March 15 – Fourth Sunday of Lent

OVERVIEW: The twenty-third psalm transitions to the joys of resurrection life (ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER), enumerating the kindness we receive from the Lord (CASSIODORUS) and setting forth for our contemplation the heavenly sacraments (AMBROSE). Attention is focused on the Lord, the right shepherd (AUGUSTINE), the One who feeds the sheep (THEODORET). Acknowledgment of him is an act of complete dependence (AUGUSTINE). The Lord leads to pastures that feed the soul (AUGUSTINE), to the waters of baptism (AUGUSTINE, THEODORET, CASSIODORUS), because of what he did for us on the cross (ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER). We receive righteousness for his name’s sake, not by our merit (AUGUSTINE). The Lord illumines our darkness (AUGUSTINE), enabling us to walk through rather than remain in it (ORIGEN). We have assurance of salvation in Christ (CASSIODORUS). Faith eliminates fear (EVAGRIUS) because of the indwelling presence of Christ (AUGUSTINE).
The psalm goes on to speak of the support and guidance we have from him (THEODORET). He corrects us out of love (JEROME) and consoles us even in the pain of correction (CASSIODORUS). When threatened by his judgment, we look to him mercy (ORIGEN). The psalm then speaks to the food he gives us (AUGUSTINE), a spiritual table even in the midst of trials (ORIGEN). Symbolically, the psalm shows us the Lord’s table (EUSEBIUS), which gives us the true food of the Word of God (ORIGEN, AMBROSE). His cup sobers the mind and spirit (CYPRIAN, CASSIODORUS), granting us the grace of love (FULGENTIUS). He is our head that was anointed (CASSIODORUS). The table is a blessing for us but punishment for them (THEOPHILUS OF ALEXANDRIA). The Lord’s lovingkindness does not wait for our requests (THEODORET). His mercy precedes and follows us (AUGUSTINE, CASSIODORUS), putting us in the position of always receiving grace from him (AMBROSE). We find his blessings in the church (ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER) and in the kingdom to come (CASSIODORUS).

23:1 The Lord Is My Shepherd
THE JOY OF RESURRECTION. ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: We have in the previous psalm the tribulation of the passion. In this one let us receive the joy of the resurrection. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 23.
THANKSGIVING FOR TEN KINDNESSES. CASSIODORUS: Throughout the entire psalm, the speaker is the most faithful Christian, who has been reborn through water and the Holy Spirit, for whom the old age of the first man has been set aside. He gives thanks that he has been brought from the dryness of sin to places of pasture and to restoring water through the Lord’s generosity. We should also observe that, as he accepted the Ten Commandments of the Law, so here he rejoices that he has been enriched with ten kindnesses. These kindnesses are not related in separate verses, but are described briefly in phrases. EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 23.1.
HEAVENLY SACRAMENTS. AMBROSE: How often have you heard Psalm 23 and not understood it! See how it is applicable to the heavenly sacraments: “The Lord feeds me, and I shall want nothing; he has set me in a place of pasture; he has brought me on the water of refreshment; he has converted my soul. He has led me on the paths of justice for his own name’s sake. For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for you are with me. . . . Your rod is power, the staff suffering, that is, the eternal divinity of Christ, but also corporeal suffering; the one created, the other redeemed. You have prepared a table before me against them that afflict me. You have anointed my head with oil; and my chalice that inebriates me, how goodly it is!” ON THE SACRAMENTS 5.3.13.
THE RIGHT SHEPHERD. AUGUSTINE: Since my shepherd is the Lord Jesus Christ, I shall not lack anything. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 23.1-2.
THE ONE WHO FEEDS THE SHEEP. THEODORET OF CYR: Having said in the psalm before this, “The needy eat and will be filled, and those who seek him out will praise the Lord,” and again, “All the prosperous of the earth ate and adored him,” here he suggests the provider of such food and calls the feeder shepherd. This in fact is the name Christ the Lord also gave himself: “I am the good shepherd, I know my own, and I am known by my own.” It is also what he called himself through the prophet Ezekiel. So here, too, all who enjoyed the saving food cry out, “The Lord shepherds me, and nothing will be wanting for me”: this shepherd regales those shepherded by him with enjoyment of good things of all kinds. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 23.1.
COMPLETE DEPENDENCE. AUGUSTINE: When you say, “The Lord is my shepherd,” no proper grounds are left for you to trust in yourself. SERMON 366.2.

23:2 Green Pastures and Still Waters
FOOD FOR THE SOUL. AUGUSTINE: The pastures that this good shepherd has prepared for you, in which he has settled you for you to take your fill, are not various kinds of grasses and green things, among which some are sweet to the taste, some extremely bitter, which as the seasons succeed one another are sometimes there and sometimes not. Your pastures are the words of God and his commandments, and they have all been sown as sweet grasses. These pastures had been tasted by that man who said to God, “How sweet are your words to my palate, more so than honey and the honeycomb in my mouth!” SERMON 366.3.
THE WATER OF REBIRTH. THEODORET OF CYR: He hints at the water of rebirth, in which the baptized person longs for grace and sheds the old age of sin and is made young instead of being old. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 23.2.
THE WATERS OF BAPTISM. AUGUSTINE: He nurtured me beside the water of baptism, where those who have lost their soundness and strength are made new. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 23.1-2.
THE REFRESHING WATER OF BAPTISM. CASSIODORUS: “The water of refreshment” is the baptismal font through which the soul, barren because of the dryness of sin, is watered by divine gifts in order that it may produce good fruits. EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 23.2.
BECAUSE OF WHAT THE LORD DID FOR US. ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: The Lord leads me. That is the word of the one who the church, settled in a place of pasture and drawn from the water of reflection, has received, the one who is made complete from the suffering of the Lord. When the stream flows, it pours forth from deep veins, there freshness, there pleasantness, there renewal. These things will happen to me because he has transformed my soul through his suffering. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 23.

23:3 Righteousness for His Name’s Sake
NOT BY OUR MERIT. AUGUSTINE: “He has converted my soul.” This is a confession rightly to boast about. . . . You will make it truly . . . and with an unalterable conscience, if you say it, not on account of your merits but for the sake of his name. SERMON 366.4.
GUIDING ALONG THE NARROW PATH. AUGUSTINE: He has guided me along the narrow paths of his righteousness, where few people walk; and this not for any merit of mine but for the sake of his own name. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 23.3.

23:4 Guidance and Comfort
A LAMP IN A DARK PLACE. AUGUSTINE: As long as you remain in this present life, you are walking in the midst of vices, of worldly pressures, which are the shadow of death. Let Christ shine in your heart, who lights the lamp of our minds with the love of God and neighbor; and you will not fear any evils, since he is with you. SERMON 366.5.
WALKING, NOT SITTING. ORIGEN: To walk in the midst of the shadow of death is not the same as to sit in the shadow of death; one who sits in the shadow of death is firmly fixed in that shadow and strengthened in evil. On account of this, he is in darkness and lacks mercy so that the light may rise for him. He who does not sit, but who passes or walks through the midst of the shadow of death, not standing and hurrying across, does not walk alone because the Lord goes through with him. SELECTIONS FROM THE PSALMS 23.4.
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION. CASSIODORUS: The shadow of death . . . is the devil, who lays traps for us in secret so that, once we have been misled by the mists, we might fall headlong into eternal death. But this situation is not feared by the true believer, even if, while relying on divine mercy, he ventures to walk in the midst of these traps. EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 23.4.
FAITH ELIMATES FEAR. EVAGRIUS OF PONTUS: One who cultivates pure prayer will hear noises, crashings, voices and tormenting screams that come from the demons; yet he will not suffer collapse or surrender his thoughts if he says to God, “I shall fear no evil, for you are with me.” CHAPTERS ON PRAYER 97.
CHRIST IN ME. AUGUSTINE: I shall not be afraid of evil happenings, because you live in my heart through faith; you are with me now to ensure that when this shadow of death has passed away, I may be with you. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 23.4.
SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE. THEODORET OF CYR: “Your rod and your staff comforted me”: with one he supports my weakness, with the other he guides toward the right way. You would not be wrong, however, to apply this to the saving cross: by its seal and remembrance we are rid of the hostile demons and guided to the true path. This is the meaning of “your rod and your staff comforted me”: the cross is assembled from two rods, with the upright staff confirming and directing those who believe in him and strengthening those who are weak, and using the crossbar as a rod against the demons. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 23.3.
CORRECTION A SIGN OF LOVE. JEROME: He whom the Lord loves, he corrects. BRIEF COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 23.
CONSOLATION. CASSIODORUS: The rod refers to the justice and strength of the Lord Savior, as he says in another psalm: “A rod of fairness is the rod of your kingdom.” The staff evokes the notion of support for human beings. With the staff, the foot itself is planted securely and the whole body of those who lean on it with their weight from above is supported. . . . The faithful claim that they have found consolation in these two things. . . . There is no doubt that the staff brings consolation; it is always taken up to bring help for human weakness. What should we say about the rod, which strikes, beats and punishes our vices with the courtroom’s severity? This too also clearly consoles the faithful when improvement results, and it leads people back to the Lord’s path. It is appropriate to say that everything that helps us comforts us, even if something saddens us for the sake of correction. EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 23.4.
LOOK TO HIS MERCY. ORIGEN: Scripture is a witness that “rod” speaks of punishments and scourges. If you have sinned and you see the rod of God threatening you, know that the mercy of God will not be far from you. SELECTIONS FROM THE PSALMS 23.4.

