The neighbors, amazed at the extraordinariness of the miracle, did not believe it. Although his procession to Siloam with eyes anointed with clay was so that many would see him and then not deny ignorance, yet even now they do not believe. The Evangelist, not without intention, remarks that he was begging for alms, but in order to show the Lord's ineffable love for mankind in that He condescended to the poor as well, that He healed the poor with great care, and from this we would learn not to despise our lesser brethren. And the blind man, not ashamed of his former poverty, not afraid of the people, openly says: "This is I," preaches the Benefactor and says: "The man called Jesus." He calls the Lord Man, because until now he knew nothing about Him, and what he has now learned, he confesses. How does he know that it is Jesus? From His conversation with His disciples. The disciples asked the Lord about him, and He answered them for quite a long time: "I must do the works of Him who sent Me; I am the light of the world." No one else taught this except Jesus alone, and He often used such speeches. It was from this that the blind man knew that it was Jesus. That He made the clay and anointed his eyes, He knew from the touch, and said. He kept silent about spitting, because he did not know, and as he did not know, he did not add. Apparently, this man was righteous.

Then they said to him, "Where is he?" He answered, "I don't know." They took this former blind man to the Pharisees. And there was a sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. The Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He has put clay in my eyes; And I washed my face and saw. Then some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not of God, because he does not keep the Sabbath." Others said: how can a sinful man work such miracles? And there was strife between them.

Since the Lord, in granting healing and performing miracles, usually hid Himself in His modesty, the blind man, when asked where Jesus is, says "I do not know," in order to be completely faithful to the truth.

They take him to the Pharisees in order to subject him to a more detailed and strict interrogation. The Evangelist remarks that "it was the Sabbath" in order to show their malice, how they seize every incident against Christ: they accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath and thus attempt to obscure the miracle. Therefore they do not ask him how thou didst receive thy sight, but how he opened thy eyes, slandering the Lord in all things, as one who acted on the Sabbath. The blind man himself is forced to remember that He made the frailty on the Sabbath. He, answering those who have already heard, does not mention the name of Jesus, nor what the Lord said to him, but only says: "He has put clay in my eyes, and I have washed and see." For it is probable that the Pharisees had heard from those who had brought the blind man to them, and perhaps they had slandered the Lord, and said, This is what Jesus does on the Sabbath. The courage of the blind man is worthy of remark, that he fearlessly speaks to the Pharisees. He was brought in so that, stricken with fear, he would reject the reality of healing, and he very clearly exclaimed: I see.

Of the Pharisees, some, not all, but more bold, said: "This man is not of God." And others said: how can a sinful person work such miracles? You see, under the influence of miracles, many are softened. These people – the Pharisees, the rulers, but as a result of this miracle, they are ashamed and somewhat defend.

"And there was strife among them." This strife used to take place among the people, for some said that He deceived the people, and others that He was good (John 7:12, 43), and now it begins among the rulers. And so many Pharisees, separating themselves from the rest, defend the miracle. However, even after the separation, they speak for Christ very weakly and more doubtfully and double-minded than firmly. For listen to what they say: how can a sinful man work such miracles? Do you see how weakly they object? Look also at the cunning of the slanderers. They do not say that He is not of God, because He heals on the Sabbath, but that He does not keep the Sabbath; they constantly expose not a beneficence, but a violation of the day. Note also that the rulers are slower to do good than the people. The people had already been divided in opinion, and not all spoke against Christ, and the leaders came to this laudable division after the people. For it is good sometimes to divide, as the Lord also says: "I have come to bring a sword to the earth" (Matt. 10:34), that is, without a doubt, disagreement because of goodness and godliness.

Again they say to the blind man, "You, what will you say about Him, because He has opened your eyes?" He said, "He's a prophet." Then the Jews did not believe that he was blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of this man who had received his sight and asked them, "Is this your son, of whom you say that he was born blind?" How does he see now?

Who were those who asked, What wilt thou say of Him? They were among the prudent. For they said, How can a sinner do such things? In order not to appear vain defenders, they cite as a testimony the one who received the beneficence, as having experienced His power, in order to stop the mouths of slanderers. See how prudently they ask. They did not say, you what you would say about Him, because He made the Sabbath, because He did not keep the Sabbath, but they remind you of the miracle, "because He opened your eyes," as if inciting the healed man to tell the truth about Christ. They remind him and urge him: because He has opened your eyes. He is said to have done you good. Therefore, you must preach about Him. The blind man now confessed what he could, namely, that He was not a sinner, but of God, that He was a prophet, although some say that He was not of God, because He did not keep the Sabbath.

