Sight Unseen
“But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke… ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them’.” [John 12:37,38,40]
Did you know that you don’t technically see with your eyes or hear with your ears? Your eyes and ears simply transmit light and vibrating molecules of air to your nerves, which then send impulses to the brain, where sight and sound are interpreted. All this might help to explain some of the strangest documented phenomena in medical history: the cases of those who, though blind or blindfolded, were nevertheless able to “see.”
For example, in the 1890s doctors in New York described how blind Mollie Fancher could read regular printed books using only her fingertips. In Italy, a neurologist wrote about a blind girl who could see with her left earlobe and the tip of her nose. Doctors have documented cases of those who could see with their fingertips, cheeks, or even their abdomens. In 1960, 14-year-old Margaret Foos of Ellerson, Virginia, underwent elaborate tests conducted by experts. Securely blindfolded, Margaret read randomly selected passages of print, identified colors and objects, and even played a game of checkers. In Russia, medical researchers reported the case of Rosa Kuleshova who, in rigidly controlled experiments, was able to read newsprint and sheet music with her fingertips and elbow.
How is this possible? No one knows for certain. Some have posited that these individuals were abnormally sensitive to the amount of heat absorbed by different colors: sightless reading could be possible because black print absorbs more heat and is warmer than the surrounding white page.
The Bible speaks about those who, though able to see perfectly, are blind to spiritual truth because they prefer to live in darkness. For example, John tells of some who believed in Jesus but did not follow Him because they preferred the good opinion of men over the good opinion of God (John 12:42,43). The good news is that no one needs to live in darkness. Jesus longs to heal our spiritual blindness if we will only allow Him.
