Calvary Road Baptist Church
“Christ’s Conversation With The Once Blind Man Is Interrupted”
John 9.39-41
Don’t you just love it when private conversations that are held in public are interrupted by people who are not a part of the conversation? It is an interaction that is absolutely none of their business, but it deals with matters they are interested in and are sensitive about, so they feel obliged to butt in and speak their piece. Don’t you just love it?
That is what we will deal with in John 9.39-41 in a conversation the Lord Jesus Christ wrapped up with the man who had been born blind, who the Lord Jesus Christ had miraculously given the precious gift of sight, whose neighbors and acquaintances had then been questioned, who had then been set upon by the interrogators, who then set upon his parents, and who then set upon him again before expelling him from the synagogue where he had worshiped. Incredibly, the man had done nothing wrong! I am sure glad CNN wasn’t there to report on it.
But there he was, lonely, isolated, estranged from family and friends, and expelled from his place of worship when he was sought out by the merciful and compassionate Savior, saved by the merciful and compassionate Savior, who he then worshiped in what seems to have been a public setting in Jerusalem. We read last time, in John 9.38, that the man said
“Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.”
Therefore, it should be no surprise to us that the Lord Jesus Christ would respond to the man’s declaration of faith and expression of worship, and He did just that. So kind and so loving. We read of our Lord’s comments and what followed between Him and the intrusive Pharisees in our text for this message, John 9.39-41. When you locate that passage I invite you to stand for the reading of God’s Word:
39 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.
Who? What? Where? When? How?
Those are the questions every Bible reader should ask himself or herself when seeking to understand what is being read in God’s Word. Who? We have three parties in this passage; first, the man who had been born blind but can now see, and who has now come to faith in Christ and has worshiped his newfound Savior, next, the Savior, of course, and then there are the Pharisees.
What? The man who had been born blind had, mere moments before, come to faith in Christ, had declared his faith in Christ, and had worshiped his Savior. Then the Lord spoke to the man.
Where? We suspect this narrative takes place in the vicinity of the Temple in the city of Jerusalem, where all this began to unfold in the days following the Feast of Tabernacles and the Lord’s encounter with the woman caught in the act of adultery, which also answers our question of when.
How? The question how can be applied to many things. Earlier, we could have asked how the miracle was worked, and the Lord’s use of means to accomplish that. Also earlier, we might have asked how the man who could now see came to faith in Christ. In the passage before us, the question of how would relate to how this verbal exchange took place.
Very simply, the Lord Jesus Christ said something to the new believer in verse 39, by way of instructing him, with the Pharisees then butting into the conversation they overheard. The passage very neatly divides into three parts, with each part found in one of these verses:
First, OUR LORD’S ADDRESS TO THE NEW BELIEVER
How wonderful of the Lord Jesus Christ, the master teacher, to take the time to instruct the man He had so wonderfully blessed with sight and then salvation. In the brief address, He provided His new disciple an oversight of the overarching purpose of His earthly ministry.
Verse 39:
“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.”
Allow me to explain what the Lord Jesus Christ says here about coming into the world to judge. By judging, He does not here refer to anything like deciding who is and who is not judged concerning their eternal destiny. Remember John 3.17-19, where we read,
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
People are frequently confused in their thinking between the ideas of condemnation and the act of judging. In John 3.17-19 it is clearly declared that the Son of God was not sent by the Father to condemn the world. Why not? Because every individual, in his natural state, is already condemned “because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” That said, while the Lord Jesus Christ does not condemn, He has been sent to sit in judgment. I don’t have time to read the many Bible passages related to the Day of Judgment, but I will take the time to read of God judging, specifically the Lord Jesus Christ doing God’s judging:
John 5.30:
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
Acts 10.42:
“And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.”
Acts 17.31:
“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”
Romans 2.16:
“In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”
2 Timothy 4.1:
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.”
2 Timothy 4.8:
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
Hebrews 10.30:
“For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.”
Hebrews 12.23:
“To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.”
Hebrews 13.4:
“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”
1 Peter 4.5:
“Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.”
