Disabilities and the Sovereign Goodness of God

John 9 - Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind (By Luke Lucero) May 26, 2013

(Inspired by “Why Was This Child Born Blind?” and “The Works of God and the Worship of Jesus” sermons by John Piper)

Today we’re going to talk about disabilities and the sovereign goodness of God. Disabilities break into life in various forms. It can be in genetic mutations, or after a traumatic accident, an illness or infection, and even thru aging alongside the inevitable degenerative processes. Despite the U.S. being a country that is quite advanced in terms of medicine and its technological application, 20% of their population has disabilities, which is still a big proportion. Even a church is not immune to having “disabilities” as well. As such, fundamental questions about God’s goodness in light of these disabilities are faced by the pastors, shepherds, and shepherdesses alike, being surrounded by a number of people that may as well ask them such questions regarding God’s goodness or maybe challenging the truth that if God has a good design in all the things that He creates, would then the existing disability of a person be also be a part of His “good design”. How then do we respond as Christians? For us to hear from Him, we must learn to submit our heart to Him and His Word to be able to understand what His purpose is on why we have such disabilities. In this passage we will talk about two things:

• Why Was This Child Born Blind? There is an important distinction between the cause and the purpose of a disability. Ultimately all disabilities exist to point us to Christ who willingly suffered so that our sufferings related to disabilities will disappear.
• The Works of God and the Worship of Jesus. In this part, we will talk about God’s purpose behind every suffering having also the intent of influencing more than just the person who is disabled.

1. Why Was This Child Born Blind?

     One of the hardest things in this world is to see the suffering of a child who is disabled especially for the loved ones of that child. And this disability is quite expensive not only in terms of financially but also emotional, mentally, and physically. There are a variety of diseases with each having their own sorrows, and for a married couple bearing a child with a congenital or inherited anomaly, it can put a strain to their relationship as husband and wife. Yes, they may have been joyful when their prayers were answered for the wife to bear a child but what if the child developed an anomaly along the way? Or even for those who developed it while growing up? It can be difficult to accept. As shepherds of God’s flock, what can we do? The Bible itself permitted suffering and sorrow which is what makes it believable. In all areas of our life, God has an answer. In Jn 9:5, God’s light is on the world and shining on those disabilities. For God did not leave us to solve on our own the situations that we are experiencing. Let’s pray that God will open our eyes and that we learn to walk with Jesus.

     In Jn 9:1, the blind person is now a MAN but he was born blind. We will meet his parents in Jn 9:18, and we learn that his parents are not capable to support him, so the man became a beggar (Jn 9:8). Life has been very hard on him. So what can we learn here in verse 1? Jesus noticed the man as he was passing by. And what happened next? The disciples noticed that blind man which prompted them to ask Jesus the question seen in Jn 9:2. The question is crucial but notice that the story did not start with the disciples seeing the man first or them asking the question but with Jesus noticing/seeing the man. So the disciples got occupied with the man because Jesus noticed him first. What can we learn about Jesus here? That he is attentive, merciful, and moves towards those with disabilities. In this modern times, we usually avoid people like the man born blind. But let’s learn to approach them and see them the way Jesus does and not in the way of the Pharisees who saw them but avoided them, which is natural for people. Then again, we’re not natural people because we are Christians and we follow Christ and I do believe that His spirit is in us. No buts. Once, in our lives, we have been touched and seen despite our brokenness by this merciful Savior. If you want to be remarkable in this planet and in the eyes of God, be like Jesus who saw this disabled this person. Anyway, God will show you how go about it.

