Blindness - a paradox

(John 9)
Knowlege is often synonymous with enlightenment, light, or sight. The miracle of Jesus giving the blind man his sight in John 9 provides an example of when knowledge produces blindness.

Jesus indicated that the blind man was in his state so that the glory of God might be revealed. Okay, I have to go down two rabbit trails for a moment. First, the disciples felt that the man was blind because of some sin in his life. We need to understand that "the rain falls on the just and the unjust." (Matthew 5:45) We spend way to much time assuming the negative rather than recognizing God's blessing, or mercy in our own lives. A lot of "bad things" exist because of original sin (fall of creation) -- not personal sin. We are blessed if we aren't recipients of those things.

Secondly, and following from this, God is sovereign. He will "have mercy on whom [he has] mercy, and [he] will have compassion on whom [he has] compassion." (Romans 9:15) Jesus chose this man in order to put God on display.

Unlike the cripple man by the pool in John 5, this man had a completely different spirit. The cripple deflected the approach of the Pharisees away from himself and toward Jesus. The blind man, on the other hand, was bold in defending Jesus. He replied to their confrontation with facts -- "I was blind but now I see" -- and, faith -- "If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." His faith had made him whole.

Note the reaction of the learned Pharisees -- "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" They were condescending and unwilling to recognize how this miracle had occurred.

Jesus' lesson on true blindness follows in the passage. Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into the world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

"the blind will see" -- Note the blind man's conversation with Jesus. In response to Jesus' question of belief in "the Son of Man," the man responds "Lord, I believe." The scripture follows that the man worshiped him - a true response of faith. He was in a state of blindness without Christ and he recognized that. Acknowledging that he needed Christ opened his eyes to true sight.

"those who see will become blind" -- Contrast the response of the Pharisees. They arrogantly replied, "What? Are we blind too?" Jesus' answer to their question is very telling and convicting -- "now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains." The Pharisees, in contrast to the blind man, didn't see their need. They were knowledgeable -- reference "how dare you lecture us" attitude previously. In an earlier chapter of John, Jesus confronted them with their diligently searching the scriptures because in them they believed that they would have eternal life, yet they missed the very presence of God in front of them. They were blind.

God certainly commands us to study scripture. Yet, we should be very careful in thinking we know it all. We have to remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Spend time in prayer. Pray with the psalmist in Psalm 119:18 that our eyes are opened so that we can see the wonderful things in his law. Don't be blind to God's Spirit moving in your life.