BORN BLIND
OR
BLINDED BY FEAR
SUNDAY MAY 2, 2021
Scripture To Consider:
“They brought him who was formerly blind to the Pharisees. Now it was the Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said, ‘He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.’”
“Therefore some of the Pharisees said, ‘This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.’ Others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?’ And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, ‘What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?’ He said, He is a prophet.’ But the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been born blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’”
“His parents answered them, and said, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.’ His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews [the religious leaders] had agreed already that if anyone confessed that Jesus was the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’” John 9.13-23
Something To Consider:
These religious leaders were blinded by their fear of Jesus’ fame spreading like wildfire burning out of control. They were more concerned that Jesus would grow in popularity, then they were of a blind man receiving deliverance from a life of physical darkness.
These religious leaders were unwilling to rejoice at the healing of the blind man, so they attempted to convict Jesus once again of breaking the Sabbath. And we, if true believers in Jesus, abiding in Him and in His Word, we too will experience opposition from those unwilling to rejoice in the revealed works of God.
And as we fast approach the end of this age, the evil opposition to Christ, God’s Word, and those standing firm in the things of God, and the worldly pressure to conform to the evil around us will be great and continue to increase. Therefore, are we allowing God’s Word to prepare us for the end times? Are we allowing God’s Spirit to speak to our hearts concerning the coming tide of evil and the ever increasing and abounding lawlessness that is to permeate society?
Something Else To Consider:
After a division of opinions arose, the parents of the former blind man were called before the council. They too were blinded by their fear of the Jewish leaders’ threats that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ, of which means Messiah, would be excommunicated and refused entrance into their local place of worship. This was unthinkable to the Jewish worshipper of God. And so, they yielded to the threats of these so-called religious leaders.
Opposition to Christianity is now global! Open Doors published a world watch list in 2019, of 50 countries where it is most dangerous to be a Christian believer. In their publication violent aggression against Christians, governmental pressure, and the persecution of believers in Jesus is extensively documented.
Jesus proclaimed in Matthew 10.22; “And you [true born-again Christian living in whatever country] will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he [or she] who endures to the end [endures the hatred, the violence, the persecution, the excommunication, and even being put to death for My name’s sake] they shall be saved.”
If those written about in the Open Doors publication endure to the end of all the things mentioned in the above paragraph and more, as true believers, according to Jesus, they shall be saved. If we as well, endure to the end of the violence, if we endure to the end of the hatred, betrayals, persecution, and even the threats of death, we too shall be saved. What will we do when we realize that there will be no pre-tribulation rapture? Will we endure to the end or depart from the faith?
Something More To Consider:
John later wrote in 1 John 2.22, “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.” And again in 1 John 4.2, John declared, “By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus has come in the flesh is of God.”
And so these religious rulers took their place in history as some of the first who were filled with the spirit of the Antichrist, and all because they were blinded by their fear of Jesus. For if Jesus was who He claimed to be, then their sin would have been exposed. If Jesus was the Christ, then their false doctrines would be revealed as lies and fables from hell. And they were not about to allow their religious scam to be uncovered.
We would do well to remember the words of Paul to young Timothy found in 2 Timothy 1.7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Therefore, let us not be blinded by fear created by unbelieving religious fanatics, unbelieving political puppets of Satan, or our next-door neighbor driven by demonic hatred for Christ.
Let us not operate in the realm of physical fear, but in the spiritual realm of God’s power, God’s love, and a God-given sound and clear-thinking mind washed in and through the Word of God. This we must do as we see the impending perilous end times enveloping the world system. Evil must be overcome by the biblical knowledge of Jesus Christ and His promise of our obtaining salvation if we endure to the end of our lives or to the end of this age!
A Few Final Words:
Therefore, all born into the human race, are born spiritually blind. The majority, the many, according to the Word of God remain spiritually blinded by their fear of the truth. Therefore, the many never come to the saving knowledge of Jesus! And it is the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ that creates faith that is able to overcome any and all fears.
Fear is a disabling agent of the enemy that creates spiritual blindness if not corrected and cleansed by our confession of Christ. According to our Scripture to consider; “His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews [the religious leaders] had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He [Jesus] was the Christ, he [or she] would be put out of the synagogue.”
Jonathan and Melissa Helser wrote a song that was released in 2015, of which Zack Williams made famous, entitled, “No Longer Slaves.” The chorus line is, “I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God.” There is no greater truth if we are truly born again enduring to the end believers in Jesus. And if that is how our heavenly Father sees us, then we are no longer slaves to fear or to sin, but rather, we are the children of God!
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, thank You for Your not allowing us to be blinded by fear. Teach us to be willing to be bold for Jesus at all times and especially in these end times. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 