Can Your Guide See?

John 9:35-36

Jesus said, " For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.". Some Pharisees who were with Him heard Him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?" Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."

The physical healing of a blind man sparks the anger of the religious Pharisees. The man is thrown out of the synagogue for acknowledging Jesus as his healer. Jesus searches him out, and comes right to the point, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" The man asks who He is, so that he may believe in Him. Jesus tells him, "You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the One speaking with you." The man believes in Jesus and worships Him!

The Pharisees, who are there listening, ask if they are blind also. Interesting, because in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 23 we find Jesus calling the Pharisees blind guides, blind fools, blind men...

If you were climbing Mt. Everest, a life or death experience, would you put your trust in a guide that is blind?  No, that would most certainly result in death, especially in the case of a climber who had never been to the summit. Why then, do we trust "religious" guides who are blind?

These guides - the Pharisees - were shutting "the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces". (Matthew 23:13) They wouldn't enter the Kingdom by trusting in Christ and following Him, nor would they allow those who wanted to enter the Kingdom to do so. Their blindness would lead others to death because, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life..." (John 3:36) Though we are referring to the Pharisees from Jesus' time in this Scripture, would you not agree that there are many  who would guide us away from belief in Christ in our own day?

Are you following a blind guide? Or, more importantly, are you following Jesus?

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6