disputants, who from some appearances, which did not well agree with their principles, had already agreed among themselves, that if any man did confess that Jesus was the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue; that is, that he should be excommunicated. But here comes a man, who shews them by an undenia ble fact, that he was, and must be the Christ. The question therefore was, what could be done under this dilemma? How they could maintain their own precipitate sentence, or how they could yield to the demonstration? Here they were in a great strait; for they could do neither the one nor the other: a cowardly retracta tion would have ruined their cause, and made their characters ridiculous: the expedient, therefore, which offered itself, was, to try whether they could deny the fact. Some of the people had been questioning with the man before; but when it is said that he was brought to the Pha risees, it is to be apprehended that he was brought in form to the council or seat of Moses, in order to be examined. And first, they do not ask him directly about the fact, but about the manner of it, how he had received his sight; hoping to find therein some subterfuge; either that it might have been an accident, or might

be owing to some natural cause: but that could not be; for clay and water, without the power of God added, will never cure a man that is blind. Here some of them thought it a good objection against the miracle, that it had been done on the Sabbath Day, and that therefore he who did it must be a bad man: but it occurred in answer to that, that if he had been a bad man, he could not have done it at all.How can a man that is a simmer do such miracles? Here then they were at a stand: so their next device is, to get rid of the fact by cross-examining the witness. They send now for his parents, knowing that they would be loth to speak out, for fear of the consequences : but their evidence was positive, as to the identity of the person, and as to his former blindness: as to the fact of his cure they left it to their son to bear witness of that, and the manner of it: and he adhered to his own story with such firmness and simplicity of truth, that nothing could be made of him. So now we find them at another stage of their absurdity; they admit the fact, but deny the consequence; and attack the character of Christ, as if they knew him to be a sinful person; a man that could never be taken for the Messiah, because hey could not know whence he was. Here

common

common sense could no longer contain itself: the man is astonished to think, how it could possibly happen, that there should be a Prophet in the place, opening the eyes of the blind, and that the great doctors of the time should know nothing of him! He therefore preserves no respect for them any longer, but follows up his arguments so closely, that there was nothing left but to have recourse to absolute authority, and do that by violence which they could not compass by all the arts of evasion. So they gave him to know, that all he had said signified nothing, because he was an inferior person, not fit to teach them, and had come into the world as a poor blind sinner: thus they answered him at last, and "cast him out" of the congregation; which act shews that he was before a Court of Judicature. And here, we may suppose, that the persons who would have put Lazarus to death, that his resurrection might not bear witness against themselves, would freely have put out the eyes of this man again, that his sight might not condemn their blindness. If we would see human perverseness in its utmost excess, and to what lengths of absurdity the hatred of truth will drive men; there is no greater example upon earth than this we have now before us. But we have

done for the present with those who rejected the truth; and are now to consider the case of the man who received it.

A

He that finds Jesus Christ, and follows him, must bear his reproach: but his gains will be far greater than his losses. This man being likely to prove a troublesome witness against the Pharisees, they rid themselves of him as well as they can; and being themselves in possession of the law, there is neither law nor judge to call them to an account: but, nevertheless, judgment hangs over their heads. As to the man himself, their conduct, though apparently against him, was very much in his favour-for he could never more have any opinion of their judgment; and so great a difficulty in the way of every com mon Jew as the authority of the rulers, was, removed. He could never think of their persons afterwards, without hating and despising their opinions: and in consequence would never after be deceived by them. He was in every respect a fit object for our Saviour's mercyhe was born in blindness: a sort of beginning that would not dispose his mind to reject the light*: he was in so much poverty, that the hi

story

* Heu dementiam ab his initiis existimantium, ad su perbiam se genitos

PLIN.

story tells us he sat and begged: the world had affronted him, and had condemned him against all sense and reason, when they could not answer him; so he was in little danger from fashion and opinion, those pests of learning and religion. He had a personal experience of the power of Jesus as a prophet sent from God and being thus prepared in mind, body, and estate, he would have no objection against his unpopular character, or against the novelty of his doctrine. When Jesus heard that they had cast him out, he found him; whence we may presume he went after him; as it was natural for him to do, the man being now one of those whom he came into the world to seek and to save, a lost sheep; a sheep turned out of the fold, and in want of a Shepherd to take him up and receive him. To this man our Saviour put the question, "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" The man was already convinced, that he was a prophet, and had affirmed it to the Pharisees; the question then must mean more than that; and what can it mean, but the belief of his divinity? which it certainly did, because in consequence of this belief, we are told, that he worshipped him. It has been already observed, how this man was prepared for a believer; but his readiness is wonderful: