35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39 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.”
40 Some Pharisee’s who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”
41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see. – John 9 (NLT)
Jesus had just healed a blind man and had caused quite a stir. The Pharisee were furious with him, the man’s parents were wimps, and the crowd was likely just watching and keeping their mouth shut. Only this kid had the guts to tell it like it was: he didn’t know much but knew that he was once blind and can now see. He would come to see that Jesus was the son of God.
In this context Jesus again states his purpose.
1. To give sight to the blind
2. To judge the blinded (the "religious" - those who think they can see).
He came for the non-believer and the religious. But, what about those who were God-centered people who had it all together? Those who were neither blind nor hypocrites?He did not come for them. He did not come for sold out church folk. That is a hard one to swallow.
A note to those who are Christ-centered people. Those who would show marks of devotion through prayer, study, giving, and serving – God does not exist for us. His passion is not to get us- he already has us. Does he love us? Yes. Does he want the best for us? Absolutely. Does he want to bless us? You bet. But we are not his target. We are not his passionate focus. His focus is for those who have no idea who he is, and those who think they know but are mistaken. But, but, what about us? What about the God-centered people who do all that he asks?
He has for us a great adventure.
He invites us to be part of his cause. He invites us to join the millions throughout history who have served the heart of God by focusing on the blind and the blinded. What could be better than that?
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photo by violator3