The Holy, Just and Long-suffering Job
Acts 14:20-27; John 9:39-10:9
Read John 9:39-10:9
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
Elsewhere in the Gospel Jesus says, “For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17). Is this contrary to what our Lord says today that “for judgment I came into this world.”? Theodore of Mopsuestia points out that “for there it states the purpose of Jesus’ coming: that all people may be saved. Here he talks about the outcome of his coming.” (CSCO 4 3:194-95). Even though God’s will is that all people be saved the reality is that God is a respecter of our free will. So that those who choose not to believe in Jesus can do so, but eventually invite judgment on themselves.
Chosen blindness and a life lived in darkness have a natural consequence. Our physical experience of light can give us an insight into understanding this spiritual reality. If a person chooses to live in darkness for years and then has to step into the direct brightness of the day, the experience of the light will be an overwhelmingly painful one. The same is true in the spiritual life. If we choose to live in the darkness of sin and reject repentance and acceptance of Christ—who is goodness, truth and beauty— into our lives we then live in chosen blindness. We cannot avoid Christ in this life forever, eventually, we will stand face to face with our creator and the light of his presence will be a painful judgment or a warm embrace. Our experience of the light of Christ does not diminish the fact that God wills that all may be saved through Jesus.