Conditions?

‘Why?’ questions are great. They can be the beginning of some very intriguing explorations into life. And to add to their mystique, ‘Why?’ questions can be answered accurately with a variety of answers. So, here’s a ‘Why?’ question: Why did Jesus come? There are quite a few ways to answer that question and all of them accurate. John provides us with several in the course of his Gospel. Here’s one answer straight from Jesus’ lips:

For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.

Now, we have an answer to our ‘Why?’ question. But it leads to other questions. For judgment? And what’s this ‘not seeing’ and ‘seeing’? What’s Jesus talking about? He’s not making sense. But, then again, Jesus said many things that were, at first, quite confusing. And He did that to get people to stop and think.

It helps to see this little saying in the context of the rest of what just happened. Jesus has just performed a miracle. The man born blind now sees. And when we get to the end of what occurred we’ll find that he comes to believe in Jesus. The Pharisees were also involved. They were certain that they knew all they needed to know. And so, they refused to believe. These two responses explain Jesus’ saying. When Jesus talks about ‘those who see’, He is referring to people like those Pharisees, people who make the bold claim, ‘I can see reality just fine’. He’s talking about the proud who will not listen. And when Jesus talks about ‘those who do not see’, He is referring to people like that man, people who admit that life is not nearly as clear to them as it might be. He’s talking about the humble who are ready to listen.

And that helps us to understand why Jesus has come. He has come to draw a clear line between the members of these two groups so that He might condemn the one and bless the other. Isn’t that what He said?

For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.

Jesus is doing the same thing here that Isaiah was commissioned to do. There’s Isaiah in the Temple, seeing the Lord, high and lifted up. And hearing God’s call, he volunteers. And what is it that God wants him to do? 

Go, and say to this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ ​Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.

Isaiah obeyed God’s call and by his preaching made a distinction between those who see and those who don’t. He did this within the Church of his day. That’s what Jesus came to do. He came to make the same distinction within the Church of His day.

That explains another prophet, John the Baptist. This is what he said about Jesus.

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

Jesus came to make a very clear distinction within His Church, to gather the wheat and to destroy the chaff.

So Jesus came. What did He find? Listen to what some were saying about Jesus after this miracle.

Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” 

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man [They’re talking about Jesus.] is a sinner.”

And listen to what happens when our formerly blind friend stands up for Jesus.

Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” The  Pharisees answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

In these different ways the Pharisees were saying, ‘We can see quite clearly. We know what’s going on. This Jesus is a fraud. We don’t have to listen to Him. And we’re not going to.’ They were quite blind. Their rejection of Jesus is the proof. These Jesus has come to curse. That’s the judgment that He was talking about.

But Jesus also encountered those who knew that there is much that they could not clearly see. These are ready to listen, ready to be taught, ready to respond well to Jesus. These are like our formerly blind friend. Consider what happened to him.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

Seeing Jesus, really seeing Jesus, he believed and worshiped. Jesus had blessed him with the ability to see more clearly. The miracle is a parable.

Jesus came to make a distinction in His Church between those who really do see, though not as clearly as they would like, and those who really don’t see at all, though they insist that they do. Jesus came to bless the one and to curse the other. And He continues to do that down to our own day. He still gathers the wheat, those who respond well to Him, and He still condemns the chaff because they can’t see and refuse to admit it. That’s what Jesus’ little saying is about.

Now, there are two things from this that I want you to consider. Here’s the first. If Jesus continually makes this sort of distinction in His Church, then your relationship with the Father is conditional. Jesus will either bless you or curse you depending on what He finds in your life. This notion of conditions popped up a couple of weeks ago in the Scripture reading from 1 Samuel. Listen again to what a man of God said to Eli, the priest.

Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.

What is this? God made a promise and then, what else can we say, He unmade it. The promise was revoked, rescinded, annulled. Why? The conditions were not being met. God’s promises are conditional. Those who meet the conditions are blessed and those who don’t are like the chaff that Jesus has come to condemn. I hope that you’re thinking that this is a scary thought. You should be thinking that because it is!

