The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 7

wntor do not cure birth-blindneee. He ie in religinns gni,Janr,e actuated their nppeal to 8 mnze, ns well ho might be. '.rhe lzvl/31\•>/,a. the PharisP,es. Why should the he,tlrd man eboulcl be renclorecl, nccorcling to Meyer, "I he taken to the Pharisees, or the eynngogue- loolcecl up" (see Mark x,i. 4). It cannot be cnnrt at all, unless some <Jnestion of casuistry eo trnnsln!ecl in vere. 15 nnd 18. Doubt- had been ri<ieed ? The movement was 0110 less it strictly means, "I received eight unquestionably Ml.ven10 to ,Jesus. It could again;" but there ie something in Grotiue's have had no other motive. Nor ce.n any explanation, "No one is incorrectly said to doubt arise that Jesus had vio!e.te<l the receive thnt which, though he be deprived rabbinical rules of the sabbath, though hie of it, belongs to humBn natore as a whole" act bad been in perfect harmony with the (see Westcott). 'l'he eyes were there, but spirit and even letter of the Mosaic L~w. unused. Meyer quotes from Paneaniae the 'l'he making of clay with the spittle und similar use of lzva.JJ/\l-1rew, in reference to the the sand was an infringement of the rule recovery or obtaining of eight by e. man (' Shabbsth,' xxiv. 3). It was curiously born blind. laid down in one of the vexations interpre- Ver. 12.-They say unto him, Where is tations (preserved in Jerusalem Gemara on that Man (Jesue)l Ke eaith, I know not. 'Shabbath,' 14) tlia.t while "wine coul<l by Ver. 13.-They bring to the Pharisees way of reme<ly be applied to the eyelid, on him that aforetime we.a blind, The '' Pha- the ground that this might he treated as risees" is not a conclusive definition of the washing, it was sinful to apply it to the Sanhedrin itself, which is generally denoted inside of the eye" (Edersheim ). And it by the addition of the phrase, "the chief was positively forbidden (in the same Ge- priests" ( eh. vii. 32 or 45). The Pharisees mara) to apply saliva to the eyelid, because were a highly organized society, and some this would be the application of a. remedy. well-known gathering of them may have All medicinal appliances, unless in cases of )>een easily accessible. They were the gene- danger to life or limb, were likewise for- rally accredited religious guides of the bidden. Consequently, the Lord bad broken people. One thing militates a.go.inst such with the traditional glosses on the Law in a casual gathering. •In ver. 18 the term, more ways than one (see Winer, 'Bibi. " the J ewe," the eynqnym of the ruling Realw.,' ii. 346; Lightfoot,' Ad Joan. ix.;' ecclesiastical powers in the city, is once Wetetein on Matt. xii. 9; Wiinsche, in loc.). more intr9duoed. Moreover, the authorities Ver. 15.-Again therefore the Fharisees, before whom ·the discussion and examina- before whom the blind man had been tion were takei;i. appear to possess the po,ver brought, unwilling to rest with mere hear- of excommunication from the synagogue. say evidence of such grievous transgression It appears that, in J ernealem, there existed of the Law, themselves Blso--0r, in their turn two minor eouncils or synagogue-courts, of -asked him (-1,pd,,-.,,, imperfect, were inter- twenty-three assessors each, corresponding rogating) how he received (recovered) hie with the similar courts in the Jewish cities, sight (see note on ver. 11). Not the miracle standing in relation to the Sanhedrin, and itself, but the manne:r of it, interested nnd possessing the faculty of delivering the excited them. And he said to them, (He) minor degrees of excommunication from the put olay upon mine eyes, and I washed, Bnd congregation of Israel. It cannot be said I see. This is a shorter and significant that this presentation of the case to nn Rbridgment of the process already described. ecclesiastical court of more or less authority Tho healed man seems to guess, by their necessarily took place on the dny of the manner, that some charge W!ls being medi- healing. It is nn open question whether tated against his Benefactor, and he shrewdly the courts eat on the sabbath. There is omits the sali-oa e.nd the making of the clay, nothing to prove immediate trial of the o.nd the order of the Saviour, and the place mnttor. whither be had been sent to wash. Ve1·. 14.-Now it was sabbath on the Ver. 16 indicates, as the evangelist so day 1 that Jesus made the clay and opened often does elsewhere (eh. vii. 43; x. 19), his eyes. The phrase is peculiar, and im- that the words and works of Christ produce plies that the dny may hnve been a festival opposite effects on diffcren t clnsses. Certain sabhatb. The introduction here shows that individuals of the Pharisees t:!J.erdfore s:ud the difficulty of the neighbours and other among themselves, This Man-referring to friends h11d already been mieed, nnu. some- .Christ, then uppermost in their minds and thing more than a desire on their part fo1· in their machinations-This Man is not from God, beoause .he keepeth not the sabbath. 1 'Ev if 11µ.lp~ is found in N, B, L, X, nnd The form of the sentence is peculiarly um- tho Syriao nncl Italio Versions (so Tregellcs, tcmptnous, the word "man " being thrown Tiscbendorf (8th eclit.), Westcott and Hort, very emphatically to the encl of the sentence. and R.'l',). '.rh'3 T.R. HTE is read by A, D, r, This, in their opinion, is nuother offence A, A, a, and m11ny other authorities. ag,iiust the Law, llfte1· serious wurning. 'fhe  8 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. [on. xx. 1-41.