23:5 A Table Prepared
THE PROGRESS OF DIVINE CARE. AUGUSTINE: The time for the rod has passed, that time when I was small and animal-like and was instructed amid the flocks in the pasture; now after that era of the rod I have begun to be guided under your staff, and now you have prepared a table before me, so that I may be no longer fed on milk like a baby, but as an adult eat solid food and be strengthened against those who oppress me. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 23.5.
THE TABLE IN THE MIDST OF TRIAL. ORIGEN: Just as certain rewards are given to the contender in mighty contests, so also in any trial, when that which afflicts is nearby and the powers of the adversaries bring tribulation, know that a spiritual and intellectual table is prepared on account of this trial. Therefore, however many times you will be afflicted, equally many times a spiritual table is placed before you. Fix firm your eyes attentive only to my tables, and, giving thanks, you may say with the apostle, “Not I alone, but we are made glorious in tribulation.” SELECTIONS FROM THE PSALMS 23.5.
THE LORD’S TABLE. EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: In place of the ancient sacrifices and whole burnt offerings the incarnate presence of Christ . . . was offered. And this very thing he proclaims to his church as a great mystery expressed with prophetic voice. . . . As we have received a memorial of this offering that we celebrate on a table by means of symbols of his body and saving blood according to the laws of the new covenant, we are taught again by the prophet David to say, “You have prepared a table before me.” . . . Here plainly the mystic chrism and the holy sacrifices of Christ’s table are meant, by which we are taught to offer to almighty God through our great High Priest all through our life the celebration of our sacrifices, bloodless, reasonable and well-pleasing to him. PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 1.10.39.
TRUE FOOD. ORIGEN: This bread that God the Word declares is his body is the word that feeds souls, word proceeding from God the Word and bread from heavenly Bread. It has been placed on the table about which was written, “You have prepared a table in my sight against those who afflict me.” And this drink that God the Word declares is his blood is the word that gives drink and wonderfully intoxicates the hearts of those who drink. This is the cup concerning which was written, “and your intoxicating cup, how glorious it is!” Also, this drink is the fruit of the true Vine, who said, “I am the true vine,” and it is the blood of that Grape that produced this drink when it was cast into the winepress of the passion, just as the bread too is the word of Christ, made from that Wheat that “falling into the earth. . . produces much fruit.” For God the Word was not saying that the visible bread that he was holding in his hands was his body, but rather the Word, in whose mystery the bread was to be broken. He was not saying that the visible drink was his blood, but the Word, in whose mystery the drink was to be poured out. For what else could the body and the blood of God the Word be except the Word that nourishes and the Word that “makes glad the heart”? COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 26.26-28.
THE BREAD AND CUP OF THE FEAST. AMBROSE: “You have prepared a banquet in my sight.” This banquet consists of the living Bread, the Word of God. At this banquet there is the oil of sanctification, poured richly over the head of the just. This oil strengthens the inner senses. It does away with the oil of the sinner that fattens the head. In this banquet, too, you have the cup that inebriates: “how excellent” it is, or “how powerful,” for the Greek has kratiston, meaning most mighty, strong or powerful. Surely it is a powerful cup that washes away every stain of sin. COMMENTARY ON TWELVE PSALMS 35.19.
THE CUP THAT SOBERS. CYPRIAN: The inebriation of the cup and of the blood of the Lord is not like the inebriation coming from worldly wine, since the Holy Spirit says in the psalm, “Your cup that inebriates,” and adds, “how excellent it is,” because the cup of the Lord inebriates in such a way that it makes people sober, that it brings minds to spiritual wisdom, that from the taste for this world each one returns to the knowledge of God. And, as the mind is relaxed by that ordinary wine and the soul is eased and all sadness is set aside, so, when the blood of the Lord and the lifegiving cup have been drunk, the memory of the old man is set aside, and there is induced forgetfulness of former, worldly behavior, and the sorrowful and sad heart, which was formerly pressed down with distressing sins, is now eased by the joy of the divine mercy. This can delight the one who drinks in the church of the Lord, but only if what is drunk keeps to the truth of the Lord. LETTER 63.11.
THE LORD’S BLOOD. CASSIODORUS: The cup is . . . the Lord’s blood, which inebriates in such a way that it heals the mind, restraining it from wrongs, not inducing it to sins. This intoxication renders us sober; this fullness empties us of evils. He who is not filled from this cup ends up hungry and in perpetual need. EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 23.5.
SATED WITH BLESSINGS. CASSIODORUS: It is a blessed drunkenness, a fullness that brings salvation; the more abundantly it is consumed, the more apt it is to grant sobriety to the minds of the recipients. EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 64(65).10.
THE CUP OF LOVE. FULGENTIUS OF RUSPE: The word cup is to be understood as the perfect grace of charity by which the strength for undergoing suffering for the name of Christ is infused. This is given in such a way that even if the opportunity by which anyone may undergo suffering for Christ is lacking, there is still such great strength in the heart by a divine gift that nothing is lacking for putting up with punishment, scorning life and undergoing death for the name of Christ. This is well understood in that text in the psalm where it is said, “My cup overflows,” and he had just said before, “You anoint my head with oil.” What must be understood by “head anointed with oil” except a mind strengthened by the gift of the Holy Spirit? The shining quality of this oil is the unconquerable fortitude of spiritual grace by which the holy drunkenness is poured into the inner depths of the heart so that every affection of the heart, overcome, is consigned to oblivion. Filled with this drunkenness, the spirit learns to rejoice always in the Lord and to consign to contempt whatever he loved in the world. We drink this drunkenness when, having received the Holy Spirit, we possess the grace of perfect charity that drives out fear. LETTER 14.42.
CHRIST ANOINTED FOR US. CASSIODORUS: The head of the faithful is the Lord Christ; he is described rightly as anointed with oil, since he does not become dry by the dryness of the sinner. EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 23.5.
BLESSING FOR YOU, PUNISHMENT FOR THEM. THEOPHILUS OF ALEXANDRIA: I am the true vine, . . . intoxicating like the most powerful antidote, joy, against the grief that sprouted in Adam. Behold, I have prepared a table for you over against those who afflict you. Opposite Eden I settled Adam, who had violated that celebrated place, that by his seeing the delight no longer permitted he might suffer a ceaselessly smoldering distress. Again, over against those who afflict you have I given you a table, life-giving and joy-creating, which offers in exchange for distress unspeakable joy before those who have envied you. Eat the bread that renews your nature. Drink the wine, the exultation of immortality. Eat the bread that purges away the old bitterness, and drink the wine that eases the pain of the wound. This is the healing of your nature; this is the punishment of the one who did the injury. SERMON ON THE MYSTICAL SUPPER.

23:6 Goodness and Mercy
THE LORD’S LOVINGKINDNESS. THEODORET OF CYR: Providing these good things is your ineffable lovingkindness, not awaiting our request but closely following us like fugitives, anticipating our needs, giving us a share in salvation, providing residence in the divine dwellings, one in the present life, one in the future. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 23.4.
MERCY THAT PRECEDES AND FOLLOWS. AUGUSTINE: In the sacred Eloquence we read, “His mercy goes before me,” and, “His mercy shall follow me.” It predisposes a person before he wills, to prompt his willing. It follows the act of willing, lest one’s will be frustrated. Otherwise, why are we admonished to pray for our enemies, who are plainly not now willing to live piously, unless it is that God is even now at work in them and in their wills? Or again, why are we admonished to ask in order to receive, unless it is that he who grants us what we will is he through whom it comes to pass that we will? We pray for enemies, therefore, that the mercy of God should go before them, as it goes before us; we pray for ourselves that his mercy shall follow us. ENCHRIDION 9.32.
MERCY’S PROTECTION. CASSIODORUS: Even though the Lord’s mercy always goes before us, he says here, “it will follow me.” It follows, particularly to guard, but it goes in front to grant grace. For if it were merely following, no one would perceive the gifts that are granted. If it were only going in front, then no one would be able to preserve the gifts that had been received. For the ambushes that the devil prepares behind us are quite substantial, and unless the Lord’s mercy follows, our human weakness is very easily deceived. For precisely when a person believes that he has moved beyond a vice, he is more easily deceived because of his unwary ignorance. For this reason, it is most essential both that the Lord’s grace go before us and that his mercy follows us. EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 23.6.
WE ALWAYS RECEIVE. AMBROSE: When do you not have something that you owe to God? Or when are you without a gift of God, since your daily enjoyment of living is from God? “For what have you, that you have not received?” Therefore, because you always receive, always call on God; and since what you have is from God, always acknowledge that you are his debtor. I prefer that you pay your debts rather through love than as one forced to do so. ON THE DEATH OF THEODOSIUS 22.
BLESSINGS GIVEN IN THE CHURCH. ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: What he now has, let us look within the church. He has a rod with which he warns the delinquent ones. He has a staff by which he succors the penitent. He has a table where he gives bread to the believing. He has oil with which he anoints the head of those being present for freedom of conscience. He has a cup from which he will drink preaching the word in such a way that when it is the third hour of the day he is thought to be drunk in his preaching. He has mercy that follows him all the days of his life so he may dwell the length of his days in the house of the Lord, praising the Lord Jesus Christ who rules forever. Amen. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 23.
EVERLASTING BLESSING. CASSIODORUS: For this is the final perfection of all good things. . . . “The house of the Lord indicates the Jerusalem to come, which endures “for the length of days,” without uncertainty, for it is an enduring blessedness and a joy that never ends. EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 23.6.

