Perspective: Who Are the Blind?

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Who Are the Blind?

Jesus said, "I have come into the world to exercise judgment so that those who don't see can see and those who see will become blind."

John 9:39 (CEB)

I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now I see

From "Amazing Grace" by John Newton

In the Gospel of John, we read that one day Jesus and the Disciples encounter a beggar who has been blind since the day he was born.  The Disciples ask Jesus, "Rabbi, who sinned so that he was born blind, this man or his parents?"¹

"Neither he nor his parents," Jesus replies.  "This happened so that God's mighty works might be displayed in him.  While it's daytime, 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."  Jesus then spits in the dirt to make mud, spreads it on the blind man's eyes, and instructs the man to wash in a certain pool.  When the man follows Jesus' instructions, he is able to see for the first time in his life.²

Miracles are called "signs" in the Gospel of John, because they point beyond themselves to some truth about who Jesus is.  Jesus previously said, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me won't walk in darkness but will have the light of life."³  We see with our eyes, which are merely light receptors.  Without light there is no such thing as vision, regardless of how strong our eyes are.  John tells us about Jesus' miraculously healing a man born blind, not just to attest to Jesus' supernatural powers but to teach us that Jesus is the light that enables us to perceive and understand everything in new ways.

Word spreads about Jesus' miracle, and controversy ensues.  The formerly blind man is brought to the religious leaders, and they interrogate him.  They ask him how he is able to see, and he tells them what Jesus did.  Some of the religious leaders believe that Jesus cannot possibly be a servant of God because He has done the work of healing on the Sabbath day, which is meant solely for rest.  Others insist that, if He is a sinner, He would not be able to work miracles.  The formerly blind man believes that the man who healed him must be a prophet of God.  Some of the religious leaders suspect that the man standing before them might not be the blind man they have seen begging on the side of the road, so they bring in his parents to verify that he is their son and that he was indeed born blind.⁴

The religious leaders demand that the formerly blind man denounce Jesus as a sinner, and he says to them, "I don't know whether he's a sinner.  Here's what I do know: I was blind and now I see."⁵  He does not have all of the answers about Jesus; he just tells people what Jesus did for him.  The formerly blind man does not tell the religious leaders what they want to hear, and they do not like what he does have to say to them, so they kick him out.⁶

The formerly blind man meets with Jesus again, and Jesus says, "I have come into the world to exercise judgment so that those who don't see can see and those who see will become blind."⁷  Jesus has given the gift of sight to a man born blind, and He has also exposed the blindness of some of the religious leaders.  They, of all people, should be able to recognize servants of God when they see them, but they are so blinded by their prejudice that they cannot see Jesus for who He is.  He does not follow their rules, and He does not do things in their ways, so in their eyes there is no way that He can possibly be a servant of God, much less the Son of God.

Jesus is the light of the world.  He has the power to make us see in new ways, and He also has the power to expose our blindness.  When you are tempted to condemn someone who doesn't meet your standards or live up to your expectations, hold your tongue, practice some humility, and pray for the ability to see clearly, or else you might inadvertently pit yourself against someone who is actually doing God's work.  If people could be wrong about Jesus in His day, then you could be wrong about one of His followers today.


Notes:

1. John 9:1-2 (CEB)
2. John 9:3-7 (CEB)
3. John 8:12 (CEB)
4. John 9:8-23
5. John 9:24-25 (CEB)
6. John 9:26-34
7. John 9:35-39 (CEB)

Christ Healing the Blind was painted by El Greco in the late 1500s.