The Encourager
“The Blind Men”
The Blind Men
John 9
By Jeff Curtis
In John 9 we read the story of the man who was blind from birth. When we get to verses 39-41, we see the story isn’t quite finished. Jesus had contrasted the physically blind beggar who had come to faith and the spiritually blind Pharisees who refused to believe in Him. Even as the man had progressed toward the Light, Christ’s enemies had withdrawn further into darkness.
It was suggested earlier in the text that the Lord had found the healed man in a public place. The name Jesus was already on every tongue (Jn. 7:12), and now word had spread about the man who had been expelled (Jn. 9:35). The two notorious characters together in one place must have drawn a crowd, which included those who were seeking Christ’s life, the very ones who had cast out the beggar a short time before (Jn. 9:40).
Christ turned to the crowd and said, “For judgement I came into this world” (Jn. 9:35a). The reason He had come into the world was to save sinners (Jn. 3:17; 12:47; Lk. 19:10), but one result of His coming would be, judgment (Jn. 5:22; 12:48). Light not only illuminates; it also exposes.
He continued, giving this reason for His coming; “So that those who do not see may be see, and those who see may become blind” (Jn. 9:39b). The Lord was using a play on words, contrasting physical blindness with spiritual blindness. He had come so that He might cause the physically blind to see. At the same time, He had come to expose the spiritual blindness of those who claimed to have special spiritual insight.
The Pharisees who were listening suspected that He might be referring to them. They spoke up, “We are blind too, are we?” (Jn. 9:40). In other words, they were exclaiming, “Surely, You are not talking about us!” Jesus replied, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains” (Jn. 9:41). He was continuing His play on words. In effect, He told the religious leaders, “If you were physically blind, this would not affect your relationship with God; but as long as you refuse to admit your spiritual blindness, there is no hope for you.”
As terrible as physical blindness is, it of no consequence compared to spiritual blindness. One of the requirements for being God-approved is an honest heart (Lk. 8:15). We must love truth (2Thess. 2:10). We must approach the Word with humility (James 1:21). We must be aware of distorting the Scriptures because of our preconceptions (2Peter 3:16). Someone has said, “There are none so blind as those who will not see.”
We are told what happened to the man who received his sight. Considering the consequences of being put out of the synagogue, his later life would not have been easy, but his confrontation with the Pharisees had resulted in firm conviction.
