Author: Gary Witcher
Company: none

Blind Leaders of the Blind - Meaning

	"You hypocrites," Jesus says to the Jewish leaders in Matthew 15:7-9, "rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.  But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'"
	"Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?" the disciples react in verse 12.
	"Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up," Jesus replies in verses 13,14. "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." 
	Sadly, the situation has not changed over the past 2,000 years.  The religious world is still plagued with blind leaders of the blind.
	What does it mean to be a blind leader of the blind?  A blind person is always in darkness.  So, quite simply, being a blind religious guide involves walking in the darkness.
	"The one who says he is in the light and {yet} hates his brother is in the darkness until now," we read in 1 John 2:9-11. "The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.  But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes."
	So being spiritually blind means walking in darkness.  And, as this passage indicates, this involves not loving one another.
	"We know that we have passed out of death into life," 1 John 3:14 instructs, "because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death."
	"If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar;" we find in 1 John 4:20,21, "for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.  And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also."
	Spiritual blindness is walking in darkness.  This means not loving one another.  And it also means not loving God.
	"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God;" 1 John 5:1-5 points out, "and whoever loves the Father loves the {child} born of Him.  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.  For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith.  And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
	According to the Bible, we cannot claim to love God if we don't follow His commandments.
	Jesus confirms the importance of loving God and loving one another.
	"But when the Pharisees heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence," Matthew 22:34-40 records, "they gathered themselves together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him {a question,} testing Him, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?' And He said to him, '"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the great and foremost commandment.  The second is like it, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.'" 
	Blind religious leaders...as well as their followers...lack love for one another and for God.  Let's mention one thing before going on.  The biblical definition for love is not anything like the world's definition.  Love does not mean allowing others to do anything they like.  It means doing whatever is necessary to see that all of us get to heaven.  The cheap love of the world is a symptom of spiritual blindness.
	What happens when we have blind leaders of the blind?  Jesus answers this question in John 11:9,10.
	"Are there not twelve hours in the day?" Jesus asks. "If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."
	People stumble when the blind lead the blind.  And that's not all.  Remember what we read earlier from Matthew 15:14?
	"Let them alone;" Jesus says of the Jewish leaders, "they are blind guides of the blind.  And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit."  
	When the blind lead the blind they stumble.  Worse yet, they both fall into a pit.

	Spiritual blindness involves walking in darkness.  Those who are spiritually blind don't love each other.  They don't love God.  When the blind lead the blind they both stumble. And they eventually fall into a pit.  What should we do to make sure we don't end up in this pit?  Lord willing, we'll devote the next couple of broadcasts to taking a closer look at spiritual blindness.  For right now, we should keep in mind this simple solution.  If we don't want to be blind, we can't walk in the darkness.  If we don't want to walk in the darkness, we must walk in the light.
	"And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you," 1 John 1:5-7 states, "that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him and {yet} walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."
	What must we do in order to walk in the light?  Obviously, we must first look to the light.
	"Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you," we read in 1 John 2:7,8, "but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.  On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining."
	"And he who overcomes," Jesus promises in Revelation 2:26-28, "and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received {authority} from My Father; and I will give him the morning star."
	The light we are looking for is this morning star.  But what is this morning star?
	"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches," we read in Revelation 22:16.  "I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star."
	"And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it," Revelation 21:23-25 explains, "for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp {is} the Lamb.  And the nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it.  And in the daytime (for there shall be no night there) its gates shall never be closed."
	"And there shall no longer be any curse;" we find in Revelation 22:3,4, "and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him; and they shall see His face, and His name {shall be} on their foreheads.
	Where can we find this great light?
	"And {so} we have the prophetic word {made} more sure," 2 Peter 1:19 answers, "to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts." 
	To find the light, we must pay attention to the word, the truth.  Only this truth can set us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)