Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume IX/The Diatessaron of Tatian/The Diatessaron/Section XXXVI

Section XXXVI.

[1] Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever keepeth my word shall not see death [2] for ever.&#160; The Jews said unto him, Now we know that thou hast demons.&#160; Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, Whosoever keepeth my word shall not [3] taste death for ever.&#160; Art thou haply greater than our father Abraham, who is [4] dead, and than the prophets, which are dead? whom makest thou thyself?&#160; Jesus said unto them, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing:&#160; my Father is he that [5] glorifieth me; of whom ye say, that he is our God; and yet ye have not known him:&#160; but I know him; and if I should say that I know him not, I should become [6] [Arabic, p. 137] a liar like you:&#160; but I know him, and keep his word.&#160; Abraham your father [7] longed to see my day; and he saw, and rejoiced.&#160; The Jews said unto him, [8] Thou art now not fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?&#160; Jesus said unto [9] them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.&#160; And they take stones to stone him:&#160; but Jesus concealed himself, and went out of the temple.&#160; And he passed through them, and went his way.

[10] And as he passed, he saw a man blind from his mother&#8217;s womb.&#160; And his [11] disciples asked him, and said, Our Master, who sinned, this man, or his parents, so [12] that he was born blind? &#160; Jesus said unto them, Neither did he sin, nor his parents:&#160; [13] but that the works of God may be seen in him. &#160; It is incumbent on me to do the deeds of him that sent me, while it is day:&#160; a night will come, and no man will be [14] able to busy himself.&#160; As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.&#160; [15] And when he said that, he spat upon the ground, and made clay of his spittle, and [16] smeared it on the eyes of the blind man, and said unto him, Go and wash thyself in [17] the pool of Siloam. &#160; And he went and washed, and came seeing.&#160; And his neighbours, which saw him of old begging, said, Is not this he that was sitting begging?&#160; [18] And some said, It is he; and others said, Nay, but he resembles him much.&#160; He [19, 20] said, I am he.&#160; They said unto him, How then were thine eyes opened?&#160; He answered and said unto them, A man named Jesus made clay, and smeared it on my eyes, and said unto me, Go and wash in the water of Siloam:&#160; and I went and [21] washed, and received sight. &#160; They said unto him, Where is he?&#160; He said, I know not.&#160; [22, 23] [Arabic, p. 138] And they brought him that was previously blind to the Pharisees.&#160; And the day in which Jesus made clay and opened with it his eyes was a sabbath [24] day.&#160; And again the Pharisees asked him, How didst thou receive sight?&#160; And he said [25] unto them, He put clay on mine eyes, and I washed, and received sight.&#160; The people of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God, for he keepeth not the sabbath.&#160; And others said, How can a man that is a sinner do these signs?&#160; And there came [26] to be a division amongst them.&#160; And again they said to that blind man, Thou, then, what sayest thou of him that opened for thee thine eyes?&#160; He said unto them, [27] I say that he is a prophet.&#160; And the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he was blind, and received sight, until they summoned the parents of him who received [28] sight, and asked them, Is this your son, of whom ye said that he was born blind? [29] how then, behold, doth he now see?&#160; His parents answered and said, We know [30] that this is our son, and that he was born blind:&#160; but how he has come to see now, or who it is that opened his eyes, we know not:&#160; and he also has reached his prime; [31] ask him, and he will speak for himself.&#160; This said his parents, because they were fearing the Jews:&#160; and the Jews decided, that if any man should confess of him that [32] he was the Messiah, they would put him out of the synagogue.&#160; For this reason [33] said his parents, He hath reached his prime; ask him.&#160; And they called the man a second time, him that was blind, and said unto him, Praise God:&#160; we know that this [34] man is a sinner.&#160; He answered and said unto them, Whether he be a sinner, I know [35] not:&#160; I know one thing, that I was blind, and I now see.&#160; They said unto him again, [36] [Arabic, p. 139] What did he unto thee? how opened he for thee thine eyes?&#160; He said unto them, I said unto you, and ye did not hear:&#160; what wish ye further to hear? [37] ye also, do ye wish to become disciples to him?&#160; And they reviled him, and said unto him, Thou art the disciple of that man; but as for us, we are the disciples of [38] Moses.&#160; And we know that God spake unto Moses:&#160; but this man, we know not [39] whence he is.&#160; The man answered and said unto them, From this is the wonder, [40] because ye know not whence he is, and mine eyes hath he opened.&#160; And we know that God heareth not the voice of sinners:&#160; but whosoever feareth him, and doeth [41] his will, him he heareth.&#160; From eternity hath it not been heard of, that a man [42] opened the eyes of a blind man, who had been born in blindness.&#160; If then this man [43] were not from God, he could not do that.&#160; They answered and said unto him, Thou wast all of thee born in sins, and dost thou teach us?&#160; And they put him forth without.

[44] And Jesus heard of his being put forth without, and found him, and said unto [45] him, Dost thou believe in the Son of God?&#160; He that was made whole answered [46] and said, Who is he, my Lord, that I may believe in him?&#160; Jesus said unto him, [47] Thou hast seen him, and he that speaketh to thee is he.&#160; And he said, I believe, my Lord.&#160; And he fell down worshipping him.