his sins, went down from the temple justified rather than the other Pharisee. Assuredly then God doth hear sinners. But he who spake these words had not yet washed the face of the heart in Siloa. The sacrament had gone before on his eyes; but in the heart had not been yet effected the blessing of the grace. When did this blind man wash the face of his heart? When the Lord admitted him into Himself after he had been cast out by the Jews. For He found him, and said to him as we have heard; “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” And he, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe on Him?”4052 With the eyes, it is true, he saw already; did he see already in the heart? No, not yet. Wait; he will see presently. Jesus answered him, “I that speak with thee am He.”4053 Did he doubt? No, forthwith he washed his face. For he was speaking with That Siloa, “which is by interpretation, Sent.”4054 Who is the Sent, but Christ? Who often bare witness, saying, “I do the will of My Father That sent Me.”4055 He then was Himself the Siloa. The man approached blind in heart, he heard, believed, adored; washed the face, saw. 3. But they who cast him out continued blind, forasmuch as they cavilled at the Lord, that it was the sabbath when He made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man. For when the Lord cured with a word, the Jews openly cavilled. For He did no work on the sabbath day, when He spake, and it was done. It was a manifest cavil; they cavilled at Him merely commanding, they cavilled at Him speaking; as if they did not themselves speak all the sabbath day. I might say that they do not speak not only on the sabbath, but on no day, forasmuch as they have kept back from the praises of the True God. Nevertheless, as I have said, brethren, it was a manifest cavil. The Lord said to a certain man, “Stretch forth thine hand;”4056 he was made whole, and they cavilled for that He healed on the sabbath day. What did He do? what work did He do? what burden did He bear? But in this instance, the spitting on the ground, the making clay, and anointing the man’s eyes, is doing some work. Let no one doubt it, it was doing a work. The Lord did break the sabbath; but was not therefore guilty. What is that I have said, “He brake the sabbath”? He, the Light had come, He was removing the shadows. For the sabbath was enjoined by the Lord God, enjoined by Christ Himself, who was with the Father, when that Law was given; it was enjoined by Him, but in shadow of what was to come. “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come.”4057 He had now come whose coming these things announced. Why do 4052 John ix. 35, 36. 4053 John ix. 37. 4054 John ix. 7. 4055 John iv. 34, v. 30, vi. 38. 4056 Matt. xii. 13. 4057 Col. ii. 16, 17. 1066 On the same lesson of the Gospel, John ix., on the giving sight to the man…