The Great Gospel of John
Volume 7

Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching

The Lord and his adversary. Gospel of John, Chapter 9

- Chapter 186 -

Healing before the temple of the man who was born blind.

When we came outside at the large, spacious square in front of the temple, immediately we saw the still young beggar sitting on a stone. He was a little older than 20 years and was blind already since birth.

When My disciples saw him, they knew that this was the blind-born man of whom I referred to on the mountain. Therefore, they asked Me: "Lord and Master. Now who has sinned, himself or his parents, because he came on this world blind-born?"

I said: "How can you still ask such absurd questions? How could he have sinned in the womb and therefore as punishment come blind into this world? However, I am telling you: neither this blind man nor his parents have sinned, but this was allowed so that God's works would be revealed to him for the people. Because now I have to perform the works of Him who has sent Me, as long as the day is lasting (on Earth, namely by the personal presence of the Lord) . Also, that certain night of which I have already spoken to you, will come, but then nobody will be able to accomplish anything. Since I am in this world, I am clearly the Light of the world. After Me comes the night."

My disciples looked at each other and said: "For what use is the present spiritual day for the people if after His return it will be night again, worse than it is now?"

I said: "Is it then My wish that the night will follow? Oh no, but the laziness of the people will want that, and the will of man must remain free. Even if by that he would become a tenfold devil. Because without the total free will, a human being ceases to be a human being, and he is nothing else but a machine, which I have shown you clearly many times."

Here, nobody said anything against it, because they felt My seriousness.

When I said this to My disciples, I bend down to the ground, took a little clay, spat a little spittle on it and made mud of it, which I then rubbed on the eyes of the blind man.

Then I said to the blind man: "Go now to the pool of Siloam (that means, I send him to that place and his guide guided him) and wash yourself."

He went to the place, washed himself and came back again seeing.

His neighbors and those who saw him before knew that he was a blind beggar and said: "Is this not the blind man who was begging on that stone before?"

Some of them said: "Yes, yes, that is him."

Others said: "He was born blind and it never happened before that such a person has ever been made seeing. But he looks exactly the same as the blind person."

Finally, the person who was blind before said himself: "What are you talking about me? I am the one who had been blind before and am now seeing."

The bystanders asked: "How did it happen that your eyes were opened and you could see? Who did that?"

And he answered them: "The Man who said silently to me that His name is Jesus (Mediator, Savior), made mud, rubbed it on my eyes and then said that I had to go to the pool of Siloam to wash my eyes. I did that, went to it, washed my eyes and became seeing."

Further, they said to him: "Then where is this Jesus now?"

He said: "But this is a remarkable question of you. You were seeing when He rubbed the mud on my eyes and you did not notice Him? Then how could I have noticed Him while I was blind? Since that was impossible, I can also not know now where He is, although I myself would gladly like to know where and who He is, in order to give Him my sincere thanks."

When this man gave such an answer to those who asked questions, the bystanders said: "Oh, this is a real miracle and the Man who made you seeing must be a great prophet. That must be heard by our arch-Jews and the Pharisees, who are claiming that in our time, because of the gentiles, no more prophet will arise until the Jews have driven all the gentiles out of the country. They must hear that even now, just like before, there are great prophets, despite that the gentiles are in our country. Let yourself therefore be guided by us to the Pharisees. We all will testify for you."

The boy who had been blind before, thought this to be a good idea and he agreed to be taken to the Pharisees in the temple.

(Here must be added the special remark that this was not an ordinary Sabbath on which I healed the blind man. It was the Sabbath after the feast, which had to be celebrated even much more strictly than no matter what other ordinary Sabbath. [P.S.: It was equally unfit for the Jews as it would be now for you during the so-called octaves after the great Sunday and feast days]. On such a Sabbath it was for the Pharisees an even greater offence to do one work or another).

When the healed boy stood before the Pharisees, those who brought him there related all the wondrous things that had happened.

After hearing this, the Pharisees turned to the healed boy and asked him once more - although they already heard everything from the witnesses - how he became seeing again. And in order to confirm it one more time, they also asked it once more to the witnesses.

