JOHN 9:2 AND HIS DISCIPLES ASKED HIM, SAYING, MASTER, WHO DID SIN, THIS MAN, OR HIS PARENTS, THAT HE WAS BORN BLIND? The disciples asked a question that still puzzles many people today. Why are some children born with physical defects? Is it judgement from God upon the parents for some sin, or is it possibly Gods judgement upon the children for sins that God knows they will commit? In JOHN 5:14 Jesus had already told the lame man whom He healed at the pool of Bethesda to sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. Jesus Himself had linked sickness with sin. In this instance (JOHN 9:2), Jesus said this blindness was not caused by this mans or his parents sins. This verse (JOHN 9:2) has led many people to interpret the rest of this verse as saying that God made this man blind just so that He could heal him & be glorified thereby. From this thinking, many doctrinal teachings have arisen about how sickness & other problems in our lives are actually blessings from God intended to bring glory to God & the correction to us. This reasoning, doesnt line up with the other truths of Gods Word. DEUTERONOMY 28 settles forever the question of whether sickness, poverty, and oppression are really blessings in disguise. God said that sickness (DEUT. 28:21-22, 27-28, 35 and 59-61) and poverty (DEUT 28:31-34 and 38-48) are curses, not blessings from God. Jesus Christ redeemed us from these curses of the Law (GALATIANS 3:13) so that now the blessings may come upon us through Christ. Gods curses have been placed on Jesus & removed from those who have accepted Jesus sacrifice. Jesus also taught that a house divided against itself cannot stand (MAT 12:25-26, MARK 3:23-25 and LUKE 11:17-18). If God made this man blind, then Jesus would have been going against the judgment of God to make him well. If we really believe God makes people sick as a blessing, then we certainly shouldnt pray for their healing or send them to a doctor or give them medicine, lest they get well. If sickness were a blessing, then we should be laying hands on people & blessing them with blindness & cancer. This, of course, is not what Gods Word tells us to do, and it is certainly not the example that Jesus gave us. ACTS 10:38 says, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holly Spirit & with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. Jesus said, Truly truly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do: for what things the Father does, these also the Son does (JOHN 5:19). Jesus never made people sick so that He could heal them; so we can conclude that God the Father doesnt do that either (JOHN 14:9-10). Jesus was simply stating that regardless of what caused this infirmity, it was the work of God to heal this man. Jesus made a similar statement in JOHN 11:4 concerning Lazarus. Jesus said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. This was not an explanation of why Lazarus was sick but was rather Jesus taking something the evil forces meant for destruction & working it together for good (ROM 8:28). Jesus told His disciples in JOHN 11:15 that He was glad for their sakes that He wasnt with Lazarus when he fell sick so that they also might believe. Jesus implied that if He had been there, He would have healed Lazarus, and they would not have had the privilege of seeing Lazarus raised from the dead. Why would Jesus have healed Lazarus if it was Gods will to kill him so He could raise him from the dead? It was not God who killed Lazarus or made this beggar blind. Jesus was simply redeeming the situation by saying, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him (JOHN 9:3). SO HEY MAN! CAN I GET A WITNESS? Gods Word in 1 JOHN 4:17 says, ...AS JESUS IS SO ARE WE. We gots the same power that raised Jesus & Laz & whoever from the dead (EPH 1:17-19). We are commanded to redeem the time (EPHESIANS 5:16) that means make the most of every opportunity. God is a good God, He is not putting sickness & disease on us or putting us through tribulation to work some redemptive purpose in our lives. Yes, He did that to people in he Old Testament. And why is God not doing that today? Its because of Jesus! God is the same yesterday, today & forever. Its people who change. This man in JOHN 9:2 was not born blind because of any one persons sins but because sin in general had corrupted the perfect balance that God created in nature. Therefore, some maladies happen, not as a direct result of an individuals sins, but as an indirect result of sin in general, ROMANS 8:22 FOR WE KNOW THAT THE WHOLE CREATION GROANS & TRAVAILS IN PAIN TOGETHER UNTIL NOW.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 12:39:28 +0000