OVERVIEW: We must not belittle our sins (CHRYSOSTOM) or forget what the kingdom requires of us (MARIUS VICTORINUS). Paul’s pastoral method constantly combines admonition and encouragement (CHRYSOSTOM). The light of grace is always dispelling the darkness of sin (AMBROSIASTER). Christ himself is rightly called the good, the true and the right (ORIGEN, JEROME), which transforms bitterness, covetousness and false pleasure (CHRYSOSTOM). Scripture and Spirit show us how to discern God’s holy will (THEODORET, AMBROSIASTER), which calls forth fruits, not barren works (JEROME). One who undertakes to admonish the wicked (CHRYSOSTOM) must first acknowledge his own limits (JEROME). The counseling and admonition of sins are crucial services to those entrapped in sin (MARIUS VICTORINUS). Insensitivity to sin is death (AMBROSIASTER) even for Christians (CHRYSOSTOM). In some cases Paul’s admonitions are taken from unknown Christian sources (THEODORET) and in other cases are supplied by himself (JEROME).

5:6a Deceived with Empty Words
HOW EMPTY WORDS LEAD ASTRAY. CHRYSOSTOM: There are always people among us who want to diminish the force of words. When Paul clearly says that covetousness is idolatry, they immediately argue that this is an exaggerated saying and in this way compromise all the commandments. It is to these that the blessed Paul is alluding when he writes to the Ephesians, “Be sure of this, that no one who is covetous, that is, an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom.” Empty words are words that are for a moment attractive but in no way are proved by deeds. They become a flimsy deceit. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 18.5.5-6.

5:6b God’s Wrath on the Children of Disobedience
THE CHILDREN OF DISOBEDIENCE. MARIUS VICTORINUS: These people he calls “children of disobedience”; for there are many who make light of the promise of a heavenly kingdom. . . . They disbelieve; they have no faith. The wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience. Disobedience is epitomized by the devil they serve. Therefore they are said to be his children. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.5.6.

5:7-8a Not Associating with the Disobedient
PAUL’S PASTORAL METHOD INTERMIXES ADMONITION AND ENCOURAGEMENT. CHRYSOSTOM: Note the balanced way in which he exhorts them. First he approaches them from the viewpoint of Christ, saying “love one another and do no wrong to anyone.” Then he approaches them from the viewpoint of their punishment and Gehenna . . . reminding them of their previous wickedness, as if to say “remember what you were and what you have become.” HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 18.5.7-8.
THE LIGHT OF GRACE DISPELS THE DARKNESS OF SIN. AMBROSIASTER: “Once you were darkness” suggests ignorance. No one sees clearly in shadows. The ignorance referred to is disbelief, harking back to pagan days. Those who lived in darkness have been drawn to faith by the grace of God, which has been brought to light, that is, truth. Things that exist are made apparent in the light. Paganism remains deluded as with covered eyes they celebrate their own mysteries as if in the shadows of a cave. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 5.8.

5:8b Walking as Children of Light
YOU ARE LIGHT IN THE LORD. JEROME: The darkness is being turned into light. There is not, as some heretics argue, a nature so alienated that it cannot receive salvation. . . . Those who receive salvation—the righteous—are “the light of the world.” Those who refuse, the unrighteous, are in consequence called darkness. . . . The difference and distance between one and the other is clearly seen by their own fruits. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 3.5.8.

5:9 The Fruit of Light
ALL THAT IS RIGHT AND TRUE. ORIGEN: Where there is goodness, there is righteousness. Where there is truth, there you will find righteousness. For both goodness and truth belong to God alone. So righteousness is always found with him and no other. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
COUNTERING BITTERNESS, COVETOUSNESS AND FALSE PLEASURE. CHRYSOSTOM: When Paul says “in all goodness,” he is directing this against those who are wrathful and bitter. When he says “and in all that is right,” he is speaking against covetousness. When he says “and in all that is true,” he speaks against false pleasure. The fruit of the light is evidenced not in the vices he has already spoken of but in their opposites. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 18.5.9-10.
CHRIST HIMSELF IS RIGHTLY CALLED THE GOOD, THE TRUE AND THE RIGHT. JEROME: Christ himself is rightly called goodness, righteousness and truth. He is goodness in that he gives grace to those who believe in him, not according to their works but according to his mercy. He is himself righteousness in that he gives to each what he deserves. He is himself truth in that he is the one who knows the causes of all creatures and all things. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 3.5.9.

5:10 Learn What Is Pleasing to God
LEARNING WHAT DELIGHTS GOD. AMBROSIASTER: From the abundance of his holiness and goodness it is possible to know what works delight God. . . . In his holiness we are purified. In his mercy we are brought to full and perfect righteousness. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 5.10.
LEARNING THROUGH WORD AND SPIRIT. THEODORET: You share in the Word. You have received the grace of the Holy Spirit. Now you are made able to discern what is pleasing to God. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 5.10.

5:11 Expose the Works of Darkness
LIGHT EXPOSES DARKNESS. CHRYSOSTOM: He has said, “you are light.” Light exposes what takes place in darkness. Insofar as you are light your goodness shines forth. The wicked are not able to hide. Their actions are illuminated as though a lamp were at hand. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 18.5.11-13.
DISTINGUISHING WORKS FROM FRUITS. JEROME: Paul uses the term fruits in the case of the Spirit, works in the case of the sin nature. . . . In the present case he indeed is saying that the works of darkness are unfruitful. Those who do these works share an association with darkness. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 3.5.11.
EXPOSING UNFRUITFUL WORKS. JEROME: No one is prepared to admonish sinners except one who does not deserve to be called a hypocrite [as with the account in Lk 6:42]. . . . Only those prophets who were themselves unpolluted by any stain of sin were in a position to upbraid others for their wrongdoing. From this we learn that the one who is in the best position to reprimand is the one who cannot himself rightly be reprimanded in turn. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 3.5.11.

5:12 A Shame to Speak of Secret Things
SOME UNFRUITFUL WORKS SHAME EVEN THOSE WHO SPEAK OF THEM. MARIUS VICTORINUS: If it is shameful even to speak of these things in secret, it is fairly plain that these people were doing wicked things, things too depraved even to talk about. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.5.12.

5:13 Light Exposes Shameful Things
COMBAT WITH LIGHT THOSE MOST SHAMEFUL THINGS DONE IN SECRET. MARIUS VICTORINUS: Having instructed them also to counsel all those who are doing ill, he next shows what a great service this is. For admonition makes those sins manifest. It puts them in the light. For the one who admonishes shows how important is the behavior he illumines. In doing this he is in effect illuminating the evil to show its consequences. When the one who commits evil understands this, the shadows are dispelled and he enters the light. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.5.13.

5:14 “Awake, O Sleeper”
FROM WHAT SOURCE IS THIS QUOTED? JEROME: The one who is content with a simple answer will say indeed that Paul must have read this phrase in some arcane prophet or in the writings called apocryphal. He then brought the text into the open, as he manifestly does in other places—not to substantiate the apocryphal texts but in the same way that he makes use of verses elsewhere from Aratus, Epimenides and Menander to substantiate what he says on other occasions. . . . Someone less content with this simple answer might argue that the apostle said this as an exhortation to penitence. It is as if he were assuming the voice of the Holy Spirit. For my part, scanty as my knowledge is, I have nowhere found this written after diligently scouring all the editions of the ancient Scriptures and the texts of the Hebrews themselves. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 3.5.14.
THE METAPHORS OF SLEEPING AND DEATH. AMBROSIASTER: By sleep he signifies a stupor of the mind. The sleepers are lost from the true path. This estrangement is a kind of death, from which he calls them to rise that they may repent and acknowledge the truth, which is Christ. Thus the faithless and vicious, steeped as they are in mud without hope of life, are called to rise and come out and have a share in life with Christ, so as to pass from the shadows out to the light and from death to life. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 5.14.
ADDRESSED ALSO TO BELIEVERS WHO SLEEP IN SIN. CHRYSOSTOM: He is not speaking only to unbelievers. For there are many believers, no less than unbelievers, who remain still trapped in various sins. There are indeed some who do so all the more. Therefore it was necessary to call these to “awake,” etc. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 18.5.14.
ITS SOURCE UNKNOWN. THEODORET: It is to be noted that this testimony is not scriptural, for we nowhere find it in the canonical text. Some interpreters have argued that those who were favored with spiritual grace were writing psalms. The apostle himself hints at this when he says in his letter to the Corinthians, “each of you has a psalm.” EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 5.14.

