34 They answered and said to him, `In sins thou wast born altogether, and thou dost teach us!' and they cast him forth without.
These things said his parents, because they were afraid of the Jews, for already had the Jews agreed together, that if any one may confess him -- Christ, he may be put out of the synagogue;
and his disciples asked him, saying, `Rabbi, who did sin, this one or his parents, that he should be born blind?'
Hear a word of Jehovah, Ye who are trembling unto His word, Said have your brethren who are hating you, Who are driving you out, for My name's sake: `Honoured is Jehovah, and we look on your joy,' But they are ashamed.
Lo, in iniquity I have been brought forth, And in sin doth my mother conceive me.
ye do the works of your father.' They said, therefore, to him, `We of whoredom have not been born; one Father we have -- God;'
did any one out of the rulers believe in him? or out of the Pharisees? but this multitude, that is not knowing the law, is accursed.'
And those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and they said to him, `Are we also blind?'
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ -- ye being gathered together, also my spirit -- with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver up such a one to the Adversary for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
among whom also we all did walk once in the desires of our flesh, doing the wishes of the flesh and of the thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath -- as also the others,
I did write to the assembly, but he who is loving the first place among them -- Diotrephes -- doth not receive us;
and that no one may be able to buy, or to sell, except he who is having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
all that the Father doth give to me will come unto me; and him who is coming unto me, I may in no wise cast without,
`Two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer; the Pharisee having stood by himself, thus prayed: God, I thank Thee that I am not as the rest of men, rapacious, unrighteous, adulterers, or even as this tax-gatherer; I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all things -- as many as I possess. `And the tax-gatherer, having stood afar off, would not even the eyes lift up to the heaven, but was smiting on his breast, saying, God be propitious to me -- the sinner! I say to you, this one went down declared righteous, to his house, rather than that one: for every one who is exalting himself shall be humbled, and he who is humbling himself shall be exalted.'
And one of the lawyers answering, saith to him, `Teacher, these things saying, us also thou dost insult;'
`Happy are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you, and shall reproach, and shall cast forth your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake --
`And if he may not hear them, say `it' to the assembly, and if also the assembly he may not hear, let him be to thee as the heathen man and the tax-gatherer. `Verily I say to you, Whatever things ye may bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever things ye may loose on the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens.
Who are saying, `Keep to thyself, come not nigh to me, For I have declared thee unholy.' These `are' a smoke in Mine anger, A fire burning all the day.
A man often reproved, hardening the neck, Is suddenly broken, and there is no healing.
Cast out a scorner -- and contention goeth out, And strife and shame cease.
The instructor of a scorner Is receiving for it -- shame, And a reprover of the wicked -- his blemish. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee, Give reproof to the wise, and he loveth thee.
And it cometh to pass, in his speaking unto him, that he saith to him, `For a counsellor to the king have we appointed thee? cease for thee; why do they smite thee?' And the prophet ceaseth, and saith, `I have known that God hath counselled to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened to my counsel.'
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,