Jump Starts # 1514

John 9:1-2 “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 would be born blind?”

  The ninth chapter of John opens the hood to one of Jesus’ miracles. A blind man receives his sight. Throughout the chapter a heated dialogue takes places between the Pharisees and this man. They will interview him and question him many times. They even question his parents. A man got to see for the first time in his life, yet he had to endure the painful verbal abuse from those who could not accept who Jesus was.

All of this began with our verses today. Jesus passed a blind man. He was blind from birth. So easy to read that and think, “too bad.” Stop! Don’t do that. You are doing right now what he couldn’t do, read. He never got to see his mother’s face. He never saw the color red. He never saw birds, cows or people. When I was in college, I had a friend who was blind. We used to do mean things to him, such as rearrange his furniture without telling him. He made it up by coming in our room in the middle of the night and scaring us. We were friends. He had a date with a lovely girl. I never forget walking him from our dorm to where the girl was waiting for him. As we walked he held on to my elbow. She was waiting. He asked me to describe her. She was wearing a beautiful red dress and her hair was pulled back on top of her head. I was trying to describe red to someone who had never seen red. But when I told him that she was beautiful, the biggest smile came across his face. The man in our verse was blind from birth.

The text follows with the disciples asking a question, “Who sinned?” Since the days of Job, it has been believed that disease and handicaps were the punishment for sins. It is interesting that none of the disciples asked Jesus to heal this man. None of them seemed to have compassion to change his situation. They simply wanted to know the cause.

The disciples asked the wrong question. Why did it matter if he sinned or not? To follow their thinking, if he sinned and was blind because of that, then he got what he deserved. He should have known better. Now, there are two problems with this thinking.

First, the text tells us that the man was blind from birth. Maybe the disciples didn’t know this at the moment of their question. If they did, were they implying that this man was born a sinner? That doesn’t happen. Sin is a choice. Sin is the result of disobeying God. Ezekiel reminds us that one does not bear the punishment for another’s sin. Inherited sin has been a long standing thought in Christendom. It is not supported by Biblical truth. It is contrary to what the Bible teaches.

Second, even if he was blind because of his sin, he was blind. Deserving or not, where is the compassion. I find we can feel the same for those who are homeless or are addicts. Had they not chosen that lifestyle, then they would not be where they are. Some have lost their jobs, homes and families because of addictions. Their lives have been ruined by the choices that they have made. It’s so easy to be smug and cold toward such people. It’s easy to turn the caring eye from such people. Why help them, they will be right back where they are now. They don’t want to leave the streets.  Common thoughts that come from the wrong questions.

Like the disciples, we tend to be looking backwards at things trying to find out the “why?” My wife is an oncology nurse. She deals everyday with cancer patients. They ask her that question daily. Why do I have cancer? They are looking backwards. They are hoping someone would say, “You sat too close to the TV set” or, “You didn’t wash your hands.” There are some obvious things, such as booze and smoking, but most times, the answer is not known. Even if it was known, it doesn’t take away the fact that one has the disease. Looking backward is an exercise in pointing fingers and finding blame. This is why this happened.

Jesus took that away from the discussion. He answered the disciples by saying, no one sinned. “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” No blame here. No fingering point. No cause other than God was going to use this to magnify Jesus.

Looking backward and finding blame doesn’t help a person out. It may be a reason for us to do nothing but the person remains as he is. Had Jesus said, “this man sinned,” it wouldn’t change the fact that he was blind. He was a beggar. He was helpless. He needed Jesus.

Compassion helps a person. Asking the wrong question only finds blame. It is walking with Jesus that we start looking forward with a caring heart. It is with Jesus that we learn to do what we can. Compassion and care were the hallmarks of Jesus’ ministry. There were many people Jesus encountered that didn’t deserve help, but He did it anyway. He cared. He showed the love of God is extended to those who made wrong choices and were suffering the consequences of their decisions.

I wish we could be more like Jesus. I wish we quit standing in the shadows of the disciples, asking the wrong questions. I wish we could open our hearts more and regardless of how and why something happened, start helping those who need help. This is true physically, as well as emotionally and especially spiritually. Sometimes there are just too many questions. Sometimes we are talking when we ought to be doing.

The disciples asked questions…Jesus did something. Had the disciples had their way, the man would have died blind. Jesus changed his life forever. The hymn Amazing Grace, “I once was blind but now I see.” That speaks not of physically, but spiritually. Now I see spiritually. Now I see truth. Now I see love. Now I see purpose. Now I see forgiveness. Now I see hope. And someday, I will see His face. I see Jesus.