Overview: As Jesus did not ignore the man born blind, neither should we (Ambrose). It was he who sought the man out, not the other way around (Chrysostom), seeking to restore what nature had left defective (Caesarius). The disciples want to know the reason for the man’s blindness (Chrysostom), knowing that he could not have sinned before birth and that sometimes children may suffer in order to bring grief to the parents (Apollinaris). They assume there must be a reason for his suffering (Theodore of Mopsuestia). Sin, however, was not the reason for his blindness (Augustine), nor had he or his parents done anything wrong (Chrysostom). There are many reasons for trials and maladies (Gregory the Great). This text begs the question: What, then, is the cause of suffering (Cyril of Alexandria) since nothing happens without a purpose (Theodore of Mopsuestia)?

Christ reveals that he and the Father are going about the same work, which is urgent work because, beyond life, there is no more opportunity for work, faith or repentance (Chrysostom). We should avoid speculation and instead use the time God has given us to fulfill his commands (Cyril of Alexandria) since after the resurrection the night will come for unbelievers (Augustine). Jesus calls himself light because he enlightens souls but also because he was about to open the blind man’s eyes (Theodore of Heraclea) through dust, just as he had done at the beginning of creation (Ephrem). The light remains in the world as long as Christ’s presence remains in the world (Augustine). The brightness of Christ overwhelms the darkness (Chrysostom).

In healing the man born blind, Jesus completes his work as creator (Irenaeus), using the same clay he used at creation to perform further creative work in restoring sight (Origen, Ammonius). Law with grace is like clay without saliva: no healing can be accomplished (Caesarius). Jesus uses saliva instead of water so that everyone would know that the healing came from him and not from the fountain, but he also commanded the man to wash so that no one might think that the earth he mixed with the saliva did the healing either (Chrysostom). The actual healing takes place in Jesus’ absence quite a distance away, at the pool of Siloam, allowing many to be witnesses to the miracle (Origen). We too can come to Siloam, which is a type of the washing of regeneration (Irenaeus), as we receive healing through the waters of baptism (Ambrose), although it is the Lord’s word and command connected with the water that does the healing (Ephrem). Having washed, the man encounters grace (Theodore of Mopsuestia), which only beggars can do (Chrysostom).

As part of the healing, the man walks the long walk to the pool with the mud on his eyes, ensuring that the people would see what had to have been quite a spectacle (Chrysostom). The blind man is leading the blind (Ephrem) since he still does not know who Jesus is (Cyril of Alexandria) but recounts as much as he knows, describing the miracle as only a blind man would (Chrysostom). He becomes a blind evangelist to the blind (Augustine). When they ask the blind man where Jesus is, he can truthfully say he does not know since he could not see Jesus when he was healed (Theodore of Mopsuestia). Those blind eyes that Jesus had opened with his saliva would later testify against the blindness that spit in his face (Ephrem).

9:1 A Man Blind from Birth
The Significance of Blindness from Birth.
Ambrose: You have heard that story in the Gospel where we are told that the Lord Jesus, as he was passing by, caught sight of a man who had been blind from birth. Since the Lord did not overlook him, neither ought we to overlook this story of a man whom the Lord considered worthy of his attention. In particular we should notice the fact that he had been blind from birth. This is an important point. There is, indeed, a kind of blindness, usually brought on by serious illness, which obscures one’s vision but that can be cured, given time; and there is another sort of blindness, caused by cataract, that can be remedied by a surgeon: he can remove the cause, and so the blindness is dispelled. Draw your own conclusion: this man, who was actually born blind, was not cured by surgical skill but by the power of God. Letter 67.1-2.

Jesus Sees the Blind Man.
Chrysostom: It is clear that, on going out of the temple, he proceeded intentionally to do the work [of the miracle] from the fact that it was he who saw the blind man, not the blind man who came to him. And so intently did Jesus look at him that even his disciples perceived it. Homilies on the Gospel of John 56.1.

Restoring What Nature Left Defective.
Caesarius of Arles: We have just heard that Jesus gave sight to the man who was blind from birth. Do you wonder? Jesus is the Savior. He did something in keeping with his name, for by his kindness he restored what he had given to a lesser degree in the womb. Now when he made his eyes less powerful, surely he did not make a mistake, but he deferred it for the miracle. . . . Behold, why Christ delayed when he made the eyes less powerful in the womb. Do not think that the parents of that blind man had no sin and that the blind man himself, when he was born, did not contract original sin; because of the fact of original sin even very little children are baptized. However, that blindness was not due to the sin of his parents or due to the sin of the blind man, but in order that the glory of God might be made manifest in him. For when we are born we all contract original sin, and still we are not born physically blind. That blind man was prepared as a salve for the human race. He was bodily restored to light, in order that by considering his miracle we might be enlightened in heart. Sermon 172.1.

9:2 Who Sinned?
Why the Disciples Ask.
Chrysostom: They were led to ask this question because our Lord had said above, when he healed the paralytic, “See, you are well! Sin no more.” Thinking from this that the man had been paralyzed because of his sins, they say, “That other person was paralyzed because of his sins, but what would you say about this man? Had he sinned? How can you say that, since he was blind from birth? Have his parents sinned? Neither can one say this because the child does not suffer punishment because of his parents.” The same way we ask how it can be when we see a child suffering, this is how the disciples spoke here, not so much asking for information as being perplexed. Homilies on the Gospel of John 56.1.

Suffering As an Exercise.
Apollinaris of Laodicea: There was a certain philosophy among the ancients that troubles came from sin because they were confident that God was not responsible for any evil. The notion that people suffer as an exercise so that they might perceive the power of God at last—this was not well known at all because they would rather have God give good rewards to the just then and there and not prolong suffering any longer for the sake of eternal life. Since he was a blind man from birth, it occurred to the disciples to ask. Since no one can sin before his birth, they ventured a guess that the parents were to blame. For they knew that children may suffer in order to bring grief to the parents. But the Lord said that the blindness did not occur because of any sin but for the sake of the glory of God that was about to take place as the power of God would be revealed through his unexpected recovery of sight. Fragments on John 49.

There Must Be a Reason.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: It was not unusual for his disciples to ask this kind of question about all that was happening to the Lord so that they could learn those things that lead to godliness. Indeed, since they had left everything and had given themselves completely to the Lord in order to learn from him godliness and piety, it is with laudable care that they took the opportunity from what happened around them to ask him such questions. When they saw this man born blind who, before he could sin, had this damage, and to whom this defect of the eyes happened when he was still in the womb, they were upset in their human way about this fact in trying to relate it to their faith. They thought that there was a just reason for such an accident and that such adversity had occurred not without good cause because they knew that God rules all human things. They were not able to understand what had happened in any other way because of their human weakness, attributing the reason for what happened either to the sin of the parents or to the blind man himself. It was not that he had been injured because he had sinned already—indeed, how could he sin if he was not born yet? But, since he would commit future sins, God, in his foreknowledge, restrained him by that disability. They justly and piously thought that the sins of people were the cause of all evils. But since, because of their human weakness, they could understand nothing more by themselves, they thought that the cause for this disability could only be attributed to the blind man himself or to his parents; as if the son had received that punishment for their sins, or he was the cause of his misfortune because he had received that punishment for his future sins. Commentary on John 4.9.1-2.

9:3 Neither This Man Nor His Parents Sinned
He Never Sinned?
Augustine: Was he then born without original sin, or had he committed no sin in the course of his lifetime? . . . Both this man and his parents had sinned . . . but that sin itself was not the reason why he was born blind. . . . Our Lord gives the reason why . . . “That the works of God should be made known in him.” Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.3.

Does He Suffer for the Glory of God?
Chrysostom: Here again is another difficulty if [it is true that] it was not possible that the glory of God should be shown without this man’s punishment. Certainly it was not impossible, for it was possible. But it happened so “that [God’s glory] might be made evident even in this man.” One might ask, however, Did he suffer wrong for the glory of God? Tell me what he did wrong. For what if God had never willed to make him at all? But I assert that he even received benefit from his blindness. Because he recovered the sight of the eyes within. What were the Jews profited by their eyes? They incurred the heavier punishment, being blinded even while they saw. And what injury did this man have because of his blindness? For through his blindness he recovered his sight. As, then, the evils of the present life are not evils, so neither are the good things good. Sin alone is an evil, but blindness is not an evil. And he who had brought this man from not being into being also had power to leave him as he was. Homilies on the Gospel of John 56.1.

Various Reasons for Trials.
Gregory the Great: One blow falls on the sinner for punishment only, not conversion. Another occurs for correction; still another happens not in order to correct past sins but for the prevention of future sins. Another blow happens neither for correcting past nor preventing future sins. Rather, the unexpected deliverance following the blow serves to excite a love more focused on the Savior’s goodness. Morals on the Book of Job, Preface 5.12.

What Is the Cause of Suffering?
Cyril of Alexandria: We do not believe that the soul previously existed; nor indeed can we think that it sinned before the body, for how can someone sin who has not yet been born? But if there has been no sin or fault preceding the suffering, what then shall we allege as the cause of the suffering? Truly, by our minds we cannot comprehend those things that are far above us. And, I should advise the prudent and myself above all to abstain from wishing to thoroughly scrutinize them. For we should recall to mind what we have been commanded and not curiously examine things that are too deep, or pry into those that are too hard or rashly attempt to discover those things that are hidden in the divine and ineffable counsel alone. Rather, concerning such matters we should piously acknowledge that there are certain wondrous things that God alone understands. At the same time we should maintain and believe that since God is the fountain of all righteousness, God will neither do nor determine anything whatsoever in human affairs or in those of the rest of creation that is unbecoming to God or differs at all from the true righteousness of justice. Since therefore it is fitting for us to be affected in this way, I say, that the Lord does not speak dogmatically when he says “that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” Rather, he says it to redirect the questioner in another direction and to lead us from things too deep for us to more suitable ones. Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.1.

