WHO DID SIN? THIS MAN OR HIS PARENTS?

Edward O’Hara

“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” 

Have you ever really thought about what was happening here? I don’t mean the healing that took place. Because as fantastic as that is it’s not that part of the message that I want us to focus on. Because the bigger story here regarding sin that Jesus is trying to convey has little to do with the blindness of this man being healed. And so much more to do with how we should see this story as an explanation of who God is. And why Jesus came. 

We see this in that Jesus said the cause of this man’s blindness had nothing to do with this man or his parent’s sin. In fact saying that they had not sinned. Because Jesus said plainly that “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents. But that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” 

That Jesus showed that another important aspect of this story was His statement that the kind of thing that happened to this young man was not because of his or his parent’s sin. This means just as Luke said Zachariah and Elizabeth walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless in Luke 1:5,6. And as Paul said of himself in Phil.3:6 that according to the righteousness that comes through the law he was blameless. And as Jesus confirmed what the rich young ruler said in Mt.19:16-ff was true when he told Jesus he had kept all the commandments from his youth up and Jesus telling him he now only lacked one thing. So it is that when Jesus said these had not sinned He was saying that these parents and this man had also kept the law blameless. So how could it be that this man was still born blind?

Well, the story does not end there for those of us who have been born of the Spirit. Because we see as God meant us to see in all of these passages. That in all of these instances, even though these people kept the law blameless, there was still something missing. And that something is the only source of eternal life. And the source for complete healing in every way. 

That missing part was Jesus. They did not know Him yet because he had not come to reveal Himself to the world yet. But, this is exactly what Jesus was doing by healing this man. Because by doing so He manifested the work of God. Which is His deliverance for all mankind from death’s reign. From our mortality. 

So what we need to see here is that sin is not the cause of pain, sickness, defect, or death. But, that death itself is the cause of all of these. Keeping the law blameless, or not sinning by not doing bad things, does not equate to eternal life. And from what we see with this blind man it does not even equate to walking in perfect health. Because blameless law keeping does not bring deliverance from death. Only the faith of Christ can do that. Only when we trust in Jesus as He trusted the Father will we be delivered from our mortality. From death itself. 

This is true because the only way for a man to be delivered from death and it’s affects permanently, and not just in a temporary sense as it was regarding this man’s blindness, is for men to trust in Jesus. Because only when we know Him do we have the relationship with Him that Jesus said in John17:3 is eternal life. Because it is through this faith in Him, the author of life, that we are delivered from our mortality and the power of death. And into the kingdom of His dear Son. We see this in Heb.2:9-15 where it says,

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.

And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”

What we see here in Heb.2 is that Jesus came as a man so that being mortal He could die a man’s death. Because only by living as a man could He be made perfect through the suffering that comes with living in a mortal body without access to the tree of life. A man under death’s power, whose only hope is to trust in God for deliverance. 

So Jesus lived this way just as every man does who trusts in God. So that He could die a man’s death wherein He could conquer death for every man by His resurrection. Giving those who will trust in Him and His resurrection a freedom from the fear of death that no one before Jesus came ever experienced. Free from a fear of their own mortality, that all their lives kept them in bondage. 

So when Jesus told these people that it was not because this man or his parents sinned that he was born blind. But, that it was so the work of God could be manifested through him. Jesus was telling them that this man’s blindness was an opportunity for God’s deliverance to be shown. And that Jesus came for this purpose. Todeliver mankind from their mortality to immortality. So that men who trust in Jesus are free from death’s bondage of fear. Because fear has no place in us when we know that when we put off this body of flesh we will receive the new body for which Paul says Jesus’ body was given a ransom. So that we will simply be going from one life into another. Into eternal life with God in His kingdom where there is only love, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit. 

So this is another aspect of what Jesus was teaching when He healed the man that was blind from birth. He wanted us to know that sin did not cause it so that we would not fixate on being good enough for God to be healthy and accepted into His kingdom. Because bad works are not the cause of the death and disease from which Jesus came to deliver mankind. Death itself is. 

This is why it took the author of life to defeat death. This is why Jesus, both fully God and fully man, had to come. Because only the author and giver of life could conquer death. This is why in John14:6 Jesus said He is the way, truth, and the life. He is the only way. Because only He could have done what needed to be done. Because only God Himself, the Creator of all that has been created, could conquer death. 

Do you want this deliverance from death to life that God offers you? From mortality to immortality? An eternal life without pain, sorrow, and death? It’s only possible by trusting in Jesus and His resurrection. Will you do that? Do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe He raised from the dead? Will you trust in Him today so that you will live with Him forever in His kingdom? A kingdom where there is no more death? No more sorrow? And no more pain? If you will then please pray with me now.

Dear Jesus, thank you for joining with me in my death. So that I could join with you in your life. Deliver me from death as you delivered this man from blindness. Make me whole and complete by giving me a spirit. So that I can know you and your limitless love for me. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

If you prayed with me then welcome to God’s family. And now know that you have eternal life. Now begin to read the Bible and believe what is plainly written on each page. Because only in this way will you begin to know the fulness of what God has done for you. And you will have the kind of relationship with Him that could only be had by trusting in Jesus. 

See you there or in the air!

Edward O’Hara

This message can also be heard at YouTube