Blind

Blindness was much more common in the biblical world than in our contemporary Western setting due to the fact that people endured harsh environmental conditions and did not have access to the early medical intervention that could have spared the eyesight of newborn infants. Fortunately, today we enjoy both fewer instances of blindness and a more enlightened view of those who live with a visual disability. But being blind in Bible times carried harsh connotations regardless of whether this disability was congenital, the result of an accident, or intentional maiming (1 Sam. 11:2; 2 Kings 25:7; John 9:1–2).

The Bible alludes to these connotations without endorsing them. Generally speaking, those living in the biblical world perceived the blind as less capable and highly vulnerable.[19] That connotation comes through loud and clear in language like this: “At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark” (Deut. 28:29). This stigma is preserved in the troubling language of the Jebusites, who had this to say when they wanted David to know just how impregnable their fortress was: “Even the blind and the lame can ward you off” (2 Sam. 5:6). Reflecting the misinformed views of their contemporaries, the disciples of Jesus asked, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2). And Jesus himself acknowledged the impoverished social status of the visually impaired when he included the blind in a list of those who were least likely to receive an invitation to a banquet (Luke 14:13, 21).

The legal code of the Old Testament reflects some of this stigma together with a passion to protect the more vulnerable members of society. For example, a descendant of Aaron who was blind could not serve as a priest (Lev. 21:17–18). Similarly, an animal that had any defect, including blindness, could not be offered as a sacrifice to the Lord (Lev. 22:22; Deut. 15:21; Mal. 1:8). On the other hand, divine law made it clear that no one was to take advantage of those who were visually impaired (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18).

Within Israel today, the visually impaired may still face challenges. This man is soliciting gifts of mercy from those who pass by.

Ultimately, the Bible puts the Lord in control of this matter. He is the one who gives or withholds the ability to see (Exod. 4:11; Ps. 146:8). For example, he removed sight from those who threatened the advance of his kingdom (Gen. 19:11; 2 Kings 6:18; Acts 13:11). He struck the persecutor Saul with temporary blindness as part of his conversion experience (Acts 9:4–9). And he permitted a man to be born blind so that the work of God could be revealed in his life (John 9:2–3).

Blindness is also used as a figure of speech. The law in the Old Testament forbade the use of a bribe because it “blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent” (Exod. 23:8; see also Deut. 16:19). Blindness is also used as a metaphor for the willful failure to honor God’s Word as truth. This notion of spiritual blindness occurs with some frequency, particularly in the prophetic books. “Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see! Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like the servant of the LORD?” (Isa. 42:18–19; see also 56:10; Zeph. 1:17). In the New Testament, Jesus seized on this metaphor when he criticized the Jewish leaders of his day who were nothing more than “blind guides” (Matt. 15:14). In the sustained criticism Jesus leveled against the teachers of the law and the Pharisees in Matthew 23, repeated mention of their blindness rings like a refrain in verses 16 through 26.

Finally, the healing of both physical and spiritual blindness is linked to the work of the promised Messiah. In speaking of the Servant of the Lord, God himself said, “I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind” (Isa. 42:6–7). As we read the Gospels, it is striking how often Jesus came into contact with those who were visually impaired and subsequently restored their sight. Whether those who were blind called out to Jesus themselves (Mark 10:46–47) or were brought to him by friends and family members (Matt. 15:30–31), time after time Jesus chose to interact with such spurned members of society and touched them with his healing power. Given the Old Testament anticipation of such acts (for example, Isaiah 42), Jesus’s repeated interaction with the blind became a strategic part of the way in which he identified himself as the Messiah. The man born blind whom Jesus healed gave voice to the popular perspective on such miracles: “Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (John 9:32–33).

In addition to the accounts that describe Jesus restoring sight, we also have two instances in which Jesus specifically referred to such healing acts as evidence that he was the Messiah. In the first, John the Baptist’s disciples inquired if Jesus was the one to expect or if they should look for another. In response, Jesus explicitly linked those acts of healing to Isaiah 42 (see Matt. 11:5). In the second, we catch up with Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth. When it was time for the Scripture reading, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and read the portion from Isaiah 61 that describes the Messiah as one who provides “recovery of sight for the blind” (Luke 4:18 TNIV). With healing miracles in his wake, Jesus declared, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).

The steep climb from the Kidron Valley to the ridge led the Jebusites to boast that even the lame and blind could defend their city against David (2 Sam. 5:6).