To understand the concept of having our eyes “opened” in a spiritual sense, we need to consider what it means to have our eyes “closed.”
In scripture, physical blindness is often used as a metaphor for lack of understanding and lack of faith. Such blindness comes from failing to perceive the truths that underlie the observed facts. As a corollary symbol, the physically blind occasionally symbolize the spiritually blind.
This article provides a representative sampling of verses throughout scripture which use blindness to represent unbelief. We will note that the symbol is used very widely and we will be citing verses to which we plan to allude in future articles.
Most of the examples concern the Jews, but there are a couple about Gentiles. And, if they are not careful, even disciples of Christ can become spiritually blind.
In the Torah
Moses uses the metaphor in his exhortations to the generation of Israelites who were about to enter the land of promise.
Blindness, Israel’s curse for disobedience
After listing the blessings that would result from obedience, Moses continues, “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God…The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: and thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee” (Dt. 28:15,28-29).
That this blindness is spiritual blindness is made clear by the rest of the curses (28:34,67). Unfaithful Israel will be able to see the evils that God will bring upon them for their disobedience. But their understanding will be blinded. They will grope for answers. “Why has this happened to us?” And as we will see in later articles, only after they realize that their own unbelief is the true cause of the destruction will God restore their spiritual sight, forgiving them of their sins, and blessing them with the fulfilled promises.
No eyes to see
Israel saw the plagues in Egypt and their own deliverance from Egyptian slavery. They still did not trust their God. They crossed the Red Sea on dry ground and were fed and watered in the wilderness. They still did not trust their God. Their lack of faith caused them to rebel against God. So God started over with their children, destroying the unfaithful parents in the wilderness. Moses exhorts those children, “Ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; the great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and the great miracles: yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and cars to hear, unto this day” (DL 29:2-4). They saw the miracles, but, because God had not yet given them “eyes to see,” they did not truly understand them.
In the Prophets
The metaphor is found in the prophets, especially in Isaiah.
The Lord commissions Isaiah
The Lord calls Isaiah and says to him, “Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed” (Isa. 6:9-10).
There are at least four applications of this prophecy: (1) to Isaiah’s day; (2) when Jesus explains why he taught in parables (ML 13); (3) when Jesus explains why the Jews could not believe in him (Jn. 12); and (4) when the Jews fail to respond to Paul’s preaching in Rome (Acts 28).
Each time the Jews refuse to believe God’s word spoken by the prophet.
The Lord’s “blind” servant, witnesses, watchmen
Isaiah condemns Israel’s lack of faith. She is God’s blind servant whom He calls as a witness to establish the truth of His word.
God expresses His exasperation with His servant Israel in these same terms, “Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant? Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not” (Isa. 42:18-20).
Consequently, God calls Israel to be His witnesses. “Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears” (Isa. 43:8). As ironic as it is, God’s blind and deaf people are indeed the best witnesses to the truth of His prophetic word.
Israel confesses
At last, Israel acknowledges that its spiritual blindness is the cause of its problems: “…We wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noon day as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men” (Isa. 59:9-10; cp. Dt. 28:28-29).
Jeremiah and Ezekiel
Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel use blindness to represent rebellious Israel’s lack of understanding. “Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, Hear now this, 0 foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not” (Jer. 5:20-21).
“Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house” (Ezek. 12:2). The emphasis on “in their sight” (7 times in vv. 3-8) proves that Israel’s blindness is spiritual rather than physical.
In the Writings
Besides the law and the prophets, the metaphor is also found in the writings. “Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not” (Psa. 69:23). “They have wandered as blind men in the streets” (Lam. 4:14).
In the Gospels
This use of blindness to represent unbelief is continued in the New Testament.
Jesus is grieved by the blindness of their hearts
At the healing of the man with a withered hand, the Pharisees in the synagogue watched to see if Jesus would heal him on the sabbath. After Jesus “had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved by the blindness of their hearts” (Mk. 3:5 AVm), he restores the man’s hand. Immediately, the Pharisees take counsel with the Herodians how they might destroy him. Their lack of understanding and blatant unbelief manifests itself in their actions.
Why parables?
“The disciples came, and said unto [Jesus], Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given…Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith [Isa. 6:9-10]…their eyes are closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear” (Mt. 13:10,11,13-16). In Mark, Jesus interprets “I should heal them” to mean “their sins should be forgiven them” (Mk. 4:12).
Blind leaders of the blind
Jesus warns his disciples, saying, “Let [the Pharisees] alone: they be blind leaders of the blind, both shall fall in the ditch” (Mt. 15:10-14; cp. Mt. 23:16,17,19,24,26).
Later, when Paul writes to the Jewish believers in Rome, “Thou art called a Jew…and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness” (Rom. 2:17,19), he is warning them to be careful that they not end up like the Pharisees, blinded by a lack of faith.
Are we blind also?
Unfortunately for the unbelieving Pharisees, by denying that they were blind, they became responsible for their sins. “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” (Jn. 9:39-41).
In the Acts
Paul “expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading [the Jews in Rome] concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Spirit by Esaias the prophet unto [your, RV] fathers, saying, [Isa. 6:9-101. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it” (Acts 28:23-28).
In Paul’s Letters
Paul uses this same idea in his letters.
The rest were blinded
Paul writes to the Romans, “Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber [Isa. 29:101, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day [Dt. 29:4]. And David saith [Psa. 69:22-23]…Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see” (Rom. 11:7-10). Note that Paul proves his claim that the rest of Israel were blinded by citing evidence from the law, the prophets, and the writings.
Membership in the olive tree of true spiritual Israel is based on faith (11:11- 24). Israel had been broken off for their unbelief; and Gentiles could be broken off for the same reason. Gentiles were grafted in because of their faith; and Jews could be grafted back in on the same basis.
“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25).
Their minds were blinded
“Their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart…But if the gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Cor. 3:14-15; 4:3-4).
The Blindness of the Gentiles
The same metaphor is applied to the Gentiles.
The blindness of their heart
“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Eph. 4:17-18).
They have eyes, but they see not
“The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; they have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them” (Psa. 135:15-18; cp. Psa. 115:4-8; Isa. 44).
The Blindness of Disciples
It also applies to disciples, if they prove themselves unfaithful.
Having eyes, see ye not?
“[Jesus] charged them, saying, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, [Oh ye of little faith, Mt. 15:8], Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not?…And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand” (Mk 8:15-18,21; cp. 6:52). Were the disciples going to prove themselves spiritually blind like the Jews?
He who lacks faith in the promises
“But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins” (II Pet. 1:9). Here, “these things” refers to our faith in “the great and precious promises” (vv. 4-5; see The Epistles of Peter, by H. Whittaker). Those who lost their faith in the promises are blind, having forgotten their sins were forgiven because of that faith.
He who hates his brother
“He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes” (I Jn. 2:9-11). A case can be made that “love” here refers to the Agape, the Love Feast (Jude 12; Jn. 13:34-35), the meal of fellowship patterned after the last supper (see “I John” in 7 Short Epistles, by Harry Whittaker). So “to hate” your brother is to refuse to break bread with him. Just as Judas left the light of the last supper “and it was night” (Jn. 13:30), those who “hate” their brethren prove that the darkness has blinded their eyes.
You know not that you are blind
“Because thou sayest, I am rich…and knowest not that thou art …blind…I counsel thee to…anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see” (Rev. 3:17-18).
This exhortation to the Laodiceans should be a particular warning to us. Are we also blind without knowing it? Do we need to anoint our eyes so we can see? We must keep the faith to the end, having our eyes open to the lessons in God’s holy word.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One