ARE WE REALLY SO SPIRITUALLY BLIND?

Besides coming to die for our sins, Jesus came to bring the truth (John 1:14, 17), to open blind eyes (Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:18-19). He was the Light who came into the world, but we love to hide in the darkness, and woe to anyone who would shine the light upon us:

·       “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:19-20)

According to Jesus, the religious leadership also loved the darkness. Although they read and knew the Scriptures, they neither loved God nor His Word:

·       “and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent…But I know that you do not have the love of God within you.”
(John 5:38, 42)

They had rejected faith in God in favor of winning the esteem of men (5:44), and when they hardened their hearts against the Light of God, they also hardened their minds against truth and reason. Let me give you a couple of examples, among the many, of their utter blindness. After miraculously feeding many thousands of people, Jesus accused them of following Him, not because they had seen an undeniable sign of His Messiah-hood, but because they had been fed. Even after this miraculous sign, they demanded a sign from Jesus:

·       So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness…” (John 6:30-31)

What Jesus had just performed was as miraculous as manna!  Why couldn’t they perceive this? They were the blind lovers of the darkness for whom Jesus had come. The scribes and Pharisees were no different. They too were blind. They too had asked for a sign after the miraculous feeding of the thousands (Matthew 16:1; Mark 8:11), but Jesus pointed out that they were unwilling to perceive what the sign implied:

·       He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. (Matthew 16:2-3)

The Pharisees were willing to read the signs about the weather but not those about the Messiah (Mark 6:52). The same was true about the signs of the demon-possessed being freed. In their unwillingness to connect the dots, the Pharisees ascribed Jesus’ miracles to the power of Satan, even though it defied reason. Jesus explained that if Satan had been casting out his own demons, he would destroy his own kingdom (Matthew 12:25-26; Luke 11:16).

Even in the face of Jesus’ many miracles, the Pharisees would continue to deny the obvious:

·       So the Jews [Pharisees] gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works [miracles] that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me…” (John 10:24-25)

The Pharisees had trailed Jesus and had seen his many miracles. However, they acted as if they hadn’t seen a single one. When Jesus’ disciples asked him why He spoke in parables, He answered that the leadership had already hardened themselves and proved themselves impervious to the truth:

·       “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given…This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.’” (Matthew 13:11-14; Mark 4:11-15)

Consequently, Jesus repeatedly referred to the Pharisees as “blind” (Matthew 23:16-26). Since willful blindness can be so controlling, Jesus warned that we would even be killed by those who had convinced themselves that they were serving God as they murdered:

·       They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. (John 16:2)

Blindness is so pervasive and resistant to the things of God that Jesus’ mission was to illuminate the world:

·       Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12; 1:5, 10)

However, they could not bear to even listen to Jesus:

·       “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.” (John 8:43)

No wonder that Jesus taught that we must first be born again by the Spirit regenerating both mind and heart in order to receive the light of truth:

·       Jesus answered [Nicodemus], “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

Looking at the light of Jesus is like looking at the blinding sun. Therefore, being born again is only the beginning. It is like putting on a special pair of glasses so that we can endure looking at the rays of the sun. Now we must begin to take the light of His Word into our minds.

I therefore think of myself as a recovering refugee from the light, an immigrant from the darkness of my prison cell. Regarding His ministry Jesus quoted Isaiah while speaking in a synagogue in His home town:

·       The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. (Isaiah 61:1)