he says the blindness occurred for the sake of some sin, but for the sake of the glory of God that was to come, so that the power of God might be known through the miraculously occurring recovery of sight. 50 Jo 9,7 The inclusion of Siloam in the work, which is interpreted "sent," as the evangelist also not in vain pointed out, indicates the sending of the Creator's power for the renewal of his own creation, becoming a cleansing of sins, of which the water of the pool was a symbol, and through the cleansing of sins restoring health and to

wholeness the nature that had been diseased and maimed. 51 Jo 9,10-17 Not as needing to learn something from the blind man do these men put the question, but as if shaming him to utter something more defamatory against the Lord on account of the seeming disregard for the sabbath; for they thought that he, being one man, and a poor, humble beggar at that, would be drawn away by them, being many; and they considered it a great thing for the one who had received the benefit to cease his praise of him, so that from this they might be able to conceal what was done, it not being testified to by the one who was healed. but he did not yield, since he had known the Lord by experience, but as much as he was able to comprehend he speaks reverently about him, saying that he is a prophet, and this reasonably so, since he did not know that he had done it by his own power, being ignorant of the authority of his divinity. 53 Jo 9,16 So powerful is a preconceived opinion and a disposition towards something to take away right judgment upon matters and to darken the reason. and that he made the blind man see on the sabbath, they do not consider, but that "he made clay," they judge, the Lord deliberately performing his works on this day many times, in order that he might free men from slavery "under the elements," as the apostle says, making them free from sabbath slavery for slavery to God; for to work the works of God during the sabbath rest was to serve God

instead of the sabbath. 54 Jo 9,18-19 Not finding the denial they wanted from the one who was healed, they seek it from his parents, and they hope that they, being alarmed, will be their collaborators by denying that this one who was born blind is the one now seeing. But the evangelist says that they did not even believe; for faith does not take up residence in a contentious soul and one arrayed against the power of God, so that they are not guiltless of unbelief, but very much guilty, having fashioned hardness in themselves, on account of which they did not receive the good of faith. And they alarmed the parents, accusing them, because they said their son was born blind; "For how," they say,

does a son see. 55 Jo 9,28-31 Out of arrogance you say this. what they say is something like this. We know that God gave the law through Moses, but this man we do not know, except as one who breaks the law; for on the sabbath he healed a blind man; for with this purpose they say they do not know him. And the "you are a disciple of that one" they have said as belittling him, of that one; and they say "we do not know" as having a suspicion about his birth according to the flesh, being able to understand nothing about his ineffable birth. What then does the healed man say to this? From their own words he seizes them and makes them fall foul of themselves. "This," he says, "is the wonderful thing, that you do not know where he is from," surpassing human comprehension. Then since he himself has not spoken from above, but knowing that he is not a sinner, for he says, "that we know that God does not hear sinners."

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ἕνεκά τινος ἁμαρτίας τὴν τυφλότητα γενέσθαι φησίν, ἀλλ' ἕνεκα δόξης θεοῦ μελλούσης ὑπὲρ τοῦ γνωσθῆναι θεοῦ δύναμιν διὰ τῆς παραδόξως γενομένης ἀναβλέψεως. 50 Jο 9,7 Ἡ τοῦ Σιλωὰμ εἰς τὸ ἔργον συμπαράληψις ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται ἀπεσταλ μένος καθὰ καὶ ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς οὐ μάτην ἐπεσημαίνετο, δηλοῖ τὴν τῆς δημι ουργοῦ δυνάμεως ἀποστολὴν εἰς τὴν τοῦ ἰδίου δημιουργήματος ἀνανέωσιν ἀπο καθαρτικὴν μὲν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν γινομένην, οὗ σύμβολον τὸ ὕδωρ ἦν τὸ τῆς κολυμβήθρας, διὰ δὲ τῆς τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἀποκαθάρσεως ὑγείαν ἐπανάγουσαν καὶ εἰς

