Whenever reading these two verses, I felt confused: Those who can see become blind sinners yet the blind people are able to see and have no sin; upon which people will these words be accomplished? How to receive these words of the Lord Jesus in the correct way? For this, I had sought help from many pastors and elders, but all of them could just explain the scriptures according to their literal meaning. And their explanations were confusing and made me perplexed. With the questions, I had ever referred to many spiritual writings, but still failed to find the answer in the end.
It was not until I got acquainted with a preacher by chance that the puzzle having bothered me for a long time was finally answered through his fellowship.
At that time, the brother communicated with me patiently on this problem and said: “To understand the truth of these words, we need to start with the story of the Lord Jesus healing the blind. The Bible recorded a blind man who was cured by the Lord Jesus. Though his naked eyes could see nothing, his conscience still existed and his spiritual eyes remained bright. At that time, the Lord Jesus performed many signs in His preaching and work, which shocked up the entire Jewish state. Thus, one day when the blind man came across the Lord Jesus luckily, he asked the Lord to heal his eyes by his faith in Him. The Lord Jesus answered his request and cured his eyes right away, making him see the light. Having personally experienced the authority and power of the Lord Jesus, the blind people affirmed the Lord Jesus to be Christ who had come from God. He then said a few words which were recorded in the Bible and passed down to today. The words were: ‘Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing’ (John 9:32-33).
From the matter of the Lord Jesus healing the blind, we can see that when God comes to judge the world, He will make those who cannot see be able to see. Here, the people who cannot see refer to those like the blind man who was cured by the Lord Jesus. Just like the patients in need of urgent treatment from a doctor, these people, having suffered the ravages of Satan, are eager for the salvation of God naturally. Aware that they are poor, pitiable, blind, and ignorant, they develop more of a thirst for the coming of the light and the truth. So when God comes to do His work, they seek the truth humbly, and thereby seeing God’s appearance and wondrous deeds and keeping up with the footsteps of God’s work. As the Lord Jesus said: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 5:3). ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled’ (Matthew 5:6). ‘For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened’ (Matthew 7:8). Thus, for those who sought God’s appearance and work humbly and followed God after hearing His voice, they all received the salvation of God. The Lord forgave their sins, and said that they had no sin.
However, those who can see were sinners. Then what people does ‘but now you say, We see; therefore your sin remains’ refer to? They are the ones who think that they know and understand everything, and who are accustomed to using their own notions and imaginations to measure God and God’s work. They are not able to receive God’s enlightenment for they have no fear of God and do not seek the truth humbly. In the eyes of God, they are truly the blind people with their hearts in darkness. Just like the chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees, who were in a prominent position in the temple. When the Lord Jesus did His work, they believed that knowing the Bible well, they knew God best. Nevertheless, during the appearance and work of the Lord Jesus, they were revealed as antichrists against God.
The Pharisees could see but did not know the incarnate Lord Jesus; they were much more pathetic, pitiable and detestable than the blind people. When the Lord Jesus did His work and preached, He performed many signs and wonders that shocked the Jewish state, and many people believed in and followed Him. Whereas, the Pharisees stubbornly clung to the biblical letters and doctrines and religious notions, thinking that as long as He was not called the Messiah, He was not Christ, regardless of how profound and practical His preaching was. Although they felt terrified and afraid when they personally saw that the words and work of the Lord Jesus had authority and power, yet they still refused to admit that the Lord Jesus was Christ, the Messiah. This just fulfilled the Lord Jesus’ word: ‘That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand …’ (Mark 4:12).
The Pharisees were forfeited by their own conceptions and imaginations and their arrogant and conceited nature. Though living in the period of God incarnate doing His work, they did not seek and investigate the Lord Jesus’ work and words, but frantically condemned and opposed the Lord Jesus. Not only did they not accept Him, but they even obstructed others from returning to Him. As a result, those cowardly and scared people lacking in their own views, who were deceived and controlled by them, dared not receive the true way and keep up with the footsteps of the Lord, but instead, worked together with the Pharisees to resist God and nailed the Lord Jesus onto the cross. Finally, they were punished and received retribution from God, being subjected to the loss of their nation.
Comparing the blind people who had faith in the Lord with the arrogant and conceited Pharisees, we can easily understand why the Lord Jesus said that those who thought they could see were blind sinners. Whether in the Age of Grace or in the last days, all those who regard themselves as the people who know the Bible best and understand God are arrogant people. If they do not reflect on themselves, humbly seek the truth, and look out for the work of the Holy Spirit and the utterances of God, they will forever be the people blind in spirit and shall never gain the enlightenment and guidance of God or keep up with God’s footsteps, but will live under the influence of Satan and be bound and controlled by sin perpetually.”
After listening to this brother’s fellowship, I understood a lot and felt very delighted. It was the greatest gain I had ever obtained since I believed in the Lord. Turned out that when the Lord said that people were blind, He did not mean that their naked eyes were blind, but that their spiritual eyes were blind, they were unable to know God and receive His salvation through His words and work. The different behaviors of the blind and the Pharisees led to their different outcomes, as recorded in the Bible, which displayed God’s righteousness and faithfulness.
Having learned a lesson from the history, I warned myself secretly: In regard to receiving the Lord’s return in the last days, I should never cling to my own notions and imaginations and be arrogant and conceited like the Pharisees, but should focus on hearing the voice of God like a wise virgin, and seek the truth humbly. Only in this way can I keep up with God’s footsteps, receive the Lord’s return, and be taken into the kingdom of heaven.
Recommended:
Almighty God's Word "What a Real Man Means" | The Church of Almighty God
Almighty God's Word "Are You a True Believer of God?" | Eastern Lightning
No comments:
Post a Comment