Q. I am having difficulty understanding John 9:41. What did Jesus mean when he said to some religious leaders "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains."
(Submitted by: S. H.) A. The context of John 9 concerns the man Jesus cured who was born blind. Instead of realizing how great a miracle this was and praising God for it, the Pharisees tried to find fault with Jesus and also with the man who received the miracle. After later speaking to the man who He had cured, Jesus stated the following: "Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." Some of the Pharisees near him heard this, and they said to him, "Are we also blind?"
"Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains." " (John 9:39-41, Revised Standard Version)
The Pharisees were blind to their pride, arrogance and conceit and didn’t know it. At the same time, they were the teachers of the law, who supposedly knew the laws of God, who sat in Moses’ seat and who commanded the people to follow the precepts of the law. They knew in truth that Jesus was sent by God (John 3:2) and yet they were very jealous of Him and wanted to kill Him! They knew who He was and they could "see" all of His miracles and mighty works. But they would not believe in Him or acknowledge that He was the Son of God. Though they could "see," they were still inwardly "guilty" of denying who He was and the mighty works that He did. Consequently, their guilt remained with them. |