Nothing Happens Without a Purpose.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: The Lord taught the disciples that there are many reasons for all these events and that they are certainly secret and unexplainable. And so, we always complain about events whose causes we ignore, but then we also learn that nothing happens in vain. This knowledge will be given to us in the future world, because what is hidden now will be revealed to us. Commentary on John 4.9.3.

9:4 Working the Works of Him Who Sent Me
Christ and the Father’s Work Is the Same.
Chrysostom: He says here, “I must reveal myself and do those things that may show that I do the same things with the Father”—not things “similar” but “the same.” This is an expression that marks greater invariability and that is used of those who do not differ even a little. Who then, after this, will face him when he sees that he had the same power with the Father? For not only did he form or open eyes; he also gave the gift of sight. This is proof that he also breathed in the soul. If that [soul] did not work, the eye, though perfected, could never see anything. He gave both the energy, which is from the soul, and gave the member also, possessing all things, both arteries and nerves and veins, and all things of which our body is composed. Homilies on the Gospel of John 56.2.

Beyond Life Is Neither Faith, Labor Nor Repentance.
Chrysostom: “While it is day” means I must work while people can still believe on me as long as this life lasts. “The night comes,” that is, the future, “when no one can work.” He did not say, “when I cannot work” but “when no one can work,” that is, when there is no longer faith, labors or repentance. For to show that he called faith a “work,” . . . he replied, “This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he has sent.” Why then can no one do this kind of work in the future world? Because there is no faith there, but all, whether willingly or unwillingly, will simply submit. Homilies on the Gospel of John 56.2.

God Prefers Holy Action over Idle Speculation.
Cyril of Alexandria: Here Jesus is saying, “Why do you ask questions that are better left unsaid? Or why, leaving what suits the time, do you hurry to learn things beyond the capacity of people? It is not a time for such curiosity,” he says, “but for intense work. I think it is more appropriate to pass by such questions and instead zealously execute God’s commands.” Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.1.

After the Resurrection Comes the Night for Unbelievers.
Augustine: After the resurrection of the living and the dead, when he will say to those placed at his right hand, “Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom,” and to those at his left, “Depart into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels,” then shall be the night when no one can work but only get back what he has previously done. There is a time for working, another for receiving; for the Lord shall render to every one according to his works. While you live, do something if you are to be doing anything at all. For then that appalling night shall come to envelop the wicked it its folds. But even now every unbeliever, when he dies, is received within that night: there is no work to be done there. In that night was the rich man burning and asking a drop of water from the beggar’s finger. . . . Unhappy man! When you were living, that was the time for working. Now you are already in the night in which no one can work. Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.6.

9:5 The Light of the World
The Light of Souls and of the Blind.
Theodore of Heraclea: He calls himself light both because he enlightens the souls of those who believe and because he was about to open the eyes of the one who was blind from birth. Fragments on John 71.

The Light Shines in the Darkness of Dust.
Ephrem the Syrian: And he brought forth the light from the dust, just as he had done in the beginning, when there was a shadow of the heavens. “Darkness was spread out over everything.” He gave a command to the light, and it was born from the darkness. Thus also here, he formed clay from his saliva, and he supplied was what lacking in creation, which was from the beginning, to show that what was lacking in nature was being supplied by his hand. Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron 16.28.

The Light Lasts Until the End of the World.
Augustine: What is that night in which, when it comes, no one shall be able to work? Hear what the day is, and then you will understand what the night is. But how shall we hear what the day is? Let he himself tell us: “As long as I am in this world, I am the light of the world.” See, he himself is the day. . . . The natural day is completed by the circuit of the sun and contains only a few hours. The day of Christ’s presence will last to the end of the world, for he himself has said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.5-6.

The Blinding Brightness of the Lord.
Chrysostom: “Believe while the light is with you,” he said to others. Why then did Paul call this life “night” and that other “day”? He was not opposing Christ but saying the same thing, even if not in those exact words—although the sense is the same. For he also says, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand.” He calls the present time “night,” because of those who sit in darkness or because he compares it with that day that is to come. Christ calls the future “night” because sin has no power to work there, but Paul calls the present life “night” because those who continue in wickedness and unbelief are in darkness. Addressing himself then to the faithful, he said, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand,” since they should enjoy that light. And he calls the old life night. “Let us put away,” he says, “the works of darkness.” Do you see that he tells them that it is “night”? Therefore he says, “Let us walk honestly as in the day,” that we may enjoy that light. For if this light is so good, consider what that light will be. As much as the sunlight is brighter than the flame of a candle, so much and far more is that light better than this. And signifying this, Christ says that “the sun shall be darkened.” Because of the excess of that brightness, not even the sun shall be seen. Homilies on the Gospel of John 56.3.

9:6 He Made Mud and Spread It on the Man’s Eyes
Jesus Completes His Work as Creator.
Irenaeus: He healed others by a word. . . . But the Lord bestowed sight on the one who was blind from birth—not by a word, but by an outward action. He did this neither casually nor simply because this was how it happened. He did it this way in order to show it was the same hand of God here that had also formed man at the beginning. And therefore when his disciples asked him why he had been born blind, whether by his own fault or his parents’, Jesus said, “Neither this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God might be manifested in him.” The work of God is, after all, the forming of man. He did this by an outward action, as Scripture says, “And the Lord took clay from earth, and formed man.” Notice here too how the Lord spit on the earth, and made clay and smeared it on his eyes, showing how the ancient creation was made. He was making clear to those who can understand, that this was the [same] hand of God through which man was formed from clay. For what the creating Word had neglected to form in the womb, this he supplied openly. He did this so that the works of God might be evident in him, and so that we would now seek for no other hand than that through which humanity was formed. Nor should we seek another Father, knowing that the hand of God which formed us in the beginning, and forms in the womb, has in the last times sought us lost ones out. He is gaining his own lost sheep and putting it on his shoulders and joyfully restoring it to the fold of life. Against Heresies 5.15.2.

Anointing of the Eyes with Clay.
Origen: I think this has been said to establish that Christ’s saliva had a quality of healing power. Even though the blind man did not himself ask to receive his sight, yet he will be found praiseworthy in delivering himself to Jesus anointing his eyes with clay and in doing without hesitation what had been enjoined him, without Jesus having even said that he would receive sight. . . . Let us therefore wash off the clay smeared in our eyes in the water of the pool of him [i.e., Jesus] who has been sent so that after this we may be able to see again. But you will understand by the clay the beginning of the rudiments of the oracles of God, according to which we as babies are fed with milk. But when the childish things are done away with and we eat solid food, we wipe away the clay so that we may return to Jesus as one who sees. Fragment 63 on the Gospel of John.

Proving Jesus Is Creator.
Ammonius: He spat on the ground and made mud out of the saliva and he daubed the mud onto the eyes of the blind man. He wanted to show with the mud that he himself is the one who made Adam from the earth. His statement that “I am the one doing this” seemed to make his hearer hostile to him. But have shown himself to be the one through this work that he did—this, finally, did not give offense. Therefore, he fashioned eyes in that way rather than simply healing them. And he did not only make the eyes or open them but also graced them with the ability to see. This is positive proof that he had also breathed a soul into Adam. For he would never have seen, even if the eye had been completed, unless that life-giving spirit that breathed into Adam was at work. Fragments on John 317.

Law and Grace, Ground and Saliva.
Caesarius of Arles: In the ground we understand the law, and grace is designated in the saliva. What does the law effect without grace? What does the ground do without the saliva of Christ? What does the law do without grace, except make people still more guilty? Why? Because the law knows how to obey but not how to help; the law can point out sin, but it cannot take sin away from people. Therefore, let the saliva of Christ go down to the ground and gather together the earth. Let he who made the earth remake it, and he who created it reform and recreate it. Likewise, in the saliva is understood the word of God, his real human body on earth. For this reason let the saliva of Christ down in order that the law may be fulfilled. “He made clay with the saliva.” What is saliva mixed with clay, except the incarnate Word? That blind man presented an image of the whole human race, and, therefore, the saliva was mixed with clay, and the blind man was made to see: the Word became incarnate, and the world was illumined. Sermon 172.3.

Why Not Water Instead of Saliva?
Chrysostom: And why didn’t he use water instead of saliva for the clay? He was about to send the man to Siloam. In order, therefore, that nothing might be ascribed to the fountain but that you might learn that the power proceeds from his mouth—the same, both formed and opened the man’s eyes—he “spat on the ground.” . . . And then, so that you might not think that it was the earth that healed him, he commanded him to wash. Homilies on the Gospel of John 57.1.

9:7 Go, Wash in the Pool of Siloam
Healing Does Not Occur in Jesus’ Presence.
Origen: But to heal in his absence, to tell him to go away and wash and to provide the healing only once he has washed—this was the work of someone who wanted to be sure that no one would be ignorant of the miracle that had taken place. For as he commanded the paralytic to take up his bed on the day when it was not lawful to do this—so that each man charging him with the transgression might learn the greatness of the miracle—in the same way he commanded this man who was at a distance from the pool to go there and wash. Fragment 63 on the Gospel of John.

