I Can See Clearly Now

We want to finish the story about the man who was born blind. Already, we have observed that he saw much better spiritually, than many individuals who have been able to see their entire lives. Now we are about to see him experience being rescued from spiritual blindness. One might say that for this man who was born blind, that seeing is about to turn into believing. 

As we look at these verses in this short passage, we are going to see several things about spiritual sight that should give us a better understanding of God's Word and the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

I’ve titled the message by using a song title from a song written in 1972.  Later, in the message, I’ve taken the liberty to make a few changes to the lyrics to give a bit of perspective as to what it means to be able to see clearly.

Most of us are familiar with different lenses or mirrors that are designed to distort what we see.  Some make us look ridiculously fat or incredibly skinny.  Others will give us short legs and a huge head.  Some lenses magnify parts of us to ginormous proportion.  And sometimes the objects in the mirror are truly closer than they appear.

Sometimes, even for the Christian, we can put on different glasses that distort our spiritual reality.  We may see ourselves worse than we are; or better than we are.  We may look at God’s Word with tinted lenses and give our own spin, so as to be more comfortable in different areas of sin.  Or we may look at others with wrong perception because our glasses are smudged.  We all have experienced at least one of these areas. The different glasses, the tinting, the smudges, the strange mirrors, all come from taking our eyes off of Jesus.

So what needs to be done? How can this be avoided?

We must have an accurate understanding of our spiritual condition.

Spiritual Sight Leads to Life. - 9.35-38

Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”  He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”  Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.”  And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.

We see in verse 35, Jesus entering back into the situation. Somehow, he had been informed that this man, who had been born blind from birth, had been kicked out of the worship center, basically ostracizing him from Jewish life as he would've known it.

Notice that this man did not go looking for Jesus; Jesus came looking for him. This may not seem important, but it is quite important. This illustrates a basic truth in our own lives. If it were not for God seeking us, we would be forever lost in our spiritual blindness and darkness. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:10–12:

“There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”

Humanity tends to do everything and anything else in our attempts to attain heaven, except the pursuit of God. It is also encouraging to know that even though this young man was rejected by the religious leaders, Jesus went looking for him.

Once Jesus finds him, Jesus asks a very basic question:

”Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 

It is important for us to understand the reference to "Son of Man,” because this phrase is used in the book of Daniel. It is used to refer to the Messiah, the Savior.

To this question, the man answered with his own question. He genuinely wanted to know who this would be so that he would be able to believe in him. Already, we remember that this man had stated to the religious leaders that Jesus was a prophet. In this conversation with Jesus, you can almost see the lightbulb above the man's head. Jesus told him that he already had seen him and in fact, Jesus is the one, the Son of Man, talking with this young man right then. 

Immediately, the formerly blind man, who had already received physical sight, was now experiencing spiritual sight. We know this because of his response when he said, Lord, I believe. In addition, we see that this man chose to worship Jesus Christ. We are again reminded that for a person to experience salvation, there must also be a response. Here we see an acknowledgment and a belief and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord.

When this man worshiped Jesus, it was obvious that he understood who Jesus truly was. Not only had this man received physical sight, but now he had received spiritual vision. He could see Jesus for who he truly was; He was The Son of God and his Savior. I appreciate the humorous comment Warren Wiersbe shares about this man: even though this man lost his religion, he found salvation.

So, if this individual, who had been blind since birth until just recently, who had never studied diligently the Scriptures, had experienced salvation and received his spiritual sight, wouldn't it make sense that those who had their physical eyes open their entire lives and had been studying the Scriptures diligently, would also come to believe that Jesus Christ is The Messiah? We would think so, but the next few verses gives a different picture.

Spiritual Blindness Leads to Judgment. - 9.39-41

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.”  Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?”  Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

We often like to camp on Jesus' proclamation that he came into this world to bring life. So when we see his opening statement here in verse 39, it almost seems like a contradiction. However, we need to understand that it is two sides of the same truth. If he came to give life to those who believe, then for those who do not believe, they cannot also experience eternal life. For if they did, then there would be no reason for Jesus to have come to give his life. 

