John 9:39 - Meaning and Application

Christ had just spoken comfort to the man who was persecuted, and now he speaks warning to his persecutors. This gives us a picture of how trouble and rest will be divided at the great day (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7). It is likely this was not spoken immediately after the healing, but at the next chance Christ had to speak to the Pharisees.

Christ first explains why he came into the world: “For judgment I am come” (John 9:39). That means he came to direct and govern the great affairs of God’s kingdom among people, with authority to judge in line with God’s wise plan. What he said here was not just the voice of a preacher in a pulpit, but of a king on his throne and a judge on the bench.

His work in the world was great. He came, as it were, to hold a court and to carry out a great release. He came for judgment in several senses. First, he came to preach a doctrine and law that would test people and reveal who they really were, and that would serve as the rule of government now and of judgment later. Second, he came to make a clear division among people by uncovering the thoughts of many hearts and showing their true character through their response to him. Third, he came to change the shape of God’s government in his church, to end the Jewish system, which had been set up by God for a time but had become old, corrupt, and dangerous, and to establish a new order with new commands and offices. He came to end Judaism and establish Christianity, and that was a great turning point.

He explains this with the miracle he had just done. He came so that those who could not see might see, and so that those who thought they saw might become blind. This difference is often seen in Christ’s coming. To some, the gospel becomes life; to others, death.

This can be applied to nations and peoples. The Gentiles, who had long lacked the light of God’s revelation, were to receive it. The Jews, who had long enjoyed that light, were to have the things belonging to their peace hidden from their eyes (Hosea 1:10; Hosea 2:23). The Gentiles see a great light, while blindness has come upon Israel, and their eyes are darkened.

It also applies to individual people. Christ came into the world on purpose to give sight to those who were spiritually blind. By his word he reveals the truth, and by his Spirit he heals the inner eye, so that many precious souls may turn from darkness to light. He came, in this sense, to set free those willing to leave their dark prison (Isaiah 61:1). But in the end, those who think they already see are made blind. People who are proud of their own wisdom, and set it against God’s truth, are given over to ignorance and unbelief. The preaching of the cross is foolishness, and it becomes a blinding thing, to those who, by worldly wisdom, do not know God.

Christ came to rule a spiritual kingdom in people’s minds. Under the Jewish church, God’s blessings and judgments were mostly seen in outward, earthly things. Now that way of dealing would change. The good citizens of his kingdom would be blessed with spiritual blessings in heavenly things, including true understanding. The rebels would be punished with spiritual judgments, not with war, famine, and pestilence as before, but with a darkened mind, a hardened heart, a troubled conscience, strong delusion, and sinful desires. In this way Christ judges between the sheep, or cattle, as Ezekiel says (Ezekiel 34:17, 22).

The Pharisees objected to this. They stood with him, not to learn anything good, but to find something evil against him. They asked, “Are we blind also?” When Christ said that those who thought they saw would be made blind by his coming, they took it as aimed at them. They were the leaders, the teachers, the learned men, the people who claimed insight. So they were saying, in effect, “We know the common people are blind, but are we blind too? Are we, the rabbis and scholars, blind as well?” It was an insult to their status.

Often those who need rebuke most can hear an implied rebuke clearly enough, but lack the grace to bear a true one. These Pharisees took the correction as an insult, like the lawyers who said, “Are you saying we are blind too?” (Luke 11:45). Nothing hardens a sinful heart more against God’s word than the high opinion others have of it. People often assume that whatever wins praise from men must also be accepted by God, but that is false. God does not see as man sees.

Christ’s answer did not necessarily convince them, but it did silence them: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, We see, therefore your sin remains.” They were proud that they were not blind like the common people. They thought they were not so easily led, and that they had enough wisdom to guide themselves. Christ tells them that the very thing they boasted in was their shame and ruin.

If they had been truly blind, their sin would not have been as heavily charged against them. If they had really been ignorant, like the poor Gentiles, or like many of their own poor subjects from whom they had taken away the key of knowledge, then they would have had comparatively less sin. God overlooked the times of ignorance. Unavoidable ignorance does not make sin right, but it does lessen guilt. It will be easier for those who perish through lack of light than for those who rebel against the light.

If they had known their own blindness, and if they had seen their need for someone to lead them, they would have gladly received Christ as their guide. Then they would have had no sin in this sense, because they would have submitted to the righteousness of the gospel and been brought into a justified state, that is, made right with God. Those who know they are sick are in a good place to be healed, because self-confidence is one of the greatest barriers to the salvation of souls.

But now you say, “We see.” You have knowledge, and you have been taught by the law, so your sin is greatly increased. Since you think you understand things already, and believe you can see your own way better than anyone else can show it to you, your sin remains. Your case is desperate, and your disease cannot be healed.

Those who refuse to see are blind, but the blindness of those who think they already see is even more dangerous. No patients are harder to treat than people in a frenzy who insist they are well and nothing is wrong with them. The sin of proud, self-confident people remains because they reject the gospel of grace. So the guilt of their sin is still unforgiven, and because they shut out the Spirit of grace, the power of their sin stays unbroken.

Do you see a wise man who is proud of his own wisdom? Do you hear the Pharisees say, “We see”? There is more hope for a fool, a tax collector, or a prostitute than for such people.