     In Jn 9:2, the disciples asked for an explanation of the man’s blindness. Probably, they were not compassionate during those times. The scenario we can imaging is the disciples in front of the man born blind and blatantly asking Jesus that question. So what is Jesus’ response, him being the merciful Savior that he is? He did not answer in a condescending way to his disciples. Jesus responded to them in a gentle manner although the answer he gave did not answer the question that they asked. For the disciples asked the cause but Jesus answered in explanation to its purpose. If we rephrase the question, “What is the cause of his blindness? Is it because of the man’s sinfulness or of his parents’?” We have this thinking that the specific suffering we are experiencing today is due to a specific sin that we committed, the notion of “karma.” But this is not the case, as we see in Jn 9:3. It was not the man nor his parents, and this is very significant, because if it was, you are then attributing it to a human cause. Christ points not to look for the human explanation of the cause but for the purpose of the suffering. In other words, this specific suffering is not owing to a specific sin of that man nor his parents. Jesus urges that they look at the purpose. The explanation of the man’s blindness is not on the past cause but on the future purpose. Many bible teachers do not agree with this. As such, they say that the man’s blindness God uses to show His glory. Making it clearer, they say that since the man is currently blind, God uses the man to show His glory but Jesus’ point is that God has a purpose on why the man is blind.

     For us to better understand it, there are three reasons why it would not work. (1) The disciples asked an explanation for the blindness but when you say God has no purpose in that blindness but simply that God saw this blind man and that He will use him for His glory, it will not satisfy the question being asked. Why is the man born blind? And Jesus answers that the reason why he is blind is because there is a purpose for which that God’s glory be shown in him. (2) God is omniscient, He knows exactly what is happening every minute and moment of His creations. During the conception of a child, if there are defective chromosomes or mutated DNA being produced, do you think that God does not know about it? And do you not believe that He can simply say no for He owns and controls everything. If God foresees and permits conception that He knows will result to a disability, He has a reason for that and that reason is His purpose, His design. God never meant for a child to be created when He has no plan for that child, there are no accidents in God’s mind and hands. (3) Any attempt to deny His sovereign, wise, purposeful control on birth has a head-on collision with certain passages of the Bible specifically Exodus 4:11 and Psalms 139:13. God will always have a reason for such things to happen which is to display the works of God. In Jn 9:3, Jesus is specific to say to not look at the cause but on the purpose.

     The truth in suffering can only have the ultimate meaning in relation with God. Without God, our sufferings have no meaning. Many things in the Bible do not make sense unless God has the supreme value in the passage. In this point, Jesus’ healing of the blind man is for God’s glory. In 2 Cor 12:7-8, Paul pleads about his thorn in the flesh but in 2 Cor 12:9, Christ says that, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In other words, “I will put my power on display not by healing you but by sustaining you.” So healing grace and sustaining grace both display the words of God and that they display the supreme value of God.

Jn 9:4 means two things. (1) The works of God is done through the hands of Jesus. The works of God are the works of Jesus. (2) This pertains to his clear death (v4b), from a ministry of one healing to a ministry of one dying. The Son swallowed by the sins and suffering of the world. In Revelations 21:4, God gives us hope and comfort, and let’s pray that He may give us eyes to see Him in the suffering that we experience for it is one of many ways of expression of His love for us.

2. The Works of God and the Worship of Jesus

     All things work for the good, even in our pain. We know that in the first part, that even our disabilities have a purpose. In Romans 8:28, everything that happens to us is according to His purpose and it is good.

     Let’s go to Jn 9:6-7 which is the actual healing of the man born blind. In Jn 9:3-4, 6 rises a question, who is Jesus Christ? And how can we respond to Him?

There is a divine controversy designed by God in this passage. This scenario brings some people to blaspheme Jesus Christ and others to worship him. The blasphemy is in Jn 9:24, God gets glory even when Jesus being demonized. While there others who also worshiped which is in Jn 9:38, the climax of the story. Worship literally means giving back worth to God and this is what the blind man saw in Jesus but what the Pharisees did not see. That’s why this passage ends still with blindness but not of the literal sense, blindness of the Pharisees which is the worst kind.

