The beginning of this gospel touched our Saviour's passion, though he did not suffer at this time; but he would from afar and long before make known his passion to his disciples, that they might not be too much terrified by his passion, when the time came that he would suffer. Their mind was terrified by Christ's saying, but he again cheered them by the words which he spake, "I will arise from death on the third day." He would then strengthen and confirm {155} their faith with miracles. And they came then to the place where the blind man sat by the way, and Christ healed him before the sight of all the multitude, to the end that, with that miracle, he might bring them to belief. But the miracles which Christ wrought manifested one thing by power, and another thing they betokened by mystery. He wrought those miracles indeed through divine power, and with those miracles confirmed the people's faith; but yet there was another hidden thing in those miracles, in a spiritual sense. The one blind man betokened all mankind, who were blinded through Adam's sin, and thrust from the joy of Paradise, and brought to this life, which is compared to a prison. Now we are shut out from the heavenly light, and we may not, in this life, enjoy the light eternal; nor know we of it more than so much as, through Christ's teaching, we read in books. This world, though it may sometimes seem gay, yet is no more like the world eternal, than is some prison to the light day. All mankind, as we before said, was blinded with lack of faith and error; but through Christ's advent we were drawn from our errors, and enlightened by faith. We have now the light in our mind, that is Christ's faith; and we have a hope of the joy of everlasting life, though we yet bodily dwell in our prison. The blind man sat at the city which is called Jericho. Jericho is interpreted and called _moon_. The moon both waxes and wanes: for a half month it is waxing, for a half it is waning. Now the moon betokeneth our mortal life and the decay of our mortality. At the one end men are born, at the other they depart. When Christ came to the city of Jericho, which betokeneth the moon, the blind man received sight. That is, when Christ came to our mortality, and assumed our human nature, mankind was enlightened, and received sight. He sat by the way; and Christ said in {157} his gospel, "I am the way, and truth, and life." The man who knows nothing of the eternal light is blind; but if he believes in Jesus, then sits he by the way. If he will not pray for the light eternal, then sits he blind by the way, without prayer. He who rightly believes in Christ, and fervently prays for his soul's enlightening, he sits by the way praying. Whosoever is sensible of his mind's blindness, let him cry with inward heart, as the blind man cried, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me."