Gene’s Daily Scriptural Postings

Accepting Blindness: John 9:1-41

Focus Passage: John 9:1-41 (NLT)

Near the end of this passage, Jesus makes a very fascinating statement, and it is one that I wonder some about. Often, while Jesus is teaching and sharing truth, He makes some challenging, profound, or insightful remarks.

However, the statement Jesus shares in this passage is profound on a deeper level than most other statements. In verse 41, Jesus responds to a group of Pharisees who were bystanders in this conversation Jesus was having with the formerly blind man. He tells them, “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty, but you remain guilty because you claim you can see.”

This phrase stands out in my mind because it gives another category of error that we can fall into: claiming we can see.

Two verses before this, in verse 39, Jesus gives a brief mission statement for why He is doing ministry: “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.”

On the surface, Jesus shares two categories of people: those who are blind and those who think they can see. While this whole event centers around Jesus healing a blind man, with the way Jesus (and John) conclude this event, it seems it was designed to give Jesus an opening to teach about spiritual blindness. In my mind, this whole truth centers on our attitude.

Jesus didn’t share that there is a category of people who really do see. There doesn’t appear to be a third option. Sure, there are people who have been healed of blindness, and who have been given a glimpse of what God is like, but it is a very fine line in my mind between actually “seeing” and “claiming to see”.

The two options are not blindness and claiming clear sight. It might appear this way on the surface, but if we look a little closer, the categories of people are distinguished by something else. As we look closer, we see both groups are blind – those who “think” they can see must not really be able to, otherwise their sight would have lead them to accepting Jesus. The difference then must be related to how we see ourselves. Do we accept that we are blind, leading us to need Jesus to give us sight, or do we claim we can see, which stops God from moving in our hearts as we think we know it all?

This passage, and the statement Jesus shares, mixed with this question challenges me to never become arrogant about the slivers of truth I have been given. There is always more truth to learn. If we fall into the trap of arrogance, we make ourselves guilty by claiming we can see when we are really blind.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

Read this article on the web on it's official page: Accepting Blindness: John 9:1-41