John 9:40-41

Some Pharisees had been listening in on Jesus’ conversation with the restored man. They suspected that Jesus might be referring to them when He spoke of the spiritually blind (John 9:39). They wanted to make sure that Jesus was not accusing them of spiritual blindness since they considered themselves the most enlightened among the Jews.

Jesus replied to them in irony. He said that if they were blind spiritually and realized their need for enlightenment they would not be guilty of sin, specifically unbelief, because they would accept Jesus’ teaching. However, they did not sense their need and felt quite satisfied that they understood God’s will correctly. Consequently they did not receive the light that Jesus offered. They were wise in their own eyes, but really they were fools (Proverbs 26:12). Their sin of unbelief remained with them, and they remained in their sin and under God’s condemning wrath (John 3:36). Light causes some eyes to see, but it blinds other eyes. Jesus’ revelations had the same effects.

"By contrast [with the increasing perception of the man born blind] the Pharisees, starting with the view that Jesus is not from God (John 9:16), question the miracle (John 9:18), speak of Jesus as a sinner (John 9:24), are shown to be ignorant (John 9:29), and finally are pronounced blind and sinners (John 9:41)." [Note: Morris, p. 432.]

"If the Pharisees had been really blind, if they had had no understanding of spiritual things at all, they would not have sinned in acting as they did (cf. Romans 5:13). They could not be blamed for acting in ignorance [cf. 1 Timothy 1:13]. They would then not have been acting in rebellion against their best insights. But they claim to see. They claim spiritual knowledge. They know the law. And it is sin for people who have spiritual knowledge to act as they do." [Note: Ibid., p. 442.]

The deceitfulness of sin often makes those who are in the greatest need of divine revelation and illumination think that they are the most enlightened of human beings. Only the Spirit of God using the Word of God can break through that dense darkness to bring conviction of spiritual blindness and to create openness to the truth (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:6-16).

". . . it is precisely when men say that they see, and because they say that they see, that their sin remaineth. They continue to be guilty men, however unconscious of their guilt." [Note: Tasker, p. 126.]

This chapter advances the revelation of Jesus’ true identity that was one of John’s primary objectives in this Gospel. It also shows that as the light of this revelation became clearer, so did the darkness because some people prefer the darkness to the light (John 3:19).

"This miracle is a sign that Jesus can open the eyes of the spiritually blind so that they can receive the complete sight which constitutes perfect faith. Faith means passing from darkness to light; and to bring men this faith, to give them the opportunity of responding when the divine Spirit draws them to Himself, is the primary purpose for which Jesus has been sent into the world." [Note: Ibid., pp. 122-23. See also Howard, pp. 73-75.]