The Washing of Regeneration.
Irenaeus: As, therefore, we are formed in the womb by the Word, this very same Word also formed sight in the one who had been blind from his birth. In this way, he openly showed who it is who forms us in secret, since now the Word himself had been revealed to the world. It also made known the ancient formation of Adam and how he was made, and through what hand he was formed—indicating the whole [of Adam’s creation] by showing us a part [of it]. For the Lord who formed sight is he who has formed the entire person, and in doing so, carried out the will of the Father. But in respect to that formation in men and women that took place after Adam—when humanity fell into sin—there was a need for the washing of regeneration. This is why the Lord said to the man to whom he had given sight, “Go to Siloam and wash.” In this way, he provided both his physical reformation and his regeneration which comes through washing. And this is why, when he washed, he came back seeing. He would come to know his creator and humanity would come to know him who has given us life. Against Heresies 5.15.3.

You Too Come to Siloam.
Ambrose: Again, I ask you: What is he trying to convey to us by spitting on the ground, mixing his saliva with clay and putting it on the eyes of a blind man, saying, “Go and wash yourself in the pool of Siloam (a name that means ‘sent’)”? What is the meaning of the Lord’s action in this? Surely one of great significance, since the person whom Jesus touches receives more than just his sight. In one instant we see both the power of his divinity and the strength of his holiness. As the divine light, he touched this man and enlightened him. As priest, by an action symbolizing baptism he wrought in him his work of redemption. The only reason for his mixing clay with the saliva and smearing it on the eyes of the blind man was to remind you that he who restored the man to health by anointing his eyes with clay is the very one who fashioned the first man out of clay, and that this clay that is our flesh can receive the light of eternal life through the sacrament of baptism. You, too, should come to Siloam, that is, to him who was sent by the Father, as he says in the Gospel: “My teaching is not my own; it comes from him who sent me.” Let Christ wash you, and you will then see. Come and be baptized, it is time; come quickly, and you too will be able to say, “I went and washed”; you will be able to say, “I was blind, and now I can see.” And, as the blind man said when his eyes began to receive the light, you too can say, “The night is almost over and the day is at hand.” Letter 67.4-6.

The Power of the Lord’s Word.
Ephrem the Syrian: For Siloam did not open [the eyes of] the blind man, just as the waters of the Jordan did not purify Naaman, but rather it was the command [by our Lord] that brought the healing. Also, it is not the waters of our atonement that bring purification; rather, it is the names invoked over it that produce atonement for us. Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron 16.29.

9:8 The Former Beggar?
Having Washed, He Encounters Grace.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: After having gone and washed, he encountered grace. And yet his neighbors and those who were with him when he was begging did not all come to the same conclusion about him. There were some who said that he was indeed the blind man, but others, because of the miracle that had happened to him, said it was not him but someone like him. He, however, says that it is him, not because the event itself compelled him to but because he was eager to proclaim before everyone what had happened. Commentary on John 4.9.8.

Jesus Even Heals Beggars.
Chrysostom: The strangeness of the miracle made people incredulous. The neighbors and those who had seen that he was blind said, “Is this now the man who used to sit and beg?” What wonderful clemency and condescension of God! With such great kindness he even heals the beggars. In this way he shuts up the mouths of the Jews, because he made, not the great, illustrious and noble, but the poorest and meanest, the objects of his providence. Indeed, he had come for the salvation of all. Homilies on the Gospel of John 57.1.

9:9 I Am the Man
The Long Walk to the Pool Enables Recognition.
Chrysostom: Why didn’t he have him wash immediately instead of sending him to Siloam? . . . For one thing, everyone would probably see him as he was leaving, having the clay spread upon his eyes. The strangeness of this spectacle would most likely focus the attention of everyone on him—both those who knew him and those who did not—everyone would be watching him closely. And, because it is not easy to recognize a blind man who has recovered his sight, Jesus first of all sends him this long distance so that he can be seen by many witnesses. This bizarre spectacle of a man walking with mud on his eyes would make these witnesses even more attentive so that no one could any longer say, “This is not he.” Homilies on the Gospel of John 57.1.

9:10 How Were Your Eyes Opened?
The Blind Leading the Blind to See.
Ephrem the Syrian: Those who could see were clearly being drawn to the blind man, who saw inwardly. The blind man was being drawn secretly to those who could see but who were blind inwardly. He [the blind man] washed away the clay from his eyes and appeared to himself. They washed the blindness from their hearts and gained approval for themselves. When our Lord opened up the eyes of one blind man clearly in that moment, he opened up [the eyes of] many blind people secretly. For that blind man was [surely] blind. He was like a source of profit for our Lord, for by him our Lord acquired many blind people [by healing them] from the blindness of their heart. Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron 16.30.

9:11 The Man Called Jesus Made Clay and Anointed My Eyes
Still Ignorant of Who Jesus Is.
Cyril of Alexandria: He appears still to be ignorant that the Savior is by nature God, for otherwise he would not have spoken of him in such an unworthy way. He probably thought of him as a holy man, forming this opinion from the rumors that were circulating around Jerusalem. Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.1.

The Miracle Described from the Blind Man’s Perspective.
Chrysostom: Notice how precise he is. He does not say how the clay was made since he could not see that our Lord spat on the ground. He does not say what he does not know. He did not see Jesus spit on the ground, but he could feel it when he spread the mud on his eyes. “And he said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash.’” This too he could mention because he heard it. For he had heard our Lord in conversation with his disciples and so he knew his voice. Even after all this, however, he cannot tell how he was cured. Now if faith is needed in matters that are felt and handled by the senses, how much more in the case of what is invisible? Homilies on the Gospel of John 57.2.

The Blind Evangelist.
Augustine: See how he became a herald of grace. See how he preaches the gospel. See how, once he is endowed with sight, he becomes a witness. That blind man testified, and the ungodly were troubled in their hearts because they did not have in their own hearts what they saw in him. Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.8.

9:12 Where Is He?
He Does Not Know Because He Was Blind.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: They were asking him, “Where is he?” His reply was that he did not know because he had not seen him, since at the time [of the healing] he was blind. Commentary on John 4.9.12.

Opened Eyes Later Testify.
Ephrem the Syrian: His saliva was thus the key for closed eyes, for with water he healed the eye. From the water [he formed] clay and brought to wholeness what had been lost. When [later] they were spitting at his face, the blind eyes that had been opened by his saliva would accuse them. Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron 16.32.

Overview: Jesus performs this healing on the sabbath in violation of Jewish law (Chrysostom). In spite of this seeming violation, the one healed is determined to show that the power of the healer was not exerted in vain (Cyril of Alexandria); the Pharisees’ focus remains on the violation. There is a carnal and a spiritual keeping of the Sabbath, which they do not seem to comprehend (Augustine). For instance, there was a precedent for work on the sabbath in the cases of Joshua and Jericho (Cyril of Alexandria).

In the present account, there is such a concentration on whether Jesus could do the miracle on the sabbath that the magnificence of the miracle gets lost in the flurry of accusations (Chrysostom). Even the blind man gets enlisted as an arbiter in the dispute among the Pharisees (Theodore of Mopsuestia). He provides his own confession of faith in the midst of the dispute, a confession that, while true, at this point is still incomplete (Augustine). Those who witness the miracle try to nullify the results through their questioning of the parents (Chrysostom). The parents also, albeit unintentionally, expose their son to harm (Origen) by maintaining there is no need for them to speak for a grown man (Augustine). The consequences of the Jewish leaders’ unbelief threaten to spill over onto the parents, whose own salvation is threatened by them (Theodore of Heraclea). But there is no need for fear of being thrown out of the synagogue, for whatever has been cast out unjustly, Christ takes back in (Augustine). The Pharisees nonetheless try to hide their attack under the guise of religion (Chrysostom) but end up blaspheming God instead (Augustine).

When the Pharisees question the man who was healed, he demonstrates prudence in his answer (Theodore of Mopsuestia) as well as boldness of faith (Chrysostom). The blind man no longer tolerates blindness in others (Augustine) and demonstrates that he has already become a disciple of Jesus (Cyril of Alexandria). The Pharisees, in turn, provide an unintentional compliment in acknowledging his discipleship (Augustine). No matter how hard they try to disprove what happened, the miracle remains incontrovertible evidence of the power of Jesus (Chrysostom). The Pharisees counter that God would not listen to sinners, but is this necessarily true (Origen)? Either way, the facts prove that Jesus is not a sinner (Theodore of Mopsuestia), and the testimony of the formerly blind man demonstrates the inferiority of the Pharisees’ argument as well as his own insights of faith (Cyril of Alexandria).

9:13-14 A Sabbath Day
Jesus’ Departure from the Law.
Chrysostom: The Evangelist remarks that it was “the sabbath” in order to expose their real design . . . which was to accuse him of a departure from the law and thus detract from the miracle. Homilies on the Gospel of John 57.2.

