This case is further proof that the religion of law (see note John 9:14^1a) could not in any way help a blind man. But the Lord Jesus, as the light of the world, imparted sight to him in the way of life (John 10:10, 28).

Blindness, like sin in the previous chapter, is a matter of death. A dead person surely is blind. "The god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers." Hence, they need "the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ" to shine on them (2 Cor. 4:4) "to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God" (Acts 26:18). In the principle set forth in ch. 2, this also is the changing of death into life.

This question, like those in John 4:20-25 and John 8:3-5, was a matter of yes or no, which belongs to the tree of knowledge, the result of which is death (Gen. 2:17). But the Lord's answer in v. 3 pointed them to Himself, the One who is the tree of life, which results in life (Gen. 2:9).

Clay here, as in Rom. 9:21, signifies humanity. Spittle here, as something that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord (Matt. 4:4), signifies the Lord's words, which are Spirit and are life (John 6:63). The Lord's making clay of the spittle signifies the mingling of humanity with the Lord's living word, which is the Spirit. The word anointed proves this, because the Lord's Spirit is the anointing Spirit (Luke 4:18; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 1 John 2:27). Here the Lord anointed the blind eyes with the clay made of His spittle, that they might have sight. This signifies that by the anointing of the mingling of the Lord's word (which is His Spirit) with our humanity, our eyes, which were blinded by Satan, can have sight.

Here to wash is to cleanse away the clay. This signifies the washing away of our old humanity, as experienced in baptism (Rom. 6:3-4, 6).

See note John 1:6¹.

His going and washing indicates that he obeyed the life-giving word of the Lord. So he received sight. If he had not gone to wash off the clay after having been anointed with it, the clay would have blinded him even more. Our obedience to the Lord's anointing cleanses us and brings us sight.

It seems that the Lord again purposely did a sign on the Sabbath to expose the vanity of religious ritual. In any case, this strengthened religion's opposition, for He had already done a sign on the Sabbath (John 5:10, 16).

Lit., from the age; i.e., from eternity.

See note John 1:14⁵.

To cast him out was to excommunicate, to ostracize, him from the Jewish synagogue. This was to put him out of the sheepfold, as spoken by the Lord in John 10:3-4. Religion's persecution of the Lord's called one did nothing but fulfill what the Lord intended for him.

Some ancient authorities read, Son of Man.