Roger

Jump Start # 797

John 9:1-2 “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 would be born blind?”

I spent much of last night in the emergency waiting room of a local hospital. A friend was having problems and I went. I sat alone for a while. I saw families with little kids. I saw older people. I saw some like myself, who were there for someone else. I have been to emergency waiting rooms on many occasions, some of the times it was for my own kids. Emergency room situations generate three common thoughts: first, can the person get better; second, why did this happen; and, third, how am I going to pay for this. Emergency rooms are great places to pray. I did a lot of that last night for my friend.

Our passage today is not taken from the emergency. A blind man is the center of attention. He is not in an life or death situation. He is blind. He has been blind for a long time. He has only known blindness. Most blind people in Jesus’ day, were placed by family members near the temple or other places of gathering so they could beg. Begging was their life. It was sad and pitiful. There was no hope for a blind person in those days. Seeing eye dogs, Braille language, handicap access was light years away from that world.

Jesus passed by this man. The disciples asked a question. Their question dealt with the cause. What caused his blindness. They didn’t ask Jesus if He had time to heal this man. They didn’t ask the Lord to pray for this man. They were curious about the “how come’s”. Many are like that. Not interested in getting involved. Not interested in making a difference. Just curious. Just nosey.

In their way of thinking, this man’s blindness was punishment from God. Their thinking, much like the thinking of Job’s friends, was that all suffering is directly connected to sin. Someone sinned, that is why this man is blind. They wanted to know who. Was it the parents? Was it his dad? Was it his mom? Was it this man? We wonder if the next question in this line of thinking was to ask for specifics. What was the sin? What sin leads to punishment of blindness? It seems that the disciples know this man. They knew he was blind from birth. It wasn’t an injury from work or a childhood disease, this man has always been blind. He has never seen red. He doesn’t know what a flower looks like. He couldn’t recognize Jesus. He couldn’t see. There doesn’t seem to be much compassion from the disciples, just curiosity as to why.

It is amazing that they wonder if this man had sinned. They asked, who sinned, this man or his parents? Odd question. If they really think he is being punished and he has been blind since birth, when did this man have the opportunity to sin? Where did he sin? In the womb? Did they believe he was born with sin? They didn’t do much thinking before they spoke. We wonder if it was Peter who spoke those words. He historically said things without thinking them out.

Jesus wouldn’t accept either theory. His parents are not to blame. He is not to blame. Sin is not the cause of this man’s blindness. Not all suffering is connected to sin. Some is, but not all. Some suffering comes from lifestyle choices. Abusing the body with drugs or alcohol will cause suffering. Some suffering is connected to other people. Accidents happen. People suffer. Some suffering is not connected to anything. It just happens. Meteors fall from the sky. Tornados roar through the Midwest. Hurricanes crash into the shoreline. People get hurt. Some die. Who is to blame? Why did it happen?

We seem to be so fixated upon the “why” of suffering instead of what are we to do when we suffer. Knowing the why doesn’t change things. Knowing the why would not make the blind man able to see. Why only matters if there is something that can be learned, fixed or changed in the future. Most times, the why leads to blame and then to bitterness and anger. We spend too much time chasing the “why” of suffering.

The blind man in John 9 was healed by Jesus. This caused a big stink among the Jewish leadership. They questioned the man’s parents. They questioned the man twice. They couldn’t accept that Jesus had healed him. The healing of the blind man revealed the blindness of others. And that’s exactly what suffering does. It tends to bring the best or the worst out of people. Compassion, prayers and love will flow from some when there is suffering. For others, it’s blame, pointing fingers, anger, and ignorance. God uses suffering to teach us. Trials in life can lead us to stronger faith. Trials can forge character and godliness. Some of God’s greatest lessons come from days of trials.

The crisis that took my friend to the hospital has eased. Hands were held and prayers were offered to God last night. Suffering has a way of bringing people together. It has a way of making us look beyond ourselves. Suffering brings prayers for those who have such a heart and faith. The cause of suffering is hard for people to understand. Seeing children suffering is enough for some to deny God. In their thinking, a good God would not allow children to suffer.  Because children do suffer, either God is not good or He does not exist. Again, we are fixed upon the why’s of suffering. Often we do not know. The world we live in is broken and rapidly moving away from sense and God. Since Adam, suffering is a part of this world. Pharaoh ordered the death of Hebrew babies. Herod ordered the death of baby boys. People have abused and slaughtered children. Does this mean there is no God?  The choices of some have led to this. Others died by diseases. Our world is a suffering world. We desperately try to eliminate all suffering. Remove the guns is a current solution that some think will end suffering. Stop this. Change that. A new shot. A new pill. A new law. A new method. A new way. This won’t stop suffering. There will always be suffering as long as there is planet earth. Heaven is the world in which there is no pain, crying, mourning, or death. Suffering ends with this life. Problems end with this life. Pain ends with this life. That is, for the righteous. Heaven is all the world to me!

