1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
Here our Lord Jesus takes special notice of the pitiful condition of this poor blind man. Being blind from birth, he was painfully helpless and dependent upon others to meet his most basic needs – there is hardly an affliction that evokes more sympathy from others. He who is blind has no enjoyment of the light – this is certainly true both physically as well as spiritually. Jesus sees, stops, and filled with tender compassion, shows mercy - halting his steps from His present danger to do good as He went along. Like our Master, we too should be as willing to serve others as we go along – taking every occasion for doing good – whether we deem it convenient or not.
Interestingly, all sorrow in life is the result of the original sin – all bodily infirmities – pains, diseases and defects are directly attributed to the curse which came upon the earth when our first father Adam fell, succumbing to temptation. Adam traded life and abundance for death and destruction. We do the same when we give way to it as well. We must learn to loathe all sin – not the sinner but the sin - with a Godly hatred, mortifying it and crucifying it in ourselves as temptation rears its ugly head. It never delivers what it promises. Paul tells us the following sobering Truth in Romans:
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-- Romans 5:12 (NIV)
No doubt, the countless pains and physical defects, indeed the whole “wonderful” aging process of which we are all liable, began with the first juicy mouthful of the forbidden fruit by our original parents. The disciples in our verses for today seemed to have forgotten that Truth. They, like many in each generation, apparently held to the false notion that all infirmities must be the direct consequence of that person’s sin or their parents. This short sighted view was held by Job’s friends as well as the men on the island of Malta towards Paul when he was bitten by the viper – God proving both Job’s comrades and the islanders wrong. The Pharisees held to this belief as well when later in a confrontation with this healed blind man they state:
34 To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out. John 9:34 (NIV)
While there is certainly consequence to sin, Jesus shows us here that often an infirmity is allowed so that the work of God might be made manifest in a life. God permitted the man to be born blind, not because of his wickedness but for a far greater purpose - to furnish a platform for Divine mercy and power – mysterious as this may seem to us. Scripture tells us:
11 The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Ex 4:11 (NIV)
This begs an interesting question – do we embrace what God allows so that His work might be displayed in our lives? Do we give Him the freedom to use our vessels for His glory? Scripture tells us that we can have the full assurance and confidence of knowing that all things God permits in the life of those who love Him, He uses for their good and His glory. The “thing” is not what is good – the result is and that is that God might be displayed in the life. Paul tells us in Romans:
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28-29 (NIV)
Paul demonstrates for us the proper embracing of what God allows – he pleads in prayer for the removal of his thorn - the answer given him being much greater than the removal - the grace sufficient to meet the need so that Christ’s power rested upon him:
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor 12:7-10 (NIV)
Like Paul whose thorn in the flesh was not removed though entreating thrice for its removal, eventually leading to his boasting in his weaknesses, blind hymnist Fanny Crosby relates the following regarding her infirmity demonstrating a certain like mindedness:
"It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me...If I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind...for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Saviour." Fanny Crosby