From Physical to Spiritual Sight

Physical and Spiritual Blindness

1. We have heard the lesson from the Holy Gospel that we regularly hear, but it's good to be reminded. It's beneficial to refresh our memory, rescuing it from the lethargy of forgetfulness. In fact, this familiar lesson has given us as much pleasure as if it were new. Christ gave sight to a man blind from birth. Why are we surprised? Christ is the Savior. Through an act of mercy, He provided what He had not given in the womb. When He initially gave that man no eyes, it wasn't a mistake on His part, but a delay intended for a miracle.

You may be asking, "How do you know this?" I heard it from Christ Himself; He just told us, and we all heard it together. When His disciples asked Him, "Lord, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2), you heard His answer, as did I: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him" (John 9:3).

So that's why He delayed, why He initially gave the man no eyes. He didn't give what He could have given; He didn't give what He knew He would give when the time was right. Yet don't assume, brothers, that this man's parents had no sin, or that he himself hadn't contracted original sin at birth—the sin for which infants are baptized for its remission. But his blindness wasn't because of his parents' sin, nor because of his own sin, "but that the works of God should be revealed in him."

We all contracted original sin at birth, yet we weren't all born physically blind. But wait—look carefully and you'll see that we were all born blind. Who wasn't born blind? Blind in heart, that is. But the Lord Jesus, because He created both body and heart, healed both.

2. With the eyes of faith, you've seen this blind man; you've also seen him gain his sight. But you've heard him make a mistake. I'll tell you how this formerly blind man erred: first, he thought Christ was a prophet but didn't realize He was the Son of God. And then we heard his completely false answer when he said, "We know that God does not hear sinners" (John 9:31).

If God doesn't hear sinners, what hope do we have? If God doesn't hear sinners, why do we pray and acknowledge our sin by beating our chests? What about that tax collector who went up with the Pharisee to the temple? While the Pharisee was boasting and parading his own merits, the tax collector stood at a distance, his eyes fixed on the ground, beating his chest and confessing his sins. This man who confessed his sins went down from the temple justified rather than the Pharisee (Luke 18:10-14). God certainly does hear sinners!

But the man who spoke these words hadn't yet washed the face of his heart in Siloam. The sacrament had been performed on his eyes, but the blessing of grace hadn't yet taken effect in his heart. When did this blind man wash the face of his heart? When the Lord welcomed him after he had been cast out by the Jews. For Jesus found him and said to him, as we've heard: "Do you believe in the Son of God?" (John 9:35). And he replied, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" (John 9:36).

It's true that he could already see with his eyes, but could he see in his heart? Not yet. Wait—he will see shortly. Jesus answered him, "I who speak to you am He" (John 9:37). Did he doubt? No, he immediately washed his face. For he was speaking with the One who is Siloam, "which is translated, Sent" (John 9:7). Who is the Sent One but Christ, who often testified, saying, "I do the will of My Father who sent Me" (John 4:34)? He Himself was Siloam. The man approached blind in heart, he heard, believed, worshiped; he washed the face of his heart and saw.

3. But those who cast him out remained blind, since they criticized the Lord for healing on the Sabbath when He made clay with His saliva and anointed the blind man's eyes. When the Lord healed with just a word, the Jews openly objected. For He did no physical work on the Sabbath day when He simply spoke and it was done. Their criticism was obviously unfounded—they complained about Him simply giving commands and speaking, as if they themselves didn't speak all day on the Sabbath.

I might even say they don't speak not only on the Sabbath but on no day at all, inasmuch as they've held back from praising the true God. Nevertheless, as I've said, brothers, their criticism was clearly unfounded. The Lord said to a certain man, "Stretch out your hand" (Matthew 12:13); he was healed, and they complained because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day. What did He do? What work did He perform? What burden did He carry?

But in this instance, spitting on the ground, making clay, and anointing the man's eyes was certainly doing some work. Let no one doubt it—this was work. The Lord did break the Sabbath, but He wasn't guilty for doing so. What do I mean by saying "He broke the Sabbath"? He, the Light, had come to remove the shadows. For the Sabbath was commanded by the Lord God, commanded by Christ Himself who was with the Father when the Law was given. The Sabbath was commanded by Him but as a shadow of what was to come.

"Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come" (Colossians 2:16-17). He whose coming these things announced had now arrived. Why do shadows still delight us? Open your eyes, you Jews; the Sun is present. "We know." What do you know, you who are blind in heart? What do you know? "That this Man is not from God because He does not keep the Sabbath" (John 9:16).

This very Sabbath, unhappy people, was ordained by Christ, whom you say is not from God. You observe the Sabbath in a physical way; you don't have Christ's saliva. Look for Christ's saliva in this earth of the Sabbath, and you'll understand that the Sabbath itself was a prophecy of Christ. But you, because you don't have Christ's saliva mixed with earth upon your eyes, haven't come to Siloam and haven't washed your face. So you remain blind—blind to the benefit this blind man received, even though he's no longer blind in either body or heart.

He received clay mixed with saliva, his eyes were anointed, he came to Siloam, he washed his face, he believed in Christ, he saw, and he escaped that fearful judgment: "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind" (John 9:39).