And he said: "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed myself on His advice with the water of the pool of Siloam and I became seeing, just like I am now standing seeing before you."

Upon that, a few Pharisees said: "The Man who healed this blind man cannot be called by God (to be a prophet), because He does not keep such an exalted Sabbath and does not hollow it."

But the witnesses, and also some more intelligent Jews and Pharisees asked: "But how is it possible that a sinful man can perform such signs?"

Because of that, there was discord and conflict among them.

When they continued for awhile disputing with one another and could not agree, those who declared that I was a sinful man, turned again to the boy who was healed and asked him again (the Pharisees): "What do you say yourself about the One who has opened your eyes?"

And he said: "I am saying what those who brought me here said of Him: He is a prophet."

Then those who declared that I was a sinful man said (the Pharisees): "But we do not believe at all that he has ever been blind, but you have arranged this among yourselves in order to provoke a disagreement between us."

Upon that, the witnesses said, and this very emphatically: "This man still has his parents. He will know where they live. Let them come and ask them. They will know best if this man was ever able to see."

Then they let his parents come, who still did not know anything about the fact that their son had become seeing.

They came quickly and the Pharisees asked them immediately a few subtle questions (the Pharisees): "Is this your son of whom you say that he was born blind? And if this is so, then how come that he can see now?"

The parents answered very simply: "We know that this boy is truly our son and that he was born blind, but how he now has become seeing and who has opened his eyes, that we do not know. Yet, he is old enough. Therefore, let him speak for himself."

The parents, who already knew Me and suspected that I made their son seeing, gave this answer in the presence of the Pharisees and the Jews because they were afraid of them. For they knew that the chiefs and the arch-Jews had already agreed since long that everyone who is confessing that I am the Anointed of God must be most severely excommunicated. And therefore, it was more intelligent of the parents to say to the Pharisees and arch-Jews: 'He is old enough. Ask him.'

Then again, they called the boy who had been blind, and said to him (the Pharisees): "Give all honor to God, because we know that the Man who made you seeing is a sinner."

But the man who was healed answered them: "If that Man is a sinner or not, I really do not know, but what I do know very well is that I was completely blind since my birth and was never able to distinguish the day from the night and that I now, just like you, can see entirely everything."

Then they said to him again (the Pharisees): "Then tell us straightforward: what did this Man do with you and how did He open your eyes?"

The one who was healed said, visibly impatiently: "I have just told you. Did you then not listen to me? Why do you want to hear the same thing once more now? Do you wish to become disciples of Him. That would surely not harm you."

Now the Pharisees and arch-Jews of the temple became angry, cursed the man immediately because of this question and then said full of rage: "Maybe you are a disciple of Him, but we are disciples of Moses! We know that God has spoken to Moses, but of this Man who made you seeing, we do not know where He comes from!"

The one who was healed however, looked at all of them with an inquiring look, and then said: "But this is remarkable, the fact that you still do not know from where this Wonderworker comes from. And still, you can see undeniably that He gave me, who have been born blind, the light in the eyes. This Man has probably done more of those signs and still you say that you do not know where He comes from?"

On this, the Pharisees and arch-Jews of the temple said with a violent voice: "We know that God does not hear sinners. God hears only a pious man who is without sin and who does God's will in everything!"

Upon this, the one who was healed said: "Hmm, strange. Nowhere in the world it has been heard that someone has - let's say - opened the eyes of someone who is born blind. If this Man would not be filled with such a might and power from God, truly, then He would not be able to accomplish such a thing, just like you also are not able to open the eyes of someone who has been born blind, although you say that you are disciples of Moses. If ever you would be able to do such thing then the whole world would have known this for a long time, and then your houses would be completely filled with gold from the bottom upwards."

At this answer of the healed boy the Pharisees and the arch-Jews of the temple became even more furious and they shouted literally out of rage: "What, do you want to teach us while you came in this world afflicted with all sins!?"

They grabbed him and pushed him with his parents and witnesses outside.

When all of these were outside, the one who was healed still cried loudly back at them: "May God repay you, you presumptuous ones, and may He bring light in the blindness of your soul."

However, they slammed the door and did not busy themselves anymore with the healed man who told them the truth right in their face.

Footnotes

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