Those who see may become blind

John 9 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. ² And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” ⁶ When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, ⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. ⁸ Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.” ¹⁰ So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?” ¹¹ He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.” ¹² They said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind. ¹⁴ Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. ¹⁵ Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” ¹⁶ Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them. ¹⁷ So they said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”

¹⁸ The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, ¹⁹ and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” ²⁰ His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ²¹ but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know...²⁴ So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” ²⁶ So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” ²⁷ He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?” ²⁸ They reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” ³⁰ The man answered and said to them,… ³³ If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” ³⁴ They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out.

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶ He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” ³⁸ And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. ³⁹ And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” ⁴⁰ Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Jesus says:  “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”     It is easy to understand why Jesus would want to cause those who are blind, both physically and spiritually, to see. He came to redeem, reconcile and restore man to the original plan and will of God, the Father. Part of that reconciliation to God is that we are physically restored, made whole in God’s sight. Isaiah 53:5 says:  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.     Jesus also opens spiritual eyes which have been blinded to and by sin. Those who are blind to and by sin don’t know that they need a savior. Jesus says:  “If you were blind, you would have no sin…” Yet Jesus came to open those blind eyes. In John 15:22, He says:   “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin”      Even those who have not seen Jesus or heard His words spoken are without excuse. In Romans 1: 16-20, Paul says:  I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousnesss⁹ because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.     No one is completely blind spiritually. We all have a choice in what to believe about what we see. In Jeremiah 29:13, God makes this promise:     You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.     To any who seek the truth, the truth will be revealed, their eyes will be opened.

What though of the other side of Jesus statement, “and that those who see may become blind”, what does that mean to us? Are we better to be blind? There is accountability that comes with seeing. Having opened spiritual eyes requires that we respond to our sin, that we repent and change. But what does it mean that Jesus came so that those who see may become blind? What are we to become blind to? It is not sin that Jesus wants us to be blind to. Sin itself blinds us. Jesus came to open our eyes to sin. What then are we to become blind to?  Those whose eyes have become open to sin need to become blind to judgment and condemnation. Seeing sin we are not to judge those who are in sin.     “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”  (John 3:16-17)     We then who see are accountable for the revelation of sin in our own lives but are to be blind to judgment and condemnation of the sin in others. It is the Holy Spirit who is responsible to open their eyes. Jesus says:     I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  of sin, because they do not believe in Me;   of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;  of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.(John 16:7-11)  

We are not to be blind to sin, but rather to judgment and condemnation. What then is our role if we are not to judge or convict but neither are we to ignore or be blind to sin. Jesus says:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;   nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)        We must become blind to judgment and condemnation. But, we are to shine the light of Christ into the darkness, not to cover or hide the light because it may offend the darkness. Jesus says:   you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’  The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”(Mark 12: 30-31)     If we will truly love our neighbor as our self, then we will want them, like our self, to have their eyes open to and respond to the sin in their lives. True love shines the light and speaks the truth. True love is:   patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,  does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,  does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7)

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You for opening my eyes that I could see my need of a savior. Thank You for not judging me but rather, through the cross, saving me. Holy Spirit I ask that You would fill me, empower me and enable me to live in such a way that the light of Christ shines through me. May I not hide or cover His light. May I be blind to judgment and condemnation, knowing with confidence that You Holy Spirit will convict as  I love and shine light and truth. May God the Father be glorified, in me and through me.   Amen