Jesus the healer
May 24
John 9: 1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His 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.
There was a superstition amongst the disciples of Jesus about a cause and effect relationship between sin and sickness. As a result of this the disciples asked Jesus why it was that this man was a line?
Jesus indicates that not every tragedy (or blessing) can be associated with this kind of cause-and-effect mentality. True, without sin in the world this man would not have been born blind. However, there was not a specific sin that his parents did to cause God to punish them with a blind child. Children are always called blessings and gifts from God in the Bible. There is not a single recorded instance of God sending a baby as a curse or a burden. Those attitudes are human reactions, not God’s intentions. Neither did the baby sin in the womb so that it was so born. A baby inherits the sin nature of Adam, but it cannot do anything in the womb that can be considered an “accountability” sin.
Why then was the man born blind? This was done so that God could work a great miracle in his life, as we are about to see. Does this apply to handicapped people today? We should first note that Jesus did not heal every handicapped or malformed person in the area. He picked out several special cases, and healed those who could actually get close to Him. Secondly, Jesus’ miracle ministry was intended to substantiate His claims to divinity. His purpose was not to heal bodies but to heal spirits. Therefore, the greatest miracle a handicapped person can experience is the saving knowledge of Jesus. Each person should focus on God rather than their own limitations. Some have more physical and mental limitations than others do. These may make their victory more difficult, but it will definitely be sweeter. There is also hope in the knowledge that when we are resurrected we will receive fully functioning and eternal bodies.
I have some questions about the translation of Jesus answer which was “this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life”. I wonder whether or not Jesus was saying that the reason that Jesus was going to heal this man was to bring glory to God and not let the was a scare or a guinea pig for a future miracle that Jesus was to do.