“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. ‘Rabbi,’ his disciples asked him, ‘why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?’
‘It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,’ Jesus answered. ‘This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.’
Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, ‘Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam’ (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, ‘Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some said he was, and others said, ‘No, he just looks like him!’
But the beggar kept saying, ‘Yes, I am the same one!’
They asked, ‘Who healed you? What happened?’
He told them, ‘The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!’
Note from the Boys Life Application Study Bible
A common belief in Jewish culture was that hardships were punishments for sins. But through the healing of the man born blind, Jesus revealed
that some hardships were allowed as a means to glorify God.
We live in a world where good behavior is not always rewarded and bad behavior is not always punished; therefore, innocent people sometimes suffer. Regardless of the reasons for our suffering. Jesus has the power to help us deal with it.
When hard times come, instead of asking, “Why did this happen to me?” or “What did I do wrong?” consider asking God to strengthen you and offer you a deeper perspective on what’s at stake.