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20/10 BLINDNESS
“Look to Me and be saved, all the ends of
the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” Isaiah 45:22 (Amplified
Bible)
Normal eyesight is said to be 20/20. This means the individual has the ability to clearly see small detail from a distance of 20 feet. But it is possible to have a “perfect” eyesight of 20/10—the ability to see from 20 feet what the average person sees at 10. And that is why I chose the obvious oxymoron for the title of this article and reversal of terms to illustrate the “perfect” inability of the unregenerate man to see spiritual truth.
The God of the Bible—YAHWEH—has told the whole of mankind to “look to” Him for salvation because all other so-called “gods” are false. Idols are but representations of imaginary deities springing from the human mind, but Satan is a master at deceiving the masses into worshipping him by proxy through them! And thus we have a world filled to the brim with people who are completely blind to spiritual verities.
An incident took place during the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ (Yahweh in the flesh) that illustrates this principle vividly. In the ninth chapter of the Gospel according to John we see the Lord “setting up” the Pharisees to expose their incredible spiritual blindness. He did that by restoring the sight of a man who had been physically blind since birth. The exact age of the individual is not given, but we do know he “was of age” (vss.21 and 23)—i.e. an adult. Also we are told that the restoration of his sight was not only noted by those who were his neighbors (vs.8), but also others who knew about him because he was a beggar. So in all probability there were quite a few people who were involved in the excitement surrounding his newly found ability to see.
Of course this did not escape the attention of the Pharisees, especially when they learned that the man was claiming the restoration of sight was a miraculous healing by Jesus of Nazareth. And they could not allow that claim to go unchallenged because only God could do such a thing! So they pounced upon the man in question by insisting that he explain what had happened. But when his answers did not coincide with their criteria for believability, they began to grill both his parents—who then passed the buck back to their son, insisting that he was of age and able to speak for himself. They knew full well that a miracle had taken place, but were afraid to say so because it would mean being put out of the synagogue by the Pharisees. That tactic, if employed by the spiritual leadership, was for all intents and purposes to be made a “non-person” because the man and his wife would be totally ostracized as a consequence. No one would sell them food or provide shelter, so it would mean having to leave everything behind and move to a foreign country.
Then as the “hot seat interrogation” shifted back to the
son, the Pharisees did everything they could to make him deny that the
restoration of sight was a miraculous healing. But in actual point of fact they
were far more interested in proving
that Jesus did not do it than they were about discounting the miracle
itself. Why do you suppose they were that vehement in their opposition? The
answer is found back in the eighth chapter when the Lord made the following
statements to them as a group:
“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die
in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” John 8:24 (KJV, emphasis mine).
Note that the word “he” following the “I am” is in italics, thereby
indicating it was supplied by the translators. It is not in the original Greek
and by its insertion the full thrust of His declaration of deity was
somewhat obscured by the translation. However, during the same discourse He
made the following unmistakable declaration that He was God:
“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” John 8:58 (KJV, emphasis mine).
The words translated “I am” are ego
eimi in the original Koine Greek and have a literal meaning of “I exist”—which
the Pharisees correctly understood to be a claim that He was God, the self
existent One! Then their immediate response was to try to kill Him because
they thought He had committed blasphemy:
“Then took they up stones to cast at him:
but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of
them, and so passed by” John 8:59 (KJV,
emphasis mine).
And His “escape” was also miraculous! The word translated
“hid” (in the phrase “Jesus hid himself”) is very interesting in that it is the
Greek word krypto—which has the
literal meaning of “to conceal.” Our English word cryptography is derived from krypto and refers to the concealment of
messages by the use of secret codes. So when we look at the entire sentence in
context, we will find that the Lord did not merely run off and hide from them.
It says that He “hid himself, and went out of the
And this was not an isolated incident, because on at least
one other occasion the same thing happened when an enraged crowd tried to kill
Him:
“And rising up, they pushed and drove
Him out of the town, and [laying hold of Him] they led Him to the [projecting]
upper part of the hill on which their town was built, that they might hurl Him
headlong down [over the cliff]. 30 But passing through their
midst, He went on His way. Luke
4:29-30 (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).
By what other means could He have eluded the murderous intentions of these two different groups of people so easily? And is it not fairly obvious that those present would be left shaking their heads in amazement and asking, “Where did he go????!” Therefore, it just stands to reason that some among them realized His disappearance was miraculous.
The point I am trying to make is that over the entire length of His earthly ministry the Lord Jesus Christ performed one miracle after another to prove to all who had a brain to think with that He was God. But those who are spiritually dead are slaves of Satan and “perfectly blind” to such truth. And as we refer back to the healing of the blind man in John chapter nine we will see that principle demonstrated in the actions of the Pharisees.
