Based on John 9 (New King James Version)
“Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, ‘Is not this he who sat and begged?’ Some said, ‘This is he.’ Others said, ‘He is like him.’ He said, ‘I am he.’ Therefore they said to him, ‘How were your eyes opened?’ He answered and said, ‘A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.’ Then they said to him, ‘Where is He?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’ They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.’ Therefore some of the Pharisees said, ‘This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.’ Others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?’ And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, ‘What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’ But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ His parents answered them and said, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.’ His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’ So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, ‘Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.’ He answered and said, ‘Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.’ Then they said to him again, ‘What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?’ He answered them, ‘I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?’ Then they reviled him and said, ‘You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.’ The man answered and said to them, ‘Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.’ They answered and said to him, ‘You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’ He answered and said, ‘Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.’ Then he said, ‘Lord, I believe!’ And he worshiped Him. And Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.’ Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, ‘Are we blind also?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.’”
We read that the Lord said He had come into the world for judgment. But elsewhere, the Word also says: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17. What, then, is the difference between judgment and condemnation? Viewed from the perspective of the Word—the only one that truly matters, for it is God’s—we can understand that it is man himself who judges himself (or brings judgment upon himself) and who condemns himself (or brings condemnation upon himself). Yet, what makes both possibilities a reality is the presence and the acts of God; these bring man to a crossroads, so to speak, compelling him to make a decision—and it is based on that decision that he brings such judgment and condemnation upon himself. Therefore, we must ask: Is it God’s will for such judgment and condemnation to come to pass? The answer is both yes and no.
We shall address why God desires neither the judgment nor the condemnation of man. The answer is: love. In His very essence, God is love. God does not desire harm for man; quite the opposite. He created man to serve Him out of love. That is why He gave man everything He did at the beginning. God gave man the earth and all that is in it, granting him dominion over it and the task of cultivating it. Out of love, God entrusted His creation to man. And the greatest proof of that love was His response to man’s sin and betrayal; for instead of reciprocating God’s love, man betrayed Him by listening to—and placing more trust in—a being that had given him nothing and was even inferior to him: a serpent. Yet, rather than completely wiping out mankind, God sent His only begotten Son—not to condemn the world, as we read earlier, but to offer man the opportunity for salvation, should he choose it. But this leads us to the next point.
Now, regarding the reason why God does desire to carry out both judgment and condemnation: it is because He is a just and holy God. Although God is love, He cannot ignore the fact that He is also Just and Holy. His very nature compels Him to act in accordance with these attributes. He must allow for judgment and condemnation in order to establish—or re-establish—what He ordained at the dawn of creation: that everything He had made was very good. Sooner or later, He must eradicate corruption to make eternity possible.
What, then, makes both justification and eternal life—as well as judgment and condemnation—possible? Faith and unbelief. Faith in the Lord enables a person to be justified before God, thereby granting access to eternal life. Conversely, a person judges and condemns themselves by refusing to believe as they ought; for in the coming judgment, God will simply carry out what the individual chose for themselves—of their own free will—by refusing to believe or accept the reality that the Lord Jesus Christ is God and Lord, and that He is the only way to the Father—and thus the only path to life and eternal reward. Ultimately, those who have faith will see God, whereas those who refuse to believe and accept Him will not see life; instead, they will experience only the wrath of God for all eternity—a consequence of their own choice. So, have you decided to live by true faith in the Lord, or do you continue to choose unbelief? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!