“Who is as blind as my own people, my servant? Who is as deaf as my messenger? Who is as blind as my chosen people, the servant of the LORD? You see and recognize what is right but refuse to act on it. You hear with your ears, but you don’t really listen.” (Isaiah 42:19–20, NLT)

Matthew Henry said, “None so deaf as those that will not hear. None so blind as those that will not see.” This certainly describes the Jews living in Jerusalem in Isaiah’s day. It also describes the Pharisees at the time of Christ. And it describes many people living today who have been exposed to the truth, but who do not believe or practice it.

Over the years, I have counseled many individuals whose hearts were hard. Despite my efforts to share the Word and show them their fault, they have persisted in their own way. Then I’ve watched pain, destruction, and brokenness come into their lives. It always grieves my heart because it is so unnecessary. But the human will can be obstinate to its own destruction.

Israel had been entrusted as God’s servant to bring His righteous laws to the world. But they had failed in their mission. They saw but did not perceive; they heard but did not listen.

On Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus confronted the scribes and Pharisees and called them hypocrites and blind guides. They knew the Law, but they did not keep it. They judged others, but they did not judge themselves.

Religion can actually hinder someone from receiving and obeying the truth. They think they are saved because of their knowledge, their church membership, or their good works. But they remain blind to their own need for repentance. It is not those who justify themselves who will be saved but those whom God justifies. And the only way for any of us to be justified is to believe in Jesus Christ. He alone removes the scales of spiritual blindness and cleanses us from our sins. He alone empowers us to be doers of the Word and not mere hearers who are self-deceived.