9:15 Clay, Washing, Sight
The Gift of Sight and the Gift of Faith.
Cyril of Alexandria: Here, it is as though the man is saying: I will prove to you that the power of the Healer was not exerted in vain. I will not deny the favor I received, for I now possess what I formerly longed for. I who was blind from birth and afflicted from the womb, having been anointed with clay, am healed, and I see. That is, I do not merely show you my eye opened, concealing the darkness in its depth, but I really see. From now on I am able to look at things that formerly I could only hear about. Look! The bright light of the sun is shining around me. Look! The beauty of strange sights surrounds my eye. A short time ago I scarcely knew what Jerusalem was like. Now I see the temple of God glittering within it, and I behold in its midst the truly venerable altar. And if I stood outside the gate, I could look around on the country of Judea and recognize one thing as a hill and another as a tree. And when the time changes to evening, my eye will no longer fail to notice the beauty of the nighttime sky, the brilliant company of the stars and the golden light of the moon. When I do, I shall be amazed at the skill of him who made them “from the greatness and beauty of created things.” I as well as others shall acknowledge the great Creator. Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.1.

9:16 Not Keeping the Sabbath
Carnal and Spiritual Keeping of Sabbath.
Augustine: Those [Pharisees] who neither saw nor had yet been anointed said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the sabbath.” On the contrary, he kept it because he was without sin; to observe the sabbath spiritually is to have no sin. And this is what God admonishes us when he commends the sabbath, saying, “You shall do no servile work.” . . . Our Lord tells us above what servile work is: “Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin.” But these men, who neither could see nor were anointed, observed the sabbath carnally but profaned it spiritually. Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.9.

Joshua Did Not Keep the Sabbath at Jericho.
Cyril of Alexandria: The Jews admire the ancient hero Joshua who captured Jericho on the sabbath and commanded their forefathers to do such things as are customary for conquerors—and Joshua himself by no means observed the proper sabbath rest. Yet, those who admire Joshua persistently attack Christ. Their personal ill will toward Christ prompted them not only to try and take away from him the glory due to God but also to rob him of the honor due to holy people. And speaking inconsiderately through their malice, they pour forth a charge of impiety against him who came to us from the Father and who justifies the world. Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.1.

What About the Miracle Itself?
Chrysostom: Passing over the miracle in silence, they give all the prominence they can to the supposed transgression. They do not charge him with “healing on the sabbath day” but with not “keeping the sabbath.” “Others replied rather weakly, ‘How can a man who is a sinner do such miracles?’” They were impressed by his miracles, but only in a weak and unsettled way. For whereas the fact of whether the sabbath was broken or not might have divided them, they still had no idea yet that he was God. They did not know that it was the Lord of the sabbath who had worked the miracle. Nor did any of them dare to say openly what his sentiments were, but they spoke ambiguously—one, because he thought the fact itself improbable, another, from his love of status. It follows, “And there was a division among them.” That is, the people were divided first, and then the rulers. Homilies on the Gospel of John 57.2.

9:17 What Do You Say About Him?
The Blind Man As Arbiter of Their Division.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: While they were discussing things, they turned to the blind man again, as if they chose him as their arbiter, and they said to him, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” Should we admire him for the work he performed? Or is he a sinner because he violated the sabbath? So about the one “who opened your eyes,” that is, since he opened your eyes, what do you have to say about him? What is your opinion? The blind man wisely answered the question, saying, “He is a prophet,” that is, that is the kind of respect I have for him, and it encapsulates what I think of the work he performed. When they saw that the miracle itself already testified to the power of the healer and that the blind man openly revealed the grace he had received and proclaimed the greatness of his helper, they began to doubt whether that man who had been healed was really the blind man or someone else. And so they were obliged to call his parents. Commentary on John 4.9.13-18.

His Confession True, Though Incomplete.
Augustine: There was a division among them as the day divided between the light and the darkness. . . . They were looking for a way to denigrate the man and cast him out of their synagogue (although he would be found by Christ). However, he declares openly what he thinks. For he said, “He is a prophet.” Not yet anointed in heart, he could not confess the Son of God. Nevertheless, he is not wrong in what he says either, for our Lord even says of himself, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country.” Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.9.

9:18 They Called the Parents
A Failed Attempt to Nullify the Miracle.
Chrysostom: It is the nature of truth to be strengthened by the very snares that are laid against it by people. . . . Lies defeat themselves by the very means they use against the truth, making it appear even brighter, as is the case now. For the argument that might otherwise have been urged—that is, that the neighbors knew nothing for certain but were guessing on the basis that this man looked like the one who was healed—that whole argument is cut off by the introduction of the parents who could, of course, testify to their own son. The Pharisees, being unable by intimidation to deter the blind man from publicly proclaiming his benefactor, try to nullify the miracle through the parents. Homilies on the Gospel of John 58.1.

9:19 Is This Your Son?
Two Questions to Bring About Denial.
Chrysostom: Having brought the parents into the middle of the assembly in order to intimidate them, they angrily begin a fierce interrogation: “Is this your son?” Notice, they do not say, “who was born blind” but “who you say was born blind.” . . . What kind of a father would say such things about his son if they were not true? Why not say at once, “Whom you made blind”? . . . They try two ways of making them deny the miracle by saying, “who you say was born blind” and then by adding, “How then does he now see?” Homilies on the Gospel of John 58.1-2.

9:21 He Is of Age
The Parents Expose Their Son to Possible Harm.
Origen: Besides having spoken falsely, they committed another sin by exposing their son to obvious harm. But I think this also has a reason. When the Savior opened the eyes of the blind man, he did not open those of a child but of one full grown so that he might see as a full-grown man. But such was also the case with other blind men who received sight. However, it is true that he being of full age can speak for himself, and especially so when Jesus makes him receive his sight. For he needs no one else to negotiate for him. Fragment 67 on the Gospel of John.

No Need to Speak for a Grown Man.
Augustine: The parents reply, We might justly be compelled to speak for him as an infant when he could not speak for himself . . . ; but even though we know he has been blind from birth, we also know that he has been able to speak for some time now. Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.10.

9:22-23 His Parents Feared Being Put Out of the Synagogue
The Rulers’ Unbelief.
Theodore of Heraclea: Thus evil mastered the rulers who not only disabled themselves through unbelief but also through their threatening shut the way of salvation for the rest. Fragment on John 82.

You Cast Out, Christ Takes In.
Augustine: But it was no disadvantage to be put out of the synagogue since the one they cast out, Christ received. Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.10.

9:24 Give God the Praise
Under the Guise of Religion.
Chrysostom: The parents referred the Pharisees to the healed man himself, and so they summon him a second time. They do not openly say now, “Deny that Christ has healed you.” Instead they conceal their objective under the pretense of religion. . . . They say, “Give God the glory,” that is, confess that this man Jesus has had nothing to do with the work. Homilies on the Gospel of John 58.2.

Blaspheme God.
Augustine: They tell him to deny what he has received. This is not to give God the glory but rather to blaspheme him. Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.11.

9:25 Though I Was Blind, Now I See
Another Prudent Answer.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: He says, in effect, I do not want to declare what I do not know; nor can I keep silent or hide what I know. I really do not know whether he is what you say he is. In fact, I did not come to know him as a sinner. I was blind, and through my hope I received sight; I know this first of all. It is up to you to judge whether a sinner can do that, because this is what you assert he is. He gave a quite prudent answer by moderating his words so that he might not appear to be in disagreement with those who questioned him. Through his silence he nonetheless suggested that [Jesus] could not have done what he did if he really were a sinner. Commentary on John 4.9.25.

9:27 Do You Too Want to Become His Disciples?
The Boldness of Faith.
Chrysostom: Do you see how boldly the beggar speaks with the scribes and Pharisees? It shows how strong truth is and how weak falsehood is. Truth, though it grasps only ordinary people, makes them to appear glorious; falsehood, even when it is among the strong, shows them to be weak. What he says is like this: you do not pay attention to my words; therefore, I will no longer speak or answer you when you question me continually to no purpose. You do not want to hear in order to learn but so that you can lay insults over my words. Homilies on the Gospel of John 58.2.

No Longer Tolerating Blindness.
Augustine: He was indignant now at the obstinacy of the Jews. Now that he is no longer blind himself, he can no longer tolerate their blindness either. Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.11.

Already a Disciple.
Cyril of Alexandria: He reveals his own state of mind that he was not only willing to become, but actually had already become, a disciple. Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.1.

9:28-29 Disciples of Moses
A Compliment, but Not Intentional.
Augustine: May such an “evil thing” be said of us and on our children! In other words, it was an evil thing [to say he was a disciple] from their point of view, but not if you think about the words themselves. They say, “But we are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses. But we have no idea where this person comes from.” But if you [Pharisees] knew that God spoke to Moses, then you should have also known that God preached about our Lord through Moses after hearing what he said, “If you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, for he wrote of me.” Do you then follow a servant and turn your back on the Lord? But you do not even follow the servant, for he would guide you to the Lord. Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.12.

9:30 He Opened My Eyes
The Miracle Is Incontrovertible Evidence.
Chrysostom: He brings in the miracle everywhere as evidence because they could not invalidate it. And he draws his own inferences from it too. First, he says, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know.” He has no doubt that Jesus was not a sinner. And so, when he has an opportunity, he turns their own words against them and defends Jesus: “Now we know that God does not listen to sinners.” Homilies on the Gospel of John 58.3.

