"Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sined, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.'"
John 9:3

Here's the background: Jesus and the disciples were walking around town and saw a man who had been blind since birth; the disciples then asked him why he was blind-was it because he sinned? or his parents? The disciples had a false idea in their heads. They thought that A person's temporal circumstances were determined by their actions. If things were going well, it was because they were righteous and doing well in their relationship with God. If they had an ailment (such as blindness, or poverty, etc.) then it was because they had sinned. In this case, since the man had been blind since birth, they questioned if he sinned whilst in the womb or if his parents had sinned and caused their child to be cursed. Jesus says neither.

But, before going on to what he said, let me make clear what he did not say. He did not say that the man was without sin. There is a theological term called "original sin" that we all should know. Why should we know it? Because if we don't know how utterly sinful, rotten, and dirty creatures we are, then we don't know how desperately we need a Savior; we don't know how fully God's wrath is burning against us; and we don't know how urgently we need to proclaim this message to those who don't know God yet. So, quickly, original sin is a theological term that basically means that humanity, as a whole, is fallen. Adam sinned, and, as a result, all of his descendants are born straight into that sin. Psalms 51:5 says "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." (You can read more on original sin here; and here are some verses: 1 Kings 8:46, Romans 3:9-23; 7:18; 1 John 1:8-10) So, Jesus was not saying that the man wasn't born sinful. Just wanted to clear that up. Moving on--

What Jesus did say, however, was that the parents' sin before the man was born was not the reason for his blindness, nor was any sin he had committed. The reason it was possible to begin with was because we live in a fallen world and thus sicknesses, diseases, ailments, disabilities, etc. are possible for our fallen bodies to experience. But this does not mean it is necessarily the reason or purpose for such conditions. Let's look at what Jesus said: it was "that the works of God might be displayed in him." The reason God allowed that man to be blind from birth, the reason that he had never seen a sunrise or sunset; the reason he never was able to gaze out at the stars; the reason he couldn't work, marry, or do other things that people commonly desire; the reason for all the anguish the parents went through when realizing their son would not live a normal life; the reason for all of this was "that the works of God might be displayed in him."

If you follow the story through John chapter 9, you'll see that Jesus heals the man. Then he is questioned by the religious leaders as to who did it. He tells them Jesus did, and he says that Jesus is a prophet. Then they question him again and say that Jesus is a sinner; the healed man's response is one that is doubtful of the accusation of Jesus being a sinner. He then proceeds to imply that Jesus is from God (v. 31). Then he meets Jesus again and says "Lord, I believe" and then he worships Jesus. That is the work of God! Jesus had told a crowd of people in John 6:29, "this is the work of God, that you believe on him whom [God] has sent." Who did God send? Christ!

So, let's break it down real quick. A guy was born blind. It wasn't because of sin. Rather, it was that "the work of God might be displayed in him." Then Jesus heals him. Is this the "work of God." Seems like it, but, technically it's not. The guy goes on to say to Christ, "Lord, I believe" and then worships him. Jesus already said that "the work of God" is "to believe in him." Add it all together and you see the whole point: the reason for the guy being blind was not so that Christ could heal him, but that, through Christ healing him, he would believe in Christ!

Good stuff, right?? Well what does that mean for you? What junk do you have in your life? Is it a sickness? Is it financial burdens? Family life going down the drain? It might not be because of something you've done (though this is possible; David's life had lots of hardships as a result of his adultery and murdering; if this is the case with you, then repent!). It might be because God is going to use that situation to display his works in you, namely, that you believe on Christ.

If you'd like to do so, then contact me, let me know, and we can help you do that. Grace and peace-