Blind and Sighted

Intro.

Over the last couple of classes in the Gospel of John, we have been talking about Jesus’ interaction with the man who was born blind, and the consequences of the man’s unwavering faith in Jesus.

Tell me, what were some of the things which we found in this chapter?

They believed one must have sinned for this man to be born blind, yet they were wrong. Jesus clarifies that he was born blind that the works of God may be made manifest in him.

Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World” for the second time just before returning the man’s sight. What did we talk about being the significance of that?

The blind man never saw Jesus as yet.

The Pharisees went back and forth between he and his parents trying to discern the matter, but not judging righteously.

The Pharisees believed that Jesus could not be sent from God because He “did not keep the Sabbath.” What was the man’s argument that He could only have been sent from God?

For Judgment...

Now, we find ourselves still in this context with the blind man, ending out chapter nine. Jn. 9.35-41

John 9:35–41 LSB

35 Jesus heard that they had put him out, and after finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered and said, “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 Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “Are we blind too?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

What sticks out to you from this interaction?

I can’t help but notice that the blind man knew of Whom Jesus spoke in saying “Son of Man.” He didn’t say, “The One Who healed you,” or anything like that — simply, “Son of Man.” This tells me that the man was versed in Scripture, as most people would have been in his day, because we find this “Son of Man” in Daniel 7.13-14

Daniel 7:13–14 LSB

13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And came near before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory, and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not be taken away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

Who does that really sound like? JESUS

So, it would appear that this man understood exactly that this prophecy in Daniel was speaking of One Who was to come, the Messiah — this, by the way, is why Jesus chose to use this title for Himself so often.

John 9:36–38 LSB

36 He answered and said, “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.

Jesus reveals Himself to the formerly blind man, and his gratitude overflows within him to the outpouring of worship!

A question worth asking ourselves is: Am I so overwhelmed with thankfulness to God that I cannot but worship Him?

So the man prostrates himself before Jesus, and Jesus does not stop him! Some would argue that you can do this action as a mere sign of respect and not always to perform worship, and technically that is true — but, we must let Scripture tell us how we should interpret the Inspired words. Notably, John who wrote the Gospel of John also wrote Revelation, and we find a peculiar moment as John himself is overwhelmed in Revelation 22.8-9

Revelation 22:8–9 LSB

8 I, John, am the one who was hearing and seeing these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

So what happens here?

Why does the angel stop him?

What does that mean about why Jesus didn’t stop the blind man?

This is important for us to grasp, and it is important for us to be able to defend biblically!

Then, Jesus says something seemingly fairly difficult: Jn. 9.39-41

John 9:39–41 LSB

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 Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “Are we blind too?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

I am reminded, to explain here what Jesus means, of when the Lord said, “It is not the well who need a physician, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous ones, but sinners.”

Even there, He spoke to the Pharisees — were they righteous? NO

What was the meaning? — That they believed they were righteous!

Here, the same sentiment is applied, that those who believe they see will be condemned, because only those who know their blindness will come to the healing hands of God!

In Christ alone is life, and that life is the Light of Men! He is the Light of the world! Only in and by Christ will we ever be truly given sight into the things which are important.

The blind man’s natural eyes were opened, but so, too, were the eyes of his soul to boldly follow the Messiah! The eyes of the Pharisees were perfectly fine, yet their hearts were darkened and they could not hear or see the Truth before them!

There is still more to this parable as well! A sort of prophesying, perhaps, about the very nation of Israel! Here Paul in Rom. 9.30-31

Romans 9:30–33 LSB

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, laid hold of righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not attain that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And the one who believes upon Him will not be put to shame.”

And thus it is so! Israel has been severed from the promises of God, according to chapter 11, because they have rejected faith in Christ for the Law; while the Gentiles, having never been a people to whom promise was given before, have chosen to submit to God and pursue a righteousness through faith in Christ apart from the Law of Moses!

You see, the blinded Gentiles sought out the Light given from God in Christ, and the sighted nation Israel proved to be blinded in their heart. And so it is to this day. And so it is even among some claiming the very name of Christ, that though they claim to know Him and be of Him, yet they have never yet come to know Him because they will not recognized yet how blind they are, how desperate of healing and grace they are!

Conclusion

2 things to walk away with from this lesson:

Further preparation as to how we can prove and know that Christ is the Incarnate God

That we must always pursue our righteousness through faith. None of us are righteous apart from Christ, yet we are declared so by God through faith! If we become so conceited as to believe that we’ve “got this,” and that we have attained to true righteousness of our own muscle, we must then slow down and prostrate ourselves before Christ and admit our blindness! Because at that point, something has gone amiss. Let us then, family, always seek the Light given to us by grace in Christ Jesus!