Charles Spurgeon Commentary John 9:1-3

"And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind? Jesus answered, Neither did this man sin, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." — John 9:1-3 (ASV)

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.

We are not to look upon such afflictions as any indication of special sin on the part of either the person or the parent. Of course, sin lies at the root of all our suffering as a stark generic fact, but not in such a way that we may attribute such an affliction to any one sin. The disciples, you see, dear friends, are thinking about difficult problems. Their Master is thinking about how, practically, to meet the difficulty, and to this day there are a large number of Christians, professors, and even ministers, who occupy their time with questions which really are to no profit. If they could be answered, nobody would be holier or better.

What does it matter to us what is the origin of evil? It is far more important to drive out the evil than it is to find out how it came in. Very frequently, you know, after a terrible calamity or accident occurs, we hold an inquiry into how it was caused, and then we think the matter is all attended to. It would have been better, perhaps, to have held an inquiry before it happened, as to how it could have been prevented.

Our Lord has that wisdom—that practicality. He begins to deal with the evil rather than to raise questions about it. Yes, and He sees in that evil a good coming out of it. He says that this man was blind, that the works of God might be made manifest in him.

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:

That is to say, their sin was not the cause of his blindness.