What Are We Not Seeing?
As we read the four gospels in New Testament, one thing is abundantly clear; the Savior’s most significant challenge was convincing the people, especially the religious leaders, that he was the Son of God. This was not a vain ambition on his part but was, and still is, an essential key to the salvation of a fallen world. His message of hope and earthly mission was prophesied and anticipated for generations, yet those who should have been the most clued-in because of their constant focus on living the teachings of the law and the prophets didn’t get it. Even his disciples were somehow blind, as described in John 7:5, “For neither did his brethren believe in him.”
As I contemplated how the people could not understand the witness that the Savior bore concerning himself and his Father, I wondered where I would fit into the picture. Would I be an unbelieving disciple or a Pharisee? I have been a believer in God my whole life. Because of my background, I am sure I have biases and ideas about how things should be and how they should play out. Would my preconceptions blind me if the Savior contradicted my ideas of how things should be? Would I hold back in letting my long-held religious traditions and practices go, precluding me from opening my eyes and ears?
One thing that is clear to me is that my attitudes toward piety are changing. As my understanding grows, new light overshadows old ideas of worship, and some religious practices seem incomplete. Am I beginning to understand the teachings of Jesus more, or am I still blind?
At the Feast of the Tabernacles, Jesus taught in the temple, presumably among those who valued the temple, probably the most religious and learned of the people. The Savior challenged their preconceived ideas about those who were qualified to teach. “And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” Instead of their years of study and practice preparing them to hear the truth when it was plainly manifest to them, blindness and deafness caused by thinking they already knew the answers overcame them.
Jesus pointed out that testing the doctrine by practicing it was the way to know the truth and its source. Knowing their intent, he said, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?” They responded, “Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?”
As the Savior continued to preach, some began to believe, and others became more hardened against him. The division is illustrated in verses 40-41, “Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?” Because Jesus didn’t fit the idea of how and where the promised Messiah would come, more profound blindness came upon the leaders of the Jews.
In conclusion, the Savior explained what I have been trying to say in John 9:39-41, “And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” This condemnation came because those who should have known better didn’t or wouldn’t believe. They saw but refused to see and listened but refused to hear.
I can’t help thinking that there are things I am not seeing. Is it because I am unable or unwilling to change my preconceived notions? Am I so caught up in the narrative that I miss the story’s meaning? I hope we will all be willing to see things as they are, not how we think they should be. Without the willingness to put away pride and vanity, I fear our blindness will become more profound. That is something to consider constantly.