That’s the first thing for you to consider. Here’s the second. If Jesus continues to make that same distinction in His Church, if He continues to look to see whether the conditions are being met, then there is something that you really need to know. You need to know what the conditions are. But this is no great secret. The conditions boil down to one thing: faith in Jesus. But ‘faith in Jesus’ can become just some church words. So, let’s ask this. What kind of faith is Jesus looking for? Jesus’ words here answer our question. He has come ‘that those who do not see may see’. He’s looking for a faith that says, ‘I don’t see just fine.’ He is looking for a faith that is aware of its weakness and its need. And that awareness isn’t a one-time thing. It’s an all-the-time thing. Jesus is looking for a faith that is continually aware that it isn’t doing that well.

Let me give you an example of someone who did not see all that clearly, someone whose faith was weak and who knew it. I’m talking about the father who came to Jesus with his demon‑possessed boy. As his son is in the throes of a fit caused by the demon, this father pleads with Jesus.

But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.

And how does Jesus respond to this?

‘If you can’? All things are possible for one who believes.

What the father says next reveals his heart.

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

What is this? It’s a clear admission: ‘I’m no paragon of faith. I know that there are problems with my believing. My faith is weak with lots of unbelief mixed in. But please help us!’ And what does Jesus do? He has found what He was looking for and so He blesses the man. He rescues his son.

Please understand. I don’t point to that father as a model of what we ought to be when it comes to our faith in Jesus. I mention him because he is a model of what we are. Will we ever get to the point of having a faith that never doubts, a faith that is completely purified from sin? Not in this life. But you should not despair because of that. Remember, Jesus blessed that father. He met the condition.

So, Jesus comes to His Church, comes to you, to make that distinction. What’s He looking for? He’s looking for faith, an ongoing faith in Him. But He’s not looking for someone who is sure in his or her faith, no doubts, no struggles. ‘I’m doing just fine.’ That sounds too much like those who are actually blind. Jesus is looking for a faith that knows its weakness, a faith that sees a bit, but not all that clearly, a faith that all too often blows it. Jesus is looking for people who know that they don’t see at all clearly - but want to! Jesus blesses people who, with their doubting faith, say, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’ It’s these people who meet the conditions.

And that gives a clue to knowing which group you’re in. Those who know that they don’t see all that well but want to – these people pray. They pray in the midst of their doubts. They pray in the midst of their sins. They are aware of these failings in themselves. And that’s why they pray. They understand their need, their weakness. But there is something that they can see, not always so clearly, but well enough. They can see that Jesus has come for people like them. He has come to bless them with better sight. So, they pray. Oh, they don’t pray well. They can be so undisciplined in their praying. It’s off and on, new resolve and another failure. But when they do pray, they pray honest prayers. They pray like that father. They pray because they know that there is no hope for them apart from Jesus. In their weakness, they pray. These are the wheat, gathered by Jesus. These are the ones He will bless.

But what if this does not describe you? What if your prayers aren’t all that honest? What if there isn’t that awareness of weakness? Could that be evidence that you think that you can see well enough? Could that be evidence of blindness? Could it be that you are chaff about to be condemned by Jesus? If this is you, be aware that you are in the place of danger. Remember, Jesus continually comes to His Church to make that distinction. He continually comes to His Church to bless and to curse. But there is still hope. There is time to repent. But be careful what you repent of. The problem isn’t your prayer life. That’s just a symptom. The problem is your sin of thinking you can see just fine. The problem is the sin of your pride. So, if you need to repent, that’s what you need to repent of.

But I hope that you all can say that you are in the first group, those who know their weakness, who know that they don’t see all that well, but want to. Be encouraged. Yes, Jesus is looking for faith, but not a perfect faith. He just wants a real faith, with all of its doubts and sins. Remember, He has come ‘… that those who do not see may see …’ These He will bless.