The following sermon is by Boyd Johnson, pastor of Treasuring Christ Church in Athens, Georgia. More information about Treasuring Christ Church can be found at tccathens.org. In the land of Israel about 2,000 years ago, there was born a baby boy. Nothing was noteworthy about his parents, and nothing was remarkable about how he was born. To anyone who knew this family, he seemed to be an ordinary boy born to ordinary parents. But of course, to his parents, he was anything but ordinary because he was their boy. A boy to carry on the family line. A line stretching all the way back to Father Abraham and into the future, they hoped. Surely, his parents were filled with hopes and dreams for what their boy might become and what their boy might do. And so when he was born, perhaps his parents did as many parents do when they meet their child for the very first time. Perhaps they wondered who he looked like more, and marveled at every finger and toe, and cherished the boy's chin and lips and nose. and eyes. Maybe it was then or maybe some time later. We can't be sure. They discovered that his eyes weren't like theirs. He was like other boys except for his eyes. The boy was born with a disability. He was born blind. Whenever it was that his parents learned this, they would have realized with heavy hearts that his life and theirs, would be far different than they had hoped. A person born with disability in the first century faced especially hard life if it was a very long life at all. No doubt, one of the questions that lay heavy on the hearts of his parents was the question, why? Why was he born this way? Why was he born to suffer? The question of why is among the most difficult of questions. It's a question of searching, and at times it's a question of struggle and desperation. But it's also a question that can lead us to hope. Why do God's people suffer? Scripture gives more than one answer to that question, but there is no more profound or hopeful answer than the one that Jesus gave when this boy had become a man and the two met. The name of the man born blind has been lost to history, but his story is not. And his story is told in the 9th chapter of the Gospel of John when he met Jesus and learned the reason for his disability. And from the opening verses of this chapter, we too learn why God's people suffer and find an answer that gives hope for our souls. Look with me in John 9 1-7. John writes, as Jesus passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, it was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it was day. Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with mud and said to him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which means sint. So he went and washed and came back seeing." As the scene opens, Jesus was leaving the temple in Jerusalem when He passed by this blind man. And according to verse 8, the man had become a beggar. It was common for beggars in those days to wait by the gates of the temple in Jerusalem and ask for food or ask for money. And so perhaps this man was waiting at one of the gates as Jesus exited the temple structure. Jesus notably wasn't repulsed by the man's disability or his neediness. As ever, he was compassionate to the weakest and the destitute. But it is surprising that Jesus would notice this man at all. According to the previous chapter, Jesus had left the temple because his claim to be God infuriated a hostile group of Jews. They were so angry that they picked up stones in which to kill Him. But Jesus hid Himself. He left the temple. And as He did, He passed by this man born blind. But rather than hurrying to leave, when Jesus saw the blind man, He lingered. This moment had been divinely arranged. And John notes in verse 1 that the man had been blind from birth. His blindness might be obvious to anyone who saw him. But it wouldn't be obvious how long he had been blind. That's not something you can see. You can see the disability, but not how long this person has suffered it. Now Jesus, of course, could know that supernaturally. But verse 2 indicates that even the disciples knew this beggar had been born blind. That at least suggests that the disciples were familiar with this man, that they had seen him before. Likely, he frequently waited at the temple gates to receive the alms of those passing by. And if the disciples knew this man's story, then surely other Jews knew it as well. So everyone should have known that this man did nothing to cause his blindness. His blindness was not due to an accident in life or due to any sinful action on his part. In his misery, he was worthy of mercy. And under God's law to Israel, the blind were to be protected. For example, Leviticus 19.14 says, you shall not put a stumbling block before the blind. And Deuteronomy 27.18 says, curse it be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road. They were to be protected. But even if the blind were protected under the Mosaic law, that didn't necessarily mean that they were cared for. As I said before, disability in the first century was a life sentence of suffering. Economically, he was dependent on the compassion of others to support even his most basic needs. It wasn't that his parents were dead. They appear later in the chapter. But even they seemed strangely unsupportive when the man was confronted by Pharisees over his belief in Jesus. If his parents supported him at all, it wasn't enough. And he was compelled to beg at the temple. Socially, those with disabilities suffered the pain of isolation. The dream of marriage, starting a family, was nearly hopeless. If he had any friends at all, they were probably fellow beggars and sufferers. And worse of all, There was in that culture a spiritual stigma that came with diseases and disabilities. Look at v. 2 at how Jesus' disciples thought of the blind man. They asked Jesus, Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his parents that he was born blind. They knew he was born blind, but they didn't know the reason. They assumed The causation was sin. Evidently, they held a view that was common among the Jews in those days. They thought that if you were born disabled or diseased, then the reason was either that you