Why God?!

John 9:1-41

9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned,this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.

17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”

25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”

30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

One of the most difficult questions we face as Christians is “why?”  We are always searching, seeking for the answer to this question.  It is part of our nature to want to know why things happen.  Why did I lose a loved one? Why do bad things happen to me?  Why are there young children going hungry?  Why does God allow evil to exist at all?  Why God, Why?  The easiest answer to that question seems to be sin.  Sin has been the answer to these, and many other, questions.  We see in verse two of our scripture this morning that it was a prominent Jewish belief that sin is what caused this man’s blindness, either his own sin or his parents.  When it comes to things unexplainable, sin is the easy out.  Its like when Griffin asks the one millionth question of the day and the only answer I can come up with is “because I said so.”  Sin is that way for us adults, if there is something that comes about that we have difficulty explaining or understanding, it is easy to say that sin is to blame.  Afterall, it is our common understanding that it is sin that has separated us from the graces of God starting with the Garden of Eden.  Sin seems to be the absence of God; therefore sin is the scapegoat and the easiest answer to these difficult questions.  

After asking whose sin caused the blindness of the man in our scripture, the disciples get the answer they weren’t expecting in verse three, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”   We know that this man and his parents both sinned but what Jesus is trying to convey is that it was not his, nor his parents, sin that caused his blindness.  Instead, Jesus explains the suffering of this man by saying that his blindness happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.  Hold on a minute... This man is blind so that work of God might be displayed in him.  Might be displayed in him.  Now the question becomes, “So God made this man blind with the possibility of His work being shown in him.”  I do not know what you think, but this does not seem fair to me.  This man has been blind since birth just so the works of God might be shown through him.  Let’s apply this to some other way of suffering:  God makes millions of children across the globe go hungry so that His work might be shown through them...?  Again, this does not seem fair.  But maybe we are looking at it wrong.  Jesus never says that God made, or even allowed, this to happen.  Jesus just says that “it happened.”  To think that God makes people suffer just so they might be signs of His love is not logical.  If God is love and full of mercy and grace, then we cannot possibly think that He willingly chooses those will suffer and those who will not.  If God is love, in the truest definition of the word, then we cannot think He predestined those who will suffer and those who will not.  

So, where do we go from here?  If God Himself does not choose whom is afflicted and we do not blame sin, then what is the reasoning for this suffering.  Some would take this opportunity to say that God does not exist, for if He does, why does He allow this to happen?  Now that I most likely have your attention, you are probably looking for me to give you some sort of amazing answer into why there is suffering... I cannot.  I believe there is some sort of randomness or mystery to this life that cannot be simply explained.  Is God the cause of that mystery and randomness?  I cannot say with 100% certainty.  But what I do know with complete certainty is that God’s grace and love can be found in suffering, loss, disappointment and pain.  I refuse to blame God for children going hungry, for the loss of a loved one, for the pain we find in this life because God is the only reason we know any different.  God is the only reason we know what it means to be blessed.  God is the only reason we know what love truly means.  If not for God, all we would know is pain, suffering, disappointment, and loss.  We are able to separate love from loss because of our connection to God.  We are able to understand the difference between suffering and comfort because of God.  We know happiness in the face of disappointment because of God.  We can see miracles through pain because of God.  The only reason we able to separate these things is because of God.  That is how I know God lives, more than that, dwells, makes a home with those who see and acknowledge His glory.  

We only know and understand love, because God first loved us.  We only know miracles because we have seen them.  We only know what it means to be blessed because God has shown us these blessings time after time.  If not for God, we would know what any of these things mean.  If not for God, we would only know pain, suffering, disappointment and loss.  As Christians, we were not commissioned to explain why things happen.  We are commissioned to show the world love in the face of hate, comfort in the face of disappointment, relief in the face of suffering, and blessing in the face of loss.  It is neither sin nor predestination that causes affliction and suffering.  It is this crazy mystery and randomness of life, circumstances beyond control that cause these things.  There is no rhyme or reason behind them but know that there is a possibility, in every situation, to show the world the works of God.  

This is exactly what our faith is about and exactly what Jesus was showing us in our scripture this morning:  showing others the glory of God.  The Biblical commentator William Barclay says, “Any kind of suffering is an opportunity to demonstrate the glory of God in our own lives.  [And] by helping those who are in trouble or in pain, we can demonstrate to others the glory of God.”  I want to encourage you to think of your faith as a highway and upon realizing your faith, that highway now runs straight through you.  When we spend parts of ourselves to help those in trouble, in pain, in distress, in sorrow, in affliction, God is using us as the highway by which He sends his help into the lives of His people.  To help a fellow person in need is to manifest the glory of God, for it is to show what God is like.  

It is part of our nature to want to know why, to answer that question.  The honest truth is that we rarely find an answer to that question that suffices.  In the times we do find an answer to the question of why, it often times means only more questions.  But that won’t keep us from asking and that is ok too.  I actually encourage you to keep asking, in the hopes that you find your answer in the scope of God’s work.  

Verse 39 says, “Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.’”  Notice how carefully Jesus words this verse, he does not say that he has come into the world to judge; rather, he says that it is for judgment that he has come into the world.  There is a settle difference: Jesus is not the one judging; instead, Jesus is the one whom we judge ourselves against.  When we see Jesus as something to wonder at, something to respond to, something to react to, then we are on the road towards God.  That is the light of the world Jesus is referring to.  The blind man in our scripture this morning undoubtedly knew he was exactly that, blind.  It is easy to assume this is how he was characterized for his entire life, even by his friends and family.  The blind man knew of his suffering, he was more than aware of it.  It seems obvious, right, but a question that we all must face is what makes us blind?  What is our suffering or affliction that makes us blind?  The person who is conscious of their blindness, and who longs to see better and to know more, is the person whose eyes can be opened and who can be led more and more deeply into the truth.  

It is typical with our human relationships that the better we know a person, the more we 

know about their failings, shortcomings and weaknesses.  But our relationship with Jesus is much 

different: the more we know Jesus, the greater the wonder he becomes.  As we prepare for our 

hymn of invitation, I encourage you to take a few moments to think about what blinds you and then 

take those things and lift them up to God.  Take some time to think about the wonder of Jesus in the 

frame of your own life.  Lastly, I encourage you to be the highway in which those around you choose 

as the path to find God even through the  struggles of pain, suffering, disappointment and loss 

because you chose to see God as love.  Amen.