4. What an alarming statement! "That those who do not see may see"—that's good. It's the work of a Savior, the profession of healing power, "that those who do not see may see." But what, Lord, is this that You've added: "That those who see may be made blind"? If we understand correctly, it's most true, most just. But who are "those who see"? They are the Jews. Do they really see? According to their own words, they see; according to the truth, they don't see.

What then does "they see" mean? They think they see; they believe they see. For they thought they could see when they defended the Law against Christ. "We know"—that's their claim to sight. What is "We know" if not "we see"? What is "This Man is not from God because He does not keep the Sabbath" if not a claim to sight? They see; they read what the Law said. For it was commanded that whoever breaks the Sabbath day should be stoned (Numbers 15:32-36). Therefore they said He was not from God.

But though seeing, they were blind to this truth: that He came into the world for judgment, He who will be the Judge of the living and the dead. Why did He come? "That those who do not see may see"—that those who acknowledge they don't see might be enlightened. "And that those who see may be made blind"—that those who don't admit their blindness may be further hardened.

And indeed, "that those who see may be made blind" has been fulfilled. The defenders of the Law, the doctors of the Law, the teachers of the Law, the interpreters of the Law crucified the Author of the Law. O blindness! This is what "has happened to Israel in part" (Romans 11:25). So that Christ might be crucified and the fullness of the Gentiles might come in, "blindness in part has happened to Israel." What does it mean that "those who do not see may see"? That the fullness of the Gentiles might come in, "blindness in part has happened to Israel."

The whole world was in blindness, but He came "that those who do not see might see, and that those who see might be made blind." He was rejected by the Jews; He was crucified by the Jews. With His blood, He made eye-salve for the blind. Those who boasted that they saw the light became more hardened and were made blind. They killed the Light, but the Light they crucified enlightened the blind.

5. Listen to one who now sees, who once was blind. Consider what a stumbling block they've tragically hit—those who wouldn't confess their blindness to the Physician! The Law remained with them. But what good is the Law without grace? Unhappy people! What can the Law do without grace? What can the earth do without Christ's saliva? What can the Law do without grace but make people more guilty? Why? Because they are hearers of the Law but not doers, and so are sinners, transgressors.

The son of the woman who hosted the man of God was dead, and his staff was sent by his servant and laid on the boy's face, but he didn't revive (2 Kings 4:29-31). What does the Law without grace accomplish? What does the Apostle say—one who now sees, who was once blind but is now enlightened? "For if there had been a law given which could give life, truly righteousness would have been by the law" (Galatians 3:21).

Let's consider this carefully and respond: what does he mean? "If there had been a law given which could give life, truly righteousness would have been by the law." If it couldn't give life, why was it given? He continues: "But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe" (Galatians 3:22).

The promise of enlightenment, the promise of love through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Scripture, that is, the Law, has confined all under sin. What does "confined all under sin" mean? "I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, 'You shall not covet'" (Romans 7:7). What is "confined all under sin"? It has made the sinner a transgressor as well, for it couldn't heal the sinner.

"It has confined all under sin"—but with what hope? The hope of grace, the hope of mercy. You received the Law and tried to keep it but couldn't. You've fallen from pride and seen your weakness. Run to the Physician; wash your face. Long for Christ, confess Christ, believe in Christ. The Spirit is added to the letter, and you will be saved. For if you take away the Spirit from the letter, "the letter kills" (2 Corinthians 3:6). If it kills, where is hope? "But the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:6).

6. Let Gehazi, Elisha's servant, receive the staff, just as Moses, God's servant, received the Law. Let him receive the staff, take it, run ahead, go before him, and lay the staff on the face of the dead child. And so it happened—he received it, ran, laid the staff on the face of the dead child. But to what purpose? What good does the staff do? "If there had been a law given which could give life," the boy might have been raised to life by the staff. But since "the Scripture has confined all under sin," he still lies dead.

But why has Scripture confined all under sin? "That the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe." Let Elisha come, then, who sent the staff by his servant to prove that the boy was dead. Let him come himself, come in person, enter the woman's house, go up to the child, find him dead, and conform himself to the dead child's members—not dead himself, but living.

For this is what he did: he laid his face on the child's face, his eyes on the child's eyes, his hands on the child's hands, his feet on the child's feet. He stretched himself out; he contracted himself. Though great, he made himself small. He contracted himself—in other words, he lessened himself. "For though He was in the form of God, He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:6-7).

What does it mean that he conformed himself, the living to the dead? Do you want to know what this means? Hear the Apostle: "God sent His Son" (Romans 8:3). What does it mean that he conformed himself to the dead? Let him explain; let him continue: "In the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:3). This is conforming the living to the dead: coming to us in the likeness of sinful flesh, not in sinful flesh itself.

Man lay dead in sinful flesh; the likeness of sinful flesh conformed itself to him. For Christ died, though He had no reason to die. He died, alone "Free among the dead" (Psalm 88:5), since all human flesh was sinful flesh. And how could it rise again if He who had no sin, conforming Himself to the dead, hadn't come in the likeness of sinful flesh?

O Lord Jesus, who suffered for us, not for Yourself, who had no guilt yet endured its punishment, so that You might dissolve both guilt and punishment at once!