FROM BLINDED EYES TO HARDENED HEARTS
John 9:39-41 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What?
Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
In a way this ironic! Jesus had just healed a man born blind who could not see physically, but he saw spiritually that Jesus was from God. The Pharisees could see the physically, but couldn’t see spiritually that Jesus was from God. For both cases it was not a matter of eyes sight, but spiritual insight. It was not a matter of if they were smart enough. The Pharisees were religious leader for Israel, and they lived in obedience to obeying the law of the Lord. They knew the prophecies regarding the Messiah and even longed for him. Their problem was located in their heart. They had hardened their heart against Jesus. Jesus could do no good in their sight even if everyone else saw it as good. The reason their guilt or sin remained with them was because the only way to find forgiveness is by receiving Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They had committed the unforgivable sin. They had cut themselves off from God’s forgiveness.
Jesus came to earth because of God’s judgment. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Everyone needs forgiveness, and it comes by nothing that we can do. We have all defiled ourselves with our sins, and only God can make us holy again. Only with the perfect sacrifice of God could our imperfection become perfect.
The Feast of Dedication proved to be an example of this. In 168 B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes a King of Greece, desecrated the temple and especially the altar by sacrificing a pig on its altar. With the reconstruction of the temple a question arose if the stones from the altar could be used once again. In other words could what was once holy that had become defiled, be made holy again? It is thought that this is why Jesus was asked if he was the Messiah. They felt that the Messiah could tell them the answer.
In a way they were right, but even more Jesus being the Messiah could make all things holy again! As the old hymn reminds us, “What an take away our sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make us whole again, nothing but the blood of Jesus.” When the blind man saw Jesus, he saw eternal life reconciled through Jesus’ blood. Of course he didn’t see this with his physical eyes, but with the new spiritual eyes of his heart. It was just as Mary when she didn’t recognize Jesus at first following his resurrection thinking that he was a gardner. Her physical eyes betrayed her, but as soon as she heard Jesus say her name her spiritual eyes knew him right away.
Jesus tells us that he is our good shepherd. He knows us, and we know him. We know his voice. Not by our physical ears, by his sound upon our heart. This is why a true “Lord Lover” will recognize a stranger's voice, and not follow them. The sheep of Jesus will follow him, and not denominations, churches, pastors or anyone else but Jesus. These other things are not bad in themselves, but are rather conduit to help us have tunnel vision focused on Jesus.
If being religious, sincere or a good person is good enough, then there are people throughout the world in all kinds of religions that could fit into this mold. The problem is these things are not good enough! If they were God would never have sent his only begotten Son to atone for our sinfulness by such terrible means of death. What other person has risen from the dead as Jesus has never to die again? No one!
As lovers of Jesus Christ we can’t expect non Christians to see spiritual things with their physical eyes. They will always see things differently. What we see as obvious intervention of Jesus in our life, they will only see as good fortune. When the Holy Spirit moves our heart, they say it’s only emotionalism. It will never change for them until they become born again, and this comes through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Only until we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins and to come into our heart can we have spiritual eyes. Until then we will always have hearts of stone that blind our spiritual eyes just like the Pharisees that were upset that Jesus healed a man’s eyes that had been blind from birth.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, please help us so that we will never allow our heart to be so hardened that we can no longer see the things that you, Jesus and our Heavenly Father have for us. Please keep our heart close to your heart. We ask this in Jesus’ name.
