Please help me understand what God is saying in John 9:41.
In verses 1-7 of this chapter, we read of how the Lord Jesus gave sight to a man who had been blind from birth. He performed this miracle on the Sabbath day. The rest of the chapter deals with people’s reaction to what the Lord had done. We read in John 9:16, “Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.” We read in verses 24-25, “Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” We read more of the words of the man who had been blind in verses 32-33, “Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.” We see there was a great division among the people about who the Lord Jesus was. Some said he was a sinner. Some said that a sinner could not do such a miracle. The blind man who was healed said the Lord Jesus must be of God.
The Lord Jesus was very good at taking the circumstances around Him and using them to teach lessons. The topic being discussed was blindness, so the Lord used that opportunity to declare in John 9:39, “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.” Although He had just healed a man of ‘physical blindness’, He now begins to speak to them about ‘spiritual blindness’. Although he would later say, “I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” (John 12:47), the Lord is saying here that He had come to preach the truth in such a way that it would try, or judge, men’s hearts. He came to show men their true state. What they did with that would determine their judgment. To those who were blind, He came to give them sight. Some would listen to Him and acknowledge their blindness and sinfulness, to them He would give eternal life. Some refused to see their true sinful condition, to them He would leave in their darkness where their sin and resulting judgment would be greater than if Christ had never come into the world.
The Pharisees perceived that the Lord was talking about them and responded in verse 40, “Are we blind also?” It was with great outrage that they asked this question. They who were the spiritual leaders of their times were full of pride and arrogance and were greatly offended by the Lord’s words. They realized the Lord was talking about them, but would not consider the fact that they were indeed blind.
Now let’s read the Lord’s response in verse 41, “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” For those who are admittedly blind, there is mercy and grace to give forgiveness of sin. For those who refuse to admit their blindness by declaring that they do see, their sin remains upon them and they are condemned by their own rejection of the Lord.
We are all born blind. Without Christ, we live in darkness. Will you admit your blindness (your sinfulness) and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved? Or, will you refuse to admit you are a sinner and have a need of the savior, Jesus Christ? If so, you retain your sinful state and will die in your sins. The Lord said in John 8:24, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” (263.6)