of the seeing and the blind

He's teaching me.  He's always teaching me.  

There is a certain folly to declaring oneself righteous, to saying, "how glad am I that I am free from the vices of the world!"  Thinking such things only leads to destruction.  The sentence is ever nearer if we think that we see clearly, for then we are deceived all the more severely and are revealed to be utterly blind (Jn 9:39-41).  Our wealth of wisdom, Christ came to make into folly.

What does it mean that Christ came to make the blind see and those who have sight, blind (Jn 9:39)?  I have struggled to understand this, for it doesn't quite fit the image of Him that has been unashamedly fostered by the Evangelical community.  We desire to view Jesus as a loving, gentle, all-inclusive, let-it-slide type of guy.  Does that match Christ's admission that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Mt 10:34)?  I think not.  On the contrary, Jesus' coming to the earth was meant to upset the religious system and the security which the people of God had built for themselves.  His coming created factions amongst the religious leaders and caused persecution for those whom Christ gave sight (Jn 9:24-34).  

The wisdom of the wise was frustrated.  The security of religious system was shattered.  The seeing became blind.

Jesus Christ, the only true Light (Jn 9:5), came into the world to dispel the darkness that enshrouds man.  All other “lights” were only pitiful copies, stemming from a depraved and sinful self.  When He was in this world, the folly of relying on works (whether intentionally or unintentionally) was exposed.  A system that had been thriving for decades crumbled at the seams.  

Jesus demonstrated in so many ways that the only way to be saved was through Him, not through our own efforts and what we can accomplish, but through His finished work and His forgiveness.   We can’t declare ourselves “seeing”, for Christ will prove us blind.  He needs to bring the sight.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

(Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)