Each individual can choose to reject or accept Jesus as God's Son. If they reject Jesus, they have brought judgment and condemnation upon themselves. The fear and concern that you and I ought to have for those who choose to not believe in Jesus, is that there will come a point in time when this decision will become a permanent blindness with no hope for salvation.

As you read through these verses, it is easy to just assume that during this conversation, it was just Jesus and the formerly blind man. Yet, from this context, it appears that some of the Pharisees had come along with him. We see this because they respond to Jesus' comment in verse 40, We are not blind too, are we? In fact, the wording in which they give their question shows that they expect Jesus to respond in a way which shows that they are not blind. It is as if they assume that because of all of their knowledge and study and background on the Law, that it was impossible for them to be spiritually blind. They felt that they were beyond the possibility of being outside of a close relationship with God.

The response that Jesus gave must have surprised them. Jesus stated that if they would simply admit to the fact that they were spiritually blind and needed Jesus Christ, they would then be without sin. However, Jesus points out to them that instead, they claim to be able to see. With their own mouths, they have stated that Jesus is not God's Son and that the works he does are not of God. Thus, even though they still claim to have spiritual sight, they are completely blind spiritually. John Calvin explains it this way:  If you would acknowledge your disease, it would not be altogether incurable; but now because you think that you are in perfect health, you continue in a desperate state.

How like so many people today. There are many who have great Bible knowledge and great experiences with the things of God, yet do not know God. They may have even said the right words about Jesus, but have chosen to hold on to their old ways. It all goes back to the issue of humbling oneself and surrendering to Jesus Christ. One must acknowledge our sinful state and allow Jesus to bring spiritual sight.

We need to understand that the sin to which Jesus is referring is that of —

unbelief and rejection.

It is that sin which is the final nail in the coffin, as it were. One almost gets the impression that this was the last opportunity for many of these Pharisees. It is as if they have made this choice and these decisions so many times that God is locking it in permanently.

Reflections

For those who are on the fence, if you will, or for those who think they’re okay without surrending to Christ, consider this. If you will recognize the sinful condition of your lives and stop trying to defend your actions, you then allow Christ to do a work in you, giving you spiritual sight. However, if you continue to hold onto your worldly patterns of living and thinking, defending yourselves when you choose to sin, you do not allow Christ to do a work in your lives. As a result, you have chosen to remain in spiritual darkness.

In Charles Spurgeon’s message on this passage, he describes his own similar emotion that the formerly blind man must have felt:  My happiest moments are when I am worshipping God, really adoring the Lord Jesus Christ.… It is the nearest approach to what it will be in heaven, where, day without night, they offer perpetual adoration unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. Hence, what a memorable moment it was for this man when he worshipped Christ! Now, if Christ was not God, that man was all idolater, a man-worshipper.… If Christ was not God, we are not Christians; we are deceived dupes, we are idolaters, as bad as the heathen whom we now pity. It is making a man into a God if Christ be not God. But, blessed be his holy name, he is God; and we feel that it is the supreme delight of our being to worship him. We cannot veil our face with our wings, for we have none; but we do veil them with his own robe of righteousness whenever we approach him. We cannot cover our feet with our wings, as the angels do; but we do take his blood and his righteousness both as a covering for our feet, and as wings with which we fly up to him; and though as yet we have no crowns to cast at his dear feet, yet, if we have any honor, any good repute, any grace, anything that is comely, anything that is honest, we lay it all at his feet, and cry, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.”

Can you see clearly now? You recall earlier that I referred to a pop song from 1972, “I can see clearly now."  If you know the melody, think of it in your head, as I’m going to read the adjusted lyrics which I’ve inserted into the song.

I can see clearly now the veil is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark sins that had me blind. It's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshinin' day. It's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshinin' day.

We must have an accurate understanding of our spiritual condition.

Only then can we see clearly, through the power of Christ and his Holy Spirit.