Blind as a Bat!
Have you ever heard the saying, “Blind as a bat?”
The saying "blind as a bat" is not true. Bats are not blind. In fact, bats have relatively good eyesight and are nocturnal and even see well at night! They also have echolocation so have a hybrid sight that gives them even more senses than other animals. Bats actually have very strong visual capabilities! Most bats are insectivores so they are really helpful and we’d have a lot more insects if they were not around!
My daughter watched some youtube videos and found that bats are like puppies with wings! If you watch those videos they look quite lovable, although, you shouldn’t touch them or keep them as pets since they are wild animals.
But the saying blind as a bat comes from when someone just can’t see things. And even more when someone doesn’t understand something. If you don’t understand something, then someone may say that you’re blind as a bat or you can’t see past your nose. So “seeing” is equated with “understanding”. So then if you can’t understand then you are “blind”. Don’t you see?
In John chapter 9, Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath. Now the Pharisees were legalistic when it came to working on the Sabbath as being a major sin and even healing on the Sabbath to them was considered a major sin.
Do you believe that healing or doing good on the Sabbath is a sin? No!
Mark 2:27,28
27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Jesus says the Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath. That means doing good works on the Sabbath is not a sin. The Pharisees did not understand this concept! They had a 1D understanding of the Bible. They were blind when it came to the Sabbath.
John 9:26-34
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
So the Pharisees interrogated the man who received sight and even dragged his parents into it to interrogate them. Basically, the Pharisees knew that Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath and that infuriated them. After interrogating the man further and apparently just to interrogate, the man smarted back that it was remarkable that they would not acknowledge where Jesus came from, when coming from God is the only thing that could explain how Jesus could do the things He does.
The Pharisees did not appreciate having their eyes pried open. They wanted to keep their eyes closed! If you find someone like a Pharisee, just get away from them! They are blind guides!
Matthew 15:14
Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
His reply infuriated the Pharisees so much they threw him out of the Synagogue. That was like a death penalty since if you were not in-good with the Synagogue, you could not work or eat or have fellowship with other Israelites. You basically had to leave town to survive so it was a very harsh and cruel punishment for the man who had been healed of his blindness.
Throwing people out of the Synagogue was a power play the Pharisees did to people to keep their power and it worked many times to keep people in their place. If someone believed in Jesus, they would keep quiet about it because if they didn’t the Pharisees would throw them out of the Synagogue!
John 12:42,43
42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God.
Isn’t that cruel of these religious leaders? Shouldn’t they have been loving and kind instead? These Pharisees were blind to how they were to be as religious leaders. They wanted love from God but they did not want to show that same love to others! If you do not love others, you are blind to how God wants you to be!
1 John 2:10,11
10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.
But also, people should not be ashamed to acknowledge Jesus as their Savior! If you are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of you when you stand before Him in heaven!
Mark 8:38
38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Continuing…
John 9:35-41
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
Jesus found the man after he was thrown out of the Synagog. He then showed him who was the Savior. It was Jesus who he was speaking with. The man got saved.
Jesus said, “the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
The Pharisees heard this and asked, “Are we blind too?”
If “not understanding” equals “blind”, then yes, they were blind.
But what is this blindness? It’s not actual blindness because they could see with their eyes!
It was spiritual blindness which is especially ironic since they were supposed to be the religious leaders! They did not have godly common-sense!
John 12:37-40
37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:
“Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”
Are you blind as a bat? Do you see with your eyes and yet do not understand and blind to the ways of God? I hope not!
Do you love others or do you hate and show disdain to others? 1 John 2 says you are in darkness if you hate your brother or sister!
Are you upset when people do good things? This world lately is upside down where good is bad and bad is good and you are considered a “prude” as a mocking word if you do good or like good things to where you are shamed even for being good like a “prude”. Wear the word “prude” as a badge of honor if someone calls you that!
The world doesn’t realize why it’s getting worse everyday. They will never blame themselves, they will instead blame God or blame christians for their situation. Some day they will stand before God and have to answer for their life choices. I hope none of you are one of those who is spiritually blind and on the wrong side of this spiritual war! If so, repent, it’s not too late.
Turn to Jesus and be saved, and be healed from your spiritual blindness!
Find love and not hate. Find the joy of forgiveness not the bitterness of grudges!
Revelation 3:17-18
17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Bats are really cute… to other bats. …and to some people who can see their cuteness. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Do your eyes see their beauty as one of God’s creatures!
Whether you can see or even if you are blind, I hope that you are not spiritually blind like the Pharisees and that you see Jesus for who He is! God’s Son. And, if you’ve seen Him (spiritually), you’ve seen the Father. He is the Savior of the world. The whole book of John gives many pictures and perspectives of who Jesus is: The Bread of life, The Way the Truth and the Life, The Healer, the Messiah, etc. Let your eyes be opened and see all of who Jesus is. Sit down and read the whole book of John sometime keeping in mind that you are getting glimpses of who Jesus is. The Pharisees wanted to keep their eyes firmly shut and hated Jesus every way they could and did not want to see Jesus for who He was! Don’t be like that. Open your spiritual eyes, and open your heart to Jesus! If you’re not saved, trust in Him today. He can take away your sins which are keeping you from going to heaven and making a barrier to a relationship with Him.
Don’t be spiritually blind as a bat! Turn to Jesus and let Him open your spiritual eyes.
Amazing Grace - I once was blind but now I see!
