John 9.35-41.
Picking up right after
John 9.34-41 KWL - 35 Jesus, hearing the Pharisees threw the formerly-blind man out,
- upon finding him, said, “You believe in the Son of Man?”
- 36 In reply, that man said, “Who is he, sir?—so I can put my trust in him.”
- 37 Jesus told him, “You’ve seen him: This man is talking with you.”
- 38 The formerly-blind man said, “I trust you, sir,” and fell down before Jesus.
- 39 Jesus said, “I came into this world for people’s judgment:
- Those who don’t see, can see; and those who see can become blind.”
- 40 Some of the Pharisees were listening to these things, and told Jesus, “We aren’t blind too.”
- 41 Jesus told them, “If you were blind, you wouldn’t have any sin.
- You now say ‘We do so see’—and your sin remains.”
For some reason, a lot of preachers assume this guy shouldn’t have recognized Jesus when he encountered him: He was blind at the time y’know. But I’m pretty sure he’d have easily recognized Jesus’s voice. And after his trial, he knew plenty about Jesus… or at least what certain
Though it appears here, he didn’t know of Jesus’s common practice of calling himself “the Son of Man.” That was
So do you believe in the Son of Man?
As a blind man, this guy was previously considered
So when Jesus asked him, “You believe in the Son of Man?” the man recognized Jesus meant the End Times figure. And since he already trusted Jesus—he’d said as much to the folks in synagogue, and was willing to get kicked out for him—he was willing to accept whatever Jesus had to teach about the Son of Man. Just point him to the guy!
So on hearing Jesus is the guy, the man
The
Most bibles translate Jesus’s next statement much like
John 9.39 KJV - 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.
Which isn’t a bad translation. But people’s interpretation of what Jesus says, is along the lines of the
John 9.39 NLT - Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”
Which isn’t what the original text says. It’s
We’re the ones deciding whether or not Jesus is Messiah and Son of Man. We’re the ones choosing whether to follow him; actually follow him, instead of paying him lip service. There are plenty who declare him as Lord and King, but don’t do as he says.
Kinda like those Pharisees standing there, listening. Jesus called ’em blind. No, that wasn’t judgment or condemnation; it was the fact they didn’t follow him. Yet they knew he cured the blind man, knew God had to have empowered him, knew he was somebody worth paying attention to… and wouldn’t, ’cause of
The side we choose, indicates whether we’ve blinded ourselves to truth. Even people who can’t physically see, can still recognize Jesus for who he is. Even people who can physically see can ignore all the bright flashing signs pointing to truth, and deny him. Hence Jesus’s illogical-sounding, “You now say ‘We do so see’—and your sin remains.”