Physical Blindness vs. Spiritual Blindness

 

April 20, 1997 ~ Pickering Standard Church

 

John 9:1-41 ~ And as [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man who was blind from [his] birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said to him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam,  He went away therefore, and washed, and came seeing. The neighbours therefore, and they who before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he: others [said], He is like him: [but] he said, I am [he]. Therefore they said to him, How were thy eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. Then said they to him, Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that before was blind. And it was the sabbath when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said to them, He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not from God, because he keepeth not the sabbath. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. They say to the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thy eyes? He said, He is a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. These [words] his parents spoke, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man confessed that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him. Then again they called the man that was blind, and said to him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he is a sinner, I know not: one thing I know, that, though I was blind, now I see. Then they said to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thy eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: Why would ye hear [it] again? will ye also be his disciples? Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses: [as for] this [man], we know not where he is from. The man answered and said to them, Why here is a marvellous thing, that ye know not where he is from, and [yet] he hath opened my eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man is a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began hath it not been heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. They answered and said to him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said to him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him? And Jesus said to him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they who see not may see; and that they who see may be made blind. And [some] of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words, and said to him, Are we blind also? Jesus said to them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

 

An interesting comparison between physical and spiritual blindness takes place in this passage which may be summarized as follows:

- a blind man who believed in Jesus as the Son of God and was forgiven

- men with sight who could not see what the blind man saw and so remained in their sin

 

The Pharisees were blind to the truth of Jesus, they could not recognize that He was the true Son of God promised since the fall of our first parents, but Jesus revealed to them that they were not truly blind.  The had the scripture and they professed to understand it and to teach others based on that understanding and because of this professed understanding, combined with their rejection of the truth of Jesus, their sin remained (v. 41).

 

The man whom Jesus healed was blind to the world around him, not, as the disciples thought, because he or his parents had sinned against God, but that God’s glory might be made manifest, or revealed, in him.  He was physically blind and realized that he required healing in order to see but it is interesting to note from his discussions with the Pharisees that He had a pretty good idea about who Jesus was:

 

The man answered and said to them, Why here is a marvellous thing, that ye know not where he is from, and [yet] he hath opened my eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man is a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began hath it not been heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.

 

In addition, he showed a willingness not only to stand up for what he believed but also to learn more about the one who healed him; he took the healing, in part at least, for what it was: a manifestation of God and proof indeed that Jesus was who He said He was:

 

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said to him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?   And Jesus said to him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

 

It is not only people who will not see who may be spiritually blind but also those who cannot see.  An example is again taken from our text.  The Pharisees would not see Jesus for who He was regardless of the proofs presented to them, they continued to make the concious decision not to believe Him, refusing to accept His testimony and revelation of the Father.  Isaiah foretold this many years earlier:

 

Isaiah 6:9 ~ And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

 

The man who had been healed, however, was also willing for his spiritual blindness to be healed.  There may have been things that he did not know or understand but he sought for understanding and we are told throughout the Bible that those who seek the Lord will be led by Him:

 

Psalm 32:7 ~ Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.  8  I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

 

We have today what is often called “Cultural Blindness,” which indicates something that is done regularly within our culture, which may be almost universally endorsed as “good,” and yet which goes against the will of God.  Christians who are caught in such blindness need to realize that when God begins to convict them of such an error they must listen.  If I grew up a swearing and drinking non-Christian, I would need to seek the will of God as to whether swearing and drinking are things that a Christian should be involved in.  I may even need to be told by God or a fellow Christian that such behaviour is not proper for one who believes in God and whose life must be at His disposal.

 

Other cultural blindnesses occur because we believe that we have no jurisdiction over a specific area of life, such as abortion or equal rights for homo-sexuals.  We may never encounter directly either of these evils but that does not mean that we can ignore that they occur in our society with alarming frequency.  We are human and there is definitely a limit to what each of us can accomplish and God is certainly not going to condemn us because we failed personally to reach every lost soul in the world with the gospel of Christ.  We will, however, be judged for the things which we were able to do but did not do.  We are also told in the Bible that we will be rulers in the world to come:

 

Daniel 7:26-27 ~ But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

 

Revelation 1:4-6 ~ John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

 

If we are going to rule in the world that follows this one then surely all things in this current world are in some way under our authority.  The blindness in this case is one that helps us to justify our in-activity by saying something like “This problem is just too big, there is nothing that I can do to help in this situation.”  While from an earthly point of view such a statement may be valid, from God’s point of view it might not be right.  There are times when we ought not to do what needs to be done, but there are many other times when what ought to be done needs doing by men and women of God.

 

What it all comes down to is this:  We must allow Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, to communicate with us the things which we need to know.

 

John 14:25-26 ~ These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

 

God has not left us in a vacuum.  Unlike the Pharisees of Jesus’ day we do not have all the answers and so we need to have the attitude of the blind man that Jesus caused to see, both physically and spiritually:

 

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said to him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him? And Jesus said to him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

 

We need to allow God to cure whatever blindness we may have so that, as we live our lives, we may continue to serve Him more effectively, and honour Him more completely.