In John chapter 9,the apostles of Jesus Christ come across a man that was born blind. They ask Jesus Christ,“Master,who did sin,this man,or his parents,that he was born blind.” Jesus Christ declares to the disciples that the man was born blind,not because of any sin,but because Jesus Christ was there to heal that man and bring glory to God by doing the works God commanded Jesus. Jesus Christ combined dirt and His spittle and applied the mud to the man’s eyes. He then told the man to go and wash it off at the pool of Siloam. The man did as Jesus Christ directed and could now see. When the Pharisees heard about the healing,they got upset because Jesus Christ healed the blind man on the Sabbath,rather than rejoicing that the man could now see. The Pharisees questioned if the man had even been blind and they declared that Jesus Christ was a sinner and not from God.
John 9:27-34 He answered them,I have told you already,and ye did not hear:wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? (28) Then they reviled him,and said,Thou art his disciple;but we are Moses’disciples. (29) We know that God spake unto Moses:as for this fellow,we know not from whence he is. (30) The man answered and said unto them,Why herein is a marvelous thing,that ye know not from whence he is,and yet he hath opened mine eyes. (31) Now we know that God heareth not sinners:but if any man be a worshiper of God,and doeth his will,him he heareth. (32) Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. (33) If this man were not of God,he could do nothing. (34) They answered and said unto him,Thou wast altogether born in sins,and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
The Pharisees were willfully blind to what Jesus Christ said and to what Jesus Christ was doing. The man that had been born blind was wiser than the Pharisees and he understood that Jesus Christ was at least of God,but had not realized yet that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. After the Pharisees cast out the man,Jesus Christ came to him and the man realized that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he worshiped Him.
John 9:39-41 And Jesus said,For judgment I am come into this world,that they which see not might see;and that they which see might be made blind. (40) And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words and said unto him,Are we blind also? (41) Jesus said unto them,If ye were blind,ye should have no sin:but now ye say,We see;therefore your sin remaineth.
Jesus Christ came to this world the first time to reach out to God’s people,the Israelites. He preached to them about repentance and the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand,but the Jews rejected Him. The Israelites considered themselves to be godly,but they were blind to who Jesus Christ really is. They thought that they could clearly see the things of God,but they were blind to who Jesus Christ is. The apostle Paul,when he was Saul,described himself this way in 1Timothy 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer,and a persecutor,and injurious:but I obtained mercy,because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. This did not excuse Paul/Saul’s sin,because in verse 15 he calls himself the chiefest of sinners,and he points out the Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Ignorance is not an excuse for sinning,especially when there are ways to get knowledge – such as the Bible,and the preaching and teaching of God Word – but if the methods of obtaining knowledge are ignored,the penalty for the sin is still there. God’s Will for mankind is revealed in His Word,and the Bible records at least five times in the Bible that Word of God had spread around the entire world. But a person can look at the world around him and see what God has done in creation and God will reach out to that person that may not have access to a Bible if they are seeking Him first. God raises up missionaries to reach the world for Jesus Christ and sends them to where there is a desire somewhere among an indigenous people to know God. No where in the Bible does God promise to send a missionary to a people that is not seeking God first.
In John 9,the Pharisees thought they were godly and that they saw things clearly and declared that the man that had been blind was still blind – spiritually blind. The truth is that the Pharisees were blind – willfully blind to Jesus Christ and His teachings. John 9:40,41 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words and said unto him,Are we blind also? (41) Jesus said unto them,If ye were blind,ye should have no sin:but now ye say,We see;therefore your sin remaineth. The Pharisees decided that they saw things clearly,but truly they did not and chose to remain that way. The truth,Jesus Christ stood in front of them and they denied Him. Their sin remained on them because they chose to remain blind even as they thought they could spiritually see. Jesus said:If ye were blind,ye should have no sin:– if the Pharisees had realized that they were blind to what Jesus Christ taught and desired to learn from Jesus Christ and ultimately repent and believe,then the penalty for sin would no longer be imputed upon them. Instead,the Pharisees determined that they were strong. Instead the Pharisees determined that they were godly. Instead,the Pharisees determined that they were righteous.
Luke 5:30-32 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples,saying,Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? (31) And Jesus answering said unto them,They that are whole need not a physician:but they that are sick (32) I came not to call the righteous,but sinners to repentance. If the Pharisees had been willing to humble themselves and follow Jesus Christ and His Word,then they would have understood their sinful condition and their weakness and their blindness and ultimately their need for Jesus Christ as their Saviour.