“Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.’” John 9:3
When I was working as a security officer at a high school while church planting, I got to know my fellow officers quite well. One such officer was approaching sixty years of age and told me he once believed as I did about Jesus Christ and the Bible. But now he said he no longer believed in God. When I asked him why he stopped believing, he told me because he could not reconcile how a God of love could allow so much pain and suffering in the world. He believed that if God truly existed, He would not allow pain and suffering especially among people who seemed to be innocent.
Why does God allow pain and suffering in the world? That is, how can a God of love allow such things in His world as war, sickness, abortion, rape, disease, and other types of suffering and death, especially among those who are apparently innocent? For example, why does He allow dedicated Christians to be slaughtered by radical Muslims in the Middle East and in Africa? Why does He allow babies to be born with deformities? Or why does He allow unborn babies to be torn apart in the womb through abortion procedures? Why does He permit a madman to shoot and kill many people gathered outside at a concert? Why are thousands of innocent people killed each year from earthquakes and typhoons? Unbelievers claim, “Either He is not a God of love and is indifferent to human suffering, or else He is not a God of power and is therefore helpless to do anything about it.”
This is a difficult question for Christians to answer. Certainly, atheism or agnosticism are not the answers to this dilemma. However, in John 9, we will discover that Jesus was asked a similar question. After claiming to be the Light of the world and the eternal I AM in John 8, Jesus encountered a man who was blind from birth. “Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.” (John 9:1). The words “as Jesus passed by” do not tell us the exact time frame or location for this miracle. It may have taken place as Christ left the temple (8:59) or somewhere else. This man’s blindness was congenital and was not expected to be healed. He had lived in darkness all his life. No doubt he experienced helplessness and hopelessness as a blind person.
From birth, however, all people are spiritually blind, hopeless, and helpless without God. All non-Christians lack the ability to see Jesus spiritually. The apostle Paul writes, “3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they do not believe in Christ. God must remove the veil from non-Christians so they can believe in Jesus. No amount of education or information is going to remove the spiritual blindness of the lost. God must be the One to give them spiritual sight.
Christ focuses on the blind man. His disciples probably would have gladly passed by the blind man, but Jesus would not. I imagine at this juncture, the disciples had no idea why Jesus focused on this man when there were thousands of beggars in the temple area.
“And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ” (John 9:2). The disciples ask a theological question, not a compassionate question. “Why does this man deserve blindness?” they ask. It was insensitive of the disciples to ask this question within earshot of the blind man. The Jews, like many people today, believed that all suffering was caused by specific sins. So, either this man sinned in his mother’s womb (Genesis 25:22; Ezekiel 18:4) or his parents sinned (Exodus 20:5; 34:7). Examples of children suffering for their parents’ sin today include babies born to a drug-addicted or alcoholic mother, or to a mother with AIDS. They can suffer from physical and mental impairment. Children whose parents are verbally, physically, or sexually abusive suffer deeply. The disciples wanted to look backward to find out “Why?”
Isn’t that what we want to do? We usually want to figure out the cause of our pain before we decide how to respond. Jesus redirects the disciples’ attention and ours. He points forward instead of backward. “Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.’ ” (John 9:3). Jesus says this man’s blindness is not due to his sin or his parents’ sin. Instead, Jesus answers a different question. He does not address the backward-looking questions of “Why?” He points to hope for the future. A human tragedy, like blindness, can be used to display the power of God at work. This man was born blind to demonstrate the power of Jesus. Why does God allow pain and suffering?
The first reason is TO DEMONSTRATE CHRIST’S POWER (John 9:1-3). Sometimes the work of God is manifest through a dramatic miracle, as with the man born blind. Sometimes it is not. Suffering always offers an opportunity for us to display God’s work. A sick person is not unspiritual, rather he is a vehicle through which Jesus can demonstrate His power. God’s work is a miracle to man, but normal work for God. It is unbiblical to assume that all suffering is the result of a specific sin. It is also wrong to conclude that all suffering is allowed by God so He can heal the person. This is the reason for this man’s suffering, but we cannot conclude this is the reason for all suffering. Notice that the disciples focus on the man’s blindness as an act of God’s displeasure, but Jesus sees the man’s blindness as an opportunity to display the power of God at work.
How do we respond to someone with an emotional or physical handicap? Are we condemning by asking, “Who sinned?” Or are we compassionate by asking, “How is God going to show His power at work in this situation?” The first question focuses on the problem. The second question focuses on the solution. Regardless of the cause of this blind man’s affliction, he was a picture of all people who are born spiritually blind and in need of a Savior.
In summary, God allows suffering and pain to demonstrate Christ’s power. He may not perform a dramatic miracle as with the man born blind. But He may transform our attitude or heal a broken relationship. He may lift the burden of guilt and legalism off our shoulders so we can serve Him freely without shame. Whatever the form of our pain and suffering may be, God wants to show us His loving power if we will let Him.
Prayer: Father God, many people are asking, “If You are a God of love, why are You allowing so much pain and suffering in the world today?” Your answer is clear. It is because You want to demonstrate the power of Jesus in the midst of peoples’ suffering. It may not be an instant fix as it was with the healing of the man born blind. It may involve a process of gradual healing and transformation whereby You walk with people through their pain. The suffering that we experience may be Your way of bringing us to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Like the man born blind, all people are born spiritually blind and unable to see Jesus as the Savior of the world. They need You, Lord, to perform spiritual cataract surgery on their eyes so they can see Christ for Who He truly is – the Eternal I AM Who can wash away their sins and give them everlasting life the moment they believe in Him. They do not have to clean up their lives any more than the blind man had to clean up his. They simply must believe in Jesus, and He will do the rest. Thank You my Lord and my God, for the simplicity of the gospel. In Jesus’ name. Amen.