I. The disposition exercised by him —
We cannot but observe, that, to the question put to him by our Lord, there was something very re- markable in his reply: " Dost thou believe in the Son of God ?" " Who is he, Lord, that I might be- lieve on him?" Now,
In this he manifested a singular degree of can- dour—
[The question, as applied to him, might appear almost unreasonable : for he had been blind from his birth ; and therefore had been cut off, in a measure, from many sources of information which were open to persons of his own age and rank in society. It is true, that the Messiah was generally- expected among his countrymen, and that he was expected as "the Son of God:" but, from the obstacles which had ob- structed his enjoyment of social converse, it could scarcely be hoped that he had collected much information on the subject : and, as for the benefit arising from ocular testimony, he was altogether, by his blindness, precluded from it. Yet, no com- plaint was made by him on these grounds, nor any excuse offered for his own ignorance ; but a desire was expressed to obtain information, and a willingness was declared to act upon it. The excellence of this disposition will best appear, by contrasting it with others which are generally exei'cised on similar occasions.
Contrast it with prejudice ; of which the Pharisees exhibited a striking example on this occasion. They could not deny that the miracle had been wrought : yet they were not at all the more disposed to receive the testimony of Jesus. As those, who saw that devils were cast out by him, would rather account for it by a supposed confederacy with the prince of the devils, than confess the Messiahship of Jesus b ; and, as those who saw Lazarus after his restoration to life plotted to kill him, lest the sight of him should fasten conviction on the minds of any, and induce them to believe in Jesus ; so, in the passage before us, the Pharisees determined to resist all evidence, however strong, and to reject the Saviour, whatever proofs he might give of his Divine mission0. But against such perverseness, the man, of whom my text speaks, bore, both in word and deed, a most decisive testimony.
Contrast it with indifference ; of which we have a deplorable instance in Pilate. Our Lord had told him plainly, " For this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice." On
b Matt. ix. 34. c John xii. 10, 11.