Crocodile Eyes
“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’.” [John 9:39]
Crocodiles are among the largest and longest-living reptiles on Earth. Just like a tree, they have growth rings in their scales. By counting these rings, scientists can tell the age of a crocodile and know that some males can live up to 70 and even 100 years. Female crocodiles rarely grow larger than 10 feet, but males can weigh over 2,000 pounds and measure over 20 feet in length.
Like all reptiles, crocodiles are “cold-blooded” and must lie in the sun to get warm or laze in the water to cool down. But, incredibly, they can also shut down or speed up blood flow to regulate their body temperature. A full-grown crocodile has a brain about the size of a walnut. Despite this they seem to be intelligent, learning how to quickly find prey. Powerful muscles snap the jaws closed when a crocodile grabs prey. Its jaws can open and shut, but cannot move from side to side. In other words, crocodiles cannot chew.
Saltwater crocodiles actually live in both salt water and fresh water and can swim for miles and stay underwater for up to 4 hours. A female crocodile will build a big compost nest, where she will lay up to 80 eggs. Amazingly, a baby crocodile’s gender is determined by how deeply the eggs are buried in the nest and the temperature. Unlike most reptiles, a female crocodile will defend its nest to the death from any animals. When the mother crocodile hears the babies hatching, she runs over to dig them out of the nest, and then carries her babies safely to the water in her mouth.
Crocodiles have three eyelids: two leathery, protective eyelids and one clear or translucent one. They also have very good vision and can see almost 180 degrees. But in spite of this they can’t see anything below their nose.
Like the crocodile, some people are blind to obvious truth right under their noses. Jesus explained this to His disciples regarding His parables. The hardhearted religious leaders did not want to hear truth. Christ said, “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:13). When our hearts are seeking to obey the Lord we will be able to see truth, even when it’s right under our nose.
