Board index ‹ Specific Bible verses, texts, and passages ‹ John

[Biblical Scholar]

1 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.
2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.
4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.

What does this mean? So God makes certain people disabled so he can show his power? That's not very benevolent.

[jimwalton]

> God makes certain people disabled so he can show his power? That's not very benevolent.

You've missed the point, so thanks for giving me a chance to explain.

"As long as it is day." Jesus came to accomplish certain things, especially his death on the cross. This is referring to the short time He was here to accomplish all that had been planned.

"We must do the work." Jesus is still speaking of the work of the gospel. He is not talking about the blind man or his physical healing, but about the work of the gospel to eradicate original sin. Our time of life on Earth is when the gospel needs to be applied, for when death comes, after that comes the judgment. It is noticeable that He is including us in the work of the gospel. Our time of life on Earth is when we need to find God and do His work of making disciples and leading people to salvation. It's the point of the Gospel of John.

This is explained in v. 5: "I am the light of the world."

The healing of the blind man is going to be a living parable of how Jesus came to bring light (salvation) in the darkness (sin and death).

When He says in v. 3, "this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life," we observe that Jesus's comment makes sense if take the story as a living parable rather than addressing the problem of evil and suffering. "We are all born dead in our sins and spiritually blind" is easily the cause of the effect of, "so that the work of God might be displayed in life." It’s all about the work of the gospel (as was his treatise on the Bread of Life [Jn. 6], the Living Water [Jn. 4], being Born Again [Jn. 3], etc.). So the real point—the deeper point beyond the man's blindness and his healing—is showing how people can be saved: let Jesus heal you and bring you from darkness to light.

The condition of the blind mean is a perfect occasion for Him to teach spiritual truth and give the world a sign of His deity. Instead of being "un-benevolent," it's a statement expressing an opportunity instead of one of destiny. The man's blindness is not the appointed predestination for the miracle, but rather the occasion to show His glory. Since the man was blind from birth, the healing can't be justified as, "Well, he was probably getting better anyway." Instead, because of the man's congenital hopelessness, his blindness sets up a great opportunity for divine work.