Are You Blind Or Can you See?
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth…. “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing…. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath….” A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out. Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. John 9:1, 4-7, 15-16, 24-41 (New International Version, NIV)
A man was born blind. Why? It is because we live in a fallen world. Yet, God still works good in this world. We’re all born in sin, and we’re all blind spiritually until we receive Jesus.
The religious Pharisees were spiritually blind but they were accountable because they knew the Scriptures yet rejected the Light. They rejected the Light that would give them sight so they were guilty of sin. The man who was born blind could see better than the Pharisees. He was physically blind but they were spiritually blind. Although they were spiritually blind, they could see Jesus and what He was doing and they knew the Scriptures. They knew what they were doing when they rejected Jesus. They chose to reject Him. They even rejected the man Jesus healed, kicking him out of the synagogue.
Jesus came to the man He had healed and revealed Himself to him. The man receive both physical sight and spiritual sight that day. The man believed on Jesus and worshiped Him.
The Pharisees rejected Jesus and chose to remain blind. They refused to accept who Jesus is: the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. The Scriptures clearly pointed to Jesus. They knew the Scriptures and could have seen who Jesus was. Instead, they chose blindness in order to retain their power and influence. They never acknowledged Jesus, refusing to repent of thir blindness. Yet, they condemned a blind man who gained his sight, both physically and spiritually. They did not do this in ignorance- they knew what they were doing. How foolish to choose blindness and darkness over the Light of the world.
Jesus, the Light of the world, will give spiritual sight to anyone who asks Him. They will see who Jesus is. As they look into God’s Word, they will receive the Light, become children of the Light, and overcome darkness and blindness to walk in the Light. Their path will be illuminated as they fellowship with Christ.
So… are you blind or can you see? The choice is yours. Don’t be foolish like the Pharisees. You can choose to receive Jesus and spiritual sight right now. Just follow this link for simple instructions on how to be born-again.