Jude 14-15:
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Revelation 6.10:
“And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
Many of those voices will be the voices of unborn children slain before they were born, I imagine.
Revelation 19.11:
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.”
Clearly, though some passages refer to God judging, we understand that it will be God judging in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, Who came to condemn no one. However, He will judge everyone. The judgment seat of Christ will be the Christian’s place of judgment to ascertain rewards in heaven:
Romans 14.10:
“But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5.10:
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
The Great White Throne judgment is the place of judgment for the damned to ascertain the severity of torment suffered in eternal damnation, Revelation 20.11-15:
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
The Lord Jesus Christ explained His role as judge by using the miracle in which He worked to give this man his sight. Remember, the Lord Jesus Christ worked a miracle and gave sight to the man born blind. However, those who had been born with physical eyesight were rendered blind to spiritual reality by the events as they unfolded. So, the blind man was made to see, and the seeing men were made blind; he physically, they spiritually. This differing response to Christ’s miracle, reflecting the differing response to Christ’s coming is not unusual. For some, His Gospel is a savor of life unto life, while to others it is a savor of death unto death. The bright light of His glory softens some and hardens others. This is also applicable to nations and people groups. Many Gentiles, who had long been in spiritual darkness without the light of divine revelation, came to see, while many Jews, who had long benefited from access to God’s truth, had the prospect of peace with God hidden from their eyes. Consider this prediction made by the prophet in Hosea 1.10:
“Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.”
That’s us. Notice, as well, Hosea 2.23:
“And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.”
That’s us. The Gentiles would soon come to see a great light, while blindness happened unto Israel, and their eyes were darkened.
Next, THE PHARISEES ASK THE LORD A QUESTION
Verse 40:
“And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?”
The Lord Jesus Christ was not speaking to the Pharisees in verse 39. To do so would have contradicted what He had earlier taught in His Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7.6:
“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
There are a lot of Christians that cast their pearls before swine, aren’t there? I think I have cast a lot of pearls before a lot of swine in my day. I am trying real hard not to do that. Doing so is like spitting into the wind, isn’t it? They were close enough, these Pharisees, and interested enough to overhear what He said to His new follower and took the occasion to intrude into their conversation.
In their intrusion into the conversation they exhibited an attitude that betrayed their intention to learn nothing from the Lord, but to challenge what He had said to the man who had been born blind:
“Are we blind also?”
Could there be a clearer indication by their actions, by their words, and by their attitudes that they, who pretended to be insightful, who pretended to be discerning, and who pretended to possess foresight, were the blind ones our Lord Jesus Christ was, most definitely, referring to? He was talking about them, but He was not talking to them.
Before we move on, take note of the extent of their blindness by their use of the word “also.” These Pharisees lived lives of such condescending arrogance that they took it for granted that ordinary people were obviously blind to spiritual truth and reality. What they took offense at here was that the Lord Jesus Christ included them among that company of men He declared to be blind. They found that, of course, to be intolerable.
Finally, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ANSWERS THE PHARISEE’S QUESTION
Verse 41:
“Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”
It would be safe to say that the Lord Jesus Christ’s answer to the Pharisee’s question did in no way convince them, but it likely did silence them. Our Lord’s answer came in two parts:
“If ye were blind,” He said, “ye should have no sin.” To paraphrase, our Lord told them, “If you had been ignorant, your sin had not been so deeply aggravated, nor would you have had so much sin to answer for as you now have. If you were blind, as the Gentiles are who have no Scripture, and many of the Jewish people who might have known truth had you Pharisees taught them, you would have had comparatively no sin.” The times of ignorance God winked at, Acts 17.30. Ignorance, though it does not justify sin, somewhat lessens the guilt of sin. Thus, it will be more tolerable with those that perish for lack of sight than with those that rebel against the light, as with Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida, we see in Matthew 11.20-24:
20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
Here is the implication of the Pharisee’s stubbornness. Believing themselves not to be blind, they concluded that they needed no spiritual guide. This is another way of pointing out that they saw no need of a Savior. Their estimation of their standing before God was so misguided that they did not see themselves as being dead in trespasses and sins. Thus, they sought no Savior. There is no greater hindrance to the salvation of one’s soul than self-sufficiency.
