While Jesus and His disciples were walking through Jerusalem, they saw a man blind from birth. The disciples immediately asked a question that many people still ask today. If suffering exists, who is responsible? Had this man sinned? Had his parents sinned? Why had he been born blind?
This was not an unusual question in Jesus’ day. Many people believed that suffering was a direct punishment from God. If someone was sick, disabled, poor, or afflicted, it was often assumed that either the person or the person’s family must have committed some especially serious sin. The disciples were simply expressing what many people around them already believed.
Jesus rejected that explanation.
The man was not blind because he or his parents had committed some particular sin. Instead, Jesus said:
“It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3)
The disciples were looking for someone to blame. Jesus directed their attention to God’s mercy and God’s power.
Jesus then did something unexpected. He spat on the ground, made mud, and placed it upon the man’s eyes. Then He told the blind man:
“Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” (John 9:7)
The man obeyed. He went to the pool, washed away the mud, and came back seeing.
The Pool of Siloam was a well-known water source in Jerusalem. In recent years, archaeologists have uncovered large portions of the pool mentioned in John’s Gospel, allowing modern visitors to view the remains of the place where Jesus sent the blind man to wash. The discovery reminds us that the events recorded in Scripture took place in real places among real people.
The miracle immediately changed the man’s life, but the story is about far more than restored eyesight. The neighbors were astonished. The Pharisees were skeptical. The man himself gradually came to understand who Jesus was. By the end of the chapter, he not only sees with his eyes, but also confesses faith in Jesus and worships Him.
Human beings naturally want explanations for suffering. We want to know why tragedy strikes one person and not another. We want to know who is responsible. Yet Jesus refused to turn the man’s blindness into a lesson about guilt. Instead, He made it a lesson about grace. The man’s blindness became the setting for God’s work.
Jesus taught that sickness, disability, and tragedy are rarely the direct result of a specific sin. Scripture repeatedly teaches the same lesson. Job suffered greatly even though he was a faithful servant of God. The apostles endured persecution and martyrdom even though they faithfully served Christ. Christians should therefore be careful not to assume suffering is evidence of God’s anger or that prosperity proves God’s favor.
Why God allows suffering is one of life’s great mysteries. We cannot fully understand all His purposes. Yet Christians can hold firm to truths even when answers are hard to find.
God created the world without sin, suffering, grief, or death. These entered the world through sin. God sent His Son into the world to break the power of sin and death. When Christ comes again, suffering will finally be removed forever. Until then, God continues to work through both joys and sorrows for the good of His people.
Suffering often strips away the things we trust and drives us back to God. It reminds us that the things of this world cannot save us. In the midst of hardship, Christians find strength in knowing that God is present with them. His Spirit intercedes for His people even when they do not know how to pray. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The miracle also reveals something important about Jesus. After healing the man, Jesus declared:
“I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5)
These words point beyond the miracle itself. The blind man received much more than the gift of sight.
As the chapter unfolds, the man’s understanding of Jesus grows. At first, he knows only the name of the Man who healed him. Later, he calls Him a prophet. As the Pharisees question him, mock him, and finally cast him out, he keeps speaking the truth about what Jesus has done for him.
Jesus then sought out the man and revealed Himself more fully. When Jesus asked if he believed in the Son of Man, the former blind man replied that he wished to know who He was. Jesus answered:
“You have seen Him, and it is He who is speaking to you.” (John 9:37)
The man’s response is one of the simplest and most beautiful confessions of faith in the New Testament:
“Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. (John 9:38)
Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: http://whatdoesthismean.blog
The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack
Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana
©2026 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com.