ἀρτιότητα τὴν νενοσηκυῖαν καὶ πεπηρωμένην φύσιν. 51 Jο 9,10-17 Οὐχ ὡς μαθεῖν τι δεόμενοι παρὰ τοῦ τυφλοῦ τὴν ἐρώτησιν οὗτοι προσά γουσιν, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐκδυσωποῦντες αὐτὸν δυσφημότερόν τι κατὰ τοῦ κυρίου φθέγξασθαι διὰ τὴν δοκοῦσαν περὶ τὸ σάββατον ὀλιγωρίαν· ᾤοντο γὰρ ὑπὸ πολλῶν ὄντων αὐτῶν ἑλκυσθήσεσθαι τὸν ἕνα καὶ ταῦτα πένητα καὶ εὐτελῆ καὶ προσαίτην, μέγα δὲ ἡγοῦντο τὸν εὐεργετηθέντα παῦσαι τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν εὐφημίας ὡς ἐκ τούτου καὶ κατακρύψαι δύνασθαι τὸ πραχθὲν μὴ μαρτυρούμενον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἰαθέντος. ἀλλ' οὐκ εἶξεν, ἅτε πείρᾳ τὸν κύριον ἐγνωκώς, ἀλλ' ὅσον ἐδύνατο καταλαβεῖν εὐφήμως λέγει περὶ αὐτοῦ προφήτην εἶναι φάσκων καὶ τοῦτο εἰκότως, ἐπείπερ οὐκ ἰδίᾳ δυνάμει πεποιηκότα αὐτὸν ἠπίστατο τῆς θεότητος τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἀγνοῶν. 53 Jο 9,16 Τοσοῦτον ἰσχύει δόγμα προκατεσχηκὸς καὶ ἡ πρός τι διάθεσις εἰς τὸ παρελέσθαι τὴν ὀρθὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς πράγμασιν δίκην καὶ σκοτῶσαι τὸν λογισμόν. καὶ ὅτι μὲν ἐν σαββάτῳ τὸν τυφλὸν βλέπειν ἐποίησεν, οὐ λογίζονται, ὅτι δὲ "πηλὸν ἐποίησεν" , κρίνουσιν, ἐξεπίτηδες τοῦ κυρίου κατὰ ταύτην τὴν ἡμέραν ἐργαζομένου τὰ ἑαυτοῦ ἔργα πολλάκις, ἵνα τῆς "ὑπὸ τὰ στοιχεῖα" δουλείας, ὡς ὁ ἀπόστολός φησιν, ἐλευθερώσῃ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀνέτους ποιήσας ἀπὸ τῆς σαββατικῆς δουλείας εἰς τὴν θεοῦ δουλείαν· τὸ γὰρ θεοῦ ἔργα κατὰ τὴν σαββα τικὴν ἀργίαν ἐργάζεσθαι θεῷ δουλεύειν

ἦν ἀντὶ σαββάτου. 54 Jο 9,18-19 Οὐχ εὑρόντες ἣν ἐβούλοντο ἄρνησιν παρὰ τοῦ τεθεραπευμένου παρὰ τῶν γονέων ταύτην ζητοῦσιν, ἐλπίζουσί τε αὐτοὺς θορυβηθέντας συνεργοὺς ἔσεσθαι αὐτοῖς ἀρνησαμένους, ὅτι ὁ γεγεννημένος τυφλὸς οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ νυνὶ βλέπων. φησὶ δὲ αὐτοὺς ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς μηδὲ πιστεύειν· οὐ γὰρ εἰσοικίζεται πίστις εἰς ἐριστικὴν ψυχὴν καὶ εἰς θεοῦ δύναμιν παραταττομένην, ὥστε οὐκ ἀναίτιοι τῆς ἀπιστίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα ὑπαίτιοι σκληρότητα κατασκευάσαντες ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, δι' ἣν οὐχ ὑπεδέχοντο τὸ τῆς πίστεως ἀγαθόν. θορυβοῦσι δὲ τοὺς γονεῖς ἐγκαλοῦντες, ὅτι τυφλὸν λέγοιεν γεγεννῆσθαι τὸν υἱὸν ἑαυτῶν· πῶς γάρ, φασίν,

βλέπειν υἱόν. 55 Jο 9,28-31 Ἐξ ὑπεροψίας τοῦτο ὑμεῖς φατε. ὃ λέγουσιν, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν. οἴδαμεν, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς διὰ Μωυσέως ἐνομοθέτησεν, τοῦτον δὲ οὐκ ἴσμεν εἰ μὴ ὡς παραλύοντα τὸν νόμον· ἐν γὰρ σαββάτῳ τυφλὸν ἐθεράπευσεν· τούτῳ γὰρ τῷ σκοπῷ λέγουσι μὴ εἰδέναι αὐτόν. τὸ δὲ σὺ εἶ μαθητὴς ἐκείνου ὡς ἐξευτελί ζοντες αὐτὸν εἰρήκασιν ἐκείνου, τὸ δὲ μὴ εἰδέναι λέγουσιν ὡς ἔχοντες περὶ τῆς κατὰ σάρκα αὐτοῦ γεννήσεως ὑποψίαν μηδὲν περὶ τῆς ἀρρήτου αὐτοῦ γεννήσεως δυνάμενοι ἐννοῆσαι. τί οὖν πρὸς τοῦτο ὁ τεθεραπευμένος; ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν λόγων δράττεται αὐτοὺς καὶ ἑαυτοῖς περιπίπτειν ποιεῖ. τοῦτο, φησίν, τὸ θαυμαστόν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε πόθεν ἐστίν, ὑπερβαῖνον τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην κατάληψιν. εἶτα ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς οὐκ ἄνωθεν εἴρηκεν, ἀλλ' εἰδώς, ὅτι οὐχ ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν, φησὶ γάρ, ὅτι οἴδαμεν, ὅτι ἁμαρτωλῶν ὁ θεὸς οὐκ ἀκούει.

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