9:31 God Does Not Listen to Sinners
Is It True That God Does Not Listen to Sinners?
Origen: But if so important a doctrine were true, that is, that the sinner is not heard by God, it would not have been passed over in silence but would have been spoken by someone deserving to be believed, for example, by the servant [Moses] or one of the prophets. But how, if God did not hear a sinner, were the sinners taught to say, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we also forgive our transgressors”? Whom then does God hear? He hears those who turn to him in repentance, even if they have not yet ceased from being sinners. If God did not hear sinners, our Savior would not have been eating and drinking with publicans and sinners. But if those needing physicians because they were sick were not being heard, he would not have healed them. Therefore, as if the prayer of those who have sinned but no longer altogether disbelieve attained its object, it is said, “If you mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?” But perhaps the blind man is speaking not about any ordinary thing in the prayer of the sinner but of the kind of great works that Jesus was doing. For when God is petitioned concerning those kinds of works by sinners, he does not hear them. Fragment 70 on the Gospel of John.

9:33-34 If This Man Were Not from God, He Could Do Nothing
The Facts Prove Jesus Is Not a Sinner.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: So Jesus must be admired, the blind man says, as one who is superior to human thought. While you do not know where he is from, the accomplished miracle openly proves his power to me. You do not know who he is and would need testimony from others if there had been no clue of his power. But if his miracles show that he is a great man—and you still do not know where he is from or who he is—it is evident, both from the greatness of his miracles and your foolishness, that he is beyond human comprehension. And from these facts it seems clear that he cannot be called a sinner. Certainly God does not fulfill the requests of sinners but listens instead to the voice of those who show honest behavior and faithfully do his will. . . . Indeed, he healed a man born blind, and we know that this has never been done before, not even by Moses, whom you admire. Commentary on John 4.9.30-32.

The Insight of Faith.
Cyril of Alexandria: He who had just received sight and had been miraculously freed from his old blindness was quicker to perceive truth than those who had been instructed by the law. See how through numerous and wise arguments he demonstrates the utter inferiority of the Pharisees’ opinion. Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.1.

Overview: Jesus elicits a confession of faith in his encounter with the blind man as a gift of life, not as a condition of healing (Hilary). Jesus is the personification of Siloam (“the sent one”) for this man, since he performed the work of the Father who had sent him in healing this man (Augustine). When he asks the man if he believes in the Son of man, the blind man recognizes the voice of the one who healed him (Theodore) but still is on the borderline between unbelief and faith (Origen). But when the Lord reveals himself to the man, he does confess his faith, and worship follows this confession (Basil).

In this miracle, we see our Lord once again dividing between the light and the darkness, between the sight and blindness of faith (Augustine). Jesus’ purpose in coming into the world becomes clear in his desire to save it (Theodore). Because the Pharisees refuse to see this, their sin remains (Augustine). Jesus heals both the physical and the spiritual blindness evident here (Chrysostom).

9:35 Do You Believe in the Son of Man?
Christ Elicits a Confession of Faith.
Hilary of Poitiers: When the man was already healed and had suffered ejection from the synagogue, the Lord put to him the question, “Do you believe on the Son of God?” This was to save him from the thought that he had lost everything by being excluded from the synagogue. It gave him the certainty that confession of the true faith had restored him to immortality. When the man, his soul still unenlightened, answered, “Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?” the Lord’s reply was, “You have both seen him, and it is he that speaks with you.” For his goal was to remove the ignorance of the man whose sight he had restored and whom he was now enriching with the knowledge of so glorious a faith. Does the Lord demand from this man, as from others who entreated him to heal them, a confession of faith as the price of their recovery? Emphatically not! For the blind man could already see when he was thus addressed. The Lord asked the question in order to receive the answer, “Lord, I believe.” The faith that spoke in that answer was to receive not sight but life. On the Trinity 6.48.

Jesus Himself Was Siloam.
Augustine: Of course God listens to sinners. But the man who said that had not yet washed the face of his heart in Siloam. The sacrament had already taken place in his eyes, but the benefit of grace had not yet been achieved in his heart. When did this blind man wash the face of his heart? When, after he had been thrown outside by the Jews, the Lord brought him inside into himself. You see, he found him and said to him, as we heard, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” And he answered, “Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?” He could already see him, certainly, with his eyes, but with his heart? Not yet. Wait for it; he will see in a moment. Jesus answered him, “I am, I who am talking to you.” Did he hesitate? He washed his face immediately. After all, Siloam was talking to him, “which is translated as ‘the One sent.’” Who is the one sent but Christ who frequently asserted, “I do the will of my Father, who sent me”? So he himself was Siloam. The man blind in heart approached, heard, believed, worshiped, washed his face and saw. Sermon 136.2.

9:36 Who Is He?
He Recognizes the Voice.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: The blind man, recognizing his voice—remember he had not seen him yet—said, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” With good reason he thought that he who had given him sight even though he was beyond hope could also show him the Son of God. Commentary on John 4.9.34-37.

A Beginner’s Confession of Faith.
Origen: Since he could not yet say “I believe” but as in ignorance answered, “Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?” he was therefore on the borderline, so to speak, between unbelief and belief. Fragment 71 on the Gospel of John.

9:38 Lord, I Believe
Worship Follows Faith.
Basil the Great: Worship follows faith, and faith is confirmed by power. But if you say that believers also know, they know from what they believe; and vice versa, they believe from what they know. We know God from his power. We, therefore, believe in him who is known, and we worship him who is believed. Letter 234.3.

9:39 Coming into the World for Judgment
Light and Darkness, Seeing and Blind.
Augustine: The day then was divided between light and darkness. . . . And this is only right since you, O Lord, are the light, you are the day, you deliver us from darkness. Every soul accepts and understands this. But what is this that follows, “And those who see may become blind”? Because you have arrived, shall those who saw now be made blind? Hear what comes next, and maybe you will understand. “Some of the Pharisees” were disturbed by these words “and said to him, ‘Are we also blind?’” What had moved them were the words “And those who see may become blind.” “Jesus said to them, . . . ‘If you were blind, you would have no sin,’” that is, if you identified yourselves as blind you would run to the physician. . . . For I have come to take away sin. But now you say, “We see.” Therefore your sin remains. Why? Because when you say that you see, you are not looking for a physician, and that is why you will remain in your blindness. Therefore, what he has just said before about coming for those who do not see so that they may see concerns those who acknowledge that they do not see and seek a physician so that they may receive their sight. “And those who see may become blind” concerns those who think they can see without looking for a physician, and so they remain in their blindness. He calls this act of division “judgment,” saying, “For judgment I came into this world.” . . . He is not referring here to that “judgment” when he will judge the living and the dead at the end of the world. Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.16-17.

The Purpose and Outcome of Jesus’ Coming.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: What Jesus said elsewhere, namely, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order to save it,” is not contrary to this statement. For there it states the purpose of Jesus’ coming: that all people may be saved. Here he talks about the outcome of his coming. In fact, even though this is his will, that is, to save all people, the unbelievers nonetheless must be absolutely punished because of their choice not to believe. Here he indicates what seems to be the outcome of these events. As is only reasonable, he says, I came to test individuals in order to ascertain who are blind and who are able to see. Now he who was believed to be blind, twice received eyes to see. He received bodily eyes and, to the perfection of his soul, he received saving doctrine. Those [i.e., the Pharisees] who think they see with bodily eyes, who have been entrusted with the teaching of the precepts of the law, appear to be blind, both because they do not accept the truth and because they do not believe the works that they have seen with their own eyes. Commentary on John 4.9.39-41.

9:40-41 Are We Also Blind?
Unconfessed Sin Remains.
Augustine: That is why, when the Pharisees who were listening to what he was saying, themselves said, “We are not blind too, are we?” They were obviously like the one who had gone up to the temple and was telling God, “I thank you, because I am not like other people, unjust, adulterers, rapacious,” as though to say, “I thank you that I am not blind but can see, unlike other people of the same sort as this tax collector.” What did those ones say? “We are not blind too, are we?” And the Lord answered them, “If you were blind, you would not have any sin. Now however, because you say ‘We can see,’ your sins remain.” He did not say “your sin occurs” but remains. You see, it was already there; because when you do not confess it, it is not taken away but “remains.” Sermon 136b.2.

Two Recoveries of Sight, Two Types of Blindness.
Chrysostom: In this passage he speaks of two recoveries of sight and of two types of blindness: one sensory and the other spiritual. . . . But they were intent only on the sensory things and were ashamed only of sensory blindness. And so, in order to show them that it would be better for them to be blind than seeing as they do, he says, “If you were blind, you would have no sin,” . . . your punishment would be more tolerable. . . . “But now you say ‘We see,’” but you do not see at all. He shows that what they considered as so great and praiseworthy actually brought them punishment instead. At the same time, he also consoles him who was blind from his birth concerning his former maimed state. And then he speaks concerning their blindness. For he directs his whole speech toward this purpose, that is, so that they cannot say, “We did not refuse to come to you because of our blindness, but we turn away and avoid you as a deceiver.” And there is also a reason the Evangelist adds, “And some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words.” He wants to remind us that those were the very persons who had first withstood Christ and then wished to stone him. For there were some who only followed in appearance and were easily changed to the contrary opinion. Homilies on the Gospel of John 59.1-2.