Often times when Jesus was questioned during his ministry – especially by the Pharisees – he provided the needed answer and not necessarily the desired answer to the question that was asked. But this is not one of those times. T,his time, when Jesus’ disciples ask him a question, Jesus answers their question plainly. But his answer to their question prompts us to wrestle with a follow-up question: Are you OK with the answer Jesus provides?
We have an opportunity here to learn a very powerful lesson from Scripture pertaining to the source of suffering. When suffering presents itself in our lives, whether it slips in subtly or crashes into our lives like a wall-size wave in the ocean, one of the first questions that we seek to untangle in our minds is “Why?” Why did this or why is this happening? Is this my fault? Is this from God? Is there some other reason for this suffering in this way at this time in my life? Why?
And without being overly dramatic, how we answer that question can often serve as the strongest indicator of how well we’ll process and handle suffering in the future.
Let’s go back to the beginning of the story that Jesus used to lay the foundation for the point he was making. Jesus and his disciples came across a man who evidently had been born blind. The disciples’ question reflected a sentiment that was very common in their day: they presumed the man’s suffering was directly tied to some sin. In other words, in its simplest form, the rationale goes like this: when something bad happens to a person, it’s because of something bad they did. In this particular case, the man’s blindness prompted the disciples to ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (v.2).
Notice how strong their assumption was. They didn’t ask Jesus if it was possible that the man was born blind because of some sin he or his parents had committed. They had already concluded as much. The only help they needed from Jesus in their minds was to determine who was at fault – the man or his parents. It so permeated their thinking at that time that bad things happen to people because of the bad things they have done.
As flawed and flat-out wrong as this thinking is, it lingers in our minds today. Sometimes the suffering we experience might correlate with the sin very clearly in our mind. For example, “Because I trampled on God’s gift of sex for so long in my life, I’ll always suffer unhealthy relationships and never likely marry.” “Because I stole or was dishonest with financial arrangements in my past, my financial situation will always be a mess.”
Other times there may be no connection whatsoever, but we nevertheless conclude that some bad thing from our past must be the cause of our suffering in the present. “That shameful thing from my childhood or teenage years with a group of kids that I was involved with is why I can’t get a job.” “My sickness or chronic pain is God’s way of getting back at me for neglecting him for so many years.” There are many other versions and varieties, but the thinking is the same: “My past sin is the cause of my present suffering.”
If I may interject momentarily to stress something important… do you see how destructive sin can be? It can be so easy for us to downplay it in the here and now because of our assurance of forgiveness, but don’t the examples just provided – as well as the unmentioned ones still lingering in your head and heart right now – demonstrate the gravity of sin?
Even though you know they’re forgiven, certain sins from our past cling to us and haunt us, refusing to be forgotten long after they’ve been forgiven. So it isn’t just that sin is an affront to God and separates us from him – which is its worst consequence, to be sure – but it’s also the long-lasting effect of collateral damage that sin does to us years after it has been committed. All of us have experienced this, yet we still so easily give sin a pass in our lives as if it’s no big deal – even as past sins are shouting a contrary message inside our minds! So sin’s lingering memory often contributes to our confusion over the source and intent of our suffering.
And we struggle with the “Why?” of suffering for another reason: On the one hand, your past sin is absolutely not the cause of your present suffering. On the other, it may very well be. Let me explain.
God is not in the business of punishing his people for sins that have already been suffered and paid for in full. Jesus already took the punishment of our sin and made full payment for every sin you’ve ever sinned. The writer to the Hebrews reflected it well. In referring to Jesus, he wrote, “Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself “ (Hebrews 7:26-27). Is God a liar? He is not. So if he says that our sin has been paid for once for all by Jesus, then there is no sin left unpunished. Your suffering is not punishment for your sin.
On the other hand, your present suffering may have been caused by your past sin in the sense that it may be the consequence of it. Do you see the difference? Our society has laws in place that also include consequences for breaking those laws. For example, speeding, stealing, domestic violence, or drunk driving all carry legal repercussions from fines to jail time. While God isn’t punishing you for your sins in cases where you’ve been guilty of breaking the law, there are consequences.
And this doesn’t just apply to breaking the laws of government. There are other consequences. When God’s gift of sex is misappropriated outside the safety and security of marriage as he intended, unwanted children may end up being born to a single parent or tragically, even aborted. Disease may be spread or divorce may result. These are consequences.
When we fail to care for God’s gift of our body by neglecting any exercise or activity and eating garbage all the time, we are very likely to have health issues down the road. When we do, that isn’t God punishing us for our sin, but is rather a consequence of neglecting to take care of our body.
In all of these cases, God isn’t punishing us for our sins; rather, we are simply experiencing the consequences of our sinful choices. To be clear on all of these points, repentant hearts can be 100% sure that each and every one of those sins has been forgiven – but the consequences of some sinful choices may be ongoing. Sadly, sometimes those consequences can be so severe that Satan uses that to lead us to doubt or question our forgiveness.
Being able to grasp the source of suffering allows us to then focus on God’s desired outcomes from suffering. Jesus clarified that in his answer to the disciples’ question: “this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (v.3). Just what was the work that God longed to display through this man? Jesus explained that further when he later encountered the man after the man had been badgered by the Pharisees.
“When [Jesus] found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Who is he, sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in him’ Jesus said, ‘You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.’ Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him. Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind’” (v.35-39).
What is that key point from Jesus? He sums it up in that final verse. “Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind’” (v.39). Jesus used this miraculous healing of a physical limitation to illustrate a deeper theological truth: only through faith in him can anyone see what matters more than anything that can be captured with physical sight; only through faith in him can anyone see the forgiveness and salvation he alone offers. Those who think they see the source of forgiveness, salvation – or for that matter righteousness or any other spiritual substance – in anyone or anything other than the Savior will remain in their blindness. Whether through eyes of faith we see salvation in Jesus or through the eyes of self-righteousness we are blind to it, on that basis alone will Jesus judge the world. In other words, Jesus came to provide sight to those who know they are blind on their own, and to blind those who in unbelief are convinced they can see just fine.
So, are you OK with the answer Jesus provides? For those of us with a genuine desire to see God use us in great ways for his kingdom purposes, it is quite natural that we’d prefer him to achieve that through our amazing accomplishments, along the lines of the famous evangelists or through a thriving ministry or via our financial backing of unforgettable building projects. But what if the greatest way he chooses to use us is to best display his glorious work through our suffering? Are you OK with that?
The man whose eternity was changed for the better through Jesus this morning was OK with it. In fact, in hindsight, if we were able to interview that man from heaven right now and ask him if he had to choose one or the other – physical sight or spiritual sight, seeing his surroundings or seeing his Savior, which one do you suppose he’d choose?
There is no question. Undoubtedly the man would have willingly remained physically blind for the rest of his earthly life in favor of the spiritual sight Jesus provided for him. If God chooses to accomplish that eternal good through me, the act of leading souls to see Jesus as their Savior, then so be it – even if he uses my suffering to accomplish it.