Spiritual Blindness

“If you were blind you would not be guilty of sin, but now that you claim to see your sin remains.” (John 9:41) The part about being blind makes you not guilty of sin–to whom would that apply? Does that mean that if someone is blind to their sin they’re not accountable for it in some way?

Q. “If you were blind you would not be guilty of sin, but now that you claim to see your sin remains.” (John 9:41)

The part about being blind makes you not guilty of sin–to whom would that apply? Does that mean that if someone is blind to their sin they’re not accountable for it in some way? Or does it mean that if they didn’t know it was a sin, but they acted in good conscience, they’re o.k.?

A. Blindness is a physical disability. A blind person is not accountable for his inability to see. Jesus was speaking metaphorically to the Pharisees in reference to their spiritual blindness. Had they been intellectually unable to comprehend God’s word, they would not have been held accountable for knowing it. But having claimed that they were capable by presenting themselves as experts, they were also accountable. Their sin was in not recognizing Jesus as their Messiah even though He was fulfilling prophecies from their Scriptures right before their eyes.