Why Did This Happen?

Why Did This Happen?

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.”

John 9:1-3

When Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”

John 11:4

When something bad or difficult happens, people’s first response is often to ask God, “Why?” We want God to explain his reasoning behind why he has allowed hurt into our lives or the lives of those we love. When the disciples asked Jesus to explain why a blind man was born without sight, they were asking him the same question we all ask when we suffer: Whose fault is this? Who is to blame? Why did this happen?

They wanted to know the reason for the suffering, but that wasn’t what Jesus wanted to focus on. It was the purpose of his suffering. “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus said. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.”

God uniquely uses suffering as the backdrop to put his character on display in and through our lives. True, we can put God on display in the successes we achieve. But not in the way we can in the sufferings we experience. God receives glory when he miraculously intervenes with his healing power. But he also receives glory when people endure their suffering through the grace God gives them. That grace allows us to see the broken and hurt places in our lives not as punishment, but as a platform. Then we recognize that in our weakness, God can be shown to be strong.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

How was the power of God shown in the blind man’s life (see John 9)?

Is there someone you know who has suffered in a way that caused you to see the glory of God more clearly?

What does it mean to put the glory of God on display in your life?