Christ anointed with one finger, and He is considered to be the Sabbath breaker. They themselves untie animals with all their hands in order to give them water, and consider themselves pious. The hard-hearted and stubborn call upon his parents in order to put them in difficulty and thereby force them to reject the former blindness of their son. Since they could not stop their well-intentioned lips, they frightened their parents, in the hope of destroying the miracle. So they put them in the middle and interrogate them with fury and with even greater malice. They do not say, "Is this your son, who was once blind," but "of whom you speak," as if to say, "Whom you have made blind, and the rumor about it has spread everywhere," is completely fictitious and false. But, O wicked Pharisees! What father would allow himself to lie like that about his child? On both sides they oppress them and compel them to renounce their son, on the one hand, with the expression "of whom you speak," and on the other, with the question, "How does he see now?" They say: either what he sees now is false, or that he was blind. But it is true that he sees: therefore you have falsely divulged that he was formerly blind.

His parents answered and said to them, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he sees now, we do not know, or who opened his eyes, we do not know; Ask yourself when you are of perfect age: let him speak of himself. Thus answered his parents, because they feared the Jews; for the Jews have already conspired that whoever acknowledges Him to be Christ shall be excommunicated from the synagogue. Wherefore his parents said, He is of perfect age; Ask yourself.

The Pharisees asked the parents of the blind man three questions: 1) Is this their son? 2) Was he born blind? and (3) how did he become sighted? To the first two questions they answer in the affirmative, that this is their son and he was blind, and they do not answer about the method of healing because of ignorance. This happened, without a doubt, in order that the truth might be recognized more firmly, so that it might be testified to by the one who received the beneficence, and therefore the most reliable witness, as his parents say: he himself is of perfect age, he is not a child or an underage, so that he does not understand how he was healed. His parents answered this because they were afraid of the Pharisees. They were unsteady and faint-hearted than their son. And he became a fearless witness to the truth; he began to see well with his mental eyes.

So they called a man who was blind a second time, and said to him, Give glory to God; we know that That Man is a sinner. He answered and said to them, "Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; One thing I know is that I was blind, and now I see. And they asked him again, What has he done to thee? How did He open your eyes? He answered them, "I have already told you, and you have not listened; What else do you want to hear? or do you also want to become His disciples? And they rebuked him, and said, Thou art His disciple, and we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; But we do not know whence He comes.

Just as parents insisted on asking their son for them, so do the arrogant ones. They bring him, not to ask, but to impress upon him the accusation of the Healer. For the suggestion "give glory to God" means to confess that Jesus did nothing for you, and in not attributing anything good to Jesus is the glory of God! They say we know that He is a sinner. Why did you not rebuke Him when He called you to this, saying, "Which of you shall convict Me of sin" (John 8:46)?

The blind man says, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know, and now I do not experience it, nor do I affirm it." But I know very clearly that He performed a miracle on me. Therefore, let this matter be considered by itself and give an idea of Him. Then, when they again asked him what He had done to you, accusing the Saviour of having anointed you on the Sabbath, this man understood that they were asking not for the sake of clarification, but for the sake of accusation, and he answered them reproachfully, "I do not want to speak to you any more, because many times I have told you, and you have not listened." Then, which could have especially wounded them, he adds: Do you also want to become His disciples? Obviously, he himself wants to be His disciple. Joking and laughing at them, he says it calmly; and this shows a soul that is brave and undaunted, and not afraid of their fury. To his offense they say: "You are His disciple, and we are the disciples of Moses." And here they are clearly lying. For if they had been disciples of Moses, they would have been Christ's, as He Himself says to them: "If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed me also" (John 5:46). They did not say, "We have heard," but, "We know," that God spoke to Moses, although their ancestors had told them about it. That which we have received by ear, they say, we know for sure, but He Whose miracles we have seen with our own eyes and Whose Divine and heavenly teaching we have heard for ourselves, is called a deceiver (John 7:12). You see to what madness their malice has driven them.