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