sinned in the womb, or that your parents sinned. And that's why you were born that way. Either way, the belief was that someone's sin caused disability and disease. Unfortunately, the disciples were really no better than the Pharisees in this regard. In v. 34, the Pharisees blamed the man's disability on sin, saying to his face, you were born in utter sin. That's why you are the way you are. And so the disabled and diseased were not only economically sidelined and socially isolated, but spiritually shunned. Conventional wisdom was that where there was suffering, there had to be a specific instance of sin that caused the suffering. That's not an uncommon view across cultures and throughout history, even to the present. For instance, Job's life was blameless, yet when he suffered terribly, his friends condemned him as an unrepentant sinner. Likewise, Paul was bitten by a viper on the island of Malta. And the natives concluded, he must be a murderer. I had a friend in high school who tipped back in his chair and hit his head on the floor and the teacher scolded him, not for tipping back in his chair, but saying he shouldn't have been thinking about bad things. Many people believe that bad things only happen to bad people or that suffering is always the consequence of a particular sin. Now we understand that suffering came into the world because of sin. We know from Genesis 3 that pain and death entered the world because sin entered the world. Paul acknowledges in Romans 8 that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Believers are certainly not exempt from suffering. Even we who have the Spirit of God living inside us suffer and we groan with pain as we wait for our glorification. But we also understand that in fact suffering can be the result of sin. For example, the lame man that Jesus healed by the pool in chapter 5 of John, apparently had become disabled because of a sin, which is implied by Jesus' warning to him, chapter 5 verse 14, sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you. Likewise, according to Numbers 12, God struck Miriam, Moses' sister, with leprosy because she spoke against Moses with a complaining and divisive spirit. In 1 Corinthians 11, some in the Corinthian church became sick and even died because they took the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner. However, while it's true that suffering can be the result of sin. It doesn't follow that all suffering is caused by an individual's particular sin. In fact, God Himself may cause suffering in a person's life for the sake of righteousness. For example, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12.7 that he receives some sort of thorn in the flesh, not as a means of discipline, but in order to guard him from becoming proud. Likewise, according to Galatians 4.13, God afflicted Paul with a bodily ailment during his travels, not as punishment for sin, but in order to keep him in Galatia, to spread the Gospel in that region rather than moving on. So the disciples' suspicion that this man was born blind because of his own sin was unwarranted and frankly, unloving. And the same could be said about their speculation that perhaps he was born blind because of his parents' sin. This too is a common belief among many people in many cultures. That the sins of the father are always passed down to the lives of their children. But again, while it's true that the sins of a parent can have devastating consequences on their children, it doesn't follow that all suffering is caused by the particular sins of the parents. So the disciples had no reason to believe that this blind man's disease resulted either from personal sin or parental sin. But because of their false beliefs, those were the only two options that they considered. Why then was this man born blind if it wasn't for sin? Jesus had an answer for His disciples, but it wasn't what they expected. They asked what caused this man's blindness. But Jesus answered them with the purpose of the man's blindness. They were looking for past causes. Jesus was focused on future purposes. If they were to understand why this man was disabled, they were looking in the wrong direction. They needed to know God's design and plan for his disability. And so in v. 3, Jesus answered them, it was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. This man's blindness had a purpose. The purpose of his lifelong blindness was that at a moment in time, decades perhaps after he was born, he would have an encounter with the light of the world, who would heal his physical blindness, and later, his spiritual blindness. This was the man's destiny. And this was the purpose for which the man was born blind. He was born blind that the works of God, Jesus says, might be displayed in him. That word displayed is translated revealed earlier in this book. The healing of this man's blindness would reveal God's work to all who had eyes to see. Understand that it wasn't that the man was tragically born blind And afterwards, God decided to use that bad condition to display His works. Rather, God ordained for the man to be born blind so that God would be glorified in the man's healing and salvation. The same was said of Joseph's trials and tribulations. In Genesis 50 verse 20, Joseph testified to his brothers, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. Not God used it for good. God meant it for good. God had a purpose for it. God had a design in all that happened. His brothers betrayed him many years before, sold him into slavery. They lied to their father, faked his death. His brothers designed all this evil against Joseph for their own wicked purposes, but God had another design and purpose in all that they did. And for this blind man, surely he wondered why he had been born this way and why he was appointed to suffer. In his grief, perhaps he searched for meaning and significance for his life. And for decades, no answer would be forthcoming. But there was indeed meaning behind his misfortune. God had a plan for him before he was even born. And the cause of this blindness was God Himself. We know that because God says so. Exodus 4, verse 11, Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing? or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" God