     Why mud? Mud and saliva, quite a disgusting combination, but why did Jesus use this as his means of healing the blind man? Two things, (1) it was against the law to do it. It was Sabbath day (Jn 9:13-14) what he did was against the Pharisees’ understanding of the law. The Pharisees developed many applications on what work should be prohibited on Sabbath and one is kneading dough. The word for mud is similar to dough as such, Jesus broke that law. So why Sabbath? Matthew 12:8 gives us the answer. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. He defines Sabbath. Sabbath is rest is healing. And for that man who is blind and for his parents who took care of him until he was an adult, Christ gave them rest on that day, rest from the burdens that they were afflicted with. Only God creates and sustains, we don’t. The Sabbath is for God’s exalting blessing for the broken and weary. The heart of the blind man was exposed and came to shape and faith which became stronger through this healing which what Jesus was exactly after. (2) It is nice to know that God always or usually uses means to show His glory or His power. Christ did not need a donkey but still he rode one to Jerusalem. We can see this in our daily lives, with the little things that he provides to sustain us (food, shelter, even sex) and gives even flavor for us to appreciate that life is really a wonderful gift and comes from Him.

     What was the reason for Jn 9:7? What was the meaning behind John pointing out the translation of the Pool of Shiloam? The water in that pool was sent there by a stream from a distance. In telling the blind man to go there, Jesus was making a comparison with the pool called “Sent” and himself as being sent by the Father as the living water. If this is right, the water signifies not only cleansing, healing but also life given by Jesus.

We can notice a resulting conversation after what happened, five to be exact. It is a step-by-step “process” with which the blind man saw Jesus in clarity for who He really is after he was healed.

     The first conversation happened in Jn 9:8-12 between the blind man and his neighbors. They were arguing that if the healed man was really the blind man. In this, the blind man calls Jesus as the man although he knows him. The second conversation, you can see in Jn 9:3-17, between the blind man and the Pharisees. In Jn 9:15, the Pharisees asked him why he could see. But something was already changing in the beggar that’s why he pertained to Jesus as the Prophet, the one sent by God (no longer the man). The third conversation (Jn 9:18-23) is between the Pharisees and the parents of the man. The Pharisees asked them questions with the parents answering them indefinitely because in Jn 9:22, they feared the Pharisees. The point here is for us to see the courage of the man compared to his parents. The fourth conversation is between he beggar and the Pharisees again in Jn 9:24-34, and we can now see the full-blown courage of the beggar and the full-blown blasphemy of the Pharisees. The Pharisees threatened the man that they will excommunicate him if he continued to glorify and worship Jesus but amazingly the man replied in Jn 9:25 a powerful testimony of God over a bad argument. He is seeing Jesus more and more, and his courage in standing up for Jesus is growing as well. So in Jn 9:28, the Pharisees reviled him with them becoming blinder (John 5) which leads us to think who really is the blind one? The last conversation happened in Jn 9:35-38, between Jesus and the beggar. What is significant is that this conversation was initiated by Jesus after the man was threatened and cast out. Jesus sought him and found him. So the next chapter in John is not there by accident, for Jesus is really a shepherd to his flock whom he gathers. Notice their conversation in these verses. This the last thing we heard about this blind man which is the point of the story. Jesus does the work of God, he is the glory of God, he is to be worshiped  And the blind man was not only healed from his physical blindness but slowly seeing Jesus first as man then as prophet, and even to the point of defending him even at great risk and eventually being cast out, and Jesus seeking him and giving him the truth, he too was healed from his spiritual blindness.

     Do you worship Jesus? Do you worship Him even amidst threat or danger? Do you confess him openly or defend him with your simple testimony of I was blind but now I see? We can learn that God has a wise and good Christ-exalting purpose for the things that happen in our lives. We can also learn that Jesus is the only path for that purpose. Without Jesus, our sufferings are in vain. Jesus sought out this rejected beggar, this man that nobody wanted and now we learn that Jesus is seeking us right now to make us courageous to worship Him amidst persecution. God bless you all.