John 9:21

): " By what means he now seeth we know not, or who has opened his eyes we know not, otherwise than by hearsay; we can give no account either by what means or by whose hand it was done." See how the wisdom of this world teaches men to trim the matter in critical junctures. Christ was accused as a sabbath-breaker, and as an imposter.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

But by what means he now seeth we know not,....

He is of age - Ἡλικιαν εχει, literally, he has stature, i.e. he is a full-grown man; and in this sense the phrase is used by the best Greek writers. See Kypke and Raphelius. Mature age was fixed among the Jews at thirty years.

These verses show us how little the Jews of our Lord's time understood the right use of the Sabbath day. We read that some of the Pharisees found fault because a blind man was miraculously healed on the Sabbath. They said, "This man is not of God, because He keeps not the Sabbath day." A good work had manifestly been done to a helpless fellow-creature. A heavy bodily infirmity had been removed. A mighty act of mercy had been performed. But the blind-hearted enemies of Christ could see no beauty in the act.

They prevaricated, however, in saying they "knew not who had opened his eyes," for "they feared the Jews," who had come to an understanding (probably after what is recorded, Joh 7:50, &c.; but by this time well known), that whoever owned Him as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue--that is, not simply excluded, but excommunicated.

THOSE of you, dear Friends, who were present this morning, will remember that our subject was "Jesus Christ Himself." [No. 1888, Vol. 23. "Jesus Christ Himself."] We dwelt upon His blessed Person. Our faith is fixed on Him, our affections are drawn to Him, our hopes all bend toward Him. Though everything He said or did is precious, yet Jesus Himself stands first in our judgment. To know Him, to believe Him, to love Him is the very essence of our Christianity. Tonight we change our theme.

These verses show us how little the Jews of our Lord's time understood the right use of the Sabbath day. We read that some of the Pharisees found fault because a blind man was miraculously healed on the Sabbath. They said, "This man is not of God, because He keeps not the Sabbath day." A good work had manifestly been done to a helpless fellow-creature. A heavy bodily infirmity had been removed. A mighty act of mercy had been performed. But the blind-hearted enemies of Christ could see no beauty in the act. They called it a breach of the Fourth Commandment! These would-be wise men completely mistook the intention of the Sabbath. They did not see that it was "made for man," and meant for the good of man's body, mind, and soul. It was a day to be set apart from others, no doubt, and to be carefully sanctified and kept holy. But its sanctification was never intended to prevent works of necessity and acts of mercy. To heal a sick man was no breach of the Sabbath day. In finding fault with our Lord for so doing, the Jews only exposed their ignorance of their own law. They had forgotten that it is as great a sin to add to a commandment, as to take it away. Here, as in other places, we must take care that we do not put a wrong meaning on our Lord's conduct. We must not for a moment suppose that the Sabbath is no longer binding on Christians, and that they have nothing to do with the Fourth Commandment. This is a great mistake, and the root of great evil. Not one of the ten commandments has ever been repealed or put aside. Our Lord never meant the Sabbath to become a day of pleasure, or a day of business, or a day of traveling and idle dissipation. He meant it to be "kept holy" as long as the world stands. It is one thing to employ the Sabbath in works of mercy, in ministering to the sick, and doing good to the distressed.

THOSE of you, dear Friends, who were present this morning, will remember that our subject was "Jesus Christ Himself." [No. 1888, Vol. 23. "Jesus Christ Himself."] We dwelt upon His blessed Person. Our faith is fixed on Him, our affections are drawn to Him, our hopes all bend toward Him. Though everything He said or did is precious, yet Jesus Himself stands first in our judgment. To know Him, to believe Him, to love Him is the very essence of our Christianity. Tonight we change our theme. There is an "himself in our text this evening—an "himself," 'tis true of a much humbler order. How do we each stand for himself? Our individuality and the personal responsibilities which fall upon ourselves in reference to Christ must not be lost sight of. If, for instance, a spiritual miracle has been worked upon us and we are obliged to confess. No, if we are delighted to confess that He has opened our eyes—then we are bound, especially those of us who are of ripe understanding, who may be said to be of full age—we are bound to bear our own personal testimony for Him. The allegation and the appeal may alike apply to each one of us, "He is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself." Jesus Christ Himself bore our sins, as we heard this morning. He gave Himself for us. He served us, not by proxy, but by personal consecration. He served us, not by alms doled out pitifully, but by His life surrendered as a Sacrifice to God cheerfully. If He has thus commended His love to us, what less can we do in return than bear our own brave, bold, personal testimony for Him? What a parallel there is between this man's case and our own. He had suffered from a grievous, personal evil. He was born blind! So we were born in sin—sin had cast its blindness over our faculties from our very birth! We shall never forget the midnight of our nature.