The verse ends, “but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” To claim “We see” is to admit that you have the knowledge, and that you have been instructed out of the Law of Moses. But to whom much is given much is required, therefore their sin was highly aggravated; and now that they had acquired a conceit of that knowledge, and thought they saw their way better than anyone could show them, their sin, therefore, remained, their case was desperate, and their disease was incurable. As those are most blind who will not see, so their blindness is most dangerous who imagine that they see. No patients are so difficult to doctor as those who insist they are well, and deny that anything ails them. The sin of those who are self-conceited and self-confident remains, for they reject the Gospel of grace, and therefore the guilt of their sin remains unpardoned. Those who are that way forfeit the Spirit of grace, and therefore the power of their sin remains unbroken. So you see a man wise in his conceit? The Pharisees said, “We see.” There is more hope of a fool, of a publican and a harlot, than of such.
Setting aside the parents, neighbors, and lifelong acquaintances of the man who had been born blind, who had then been given the gift of sight, and who had then come to faith in Christ, we have others in this narrative. There was the man who was the beneficiary of the Savior’s grace, mercy, and power, the Lord Jesus Christ Who so wonderfully blessed the man, the Pharisees in their role as obstinate would-be obstacles to the man being blessed, and the present but unmentioned apostles who we know traveled everywhere with the Savior. When the time came for the sinner to be saved the Pharisees were irrelevant, and the disciples of Christ were not mentioned. I am not suggesting Christ’s men have no role to play in reaching the lost, but the role they played in this narrative was not mentioned.
So, what is the takeaway from this entire chapter in John’s Gospel? There are several: First, the Pharisees were problems, not solutions. Though they pretended to be spiritual leaders and guides they were blind and not seeing, liabilities and not assets, almost blocking the approach to Christ rather than in any way guiding men to Christ. We must make sure by our conduct and our speech that we are never like those men were. On one occasion Christ’s disciples did get in the way, and you will remember the Savior rebuking them, saying,
“Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”[1]
Though the disciples of Christ are not mentioned in this chapter, we know the Savior has a role for His followers in the execution of His plan. We are to preach the Gospel to every creature. We are to make disciples for Jesus Christ. But if we are to learn anything about our role from this chapter’s omission of any mention of us, it is that we should be very careful to point sinners to Christ. Would to God we were so successful to make so much of Christ that we become virtually invisible to the lost in need of salvation.
Looking now at the man who was born blind, let us take note of the great miracle of his sight being given to him. Praise God for that. However, being given his sight did not spare him the betrayal of his parents, did it? Neither was he spared the brutal interrogation and accusations he received from the Pharisees, and his eventual isolation when he was expelled from his synagogue. In other words, socially and emotionally, he was worse off shortly after being given the ability to see than he was when he was blind. It seems the benefit of physical miracles can only go so far. Thankfully for him, there is a Savior. What great concern for the individual is displayed in this chapter by my Lord Jesus Christ. Just as He loved the woman at the well, and just as He loved the woman caught in the act of adultery a few days before, so He loved this man who had been born blind. I am so thankful that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. But it strikes my heart so much more effectively that the One who reigns supreme also displays particular interest, concern, love, and compassion for individuals. He is the God of the infinite, and He is also the God of the infinitesimal.
I appreciate that God loves everyone. But I am touched, thrilled, and warmed in my heart that Jesus loves me. He loved this man and showed it. He loves me and shows it. Do you know that Jesus loves you? Can you say that He has shown His love for you? He does love you, you know. So, how do you respond to His love? Do you trust Him or do you avoid Him? Do you believe in Him or do you deny Him?
He is worthy of your trust. He is a faithful Savior. He will never leave you nor forsake you. And He is able to deliver you. As the man who had been born blind came to realize that he needed a Savior and could not depend upon himself, so should you recognize your need of the Savior. And when you do, you must trust Him. I urge you to trust Him now.
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[1] Matthew 19.14
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