MARY, OUR MOTHER

SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY #380

Some therefore of the Pharisees said: "This man is not of God, who keepeth not the sabbath." But others said: "How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?" And there was a division among them. They say therefore to the blind man again: "What sayest thou of him that hath opened thy eyes?" And he said: "He is a prophet." The Jews then did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight, And asked them, saying: "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then doth he now see?" His parents answered them and said: "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind: But how he now seeth, we know not: or who hath opened his eyes, we know not. Ask himself: he is of age: Let him speak for himself." These things his parents said, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had already agreed among themselves that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
(John 9:16-22)

THE CAUSE OF UNBELIEF: In spite of all their efforts, the Pharisees could not disprove the miraculous cure of the man born blind. Why, then, did they not believe in it? Because they had not the will to believe and receive the truth. The great truth that Jesus is God was, it may almost be said, forced on them with violence, but they resolutely shut their eyes to it. Why did they thus refuse to see and believe? Because they hated our Lord. They had got it once for all into their heads that the Messiah would come as a great liberator and conqueror who would enable them to realize their political aspirations. Jesus was poor and humble, redeeming the people only from sin and death, and their sensual nature refused to acknowledge any such Messiah. Added to this there must be taken into consideration their own personal interests. They had been, hitherto, the acknowledged leaders of the people, who honored them as models of virtue and justice. Jesus would not admit this justice of theirs, and ruthlessly showed up their hypocrisy. The greater the following of Jesus, the less was their own; and thus it was that their self-interest as well as their pride made them hostile to our Lord. Under no circumstances would they themselves acknowledge Him as the Messiah, and they used every means to prevent the people from doing so. Thus, even before this miracle and their examination of it, they had issued an edict that any one who should say that our Lord was the Christ should be put out of the synagogue. They would not believe; nor would they have believed, if Jesus had worked even greater miracles than He did.

[From 'A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture' by Bishop Knecht, D.D.]
(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)