Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt. But now that you say, ‘We see’, your guilt remains. John 9:41 HCSB

There is an old saying that says, “Oh, I see said the blind man to his deaf wife”.  If you google this there is a whole story that talks about the blind man picking up his hammer and saw and his crippled son running upstairs, but that’s not what I want to talk about today.  We use that little phrase to indicate when we start to comprehend something that may have confused us before.

In the 9th chapter of John, Jesus healed a man who had been blind since birth.  The Pharisees accused Jesus of violating the law by healing this man on the sabbath. They then interrogated this blind man and his parents.  His parents verified that he had indeed been blind since birth. However, they feared being kicked out of the temple for speaking up for Jesus and told the Pharisees to talk to their son, as they were not there. When they talked to the man who had been blind, he insisted that he had been blind since birth and could now see. He did not understand who Jesus was, but knew that He had healed him.  These Pharisees were opposed to Jesus and would throw someone out of the temple for saying that Jesus was the Son of God, or the Son of Man. They were trying to get this young man to speak against Jesus. When he refused to do so, they kicked him out. Hmm, sounds like some of our churches today.  If you are looking for a good church and you go to one that doesn’t want Jesus in there, run swiftly in the other direction. Now Jesus went looking for this man and explained who He was and the young man worshiped him.  This young man had not only his physical blindness healed, but his spiritual blindness as well.

Now, these poor Pharisees thought they knew it all. They claimed that they could see clearly that Jesus was not from God because He had the audacity to heal this man on the sabbath.  Their acknowledging that they could see made their sin willful or deliberate.  James 4:17 tell us that whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.  Hebrews 10:26, For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.  Both of these verses do a good job of explaining our scripture passage for today.

Now if you were saved, I mean truly saved, then you received the knowledge of truth that they talk about in Hebrews 10:26.  When you receive this knowledge of truth, then you know right from wrong.  Now there are people in our society who truly don’t understand this.  There are young children that don’t understand the concept of sinning and there are adults that are mentally delayed or challenged.  They have no guilt.  You could say that they are the blind that Jesus refers to in our scripture passage.  However, when we understand what God wants us to do and we don’t do it, we are going to have to answer for that.  When we understand clearly what God tells us not to do and we do it, we are going to answer for that as well.

When we are truly saved, our heart changes and as my pastor said yesterday, we don’t want to sin.  We don’t go around deliberately sinning. Yes, we slip now and then because we are human, but we are convicted and we can repent, be forgiven and move on.

These Pharisees were considered to be experts in the law.  They had a great deal of knowledge, but they didn’t understand that Jesus was the Son of God.  They knew a lot of stuff and were considered to be pretty smart, but they were totally ignorant to the most important thing.  They didn’t truly understand who Jesus was, so they fought against Him.

So, I want to ask you today, are you blind or can you see?  Are you blind to the fact that Jesus is Lord and that He loves you and wants to be in a close relationship with you?  Are you blind to the fact that he loved you so much that he gave his life for you (John 3:16)?  Are you blind to the fact that there will come a day when you will answer for every empty word that comes out of your mouth in addition to any sinful acts that you have committed and failed to repent of? Or, can you see?

Can you see clearly the path that Jesus has laid out for you (Proverbs 3:5-6)?  Do you truly understand that He has good plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11)? Most importantly, do you understand that He wants to work everything out for your good, if only you will love Him and live your life according to His calling (Romans 8:28)?

When we align ourselves with God, He gives us wisdom and discernment.  He makes us able to see clearly.  The devil wants to muddy things up and lead you astray.  Once you align yourself with God and you accept Him as your savior, He gives you sight. Once you have this sight and go on sinning, it is deliberate sin. My friend this is a slippery slope.  I encourage you today to ask God to test you and try you and examine your heart and mind (Psalms 26:2).  Trust in Him and stay in His word so that it might be a lamp for your feet and a light on your path (Psalm 119:105).

My prayer for you today is that if you have been blind, that you may see; if you see, that you fully understand; and that you trust God to lead and guide you.

Have a great day!