John 9 - Why people are born with disabilities

Mini-Lesson on Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

Each layer requires the solution of its own set of design problems, all of these solutions serving the demands of the top-level solution. That will sound familiar to engineers, but this hierarchical way of tackling hard problems was first used in life.

Biologic Institute.

John 9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

With many healings of folks who had disabilities later in life fresh in their minds, the disciples see a man who has been blind form birth and they think, aha, what would the Master say about this? They knew that God reserved the right to punish the descendants of people who hated Him to the the 3rd and 4th generation.

Exodus 20:5 -I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. That was in reference to worshipping idols, the second commandment.

Jesus' response would have sounded surprising to their ears.

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

The key phrase is that point in bold, the specific answer to the disciples' question. Note the snippet above from the Biologic Institute. That will be part of the first point that Jesus is making. [Note that this does not disqualify the truth that God can still punish to the third and fourth generation. Anyone who knows their own family history should have at least one example of how the recklessness and disobedience of one ancestor caused great pain for subsequent generations.]

The work of God had already been displayed in the blind man's life. He had survived because his other senses had made up for some of what his blindness kept away from him. I read an article a while back on how stroke victims recover from damage to one side of their brains. The other side begins to develop characteristics to make up for the damaged side. The same happens with victims of Cephalic disorder. People born with diminished brain mass, yes, the half a brain problem, and yet they become surprisingly functional. The brain adapts to the missing abilities and rearranges itself to handle the extra workload.

Indeed this kind of intelligence, a body reordering itself to make of for what it lacks, is quite miraculous. We are witnessing in these patients a work of God in progress.

The other point Jesus makes is the agape love others show the disabled. God uses other people to make the life livable for the disadvantaged. How many Down Syndrome children have grown and had a full life thanks to a caring parent or guardian? The great Provider Himself is evident in that love that cannot be repayed. I loved the move "My Left Foot" for the performance of the mother of the crippled writer. Brenda Fricker, a little-known English actress, won the Academy Award for her portrayal of the greatest mom that I have ever seen portrayed. The story is a great example of what can happen when the two principles come together. "My Left Foot"'s pivotal scene in my opinion is when the young artist first puts his one good appendage to work, writing "Mother" on the floor with chalk. It's one of the most moving scenes in cinema history.

6Having said 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.

There are three different healings of blind men in the gospels. Each one is different. Unlike our modern revivals in which there is a sameness about the healings or attempted healings. We're familiar with the healer who puts his hand on the troubled person's forehead, says a prayer and then pushes the person back. They fall down into the waiting arms of some volunteer.

Perhaps Jesus wanted this to look more like work, since it was the Sabbath [In Matthew 12, Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 - "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" in response to being challenged for healing on the Sabbath. In seeing such obvious grace as mere work revealed the rottenness of the Pharisees.] John 5 tells of the healing at Bethesda, also a Sabbath. Here Jesus seems to be raising the bar by making it seem as if he is doing some undeniable work.

Another point here is that Jesus is not focusing on the healing. He shows how the man's blindness glorified God the Father through the work of His son.

8His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" 9Some claimed that he was.
Others said, "No, he only looks like him."
But he himself insisted, "I am the man."

Note how the people threw down every excuse they could think of so they could stil not believe. This is the same dynamic a new believer has after he has encountered the living Lord. He excitedly tells people what has happened in their life, expecting them to be happy for him. But all too often the new believer runs into conflict. The people around him give him grief rather than glad tidings. Does that sound familiar to any of you? You are at peace for the first time in your life, but many people close to you want to debunk your experience.

I'm reminded of something funny a relative of mine said after I became born again. They said, "Whatever happened to Jim? He's totally different. It's almost as if he was abducted by aliens!" Imagine how the blind beggar felt when they said he wasn't even the same man? There is a humorous yet clear parallel there.

10"How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.

11He 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."

Notice there was no fancy apologetics, no intellectual silver bullet that would amaze the skeptics, just a clear and simple testimony. Often we drive ourselves crazy trying to convince everyone else and we resort back to our own strengths, trying to bedazzle the critics. Sometimes God may give us something to say, but there is always a central place for our own experience in our walk with Jesus Christ.

The words to "Amazing Grace" are exactly this, "once I was blind but now I see". John Newton used that saying to describe his turning from being the captain of a slave ship to one of the greatest preachers and hymn writers who ever lived. Far beyond the heat of the debate and the battle over how best to explain Truth, there will be a moment in the life of every nonbeliever when they will have to face their demons or die.

It is that simple testimony that will be the most effective, in my opinion. And, God willing, the matter-of-fact encounter with the living God through Jesus Christ will resonate where all reason and skepticism cannot enter.

"But this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life". The writer Christy Brown of "My Left Foot" fame felt that mighty hand when he wrote that first word on the floor. God was going to work miracles through him. He had sharpened the ability in his left foot to counter the devastating cerebral palsy he was born with. And He had given him a mother whose dedication would help him become a successful novelist. The pivotal scene is below. If you do watch it, have a Kleenex at the ready......