Corrected 20/20 Vision

John 9:39-41 (NKJV)

³⁹ And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”

⁴⁰ Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”

⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.

I find it remarkable whenever I meet unyielding hard hardened people because I can never understand how can one be so stubborn to remain in sin, a.k.a. “blind”? When looking at this account with the blind man who was healed by Jesus and the way the Pharisees casted him out of the synagogue for believing in Jesus, as we read in the earlier verses, it amazes me that all those people cared about is proving themselves “right”. How arrogant and hopeless they sound.

God`s word didn`t change today and the same way it required humility in recognizing one`s blindness to sin then, it is the same way required of us today in order to accept Jesus as our Savior. In other words, God cannot save and forgive us until we make this recognition in our hearts that we indeed are sinners and born “spiritually blind” the same way the blind person whom Jesus healed in the earlier verses was. He was born blind.

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. ² And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him (John 9:1-3 NKJV)

This account shows us that in God`s eyes we are all born “spiritually blind” because we are born into sin, and this is why we need Jesus in each one of our lives, so we could see. This blind man serves an example of how much God holds each one of us accountable for our own actions and deeds, and neither our parents nor our children can make up for our choices. We all need Jesus to heal us spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

There is a factor of humility, however, that so many of us do not want to recognize and accept. This is why salvation is not received by everyone. I met so many people who didn`t want to recognize that they needed Jesus to save them. They were like Pharisees attending the church and thinking that their relationships with the Lord were just fine, when in reality, Jesus` answer to them is the same He gave to the Pharisees: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.”

I hope we all understand the significance of this humility factor and what it meant then and now to view ourselves as in need of Jesus. We are born “blind” just like that man was blind spiritually and physically from the birth. This is the prototype of all humanity who is birthed into this world: “being blind” and in need of Jesus.

Without admitting and recognizing, a.k.a. humiliating in front of the Lord and others that we are indeed sinners and need Jesus, we remain in our sins just the way Pharisees were. This is one of the main battles that I always had with my unsaved relatives when attempting to relate to their opportunity to get saved: they see no need in admitting they are no good (Romans 3:10,12, 23). “No good”? –The intellect and education preventing them to see beyond the scope of their own achievements and accomplishments. How can a PhD candidate recognize that he/she is no good? This is the same issue the Pharisees had then and we have now.

In essence, when we humiliate ourselves to the point of a true repentance, we recognize the sinful nature of our heart, which leads us in return to admitting us being unworthy of Jesus` sacrifice. This is called humility and brokenness. It has nothing to do with the amount of education one has, but it has to do with the condition of one`s heart. Heart and mind would always contradict each other, and this is why God gave us so many scriptures not to rely on our own mind:

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct^[a] your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV).

⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7 NKJV).

We cannot comprehend the ways of the Lord fully because he is God and we are not. We can only accept the fact that we cannot rely on our own understanding, our own mind, but we must accept Him in our hearts.

Jesus found this blind man whom He healed and questioned his believes whether he recognized Jesus being the Messiah, and once he admitted and believed in Jesus, God in return forgave his sins. The Pharisees who overheard Jesus speaking to the man questioned His validity of the right to forgive sins and heal the man. See, God always cut through our hearts and sees the intentions of our attitude. If we are like these Pharisees, who are only interested in mocking the authenticity of God`s word, than we remain in our sins; however, if we accept the fact that the truth of God`s word indeed is accurate, than we have no excuse not to repent and admit the sinfulness of our nature.

Jesus said it Himself that He came to bring judgment: that sums up in the factor of humility and recognizing our need in the ultimate Opthamologist (Jesus)! We need Jesus to perform a laser surgery on “spiritual eyes”, so we could see once again.

Look at what happened to Saul of Tarsus (who later became Paul) - he was blinded by Jesus on his way to Damascus.

³ As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. ⁴ Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.^[a] It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” ⁶ So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” ⁷ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. ⁸ Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹ And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank (Acts 9:3-9 NKJV).

 

There were few things that happened to Saul:

-Saul fell to the ground (the ultimate act of humility)

-Saul recognized it was the Lord as he questioned: “Who are You, Lord?”

-Saul was trembling and astonished in the presence of the Lord Jesus

- Saul immediately recognized his need to get right with God, get saved, and serve Him. He said: “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

-Saul was thirsting for God`s presence and His answers; as he was without sight (a.k.a. blind) he was without food or water for 3 days.

Jesus blinded Paul with His holiness, and Saul could not withstand to see any more in God`s sight of his own sinfulness recognizing his unworthiness. This is the factor of humility that Saul displayed as a result of facing Jesus face to face. I believe that there is not one person who`s heart Holy Spirit touches who can withstand to be present in Jesus` sight without recognizing one`s need for salvation.

Once we come face to face with Jesus, just like this blind man whom Jesus healed or Paul whom Jesus saved, we become spiritually aware of our spiritual “nakedness and blindness”. God searches our hearts and seeks those who would yield to His light the way Saul did. For those who refuse to recognize their “blindness” and the need in “healing”, they are left to remain in their sins.

I continue to pray for my family and for my unsaved relatives for God to touch their hearts and convict them to the point of repentance; however, it is ultimately up to each one of us to choose if to accept Jesus and be healed/saved, or reject Him and remain in sins.

It was Jesus Himself who said that He came to bring judgment to this world “that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” I would encourage you today to search out your heart and seek the Lord to show you whether there is an area in your heart that became hard with calluses. Unyielding to the conviction of the Holy Spirit would only shut your door to know Jesus face to face, so I urge you not to make this mistake. There`s been enough of blood of Jesus spilled for each one of us to make Him suffer anymore. Let us come to the Lord and accept the fact that we are sinners, and we need Jesus in order to make our lives complete!

You can pray this simple prayer of repentance if this is something that you feel like you need in order to be right with God:

Dear Jesus, please forgive me for being so hard hardened and unyielding to Your word. Please forgive me my sins and my pride for making myself above your sacrifice; I recognize my inability to exist without You, and I don`t want to live without You anymore. Like Saul, I ask You today to please show me the way and guide me to serve You for the rest of my life. In Your precious Name I pray. Amen.

If you have prayed this prayer of salvation, you have accepted Jesus into your heart, and He lives inside you now. Your sins have been forgiven, and you can start your life afresh just the way Saul from Tarsus did (Acts 9). He was renamed to be Paul who turned the world upside down for the Lord. There is no limit as to how much and how far God can use you, so please allow Him this opportunity to guide you. This is what Jesus suffered for, died and rose again, so we could have this opportunity to worship the Lord and know Him face to face. Let us rejoice and be glad in Him!