John 9:39-41

When the seeing man worships Jesus, Jesus makes a statement: “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”

 

My first question is what judgment has to do with making people see or blind. But I’ll continue in the passage.

 

Interesting thing. It seems as if this whole scene has played out before the Pharisees – at least some of them. The encounter between Jesus and the formerly blind man, including Jesus’ claim to be the Son of Man, the now-seeing-man’s worship of Jesus, and then this last statement Jesus speaks – all of it seems to happen in front of others, even though it starts out looking like an intimate encounter.

 

And the Pharisees who are there, who hear Jesus say that He came unto/for judgment to make the blind see and the seeing people blind, react at this point. “We are not blind, too, are we?” And they expect Jesus to say, “No, of course not. You people can see clearly.” Or at least they are trying to lead Him to such a statement.

 

Jesus understands that they are claiming to have clear vision. But His response is this: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” Jesus seems to be saying, “You pitiful wretches! You believe you can see (even though you can’t). You think that because it is good to see, you should claim you can see. But that makes it so that you will be judged as if you could see. So all your sinful stumbling about due to your blindness will be judged as if it were due to your deliberate choices! You refuse to accept a “handicap,” so your scores will reflect your inability, and you will be judged harshly. You’re right. It is good to see. But when you are blind, it is better to accept that you are blind and seek all the help you can get. If you refuse the help offered to you, you have only yourselves to blame for the results.”

 

So now, back to the question at the beginning: What does judgment have to do with making people blind or giving them vision?

 

In the spiritual realm, the connection is very strong. 1. All of this vision/loss of sight comes because Jesus has come into the world. 2. Because Jesus has come into the world, those who did not “see” spiritual truths well may now “see” God in Jesus Christ! Though they did not grasp the intricate and abundant spiritual laws of the religious leaders, such people grasped Jesus. 3. Because Jesus has come into the world, those who did “see” spiritual truths were confounded and shown to be blind by their rejection of Jesus. Jesus did not fit their patterns and spiritual laws because, it turned out, they did not “see” as well as they thought they saw. Through the muddied lenses of their own spiritual reasoning, Jesus looked worthless to them. 4. Those who “saw” Jesus, accepting Him for who He is, received the spiritual handicap they needed because they received Jesus. They will be judged well because the judgment is tied to Jesus rather than to their own understanding. 5. Those who did not “see” Jesus, but rejected Him and claimed to have adequate spiritual sight already, will be judged harshly. They have rejected the One through whom they can be judged well, and their lack of true vision will be hideously displayed at the judgment.

 

When we claim to have great understanding, we put ourselves in a dangerous position (Note: Claiming not to have much understanding is not much better if we reject Jesus; such a rejection implies a claim to know enough not to need Him.). James warns, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” At the same time, we are supposed to grow in our knowledge, understanding, and ability to teach. May we always do so with humility, recognizing that we truly are beggars leading other beggars to the source of all goodness. We need all the help we can get, and that help comes only through Jesus Christ!