John 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth
I don’t know about you, but I do not like to stop and ask for directions. Why waste time finding out where you are when you could be spinning your wheels and going somewhere fast even if you don’t know where the destination may be?! I’m joking of course, but it is difficult for adults, especially men, to stop and ask for directions. It is humbling to acknowledge you don’t know where you are and you need to find out. Although, I have to say that no one asks directions anymore because we all have an iPhone that gives us all we need to know to get lost very quickly. The bottom line is that if you are not lost, you can’t be found. If you don’t need help, you won’t ask for it. Only the humble get help.
In John 9 there is a stark contrast between what the Bible calls a man who was born blind whom Jesus healed and the religious leaders, specifically the Pharisees, whose eyes worked but they could not see profound things like Christ, salvation, and what God wanted them to see. So, really you have the same story you have had numerous times before. You have the Pharisees, the synagogue, the Sabbath day, Jesus, and the pushback from the Pharisees on Jesus.
So here is this man who was born blind but gains his sight. Here are Pharisees who are born with sight but they are spiritually blind. 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.” The Pharisees who heard Him say these things realized that Jesus was talking about them. He was saying that He gave physical sight to this man and that the Pharisees were spiritually blind. They said indignantly, “Are we blind also?” and in John 9:41 Jesus said to them, “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” They never acknowledged their need, so they never got it. In short, only the humble get help.
These religious leaders boasted that they were Abraham’s children and Moses’ disciples. In contrast, the poor man who was healed was honest enough to say, “I don’t know,” when he was asked. Specifically, he was asked, “Who healed you?” In verse 11 he basically said, “A man called Jesus healed me.” That is all he knew. Later on in verse 17 they asked, “Well, who opened your eyes?” He replied, “He is a prophet.” So, there is a growing light coming to his previously blind eyes.
Later, the religious leaders came to his parents and asked, “This son you say was born blind, how did he get his sight?” The parents passed the buck and said, “Hey, he is of age. Ask him.” They didn’t want to be put out of the synagogue. Finally, in verse 38 it totally dawns on this previously blind man who Jesus is. He said, “Lord, I believe.” Then, he worshipped Jesus.
So, here are the Pharisees, who are Abraham’s children and Moses’ disciples, and here is this poor blind man, who just takes a step each time he has more light. He realizes his healer is a man named Jesus, then that He is a prophet, and then that Jesus is the Lord and he worships Him. Only the humble get help.
Only the blind can be healed. If you are not blind, you can’t be healed. These Pharisees didn’t see their need, so they didn’t ask for help. Only sinners can be saved. If you are not a sinner, you cannot be saved. Jesus said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The first step in coming to salvation is coming to yourself, realizing you are a sinner and cannot save yourself and that you need God’s provision through Jesus. Only people with problems pray. If you don’t have problems, you probably don’t pray, at least not the way the Bible intends. A pastor I know in Denver, Colorado once said, “Prayer is never natural until it is necessary.” That is exactly right. You don’t pray from your heart until you realize you have a need and God can provide.
So, who is Jesus Christ? He is light to the blind, the Father to the fatherless, and the hope and help to the needy. Only the humble get help.