I’m thankful for a God that hears and answers prayers. He is amazing!

Roger

Jump Start # 441 

John 9:1-2 “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 would be born blind.” 

  The disciples are interesting. I find myself walking in their shoes more often than I’d like to admit. Our text begins with Jesus walking by a blind man. Have you noticed how many blind people are mentioned in the Bible. Several. I have only known one or two blind people personally in my life. This man was born blind from birth. Somehow the disciples knew that. I’d expect Jesus to know that, but how did they know? Was he someone that they knew all of their life.

  The life of a begging was a dark prison. Begging was their only hope. It was a pitiful curse upon them.

  The disciples see this man, as Jesus did. But they really didn’t. They noticed him sitting there, most likely begging. None of the disciples asked Jesus to heal the man. None of them thought about helping him in some way, even if it was nothing more than putting a few coins in a cup. They ask about cause, but more than that, fault. Someone did wrong, and God punished this man. The question is who did wrong—the parents or this man?

  Their thinking shows that they don’t understand the nature of sin because people cannot sin as babies. Sin is a choice that is the result of temptation. It’s choosing self over God’s will. Something serious was lurking behind their question—someone sinned and this man is being punished for it. This man deserves to be blind. Could this be the reason they found little compassion for this man, they thought he was getting what he deserved. The disciples thought process is very similar to the friends of Job. When someone suffers it is God punishing them for wrongs. In their thinking, the innocent do not suffer—only the guilty.

  This thinking is flawed. Jesus says so. He declared that neither the parents nor this man sinned. He was not being punished. God was going to use his blindness to demonstrate the power of Jesus Christ. Good was going to come from this.

  One of the many layers of suffering that a person goes through is guilt and blame. The pain of suffering is bad enough, but the emotional and mental can be longer lasting and more devastating. We play the mental game, “If only I had..” We do this. We blame ourselves. Guilt piles up. Often others blame and add to the guilt. The sorrows and regrets can eat us alive!

  Some things to grasp from this passage:

1. Suffering is a part of this world. Not all suffering can be traced back to a wrong action. At the end of the sermon on the mount, the storms came, the winds blew—the house built upon the right foundation stood. It endured the storm. Storms come. They came when Jesus was sleeping in a boat. They came when angry mobs disagreed with Him. They came when wicked hearts tried to trick Him. Storms come.

2. Even if this blind man had done wrong in the past, is there no room for compassion for him? “He deserves it,” can be an excuse for, “I’m not helping out,” or, “I’m not getting involved.” Every adult Jesus met had sin. Paul told the Romans, “ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (3:23). Their suffering may not have been connected to their sinning, but nevertheless, they weren’t sinless. Yet Jesus had compassion. Even upon the woman who was dragged from the bed of immorality. I doubt the Pharisees waited for her to get dressed. Sinful…shameful…guilty. Our Lord found a place for her in His heart. He’s like that.

3. The disciples didn’t seem to care for others. On another occasion when it was late, the disciples answer was to send them away, send the crowds home. Instead, Jesus fed them. When children gathered around Jesus, the disciples squawked. Jesus allowed the children to stay. Jesus doesn’t belong to us, we belong to Him. His heart is big. He cares. He loves. He enriches lives. That’s the way Jesus is. His people today need to grasp that. People who are hurting tend to be open to listen to the gospel message. Look about you today…you’ll see those whose aging parents are a real concern to them…you’ll see those whose marriages are coming apart…you’ll see those who are drowning in debt…you’ll see those whose lifestyles have lead to addictions that they can’t break…you’ll see those who are estranged from their children…you’ll see those who are lonely…broken…sad. They are all around. They are us, in many ways.

  We need to learn to love as Jesus did. We need to be the eyes, hands and mouth of God today. We can’t heal blindness, but we can cheer a person up. We can make time for others. We can let our lights shine so that even in a dark world, someone can see.

  The disciples asked, “Who sinned…” Does it matter? Will the answer keep me for engaging in good deeds for that person? Do I need to know that answer? Is it any business of mine anyway? Jesus stopped. When He continued on, the blind man was no longer blind.

  Amazing. That’s the Lord we follow.

Roger