As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.
Verse 1 connects chapter 9 with the end of chapter 8 where Jesus had left the temple abruptly as the Jews had picked up stones to kill him. They wanted to kill him because Jesus had identified himself as I AM.
There are six instances of blind people being healed in the Gospels, but this is the only instance where the one healed was blind from birth. The man has no idea what the sun looks like, or what the color blue is like, or what the ocean looks like.
The age of the man is not given, but a Jewish male is considered a man at the age of 13 (women at the age of 12 because apparently they mature faster). There’s nothing in the text to identify this man’s age, but it could be much younger than what immediately comes to my mind when I hear the word man.
The question the disciples ask is difficult to understand. If the man was born a sinner, at what point would his sin have accounted for the blindness? The only options they could have in mind seem to be:
1) in the womb
2) in some pre-incarnate form
3) punishment for a future sin
Numerous commentators go with #1. Calvin thinks #2. If you believe God rewards based upon his knowledge of future events (arminians on election), then #3 would probably make just as much sense.
If it wasn’t the blind man’s sin, then the only other option evident to the disciples is that his parents must have sinned. I don’t think anyone would dispute that the sins of some can effect others. Babies are often born blind when the mother has gonorrhea. That sort of blindness is clearly the result of the parent’s sin. But there are babies born blind which are not the result of the sin of the parent.
In order to ask a question like that you have to think a few things about yourself.
– If sin caused things like that, then you must be alright with God because you are alright.
– If someone had something wrong with them, then they must not be alright with God.
It is easier to judge then to heal.
The text doesn’t explain the motive behind the question. The disciples pick a man suffering from a disability to ask a question about the cause of the disability. The way in which the question is worded would suggest there was a standard explanation to the problem of suffering. That is, they seem to think that if suffering exists, then it can only be explained by a specific sin. That seems to be Job’s friend’s understanding of suffering as well.
Sin always results in some form of suffering, but suffering is not always the result of some form of sin. Jesus evidences that in verse 3.
“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10).
Jesus isn’t saying that this man or his parents are sinless. He is stating that the blindness isn’t the consequence of their sin. The blindness was given to the man that the works of God might be displayed in him.
What works of God? Is that a reference to Jesus healing this man from blindness? Was the blindness given at birth for the sole purpose of this meeting?
By misinterpreting passages which speak of the national and societal effects of corporate rebellion even to the third and fourth generations – by misapplying those to individuals, those born healthy were proud of their righteousness: “This man born blind may be pitied, but his punishment is well deserved. And (don’t you know) my eyesight is well-deserved.” But the Bible allows no such self-exaltation. Jeremiah 31.29-30: “In those days they shall no longer say: ‘’The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ 30 But everyone shall die for his own sin. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.” Ezekiel 18.20: “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son.”
First, drawing a straight line denigrates our sin. If I were to receive in the body the just punishment for but one of my sinful thoughts this morning, I would be undone. A straight line implies the punishment fits the crime. But even in discipline, God’s people receive less than deserved.
Glenn goes on to ask the question which I think is behind the disciples’ question. Why then do we have suffering?
1. The promotion of spiritual maturity and Christ-like character (James 1.2-4).
2. To promote endurance—the ability to turn adversity into spiritual prosperity (James 1.2-4).
3. To promote wisdom—the ability to relate truth to experience (James 1.5-8).
4. To produce humility (James 1.9-11).
5. To provide the opportunity for rewards (James 1.12).
6. To prove the genuineness of our faith (1Peter 1.6-8).
7. To manifest the fruit of the Spirit (2Corinthians 4.11; Galatians 5.22,23).
8. To provide opportunities to witness for Christ (1Peter 3.15; Philippians 1.12).
9. To learn contentment (Philippians 4.11).
10. To help others who suffer (2Corinthians 1.3-24).
11. To rebuke believers guilty of pride and spiritual cowardice (1Corinthians 4.9-16).
12. To demonstrate the power of God in our lives (2Corinthians 11.24-33; John 9.2).
13. To learn obedience to the will of God (Hebrews 5.8).
14. To vindicate the character of God before Satan (Job 1.6-12).
15. To vindicate us before Satan (Job 1.6-12).
16. To instruct the believer in the holiness of God’s character (Job 42.5,6).
17. To deliver us from sinful thoughts and actions (Hebrews 12.5-11).
18. To wean us from earth and fix our hearts on heaven, where our hope is (Colossians 3.1-2).
19. To drive us to the Word (Psalm 119.71).
20. To create a more unified church and a more interdependent body of believers (“one another” verses).
21. To teach us about our weaknesses and cause us to depend on God (2Corinthians 12.7-10).
22. To bring him glory (the Bible).
Sermon shared by Rodney Buchanan
The second thing addressed in this story is: The reality of spiritual blindness. There are two kinds of blindness in the story. One is of the man who was born with a physical defect of blindness. The second is of the religious folk who had a spiritual defect and were spiritually blind. And the story tells us that spiritual blindness is worse than physical blindness.