Can You See Me?
Jesus then said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.”
Some Pharisees overheard him and said, “Does that mean you’re calling us blind?”
Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.”
“Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.” (John 9:39-10:5)
Jesus had forsaken diplomacy when it came to his relationship with the Pharisees. After healing a man born blind, Jesus told them that he wasn’t trying to be obscure with his teaching. Instead, he was trying to make everything as clear as possible, so that those who didn’t understand would come to understand, while those who claimed to know it all would be shown for what they were: clueless.
The Pharisees were clued in enough to realize that Jesus was insulting them, calling them blind. So Jesus gave them an illustration to further make his point—in case his insult wasn’t already clear enough for them. He told the Pharisees that they were up to no good, like robbers sneaking into a sheepfold. The sheep—God’s people—would not listen to them. But they would listen to Jesus, because he was speaking with a familiar voice—the voice of God that all of God’s people recognized if they really understood the Scripture and really loved him.
God loves sinners. With the tax collectors his love was gentle. With the Pharisees, it was harsh. In both cases, Jesus wanted repentance.
God’s people recognize when something or someone is from God. If it isn’t from God, they may not know precisely what’s wrong, beyond the fact that it isn’t the sound of the one they love with all their hearts.
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