In verse 24 they realize that they are “getting nowhere
fast,” so they stop questioning the parents and summon their formerly blind son
for the second time. Then in a change of tactics they exhort him to praise God
for His healing because “we know that this man (Jesus) is a sinner.” They were
forced to admit the miracle was genuine, but wanted him to agree with them that
Jesus was a sinner (the inference being that He was not God). However, the common
sense replies they received from him must have shocked them to the depths of
their being:
“Then he answered, I do not know whether He is
a sinner and wicked or not. But one thing I do know, that whereas I
was blind before, now I see” John 9:25
(Amplified Bible).
In other words, “You can split hairs if you want to, but I know Jesus healed me of blindness!” So that led to more questions about how it was done—questions that were irritating because he had already answered them during the first interrogation. Then in a classic example of “the perfect squelch,” he asked them if their repetition of questions indicated they wanted to become a disciple of Jesus themselves! Of course that hit a nerve and they angrily replied that they were disciples of Moses—to whom God spoke face to face (Ex.33:11)—but they did not know where “this fellow” (Jesus) came from. To this he gave a reply that could only have come from the Holy Spirit and it turned the tables on his inquisitioners:
“The man replied, Well, this is astonishing!
Here a Man has opened my eyes, and yet you do not know where He comes from.
[That is amazing!] 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners;
but if anyone is God-fearing and a worshiper of Him and does His will,
He listens to him. 32 Since the beginning of time it has
never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If
this Man were not from God, He would not be able to do anything like this” John 9:30-33 (Amplified Bible, emphasis
mine).
The logic was flawless and irrefutable. But rather than
acknowledge they had been blindsided by an “uneducated man,” the Pharisees
answered him by saying:
“…Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out” John 9:34 (KJV).
Because of their perfect 20/10 spiritual blindness, they excommunicated him from the synagogue and forced upon him the life of an outcast. But afterwards the Lord came to him and revealed that He was not merely “from God,” but in fact the very Son of God. And at that point the man exercised genuine faith and received Jesus as his Savior:
“Jesus heard that they had put him out, and
meeting him He said, Do you believe in and adhere to the Son of Man or
the Son of God? 36 He answered, Who is He, Sir? Tell me, that I
may believe in and adhere to Him. 37 Jesus said to him, You
have seen Him; [in fact] He is talking to you right now. 38 He
called out, Lord, I believe! [I rely on, I trust, I cleave to You!] And he
worshiped Him. 39 Then Jesus said, I came into this world for
judgment [as a Separator, in order that there may be separation between those
who believe on Me and those who reject Me], to make the sightless see and to
make those who see become blind. 40 Some Pharisees who were
near, hearing this remark, said to Him, Are we also blind? 41 Jesus
said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin; but because you now
claim to have sight, your sin remains. [If you were blind, you would not be
guilty of sin; but because you insist, We do see clearly, you are unable to
escape your guilt]” John 9:35-41
(Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).
The point we must not miss here is that the Lord not only gave the
man physical vision, but spiritual vision as well. Prior to the miraculous
healing he—like all men born into this world—was spiritually dead (Eph.2:1),
totally incapable of understanding that which is spiritually discerned (1
Cor.2:14), and could not please God (Rom.8:8-9). So where did his faith
originate?
“For by the grace (unmerited favor of God)
given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of
himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his
own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according
to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him” Romans 12:3 (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).
“And that we may be delivered from perverse
(improper, unrighteous) and wicked (actively malicious) men, for not everybody has faith and
is held by it” 2 Thessalonians 3:2 (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law”
Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV, emphasis
mine).
According to these verses we did not come into this world possessing innate
faith and if we are to receive it, God must intervene on our behalf to furnish
us with the amount He has ordained that we will have. Then it is our
responsibility to use it for His honor and glory.
A biblical principle is that to whom much is given, much is required
(Lk.12:48). So whether we receive great faith or minimal faith, to receive a
full reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ we must make the most of what He
gives us!
“But without faith it is impossible to please and
be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily]
believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and
diligently seek Him [out]” Hebrews 11:6
(Amplified Bible).
Do you really have faith? If you do others will be able to see it in action! The man whom Jesus Christ healed of blindness demonstrated the reality of his newly acquired faith by standing firm against the Pharisees—the most powerful and politically influential religious leaders of his day. And even though that confrontation wound up making him an outcast, he gained the greatest Friend anyone can ever have.
Is He your friend?
If you have been born again and received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.
If you have never placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, but have come to sense His reality and the approaching End of the Age, and want to receive His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you can do so now, in the privacy of your home. Once you truly believe in Him as Lord and Savior, you are spiritually Born Again, and are as assured of Heaven as if you were already there. Then, you can rest assured that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not touch you spiritually. If you would like to become Born Again, turn to our Salvation Page now.
We hope you have been blessed by this ministry, which seeks to educate and warn people, so that they can see the coming New World Order Kingdom of Antichrist in their daily news.
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God bless you