ORIGEN . Or; Jesus does not pass on, but stands still, that by His standing His goodness may not pass by, but as from an abiding fount mercy may flow forth upon them.
JEROME . He commands that they be called to Him that the multitude may not withhold them; and He asks them what they would, that by their answer, their necessity may be made apparent, and His power be shewn in their healing.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM . Or; He asks them on account of their faith, that whereas they who were blind confess Christ to be the Son of God, those who had their sight might be put to shame for their esteeming Him only man. They had indeed called Christ Lord, and they had spoken true; but by calling Him the Son of David, they obliterated this their good confession. For indeed by a misuse of words men are called Lords, but none is truly Lord, but God only. When therefore they say, O Lord, thou Son of David, they thus misapply the term to Christ, as esteeming Him man; had they only called Him Lord, they would have confessed His Godhead. When then He asks them, What would ye? they no longer style Him Son of David, but only Lord; They say unto Him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. For the Son of David cannot open the eyes of the blind, but the Son of God can. So long then as they cried, O Lord, thou Son of David, their cure was delayed; as soon as they said, Lord, only, healing was shed upon them; for it follows, And Jesus had compassion upon them, and touched their eyes, and straightway they saw. He touched them carnally as man, He healed them as God.
JEROME . The Creator bestows what nature had not given; or at least mercy accords what weakness had withheld.
CHRYSOSTOM . But as before this bounty they had been persevering, so after the receiving it they were not ungrateful.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM . On being healed they rendered a high service to Christ; for it follows, And they followed him. For this the Lord requires of thee, according to the Prophet, that thou be careful to walk with the Lord thy God. (Mic. 6:8).
JEROME . They then who had sat shut up in Jericho, and knew only to cry with their voice, afterwards follow Jesus, not so much with their feet as in their virtues.
RABANUS . But Jericho, which is interpreted ‘the moon,’ denotes the infirmity of our changefulness.
ORIGEN . Figuratively, Jericho is taken to be the world, into which Christ came down. They who are in Jericho, know not how to escape from the wisdom of the world, unless they see not Jesus only coming out of Jericho, but also His disciples. This when they saw, great multitudes followed Him, despising the world and all worldly things, that under His guidance they may go up to the heavenly Jerusalem. The two blind men we may call Judah and Israel, who before the coming of Christ were blind, not seeing the true word which was in the Law and the Prophets, yet sitting by the wayside of the Law and the Prophets, and understanding Him only as after the flesh, they cried to Him who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
JEROME . By the two blind men are generally understood the Pharisees and Sadducees.
AUGUSTINE . (Quæst. Ev. i. 28.) Otherwise; The two blind men sitting by the wayside, denote certain of both nations already by faith coming in to that temporal dispensation, according to which Christ is the way, and seeking to be enlightened, that is, to know something concerning the eternity of the Word. This they desired to obtain from the Lord as He passed by, for the merit of that faith by which He is believed to be the Son of God, to have been born man, and to have suffered for us; for in this dispensation, Jesus, as it were, passes by, for all action is of this world. Also it behoved that they should cry out so loud as to overpower the din of the multitude that withstood them; that is, so to fortify their minds by perseverance and prayer, and mortifying continually the usage of fleshly lusts, (which as a crowd ever beset one that is endeavouring to come to the sight of eternal truth,) and by the straitest painfulness to get the better of the multitude of carnal men who hinder spiritual aspirations.
AUGUSTINE . (Serm. 88, 13.) For bad or lukewarm Christians are an hindrance to good Christians, who seek to perform the commandments of God. Notwithstanding these cry and faint not; for every Christian at his first setting about to live well and to despise the world, has to endure at the first the censures of cold Christians; but if he persevere, they will soon comply, who but now withstood him.
AUGUSTINE . (Quæst. Ev. ii. 28.) Jesus therefore, the same who said, To him that knocketh it shall be opened, hearing them, stands still, touches them, and gives them light. Faith in His temporal incarnation prepares us for the understanding of things eternal. By the passing by of Jesus they are admonished that they should be enlightened, and when He stands still they are enlightened; for things temporal pass by, but things eternal stand still.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM . Some interpret that the two blind men are the Gentiles; one sprung from Cham, the other from Japhet; they sat by the way-side, that is, they walked hard by the truth, but they could not find it out; or they were placed in reason, not having yet received knowledge of the Word.
RABANUS . But recognizing the rumour of Christ, they desired to be made partakers of Him. Many spake against them; first the Jews, as we read in the Acts; then the Gentiles harassed them by persecution; but yet they might not deprive those who were preordained to life of salvation.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM . Accordingly Jesus touched the eyes of the Gentile mind, giving them the grace of the Holy Spirit, and when enlightened they followed Him with good works.
ORIGEN . We also now sitting by the wayside of the Scriptures, and understanding wherein we are blind, if we ask with desire, He will touch the eyes of our souls, and the gloom of ignorance shall depart from our minds, that in the light of knowledge we may follow Him, who gave us power to see to no other end than that we should follow Him.