ACC ~ John 9 v1

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BLINDNESS FROM BIRTH

AMBROSE: You have heard that story in the Gospel where we are told that the Lord Jesus, as he was passing by, caught sight of a man who had been blind from birth. Since the Lord did not overlook him, neither ought we to overlook this story of a man whom the Lord considered worthy of his attention. In particular we should notice the fact that he had been blind from birth. This is an important point.

There is, indeed, a kind of blindness, usually brought on by serious illness, which obscures one’s vision but that can be cured, given time; and there is another sort of blindness, caused by cataract, that can be remedied by a surgeon: he can remove the cause, and so the blindness is dispelled. Draw your own conclusion: this man, who was actually born blind, was not cured by surgical skill but by the power of God. LETTER 67.1-2. [1]

[1] CSEL 82 2:165.

JESUS SEES THE BLIND MAN

CHRYSOSTOM: It is clear that, on going out of the temple, he proceeded intentionally to do the work [of the miracle] from the fact that it was he who saw the blind man, not the blind man who came to him. And so intently did Jesus look at him that even his disciples perceived it. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 56.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:200**.

RESTORING WHAT NATURE LEFT DEFECTIVE

CAESARIUS OF ARLES: We have just heard that Jesus gave sight to the man who was blind from birth. Do you wonder? Jesus is the Savior. He did something in keeping with his name, for by his kindness he restored what he had given to a lesser degree in the womb. Now when he made his eyes less powerful, surely he did not make a mistake, but he deferred it for the miracle…. Behold, why Christ delayed when he made the eyes less powerful in the womb. Do not think that the parents of that blind man had no sin and that the blind man himself, when he was born, did not contract original sin; because of the fact of original sin even very little children are baptized. However, that blindness was not due to the sin of his parents or due to the sin of the blind man, but in order that the glory of God might be made manifest in him. For when we are born we all contract original sin, [1] and still we are not born physically blind. That blind man was prepared as a salve for the human race. He was bodily restored to light, in order that by considering his miracle we might be enlightened in heart. SERMON 172.1. [2]

[1] Augustine sees the blind man as a type of the human race, which is blind from birth due to original sin. See Tractates on the Gospel of John 44.1 (NPNF 1 7:245).

[2] FC 47:424-25*.See also Athanasius On the Incarnation 18.

Jn