NEITHER YES NOR NO
Let us now consider the case of the blind man in more detail. The Lord Jesus passing by saw this man blind from his birth. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind?" (9:2). The disciples’ question was entirely religious. Since the man was blind, they reasoned, someone must have sinned, either he or his parents. But Jesus answered, "Neither did this man sin, nor his parents" (v. 3). If you read the Gospel of John carefully, you will see that people frequently came to Jesus with questions requiring a yes or no answer. But Jesus never answered yes or no. He always said in effect, "Neither yes, nor no." For example, the Samaritan woman in chapter 4 introduced the matter of worship. She said, "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain: and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship" (v. 20). But the Lord Jesus replied, "Neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father" (v. 21). The Lord’s answer to His disciples in chapter 9 was of a similar nature. The Lord Jesus never answers yes or no; He always answers according to life. With Him, it is not a matter of right or wrong, yes or no, good or evil, or anything of the tree of knowledge; it is entirely a matter of God, a matter of life. The Lord Jesus told His disciples, "Neither did this man sin, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him" (v. 3). The question of the disciples was one of religion; the answer of the Lord Jesus was one of revelation. Jesus took away the veil of religion: He said in effect, "Forget about religion. It is not a matter of this or that, but a matter of the work of God being manifested."
DIVINITY MINGLES WITH HUMANITY
The Lord Jesus spoke very little after this. Immediately following this statement of His we read that He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle (v. 6). Scientifically and culturally speaking, spittle is a very dirty substance. But the Lord Jesus spat on the ground and even mixed the spittle with the clay. Then, with this spittle, we read, the Lord anointed the eyes of the blind man and told him to go and wash. He did, and he returned healed. The Lord Jesus in performing this sign acted not in a miraculous way, but in an uncultured, unrefined way, totally contrary to human concept. People would say that what He did was coarse and foolish. Who would ever think that the Lord Jesus would use spittle mingled with dirt, of all things, as a kind of ointment to anoint a blind man. But the Lord is always acting contrary to our religious and human concept. Spiritually speaking, what He did is full of meaning. Something out of the mouth of the Lord was mingled with something of the ground. We are the ground. Therefore, what the Lord did signifies the mingling of divinity with humanity.
We were all born blind. In what way did we receive sight? By being mingled with the Lord Jesus as a divine Person. Some element of Christ must enter into us and be come mingled with us. Most of us can testify from our experience: the day we received Christ was the day we received our sight. Even today, there is no other way to receive sight, but by the mingling of Christ within us. Let Christ put something of Himself into you, and you will receive sight.
(Christ versus Religion, Chapter 8, by Witness Lee)
