Is it dark out?

 

2 Chronicles 22–23; Zechariah 6; John 9; Revelation 10

My grandfather became blind in his later years. A current friend is losing her sight. I cannot imagine their difficulty even though I sometimes try to do things with my eyes shut or leave the lights off so I must feel my way through a room, trying to imagine blindness.

This touches two methods by which darkness is produced; one by loss of sight; the other by absence of light. For a blind person, it is dark when the sun shines. For others, it is dark when the sun sets. Jesus used this concept to rebuke the Pharisees that they might realize their spiritual blindness.

Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains. (John 9:39–41)

Jesus just healed a blind man in the presence of the Pharisees and used this to declare that anyone who cannot ‘see’ yet who realize their need for Him will come to Him and then be able to ‘see’ but those who are self-righteous and think they have all the answers and have no need of the Savior will become blind because they have rejected the “light of the world” (see John 8:12).

The Pharisees assumed that with their learning, reputation, and high standing, they certainly would not be counted among the “blind” but the Lord told them otherwise. In contrast to the man who had received his sight, the Pharisees had sight but no light. They were spiritually blind, though they claimed to see. Those who admitted blindness could receive the light and see, but those who thought they saw would remain in their darkness. And their guilt remained, whether they felt guilty or not.

This shows the danger of becoming complacent and self-satisfied. Such attitudes shut off light from the Lord resulting in spiritual blindness. Because Jesus is the Light of the World, He gives me a glimmer of hope. I need to follow the Light He gives me. Otherwise I am left with nothing but blind judgment and self-darkening opinions. Like the Pharisees, I might even claim to see, but if this claim is based only on my self-focused evaluation, then I am guilty of spiritual pride and blind to the fact that I am blind.

APPLY: This illustrates one more reason that I need Jesus Christ and need to read and study His Word every day. He alone keeps my eyes open and seeing . . . even at that, I can be stubborn and too proud to see and admit that He has diagnosed correctly. Oh Jesus, keep me from responding to You like a Pharisee — with indignation instead of humility. I thank You that You care enough to not only check my vision but tell me the truth when it strays from 20/20 towards darkness.