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June 8, 2022
Key Verse 3: “Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents have sinned, but the works of God shall be revealed in him.”
In the world, we meet various people who look miserable because of some injury. Most of the causes of their injuries are known. But the causes of some injuries are unclear.
When we see people injured from unclear causes, we wonder who is to blame for the injury. While Jesus' disciples were walking with Jesus, they saw a blind beggar on the way. This beggar was blind from birth. Because of this, he could neither look at his mother's loving face nor enjoy the beautiful nature. So the disciples felt pity for him and talked among themselves why the man was born blind.
Some of them thought that man was born blind because of his own fault. But the others said it was because of his parents' fault. Their opinions differed. But they all agreed that the beggar was born blind because of someone's fault.
So they asked Jesus: "Master, who sinned, this one or his parents, that he was born blind?" (2). We, too, are often inclined to attribute a person's suffering or misfortune to his own fault or to someone else's fault.
What did Jesus say to his disciples about man's being born blind?
He said: "Neither this man sinned nor his parents, but the works of God shall be revealed in him" (3).
Jesus gave no explanation as to the medical cause of his blindness.
Rather, he explained the perfect providence of God. He explained that God wanted to use his tragic situation to reveal God's mercy and glory to many people.
Our God can and will make our unfortunate situation our best and reveal His glory. We, too, can ask God many questions.
E.g. Why did Esther, my wife and a good Christian, get cancer?
Why did the Russian war against Ukraine happen despite God's righteous rule?
Why did so many innocent North Koreans starve to death in the 1990s?
There are many things that we do not understand well. But by faith we know this: God is Sovereign; and we are not God and do not understand everything.
But our God does not torment us. Rather, He loves us and suffers with us. He makes something good out of bad things.
That is why the apostle Paul says in Rom. 8:28: "All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose."
We can be strengthened amidst the sorrows of the world and find peace amidst the conflicts. Despite the tragic situation, we can be sure that God is working for good.
I relate my experience of the goodness of God. I was born into a poor peasant family in South Korea. Now, South Korea is one of the rich nations. But at that time, South Korea was very poor. I injured my hip when I was 8 years old. If my femoral head was not injured, I would have to work as a poor farmer or woodcutter after graduating from elementary school because my family home was poor and therefore could not send me to a secondary school.
Esther also was unable to attend high school after graduating from middle school because of her parents' poverty. That's why she came to Germany as a nursing assistant to earn money.
I had to take a four-year break from school because of an injury to my right femoral head. After the four-year break from school, I began to attend school again.
When I was in the 6th grade of elementary school, Mr. So-Hee Yeon was my class teacher. God helped me through Mr. Yeon that I could take the entrance exam to a middle school in my hometown and attend it with the scholarship.
After that I was able to go to university. God then led me to faith in Jesus in my freshman year of college. I became very happy because of the love of God.
In Germany, God also led Esther to believe in Jesus Christ, so that she became very happy and joyfully and became a missionary. And God brought me and Esther together in marriage so that we could live very happily in Germany, work for the student mission and encourage them to believe in Jesus Christ.
I don't know who was to blame for injuring my hip. But I know that God is using my hurt to reveal His glory. And God also used the poverty of Esther's home for His glory and for the salvation of many people.
The dislocation of my femoral head, the poverty of my family home and the poverty of Esther's family home would be unfortunate situations for us.
But God used these unfortunate situations to make us happy, to encourage people and students in Germany to believe and to reveal His goodness and glory.
I praise God for his goodness.
Jesus spat on the ground and made a paste out of it and put the paste on the blind man's eyes. He then said to him: "Go to the pool of Siloah and wash yourself!"
When the man did this, for the first time in his life, he could see how beautiful the world is and how merciful Jesus is. With great gratitude he began to follow Jesus.
God's glory was revealed through the man born blind because Jesus, through his healing, revealed God's goodness and grace.
Such a healing attracts a great deal of public attention. Religious authorities soon began investigating the incident.
They asked, "Who did such a thing on a holy Sabbath? Is this Jesus a miracle worker, a sorcerer, or a demon?”
They asked the healed man. They also asked his parents. And they asked the healed once again.