is not at the mercy of biology. He is sovereign over all diseases and disabilities. This man's blindness was set by God in the womb. Just as David confessed about his own body in Psalm 139.13, you formed my inward parts, you knitted me together in my mother's womb. Nothing occurs that is outside the hand and plan of the sovereignty of God. Every child knit together specially by the Lord. Comfort for God's people is found in this truth. That nothing occurs outside the hand and plan of His sovereignty. It's no consolation to believe that God is unable to prevent suffering. or that He has no hand in our grief. If He's powerless in our pain, then what hope is there for the future? What hope is there that heaven will be free from pain and sorrow? If He's unable to stop pain and sorrow now, how will He be able to stop pain and sorrow for eternity for those who trust in Him? Comfort for God's people comes from knowing that He has purposes in all our suffering, even if His purposes remain a mystery to us. But in time, God often grants those with eyes to see, even if dimly and partially, the mercy of His meaning behind our trials. An old pastor from long ago once wrote, the sentences in the book of Providence or sometimes long. And you must read a great way before you understand the meaning. For decades, this man had no idea why he was born blind. But he was about to see that his blindness was for God's glory and His good. His darkness would be overcome by the light of the world. His blindness was in fact not a curse, but a blessing. Had He been born with physical sight, He may have been just like the Pharisees who, seeing they did not see, but closed their eyes to the truth. He may have seen Jesus walk in the temple, but not truly seen Jesus for who He is. But because He was born blind, He received the gift of having His eyes opened by the Son of God Himself. And beholding Christ, He saw more than the Pharisees ever saw. God doesn't promise healing in this life to all who are afflicted with infirmities, but He does promise to His people sustaining grace for whatever befalls us from His hand. Jesus said in 2 Corinthians 12.9, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. God's power is most clearly demonstrated when we're weak and needy. And the grace He gives us to endure will be enough Even when He does not heal, God's designs in the lives of His suffering saints are for the purpose that His power and His love and His work would be revealed through the grace of sustaining us when we are desperate. And so He's called us to trust His heart even if we cannot trace His hand in difficult times. As Jesus stood before this man, time was short. Not only were hostile Jews apparently after Jesus, but His days were numbered. Less than six months separated Him from the cross that He came to bear. And so it was time to act. Time to act for this man. Jesus had been sent by the Father on a mission. And this mission including giving sight to the physically blind as proof of His power to give sight to the spiritually blind. And this is more remarkable than you might realize. Something is absent in the Old Testament, which becomes noticeable when you read passages like this, or passages such as Psalm 146.8. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. In a number of passages in the Old Testament, God is said to hold the power to open the eyes of the blind and that He will heal the blind. For example, Isaiah 29, 18, we read, In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. Or Isaiah 35, 5, The eyes of the blind shall be opened. and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy." These and other texts could be understood to include a promise of physical healing, but what's missing in the Old Testament is any record of God healing the eyes of a person physically blind. We read of God doing many other miracles. including healings and resurrections. But there is no story of anyone healed by God of blindness. That changed when Jesus, the Messiah, came to earth and began His ministry. Not only did Jesus heal the blind, but the Gospels record Jesus healing the blind more than any other category of healing. Jesus did what the Old Testament prophets foretold. He opened the eyes of the blind. In fact, he used this as proof that he was the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. When John the Baptist was in prison and he heard what Jesus was doing, he sent word by his disciples asking, are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? And Jesus replied, according to Matthew 11.4, Go and tell John what you hear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk. Lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. This was all fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Jesus' ability to heal the blind was proof that He was the Christ. His ability to open the eyes of the blind was a sign to all believing Israel that their Messiah had come. But it wasn't just that He had the power to heal physical blindness. More importantly, He had the power to heal spiritual blindness. His physical healings And miracles pointed to a greater spiritual reality about Jesus' power to open the eyes of the spiritually blind so that they would believe in Him. And so Jesus demonstrated His power by opening this blind man's physical eyes and eventually the eyes of his heart. Jesus said in verses 4 and 5, we must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. The light shining in the darkness. The light that gives people spiritual sight so that they can believe in Him. For the moment, Jesus said it was day. Time to reveal Himself as He is. This was the opportunity to accomplish the Father's plans. This was the time before His death to reveal Himself as the light of the world. It was time to work. And so verse 6 says, having said these things, He spit on the ground and made mud with saliva. Then He anointed the man's eyes with mud. He began the miracle by mixing his own spit with dirt to make mud and then by spreading the mud on the man's eyes. Now Jesus had used spit to heal people before. He healed a deaf and mute man by putting his fingers in the man's ears