34 free?* Jesus answered them, Verily, verily I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin, is 35 the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth 36 ever. If the Son therefore shall make you 37 free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye

are Abraham's offspring: but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. 38 I speak that which I have seen with my Fath

er and ye do that which ye have seen with 39 your father. They answered and said unto

him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would 40 do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me ; a man who hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God; this did not Abra41 ham. Ye do the deeds of your father.

Then they said to him, We are not born of fornica42 tion: we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father,† ye would love me: for I proceed forth and came from God; I did not come of myself, but he 43 sent me. Why do ye not understand my discourse? It is because ye cannot hear my doc44 trine. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye, will do. He was a

The Jews thought they had no need of instruction or reformation, as they had the law of Moses, and were des@endants of Abraham. But Christ taught them that they were in error, and under the power of sin, and therefore needed the benefit of his doctrine as well as the rest of the world.

If ye treated God as your Father, and possessed the disposition he requires of his children, if ye were humble, candid and obedient.

murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe 46 me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe 47 me? He who is of God, heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because 48 ye are not of God. Then the Jews said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, 49 and hast a demon?* Jesus answered, I have not a demon; but I honor my Father, and ye do 50 dishonor nie. And I seek not mine own glory there is one that seeketh and judgeth. 51 Verily, verily I say unto you, if a man keep 52 my saying, he shall never see death.† Then

the Jews said unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man adhere to my doctrine, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? The prophets also are dead: 54 whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered,

If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honoreth me, of whom ye say, 55 that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I

By thus characterizing Jesus, they meant to reproach him as one who was distracted, or impious. See chap. x. 20. The charge was, that he was assisted by an evil spirit, and was a magician, and not a true prophet.

The Jews and Arabians had a proverb to this effectthat the good live, though in the abodes of death; and that the wicked were dead, even whilst they lived.

know him not, I should be a liar like unto you: 56 but I know him, and obey his words. Your

father Abraham greatly desired to see my day: 57 and he saw it, and was glad.* Then said the

Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years 58 old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, be59 fore Abraham was, I am. Then they took up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

CHAP. IX.

1

AND as he passed on, he saw a man who 2 was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents :† but that the works of God 4 should be made manifest in him. I must work

the works of him who sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the 6 world. When he had thus spoken, he spat

on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with the

Saw it in vision, or prophetically, on mount Moriah, when he was about to offer up his son Isaac. See Gen. chap. xxii. 1, 2.

† Not sinned remarkably; but his blindness was inflicted for the purpose of furnishing an occasion to display the power of God by me, his Son and Messenger.

7 clay. And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is, by interpretation, Sent.) Then he went his way and washed, and came seeing.

8

The neighbors therefore, and they who before had seen him when he was blind, said, Is 9 not this he who sat and begged? Some said, This is he. Others said, He is like him. But 10 he said, I am he. Then they said unto 11 him, How were thine eyes opened? He an

swered and said, A man who is called Jesus, made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash : and I went and washed, and I received sight. 12 Then they said unto him, Where is he? He replied, I know not.

13

Then they brought to the Pharisees him 14 who was formerly blind. And it was the sabbath-day, when Jesus made the clay, and open15 ed his eyes. Then the Pharisees again asked

him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I 16 washed, and do see. Then some of the Pharisees said, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath-day. Others said, How can a man who is a sinner, do such miracles? And there was a division among them. 17 They again addressed the blind man, What sayest thou of him? That he hath opened 18 thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. But

the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received 19 his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is

this your son, who ye say was born blind? how 20 then doth he now see? His parents answered them, and said, We know that this is our son, 21 and that he was born blind: But by what

means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not. He is of age; ask him; he shall speak for himself. 22 (His parents said this, because they feared the Jews: For the Jews had decreed already, that if any man should confess that he was Christ, 23 he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, He is of age; ask him.) 24 Then they again called the man who was blind,

and said unto him, Give God the praise; we 25 know that this man is a sinner. He answered

and said, Whether he be a sinner, I know not of one thing I am certain, that having been 26 blind, now I see. Then they said to him again,

What did he to thee? how opened he thine 27 eyes?* He answered them, I have told you

already; did ye not hear? wherefore would ye have it repeated? will ye also be his disciples? 28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his 29 disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this 30 fellow, we know not whence he is. The man

answered and said unto them, Why this is a wonderful thing indeed, that ye know not whence he is, though he hath opened mine

* The Jews wished, if possible, by their cavils and questions, to make the man contradict himself. They could not deny the miracle; but wished to find some sort of inconsistency in the account, as an apology for their objections. But it was in vain. The relation of the man is simple, plain and convincing.