Who's To Blame?
Fault Finding in John 9
Moments after Jesus averted religious leaders attempting to stone Him for claiming to be God's Son, He and His followers passed a blind beggar. Within a very short time during a very long day, Jesus had wrangled with religious leaders more than once, revealing their spiritual blindness. Now, from Jesus' own followers came an interesting, but telling question:
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
We're going to park here and think about why anyone would ask this question. "Who sinned?" falsely assumes
Let's Get Something Straight
The question in John 9:2 reflects a belief in what we call the "Prosperity Gospel", which basically holds these assumptions to be self-evident:
Why Do We Blame?
Human minds have a penchant for making sense of stuff. If we can't make sense of stuff, we make stuff up. Searching for root causes scratches our itch for understanding, but if not carefully (and prayerfully) monitored, it can quickly lead to false assumptions and toxic beliefs. Blaming is an outcome of toxic thought patterns. Why do we do it?
If this pattern seems pretty familiar to you, you probably have kids. Or maybe you've been in a toxic workplace. Perhaps you've been in an abusive relationship or even a performance-based religious setting. Maybe you remember a time when you blamed someone. All of this pathology harks back to the original Blame Game when humanity came apart at the seams: man blamed woman who blamed serpent.
Sin, That's What It Is
This question, "Whose fault is it?" reveals sin in the hearts of Jesus' followers. They were quick to assume that sin had caused this unsightly "problem". By figuring out where to put the blame, they could ease their consciences over a "problem" that was out of their control. They didn't have to do anything about it if they could assign judgment. They could feel spiritually superior knowing that their fellow image-bearer was more of a sinner than they. In this, they were no more insightful than the religious leaders who, earlier in the same day, attempted to execute a woman (but not the man, mind you) caught in adultery, placing full blame on her.
The "Why" Matters As Much As the "What"
A better question regarding the man who was born blind would be "Why?" Obviously, if he were born that way, it couldn't have been his own sin, because unborn infants are incapable of sin. To blame his parents is to misrepresent the goodness of God, who does not "punish" sin by creating a person with disabilities or limitations.
Jesus gives the ultimate answer:
“It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him."
Everything, everything done by a sovereign God is for His glory. Decades before this event, God had planned for this precious man to suffer blindness so that Jesus could come along and turn his blindness into sight!
Would God have been glorified so much if there had been no reason for healing?
Three Action Steps
Next time you're tempted to assign blame (toward someone else or even yourself), think again. Ask what is in your heart that you would seek to blame. Identify where responsibility should be taken, and own it if it's yours. Ask background questions like "why?" to discern whether a situation needs your compassion and empathy rather than judgment.
Secondly, "zoom out" to include God's perspective: Jesus came to turn blind people into sighted people, and that includes us! WE are the blind people who need Jesus. Everyone, religious or not, is blind until Jesus enters our lives. He turns our darkness into light (John 9:5).
Lastly, I invite you to actively look for evidence of God's glory. Our redeeming God is busy turning ashes into beauty In His economy, nothing goes to waste; everything and everyone is redeem-able! Even suffering (and I say this carefully for those of you who are still in it) has a beautiful purpose: to turn us from blindness to glorious sight!
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©2023 Julianne Knapp. First Published 2.7.23
Moments after Jesus averted religious leaders attempting to stone Him for claiming to be God's Son, He and His followers passed a blind beggar. Within a very short time during a very long day, Jesus had wrangled with religious leaders more than once, revealing their spiritual blindness. Now, from Jesus' own followers came an interesting, but telling question:
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
We're going to park here and think about why anyone would ask this question. "Who sinned?" falsely assumes
- physical limitations are a result of sin, therefore
- disabilities can be traced to a cause, therefore
- humans can judge others based on appearance, therefore
- spiritual hierarchies can exist . . .
Let's Get Something Straight
The question in John 9:2 reflects a belief in what we call the "Prosperity Gospel", which basically holds these assumptions to be self-evident:
- if you are good and have God's favor, you will prosper
- if you are prospering, you have God's favor
- if you are bad and don't have God's favor, you will flounder
- if you are floundering, you are out of the will of God
- you get to define "good" and "bad"
- you have to "do" something to earn God's favor
- God won't be pleased with you unless you "do" something
Why Do We Blame?
Human minds have a penchant for making sense of stuff. If we can't make sense of stuff, we make stuff up. Searching for root causes scratches our itch for understanding, but if not carefully (and prayerfully) monitored, it can quickly lead to false assumptions and toxic beliefs. Blaming is an outcome of toxic thought patterns. Why do we do it?
- We feel shame ourselves
- We feel "right in our own eyes"
- We fear consequences of bad stuff happening to us
- We don't want to take responsibility
- We want spiritual "high ground"
If this pattern seems pretty familiar to you, you probably have kids. Or maybe you've been in a toxic workplace. Perhaps you've been in an abusive relationship or even a performance-based religious setting. Maybe you remember a time when you blamed someone. All of this pathology harks back to the original Blame Game when humanity came apart at the seams: man blamed woman who blamed serpent.
Sin, That's What It Is
This question, "Whose fault is it?" reveals sin in the hearts of Jesus' followers. They were quick to assume that sin had caused this unsightly "problem". By figuring out where to put the blame, they could ease their consciences over a "problem" that was out of their control. They didn't have to do anything about it if they could assign judgment. They could feel spiritually superior knowing that their fellow image-bearer was more of a sinner than they. In this, they were no more insightful than the religious leaders who, earlier in the same day, attempted to execute a woman (but not the man, mind you) caught in adultery, placing full blame on her.
The "Why" Matters As Much As the "What"
A better question regarding the man who was born blind would be "Why?" Obviously, if he were born that way, it couldn't have been his own sin, because unborn infants are incapable of sin. To blame his parents is to misrepresent the goodness of God, who does not "punish" sin by creating a person with disabilities or limitations.
Jesus gives the ultimate answer:
“It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him."
Everything, everything done by a sovereign God is for His glory. Decades before this event, God had planned for this precious man to suffer blindness so that Jesus could come along and turn his blindness into sight!
Would God have been glorified so much if there had been no reason for healing?
Three Action Steps
Next time you're tempted to assign blame (toward someone else or even yourself), think again. Ask what is in your heart that you would seek to blame. Identify where responsibility should be taken, and own it if it's yours. Ask background questions like "why?" to discern whether a situation needs your compassion and empathy rather than judgment.
Secondly, "zoom out" to include God's perspective: Jesus came to turn blind people into sighted people, and that includes us! WE are the blind people who need Jesus. Everyone, religious or not, is blind until Jesus enters our lives. He turns our darkness into light (John 9:5).
Lastly, I invite you to actively look for evidence of God's glory. Our redeeming God is busy turning ashes into beauty In His economy, nothing goes to waste; everything and everyone is redeem-able! Even suffering (and I say this carefully for those of you who are still in it) has a beautiful purpose: to turn us from blindness to glorious sight!
Receive free weekly articles in your inbox by subscribing HERE. Your info will never be shared. :-)
©2023 Julianne Knapp. First Published 2.7.23