bow down.'
he answered and said, `Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?' And Jesus said to him, `Thou hast both seen him, and he who is speaking with thee is he;' and he said, `I believe, sir,' and bowed before him.
he answered, therefore, and said, `If he be a sinner -- I have not known, one thing I have known, that, being blind, now I see.'
for neither doth the Father judge any one, but all the judgment He hath given to the Son, that all may honour the Son according as they honour the Father; he who is not honouring the Son, doth not honour the Father who sent him. `Verily, verily, I say to you -- He who is hearing my word, and is believing Him who sent me, hath life age-during, and to judgment he doth not come, but hath passed out of the death to the life. `Verily, verily, I say to you -- There cometh an hour, and it now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those having heard shall live; for, as the Father hath life in himself, so He gave also to the Son to have life in himself, and authority He gave him also to do judgment, because he is Son of Man.
and lo, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last.'
and Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, `Lo, this `one' is set for the falling and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against --
To give light to those sitting in darkness and death-shade, To guide our feet to a way of peace.'
`Because of this, in similes do I speak to them, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand, and fulfilled on them is the prophecy of Isaiah, that saith, With hearing ye shall hear, and ye shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and ye shall not perceive, for made gross was the heart of this people, and with the ears they heard heavily, and their eyes they did close, lest they might see with the eyes, and with the ears might hear, and with the heart understand, and turn back, and I might heal them.
blind receive sight, and lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and deaf hear, dead are raised, and poor have good news proclaimed,
but if thine eye may be evil, all thy body shall be dark; if, therefore, the light that `is' in thee is darkness -- the darkness, how great!
And Jehovah putteth forth His hand, and striketh against my mouth, and Jehovah saith unto me, `Lo, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have charged thee this day concerning the nations, and concerning the kingdoms, to pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.'
They have not known, nor do they understand, For He hath daubed their eyes from seeing, Their heart from acting wisely.
And He saith, `Go, and thou hast said to this people, Hear ye -- to hear, and ye do not understand, And see ye -- to see, and ye do not know.
and ye `are' a choice race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired, that the excellences ye may shew forth of Him who out of darkness did call you to His wondrous light;
and in all deceitfulness of the unrighteousness in those perishing, because the love of the truth they did not receive for their being saved,
Ye deaf, hear; and ye blind, look to see. Who `is' blind but My servant? And deaf as My messenger I send? Who `is' blind as he who is at peace, Yea, blind, as the servant of Jehovah? Seeing many things, and thou observest not, Opening ears, and he heareth not.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on John 9
Commentary on John 9 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 9
After Christ's departure out of the temple, in the close of the foregoing chapter, and before this happened which is recorded in this chapter, he had been for some time abroad in the country, it is supposed about two or three months; in which interval of time Dr. Lightfoot and other harmonists place all the passages that occur from Lu. 10:17 to 13:17. What is recorded in ch. 7 and 8 was at the feast of tabernacles, in September; what is recorded in this and the following chapter was at the feast of dedication in December, ch. 10:22. Mr. Clark and others place this immediately after the foregoing chapter. In this chapter we have,
Jhn 9:1-7
We have here sight given to a poor beggar that had been blind from his birth. Observe,
Now,
Jhn 9:8-12
Such a wonderful event as the giving of sight to a man born blind could not but be the talk of the town, and many heeded it no more than they do other town-talk, that is but nine days' wonder; but here we are told what the neighbours said of it, for the confirmation of the matter of fact. That which at first was not believed without scrutiny may afterwards be admitted without scruple. Two things are debated in this conference about it:-
Jhn 9:13-34
One would have expected that such a miracle as Christ wrought upon the blind man would have settled his reputation, and silenced and shamed all opposition, but it had the contrary effect; instead of being embraced as a prophet for it, he is prosecuted as a criminal.
Jhn 9:35-38
In these verses we may observe,
Jhn 9:39-41
Christ, having spoken comfort to the poor man that was persecuted, here speaks conviction to his persecutors, a specimen of the distributions of trouble and rest at the great day, 2 Th. 1:6, 7. Probably this was not immediately after his discourse with the man, but he took the next opportunity that offered itself to address the Pharisees. Here is,