Jesus and the Blind Man in John Chapter 9: The Problem of Suffering

In John chapter 9, verse 3, Jesus says about a blind man, in response to a question from His disciples about why the man was born blind, that "[it] was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him." (NASB) The response of Jesus here might strike one as unusually odd or difficult to understand, which is understandable considering that it speaks to the question at the very heart of the struggles that every person must face in the course of human life: why do we suffer?

John 9:3 is but a single particular example of the more general theological problem called "The Problem of Evil," or "The Problem of Suffering." Put simply, these two interrelated problems arise out of the question of how an omnibenevolent God could create a world, or allow a world to exist, with evil and suffering within it. Whether it is a birth defect such as the blind man in John chapter 9, suffering due to natural disasters, or evil resulting from man's own sinfulness, the question may in each case be asked, "How could an all-loving God allow His creatures to suffer so?" Christian theology and philosophy have produced many responses to this question, which I will outline below. It is worth noting that many of these responses are not mutually exclusive but could consistently be held together.

Jesus himself responds to the question with the authoritative statement that the man in John chapter 9 was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him. Implicit in this response is the sovereignty and omnipotence of God, which means that God does have the power to prevent suffering but chooses not to in many cases. Since God is omniscient, or all-knowing, this means that God acts in harmony with his own divine plan and purpose. In other words, the blind man's suffering plays a role in a larger divine plan, which may be fully or partially incomprehensible to us with our finite and limited human intellects. This is a traditional response to the problems of evil and suffering: to claim that suffering and evil play parts in God's perfect plan for creation, but that the perfection of His plan is unseen due to limited human understanding. On some strong interpretations of this response, the things that appear to be evil or bad are really nothing of the sort due to their harmony with divine providence and will.

A second characteristic that is implicit in Jesus' response to His disciples' questions is the need for this sovereignty and glory of God to be demonstrated or revealed to the world at large who are in need of both a sign and a savior to which that sign refers. Insofar as Jesus reveals God the Father, His love and His compassion and His forgiveness, the blind man was made to (or allowed to) suffer in order that the true nature of God the Father might be revealed to mankind in the healing power of Jesus. Since the need for a savior in the first place was a result of man's own free will, his choosing of sinfulness over righteousness, one must interpret each particular case of suffering in light of God's overall plan of salvation; God's power and grace in repairing the good creation that went askew due to its (our) own inability to be righteous of our own accord. The grace of God in sending a savior to restore His creation and to save us from our own sinfulness is revealed in the incarnation of Jesus and in Jesus' healing of the blind man. So while the blind man's suffering was not caused by the sinfulness of himself or of his parents, he was allowed to suffer still in order that God's plan and power of salvation might be revealed to the world through Jesus, the revealer. And just as the blind man's story became a testimony of Jesus, our own suffering and healing is best interpreted in hindsight as a testimony to the glory and grace of our Heavenly Father.

A third aspect of the blind man's situation is that Jesus explicitly stated in John 18:36 that His kingdom is not of this world. The suffering of the blind man and the suffering of others in this world is still a worldly, Earthly suffering, not a spiritual suffering. It may be argued that while the blind man suffered in the flesh and in the world due to his handicap, he was spiritually richer insofar as he was able to overcome his calamity through faith. This may be thought of as a moral response to the problem of suffering, which is to say that suffering builds character, or at least virtuous character traits that allow God's grace to shine in us as a result of our patient faithfulness. A faith that is untested is a blind faith, but a faith that is strengthened through longsuffering will display the glory and righteous love of God. So while those who witnessed the healing of the blind man in John chapter 9 were undoubtedly fed spiritually by what they saw, the blind man himself was fed spiritually by his patient faith in Jesus.

There is finally a practical lesson to be learned from John chapter 9, which is that we are all in analogous situations to the blind man. We all have areas of blindness in our lives, whether it is blindness to some area of sinfulness in our hearts or blindness to the hope that God brings in the midst of our suffering. Just as the blind man certainly wished he was not born blind, it is natural to want to be removed from our sufferings or to want never to have been put in our situation in the first place. And yet, although the blind man wanted desperately to be healed, his blindness served a larger purpose. Likewise, in the midst of our own trials and tribulations, we want God to intervene to end our suffering. But just as the blind man had to patiently endure a lifetime of blindness before his encounter with the Lord Jesus, we too must wait for the proper time to be removed from our sufferings. But the omnipotence, the omnibenevolence, and the omniscience of God the Father, and the forgiveness and grace of Jesus Christ, are more than enough reasons for every follower of Jesus to have faith and hope in the midst of whatever trials they must endure.

God is all-powerful, which means He has the power to save you from your suffering. God is all-loving, which means that He wants the best for you; not just for your body but for your soul. God is all-knowing, which means that when He chooses not to act on your suffering it is for a higher purpose that may not be apparent to our finite understanding. And when the trials are endured, it is the glory and love of God that is revealed in the faithful endurance of God's children and in the faithfulness of God in guiding his children through their trials through a relationship of faith in His providence and grace.