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John 9:35-41 [35] Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” [36] He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” [37] And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” [38] Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him. [39] 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.” [40] Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” [41] Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains. What are the facts of the passage?:
What do those facts mean?: (Verse
39) -
"For judgment" is most often understood to be a reference to
condemnation. This is not the proper way to understood it. Mary times
Jesus said that he come not to judge (John 3:17; 12:47; 5:45; etc.). What
should be our understanding of the passage is that Jesus come to declare
the condition of men. He come to show them their duty and their danger.
That coming will have the effect of saving some and will result in others
being even more deeply condemned. This
similar to the statement in Matt. 11:25 & 10:34 that Christ come not
to send peace, but a sword. Such will be the effect of His coming. This
happens because of the nature of the Gospel. It is by its nature offensive
to the unsaved, to the flesh. Because Christ preached the true Gospel in
all of its fullness; and the Gospel is, by nature, offensive, it follows
that His ministry would be divisive in this way. ''That
they which see not..." is, of course, taken from the case before Him,
as was often His habit. He is using the blindness of the man at hand to
illustrate a spiritual point. We after learn best by means of simile and
metaphor. By means of the practical things we all know from the
illustration used Christ teaches us thioep that we can not and would not
know otherwise. This
refers to those who are blind and ignorant because of sin. They are not
able, but are desirous of gaining spiritual sight. We need to remember
that the sinfulness we mean is not primarily the sins we commit; but
rather the inherited guilt imputed from Adam, and the defilement of the
sin nature. The sins we commit are only the manifestation of those
afflictions. ''Might
see..." refers to the gaining of spiritual perception. (Cp. John
10:9). It the blindness earlier referred to the lack of the ability to
perceive and understand spiritual truth, then this refers to the acquiring
of that ability. Salvation comes when God gives the ability to perceive
Spiritual truth. Man is no more able to see spiritually of himself than
this man was able to see before Christ healed him. "They
which see..." is a direct reference to the Pharisees. They who
suppose they can see. The Pharisees could not see; though they believed
they could. These are the most difficult people to reach. Those who
think they already see. Why do they reed to pay any attention to the
claims of Christ - they are already fine! ''Might be made blind..." refers to the inevitable effect on the unbelieving heart. This would be the effect of the preaching of the Gospel on them. It would infuriate and exasperate them to the point that they would dig in their heels and refuse to ever hear. Where the light of the Gospel does not soften, it hardens! How do those facts apply to my life?: I need to recognize that there are these kind of people around, perhaps more than we realize. I should be willing and ready to deal with them honestly and forth rightly. What should I do in response?: Find a way to do that! |
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| Made To See or Made Blind |
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