‘TRUE’ VISION and ‘TRUE’ BLINDNESS
November
1 Bible Reading: John Chapters 7-9
‘TRUE’ VISION and ‘TRUE’ BLINDNESS
And
Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do
not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." Then some of
the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are
we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would
have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains."
(John 9:39-41)
John chapter
9 ends with an insightful two-fold purpose
statement of Jesus’ ministry. He came
to heal the blind, and to blind those who claimed they could see (v. 39).
The blind were those who were willing to recognize their need for His help.
Those who claimed they could see were the self-righteous who, because of their
refusal to believe, would remain unforgiven and be judged guilty for their
sins.
In this passage,
Jesus brings to light the impact of His coming: those who falsely imagine they have special insight into the things of
God become blind opponents of God’s ways, and those who seem less informed are able to see when the Spirit of God
opens their eyes and leads them to faith.
Jesus did
not come into the world to execute judgment, and at first glance this verse
seems to contradict John 3:17, “For God
did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world...” But there is
no real conflict. The purpose of Christ’s coming into the world was not to
judge but to save. However, judgment is the inevitable result for all who fail
to receive Him. The preaching of the gospel has two effects. Those who admit
that they do not see are given sight. But
those who insist that they can see perfectly, without the Lord Jesus, are
confirmed in their blindness.
The First
Coming of Christ did not bring in the Last Judgment, but He confronted people
with the obligation to decide for or against Him (Matt. 12:30; Luke 11:23). In
the light of the revelation of the gospel, let us truly ‘see’ what Christ has
already accomplished for us, and live a life pleasing Him alone as His
‘Children of Light’!
"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2:4-6)
