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THE KING^S BUSINESS in the world He is the light of the world, and causes division. In this case the dis- but when He goes there is midnight dark ness.
cussion gave an opportunity for testimony. The man showed his manliness by saying, “I am he,” (i.e., “he that sat and begged”). His frank testimony for Jesus caused him excommunication (v. 34), but it brought him a deeper, fuller knowledge of the Lord (vs. 35-38). vs. 10, 11. " Therefore said they (They said therefore) unto him, How (add, then) Were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, (omit, and said) A (The) man that is called Jesus, (omit , ) made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of (omit, the pool of) Siloam, and wash: and (so) I went (add, away) and washed, and I received sight." When this man was asked how his eyes were opened he gave a model statement of the case, short, right to the point, and giving the exact facts. He spoke of his deliverer as “the man that is called Jesus.” Later in the day he said, “He is a prophet” (v. 17). Later still he recognized Him as “the Son of God” (vs. 35-38). Those who heard his testimony desired to see Jesus (V. 12). Such is the power of testimony. He was then brought to the Pharisees, the recognized enemies of Jesus (v. 22, ch. 11:46, 47, 57; 12:42). The man did not dodge the issue even then. His testimony created division even among the Pharisee^ (cf. Acts 14:3, 4). Some decided that He could not be from God because He kept not the Sabbath according to their notions of Sabbath keeping, but others said, “How can a man that is a sinner do such signs?” That is an unanswerable question for, all deniers of the Deity of Christ, for if He is not Divine He is the chief of blasphem ers. The man was not at all daunted by the opposition his testimony had aroused, and boldly proclaimed of Jesus “He is a prophet.” vs. 35, 36. “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him (finding him), he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who (And Who) is He, Lord, that I might (may) believe on Him?” When
vs. 6, 7. “When He had thus spoken, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and He ('omit, He) anointed the eyes of the blind man (his eyes) with the clay, and said unto him, Go ("add , ) wash in the pool of Siloam (which is by inter pretation, Sent). He went his way (away) therefore, and washed, and came seeing.” Jesus helped the man without waiting to be asked to do so. The man’s need Was a prayer. If we are to follow Jesus we ought not to wait until misery comes to us, we should go to it. Jesus in this case did not open the man’s eyes by a mere word, He used means. Of course, there was not the natural power in the clay made of the spit tle to open the eyes of the blind man, though there is a certain small measure of healing power for the eyes in spittle, nevertheless, the Lord did use means in this casé, though they were totally inade quate means for the full accomplishment of the ends sought. The command, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam,” was a test of faith for which the anointing of the eyes with the clay made of the spittle was an inspiration (cf. 2 Kings 5:10-14 • Mark 3:5; Luke 17:14). Siloam means “sent” and was a type of Jesus Himself, the One whom God sent (v. 4; ch. 10:36; Rom. 8:3; Gal. 4:4). If we wish sight for our blind eyes we should go to Jesus Himself and bathe (John 8:12). The man gave the best evidence in the world of faith, i.é., prompt obedience. The result was, “he came seeing.” If we wish sight, salvation, or any other blessing from Jesus the thing to do is just the thing He bids us do. vs. 8, 9. “ The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him (saw him aforetime), that he was blind (a beggar), said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some (Others) said, This (It) is he: others said, He is (No, but he is) like him: but he ( . He) said, I am he.” The blind man’s cure occasioned discussion and division. Christ’s work always arouses discussion
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