Finally, the man born blind answered them:
"Is he a sinner? I don't know that. But one thing I do know is that I was blind, and now I can see. We know that God does not hear sinners, but He hears those who fear God and do His will. From the beginning of the world, it has not been heard that anyone has opened the eyes of a person who was born blind. Were this not of God, he could do nothing” (9:25, 31-33).
His conviction was well-founded. Did the Pharisees now believe that Jesus was a man of God?
No! Rather, they immediately banished humans from their society.
Jesus heard about the courageous man's exile and looked for him. Our Jesus never abandons his believers.
When Jesus found him, he asked him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
The Healed answered: "Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?"
Jesus answered him: “You see him before you; it is he who speaks to you!”
The man immediately fell down before Jesus and said, "Lord, I believe!"
He was overjoyed to have found his healer and savior.
This part of the conversation between Jesus and the man born blind shows us the relationship between faith and healing. To be healed and healthy, we need to believe in Jesus. The content of this belief is very simple: “Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah? Do you accept him as master of your life?”
This faith opens the door to healing and the kingdom of heaven.
Everyone can be healed and enter the kingdom of heaven if they believe in Jesus as Christ.
Unfortunately, the Pharisees did not believe in Jesus. Nor did they believe that the one healed was the one born blind.
So they asked the father of the man who was born blind whether the man healed was really born blind. The father said yes. But they were afraid of the Pharisees to confess Jesus as Christ.
Now Jesus said to the crowd: "I came into this world to judge, that the blind may see and the seeing blind."
Then some Pharisees who were there heard this and asked him: "Surely we are not blind, are we?"
Jesus answered them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin. But you say, 'We see.' Therefore, your sin remains.”
What did Jesus mean by his statement? The irony of truth is that the veil has been opened for the blind born so that he has come to believe in Jesus. On the other hand, the spiritual eyes of self-righteous people are blinded by their self-righteousness, so that they cannot see that the Christ and the Son of God is standing before them. Because of their spiritual blindness, they stray from the truth and cannot find the way to God.
Like these Pharisees, our pride can ward off the work of the Holy Spirit so that we cannot understand the truth of God. We sit comfortably in our armchair and live complacently. We think we are good Christians. But we are not very interested in Jesus and eternal life.
Slowly but surely we are drifting down into the abyss. In blindness, we wander from the truth and lose the way to God. Like the Pharisees, we can build a wall against God, even though the Holy Spirit offers us His grace and blessing. We neglect our spiritual life and discipleship; we neglect our commitments, and we forget to pray from the heart. Soon our spiritual life begins to become rigid, and a spiritual chill surrounds our hearts. God will not be a source of blessing to us, but will become a threat to our lives.
But Jesus says to us: "Open your eyes and know that you are blind and cannot see until you see through me!"
When that happens, we can begin to experience healing.
Believe in the Son of God! Have faith in him!
Follow him!
Trust him with all your heart!
Entrust your life to Him.
You cannot heal yourself, but Jesus the Great Physician can give you a healthy, blessed life if you trust in Him. When we trust Him, our healing begins.
Trust Him firmly.
Entrust your life to Him.
Humans cannot help us. But Jesus, the great Physician, can restore us spiritually and also to our health. God's blessing work begins when we believe.
As people in the 21st century, our goal in life seems to be to avoid pain in all forms as much as possible. But suffering can also be a great teacher for us.
The world was redeemed through the suffering of Christ on the cross.
Why should we expect an effortless life?
When we experience suffering through faith, we can see what has become of us.
We can see that God is working to make us spiritually stronger, more reliable, and more like Jesus.
We will see that in the midst of difficulties we are healed.
We are touched by Christ. When we allow God to touch our pain, He heals us from it. I don't know what each of you is sick with.
But I know we're all a little sick. With a broken heart, we are to stand before God. One might need healing spiritually. Another might need the healing physically. Or a third may need healing emotionally. And we all need healing from the sickness of sin. Jesus Christ gives us forgiveness and gives us peace.
The power of Jesus Christ can also heal us from our physical illness and give us a healthy body. He can give us a good, blissful feeling and a healthy soul. God is asking us today if we want to believe in Jesus.
Open your heart to Jesus, for he touches you with his loving, almighty hand.
Don’t you want to get well? Surely you can become healthy physically, emotionally or spiritually. Jesus Christ wants to work in you through his divine power.
Open your hearts to Jesus and surrender to him. Let God glorify. Give him credit. Amen!
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