ONE of the most obscure passages in the Gospels, according to popular opinion, is that found in the 9th chapter of John, in which Jesus' disciples asked him, concerning a man blind from his birth, "Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered them, "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."
The majority of Bible students place undue emphasis upon the first part of the great Teacher's reply to the question of his disciples, and to a large extent ignore the main point, that upon which Jesus unquestionably meant the emphasis to be laid, viz., his reference to "the works of God." Many of the best authorities are agreed that the statement, "neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents," does not at all imply the sinlessness of these people, but rather that the reason for the man's blindness lay far deeper than any personal transgression. A careful study of the Old Testament shows that the Jewish people believed very strongly that all suffering and misfortune were the direct result of sin, were in fact a punishment sent by God for wrong-doing.
This belief is strikingly illustrated in the attitude of Job's friends and would-be comforters, who assumed that he must have broken the moral law in some way to be so grievously afflicted. Job, however, stoutly maintained his innocence, and even went so far as to seem to condemn the Almighty in justifying himself. As a matter of fact, Job had lived up to his highest understanding of right, but like mortals in general he believed good and evil to be equally real, and God to be responsible for both, being swayed in His decisions by the suggestions of Satan. Job's friends, who held the same belief, were unable to comfort him, much less to heal him. They contended for the reality of evil and failed to reach the Christ-way of overcoming it. How pathetic are Job's words to these friends: "Ye see my casting down, and are afraid. . . . Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred." He did at length understand, and was healed.
