Sunday, April 30, 2006

Who sinned; this man or his parents? –John 9:1-7

A friend shared with me about a man with a very aggressive form of cancer who attends a Bible study. His cancer has come back again and he is facing a battle. He stopped coming to the Bible study. I asked his friend why and he said he stopped coming because someone at the Bible study said he was sick because he had committed some grievous sin.

We need to be careful when we decide to play “mini-god” and make pronouncements that hurt and damage someone’s spirit or faith; especially someone in the throws of battling cancer or any other major issue.

In John 9:1-7, Jesus passes by a man born blind from birth and the disciples asked Jesus “Did this man sin or his parents, that he was born blind?” In verse three, Jesus answers “Neither has this man sinned nor his parents but that the works of God should be displayed in him.” (From Jerry’s combined translation) Neither sinned; he was born blind so God could display his powerful, wonderful, healing power. If a specific act of sin was the cause of sickness and cancer, we would be sick all the time and have cancer all the time. If we belong to Christ, our sins are forgiven. Why do we think God grades sin on a curve? Obviously, they think the man with cancer must have committed a more grievous sin and therefore, deserves God’s punishment! All sin separates us from the pure and holy God, not just the ones we judge to be grievous. (Grievous sins are those sins we find objectionable in other people but never bother to see them in ourselves.) “To judge ourselves is our duty, to judge others is our sin.” (Matthew Henry)

God help us. And He has. His Son Jesus died for us to make us free from being sniveling, finger pointing mini-gods. In Jesus name we’re free. Amen

Commentary from the Life Application Bible: “A common belief in Jewish culture was that calamity or suffering was the result of some great sin. But Christ used this man’s suffering to teach about faith and to glorify God. We live in a fallen world, where good behavior is not always rewarded and bad behavior not always punished. Therefore, innocent people sometimes suffer. If God took suffering away whenever we asked, we would follow Him for comfort and convenience not out of love and devotion. Regardless of the reasons for our suffering, Jesus has the power to help us deal with it. Don’t ask God “why did this happen to me?” Instead ask God to give you a deeper perspective and strength to get through the trial."

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