and after spitting, touched his tongue. He healed another blind man by spitting on his eyes. But this is the only recorded instance that Jesus made mud to perform the healing. Why did He use spit and mud? No one really knows. I'm not convinced that this is an allusion to Genesis 2-7, where God made man out of the dust of the ground, though that's a popular theory. Dust and mud are not the same, and there's no obvious connection in the text. And I don't think Jesus was making eyeballs out of the mud and transforming them into real eyeballs. That's not what the text says. He just made mud. But I do think there are two significant things about the way Jesus healed the man. First, though Jesus could have healed the man simply by his voice. He did that at other times. He instead chose to heal him through the means of anointing his eyes with mud and requiring the man to wash it off. He did the miracle through a means. And God often accomplishes His will through various channels or instruments. In fact, all of us who have come to Christ have been converted through some means of God. Some by reading their Bible. Others by the witness of friends. Still others by hearing the gospel from their father or mother and so on. God uses means to give us spiritual sight. Even unexpected means. The second significant thing about the way Jesus healed him was that it gave the man something to do. It required a response. He said to the man in verse 7, go wash in the pool of Siloam, which means sin. So he went and washed and came back seeing. By anointing his eyes with mud and commanding him to wash in a specific pool in Jerusalem, he tested whether this man's trust would lead to obedience. Would this man obey Jesus? Would he be willing to do as Jesus commanded? Would his trust in Jesus' words be proved true by obedient actions? In fact, they would. The man passed the test of obedience and the miracle was completed. The Son of God, sent from the Father, sent this man to the pool called Sint in order to put him on the path not only to receiving His physical sight, but also His spiritual sight. Sometime later, Jesus met the man again and opened the eyes of his heart, and the man confessed in verse 38, Lord, I believe. And the man worshiped Jesus. So Jesus proved that He is the Christ and that He came to open the eyes of the hearts in order that we would see Him as He is, so that we too would believe in Him and confess Him as our Lord and Savior. If you've been unsure about who Jesus is, He has the power to open your eyes here today. As we studied in this passage, He's shown you that He is Lord and He is Savior. He is the Messiah, the one that all the prophecies of the Old Testament pointed towards. God the Son, who came from heaven to bring salvation to all who believe in Him, has been shown to you this morning. But like this man, you must respond to what you've heard. You must repent of your sins and trust in Christ alone as the one who made payment for your sin by His death on the cross. Your responsibility, now that you've heard the truth, now that you've heard the Gospel, is to believe in Christ and worship Him. Will your hearing be proven by obedience? And if you have been saved by Christ, then you can be assured of God's gracious purposes for all that He sends into your life. We know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. Romans 8.28. And just as God had a purpose for this man's suffering, He has a purpose for yours as well. From this story, we've learned that God's people suffer in order that He might be glorified in us and we might see more of Him. And so we must not despise our suffering. Our pain can draw us nearer to God than we may presently imagine. One of my favorite poems goes like this. I stood a beggar of God before his royal throne and begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own. I took the gift from out of his hand, but as I would depart, I cried, but Lord, this is a thorn. and it has pierced my heart. This is a strange, a hurtful gift which you have given me." He said, "'My child, I give good gifts and gave my best to thee.' I took it home, and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore, as long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more. I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace. He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face. If your suffering in this life, whatever it is, draws you into a saving relationship with God, or a deeper relationship with God, so that you can see Him as He is. One day, you will count all of it worth the cost. Let's pray together. Father, in our suffering, we cry out to You because pain is hard and it's wearying. And for some of us in this room, our eyes have cried so much, can't believe there's tears left. And yet, Father, you give us this grace to know that in this suffering you'll be glorified and that through this suffering we may see more of you than we've ever seen and be drawn in a closer relationship with you than we've ever been. And maybe you'd even give us the grace in this life to be able to look back on the bitter providences that have been brought into our life, and we'd be able to say, it was worth it. And even give you thanksgiving for all that you've done in our lives. Not just the blessings, but also the hard times. Father, what you've called us to do is to trust you. Trust you when things are going well, and trust you when things don't go so well. And so, Father, we ask, increase our faith Help us to trust you more and more. And thank you for sending your son as the light of the world and giving us eyes to see him and to believe in him and to worship him. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thank you for listening to this message from Treasuring Christ Church in Athens, Georgia. Feel free to make copies of this message to give to others, but please do not alter the content in any way without permission. Treasuring Christ Church exists to spread a passion for the fame of Christ's name in Athens and around the world. We invite you to visit Treasuring Christ Church online at tccathens.org. There you'll find other resources available to you and information about our upcoming gatherings.