SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS

John 9:35-41
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Spiritual Blindness

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 Pharisees 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.


There is spiritual blindness with guilt attached. This was NOT the problem of the man born blind. This problem belonged to the Pharisees.

The man born blind received his physical sight and wanted to believe in the One who performed this miracle in his life.

The Pharisees had physical sight, were learned men in the Law and claimed to be enlightened. Yet when the One of whom they had learned about from the prophets … the One whom they were waiting to come … the One they were searching for … arrived, their spiritual blindness would not allow them to see Him.

They were guilty because they were depending on sight that came from the eyes (head knowledge) instead of sight that comes from the heart (belief).