“Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?” “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.”
John 9:39-41 NLT
The account of the blind man being healed started with Jesus walking along and finding a man who was blind from birth. This became a learning experience for His disciples that was enhanced by a miraculous event that astounded and divided the people in Jerusalem. A baby who was born totally unsighted was miraculously transformed to become like most people around him with normal 20/20 vision. The account continued through various stages and finally ends with Jesus returning to teach about blindness, but this time spiritual. He used the example of physical healing to hammer home His message that spiritual blindness could be healed by God as well.
Jesus said to Mr Blind-no-more that He “entered this world to render judgment”. But we read earlier in John’s Gospel that, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). An apparent contradiction? The reality for all humanity is that sin that isn’t dealt with will ultimately lead to a situation where judgement happens by default. Jesus we know came to this world to save it’s inhabitants from the consequences of their sins, but it appears that in His day there were many who refused to believe in Him, thinking instead that they were not sinners. These were the Pharisees and their followers who believed that their adherence to the smallest details of their law was sufficient to ensure their righteousness and freedom from judgement for sin.
We read in Luke 4:18 about the time when Jesus attended the synagogue in the village where He was brought up. He read from the prophet Isaiah the verses that summarised His mission on earth – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favour has come”. The Good News, He said, will deliver sight to the blind, and Jesus repeated this in the closing verses of John 9. Jesus probably knew that there were some Pharisees within earshot, and He was referring to them with His statement that those who think they can see are really blind. A spiritual reference of course, but one that highlighted the dilemma for the Pharisees and all those who thought the same way. To be told that their adherence to a position of rejecting Jesus’ message was in fact spiritual blindness, rendering them in danger of judgement.
So what about us pilgrims? How is our (spiritual) vision? Are we open to all that Jesus has for us, or do we suffer from partial or selective blindness? If the preacher one Sunday makes a statement that we find difficult, do we reject it, or do we go away and ask God to open our eyes to what has been said? To shut our eyes tight when the Master speaks, when the Holy Spirit whispers something in our souls, may bring our journey to the promised land to an end in a cul-de-sac of our own making. We may still experience salvation one day, but our spiritual growth will possibly be stunted and we will fail to realise our full potential in God.
The spiritual journey through this sad and bad world is strewn with boulders and wrong turnings. If we are spiritually blind we will find the journey too difficult to complete. Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne”. It is only by following Jesus that we will finish the journey and we need to keep our eyes open. The spiritually blind won’t make it.
Dear Father God. We pray that Your upon our eyes so that we can see everything You have for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 