SERMON XLVII.

JOHN, IX. 35-41.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

WE last week saw the poor man whose eyes had been opened cast out of the synagogue for confessing that Jesus was a Prophet. More than this he had not said, more than this he did not know, but he was on the eve of knowing more. The same

gracious Saviour who had opened his bodily eyes, was preparing also to open the eyes of his understanding; his connexion with Jesus was to be rich in blessings, the last things better than the first.

"Jesus heard that they had cast him out." I must pause here to remark on the view which these words give us of the manhood of Christ. They shew how entirely he was a man like ourselves, sin only excepted. Occasionally, as a Prophet, he exerted a miraculous power. Then he could see things invisible to other eyes, and know things which no tongue of man had uttered. But ordinarily he gained information like other men, from what he saw, and from what he heard. It was from report that he learned what treatment the poor beggar had received for his sake. He heard that the Pharisees had cast him out. And will he suffer this faithful man to be a loser for his sake? No. If he is thrust out of the synagogue he shall obtain a place in the kingdom of God. The thoughts of Jesus towards him are thoughts of mercy. He finds him,

and asks, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" It is probable that the poor man had never seen Christ till now. At the first interview he was blind, and had never beheld the human face. Nor does it appear that after he received his sight he had gone back to Jesus, who probably remained not in the place where he had made the clay and anointed the eyes of the blind. He could not therefore know Christ by sight. But he might know again that voice which had said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam." He therefore answers as to one whom he acknowledged for a Prophet, calling him Lord, "Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?"

We have seen that our Lord was exceedingly cautious in openly professing himself to be the Christ. He made it evident that he claimed to be such, yet avoided calling himself so in express terms. This was what his enemies wished him to do; it would have served their purpose; and therefore it was his wisdom not to do it. But towards this poor man there was no reason for him to use the same reserve which he used towards the other Jews. There was no danger of this man's accusing him before Pilate of making himself a king in opposition to Cæsar. In fact, however, calling himself the Son of God was not the same thing as calling himself the Christ. It was nothing more than what he had continually done before the Pharisees themselves, when he called God his Father. And perhaps the Pharisees of whom we read in the fortieth verse were even now present, when he addressed to his humble enquirer the distinct avowal, "Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee." This declaration was not in vain. The word spoken was conveyed to the man's heart with power and with the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance; he believed, and he confessed, "Lord, I believe: and he worshipped him." Jesus, as a man, was perfectly holy; and being such, he would not suffer a homage to be paid to him which was not his due if he had not been equal with God, he would have thought it robbery to receive the honour which belonged to God only; and therefore when the poor man worshipped him, he would have said with Peter, "Stand up, for I myself also am a man," or, with Paul and Barnabas, would have exclaimed, "Why doest thou this thing, I am a man of like passions

:

with thyself." But he admitted the worship; and thus, as the thirty-fifth verse shewed him to be very man, so the thirtyeighth declares him to be very God. Jesus, having thus revealed his character and person to the poor man, turns to the spectators, amongst whom were some Pharisees, and teaches them that humbling yet encouraging truth which was to be gathered from the transaction.

And here we may by the way observe, that when the ministers of the gospel, from the bodily cures which Christ performed, infer his power to heal the diseases of the soul; when from his giving sight to the blind, causing the deaf to hear, and enabling the dumb to speak, they take occasion to shew that he opens the eyes of those who are spiritually blind, unstops the ears of those who are deaf to divine truth, and causes the tongue, once dumb on sacred subjects, to sing the praises of God, they are not to be charged with fanciful spiritualizing; they only do what Christ does in the instance before us. He sets forth the bodily cure which he had performed in the case of this poor man, not only as a sample of what he did for men in a spiritual sense; but as a specimen of what he came into the world to do. He represents it as the great object for which he humbled himself and visited our earth. "For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind."

This representation agrees with what devout Simeon predicted on the birth of Christ, "This child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel," for the fall of those who were high, for the raising up of those who were low, for the abasing of the proud, for the exalting of the humble; for giving wisdom to the simple, and taking the wise in their own craftiness; "that they which see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind." All men are by nature dark and blind as to spiritual things. They have eyes, but see not, they have ears but hear not. The only difference is that some feel their darkness, others are insensible to it. Our Lord therefore speaks of them here, not as they really are, but as they are in their own judgment; by them that see not he means those who know their own ignorance, by them that see he means those who say they see, as it is expressed in the forty

first verse. Now he came into the world for judgment, to discriminate between these two characters, and to deal with them accordingly, to give sight to those who owned themselves blind, to confirm the blindness of those who said that they saw. We have not to search narrowly for proofs of his thus dealing with men. If there is one thing more evident than any other in the gospel, it is perhaps that which St. Paul thus expresses, "If any man will be wise in Christ, let him become a fool that he may be wise;" "Let him become a fool," that is, not become really foolish, for he is taking one step towards wisdom, but let him know and confess that he is one, let him feel that in divine things he knows nothing, that he needs to be taught by the word and Spirit of Christ, and let him stand prepared to receive whatever that word and that Spirit may teach, though it be not only what he did not know before, but contrary to what he thought before; for if he stands out against any thing which Christ would teach because it accords not with his pre-conceived opinions, then he is one of those who say, we see; and the judgment concerning him is that should be made blind.

This is a truth of so great importance that it stands out very conspicuous in scripture. Does our Lord state what is the qualification for entering into his kingom? It is this childlike teachableness. "Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." And when is it that he expresses a peculiar and delighted acquiescence in the dispensations of his Father? It is when he contemplates him as hiding the things which belong to their peace from the wise and prudent, and revealing them unto babes. How does St. Paul describe the state of man by nature, and by the cultivation of intellect? As wise, and attaining to a saving knowledge of divine things? Hear him, "The world by wisdom knew not God," "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." How does Solomon teach men to acquire divine wisdom? By natural sagacity and learned investigation ? No, there he would agree with Zophar, "Canst thou by searching find out God, canst thou find out the Almighty

to perfection? It is as high as heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know?" He therefore sends men to prayer, to ask for it, "If thou criest after wisdom and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hid treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God."

St. James gives exactly the same advice, "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.” What Solomon and James recommend, David did. In his Psalms we find him continually praying for divine teaching, "Open thou mine eyes that I may behold the wondrous things of thy law." “Teach me thy statutes," "Give me understanding that I may learn thy commandments.”

And if any of you, my brethren, would attain to true wisdom, you must proceed in the same manner. But this doctrine will never suit Pharisees in any age, they will be sure to object against it, as did their brethren of old. The Pharisees before whom our Lord spoke were displeased at his saying. The application was too obvious to escape their apprehension. They saw that he spoke with a view to them. And if it was so, what should have been the effect on their minds? Should they not have been led thereby to serious consideration? Should they not have said, these words have an awful import towards us, and they are spoken by one who has given strong reasons to believe that he is a Prophet; let us weigh, and examine, and search our own hearts before we condemn. This had been

reasonable; but thus they did not act. Their pride was wounded; and they tauntingly ask, "Are we blind also?" Blind alas! they were, and by denying it they both confirmed their blindness, and enhanced their guilt. Our Lord therefore tells them, "If ye were blind ye should have no sin, but now ye say we see, therefore your sin remaineth." This declaration is true to the utmost meaning of the letter. Total invincible ignorance would take away all guilt. If men had not faculties to discern between good and evil, if they erred from the right path, not from perverseness of will, but from absolute incapacity, they would hardly be accountable creatures.