John 9, 39 to 41, that they which see not might see

 

John 9:39 ¶  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. 40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Now notice the definition of judgment here. This is judgment as in distinction of one thing from another thing. One reason Jesus came into the world was to reveal the truth to those which might receive it but hadn’t and to shut off the truth from those who which should have seen it but didn’t. He distinguishes between those who claim to be God’s people but work against God’s will and those who would do God’s will if they understood it. He opens their eyes.

This revealing of intentions is a primary work of the Bible.

Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Here is a prophecy of Christ from the Old Testament with a similar focus;

  Isaiah 42:1 ¶  Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2  He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3  A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4  He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

    5 ¶  Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 6  I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7  To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

In Paul’s recounting of his encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus he reported this;

Acts 26:15  And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. 16  But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; 17  Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 18  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

For the religious elite and those who are self-righteous and full of their own spiritual greatness God cuts off their access to light and understanding. For those who hunger and thirst after His righteousness God opens their eyes to receive the truth. This brings to mind a very important point about the Christian’s relationship to God’s written word, which is a type of Jesus Christ in print, and a contrast with today where few read their Bible diligently expecting God to speak to them through it and the early church as well as England around the time of the Authorized Version’s publication.

The Cambridge History of the Bible quotes Harnack’s Bible-reading in the Early Church compiled and written in the early 20^th century to reveal that Clement of Rome writes to the church of Corinth around 95AD to say to everyone, not just to the pastors, “Ye know the Scriptures.” Polycarp, a few years later, writes to the Christians at Philippi, “I trust you are well exercised in the Scriptures.” A few decades later Irenaeus wants every Christian to eat of every Scripture of the Lord. Clement of Alexandria talked about Scripture reading at home before the main meal of the day and he wanted married people to study the Bible together. A later document describes people visiting each other’s homes to read the Scriptures. Another document ordered Christians to meditate on the word of the Lord continually and not to read non-Christian literature. Chrysostom wanted Christians to call their neighbors together to read the Scriptures.(13)

This was also prevalent a thousand years later in England. As early as 1536 it was reported by Bishop Foxe, “The lay people do know the Holy Scriptures.” In 1538 Archbishop Cranmer insisted to the clergy that, “none of you shall discourage any laymen from the reading of the Bible…, but encourage them to it, admonishing them that they so read it for reformation of their own life and knowledge of their duty; and that they be not bold or presumptuous in judging matters afore they have perfect [as in complete] knowledge.” See judging as in discerning and understanding, as in seeing the truth, as Jesus spoke of in the verses mentioned. Bishop Hopper said of every one, “of what degree so ever he be, should cause his family and children to read some part of the Bible for their erudition, to know God.” An author, Godfrey Davis, said of the early seventeenth century, “At that time Englishmen studied the Bible with an intensity probably never equaled, and it is hardly possible to read a speech or writing of any length without perceiving its indebtedness to the Authorized Version.”(14)

The Bible, God’s principle way of speaking to His people, cannot be substituted for by conscience or conviction. We cannot judge nor discern any matter correctly without its words in our heart. I would go further to say that if our heart is not rightly submitted to Christ when we come to it we will be blocked out of what it has for us but even if we stumble at reading and have trouble with understanding, if our hearts are right God will open our eyes to it. Jesus came to open the eyes of them that were blind and to shut off sight to those who thought they could see but disobeyed God’s will and replaced their own. Remember that the next time a celebrity preacher or politician tells you that God has laid something on his or her heart. Did God open his eyes or did God blind him? We know only from God’s word as written, in context, with trust.

Jesus condemns the Pharisees because while they claimed to be the enlightened ones, they were defying God’s will. Their religion was the product of their own will no less than the apostate Jews of the former kingdoms of Israel and Judah and they merited God’s punitive judgment because they would not believe Jesus Christ. They have no excuse because they claim to be enlightened and Christ has revealed Himself to them and yet they still wallow in their unbelief.

(13) S.L. Greenslade, ed. The Cambridge History of the Bible, Volume 3: The West from the Reformation to the Present Day (London: Cambridge University Press, 1963), 489.

(14) Ibid., 492.