Why Jesus: Jesus and Suffering (John 9:1-5)

Series: Why Jesus

Sermon: Jesus and Suffering

Scripture: John 9:1-5

Date: December 9, 2018

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.  I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.  (John 9:1-5)

I believe Jesus is unique in His truth about suffering and it is a good reason to follow Him.

"The Christian worldview suggests that evil is better posed as a mystery than as a problem."  -Ravi Zacharias

Let's examine the uniqueness of Jesus in dealing with suffering from three angles:

1. Explanation
   • Let us remember that every worldview - not just Christianity's - must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering.
   • Hinduism says that the evil of our life is a result of evil done in a past life.  Buddhism also invokes the doctrine of karma and reincarnation.
   • So, for Buddhism and Hinduism, the answer to the disciples' question regarding the blind man's predicament - "Who sinned, this man or his parents?" - would be, "Both this man and his parents have sinned."
   • New Thought (which is where the New Age thinking came from) declared that evil, illness, and sin only exist because the human mind wills it so, and that one can overcome all these positions through the power of the mind.
   • "The opening lines of the Torah, as well as Genesis in the Bible, state, "God created Heaven and Earth," and later, "And all that God created was good."  If you interpret those words literally, it's quite clear that problems are impossible."  -Wayne Dyer
   • "If evil exists, then one must assume that good exists in order to know the difference.  If good exists, one must assume that a moral law exists by which to measure good and evil."  -Ravi Zacharias
   • "Not one proponent of evolutionary ethics has explained how an impersonal, amoral first cause through a nonmoral process has produced a moral basis of life, while at the same time denying any objective moral basis for good and evil."  -Ravi Zacharias
   • Why do we exist, anyway?
   • God is telling a love story.
   • The purpose of mankind is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
   • Here are a few reasons Christians believe in a good God who allows suffering:
     • Sin
     • Discipline
     • Satanic influences
     • We live in a fallen world
2. Entering
   • Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  (John 9:1-2)
   • For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin.  (Hebrews 4:15)
   • God can use your suffering in all kinds of ways:
     • to draw you closer to Him
     • to help others
   • Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
   • "Those who stay with it will see that the biblical worldview is the only one that accepts the reality of evil and suffering while giving both the cause and the purpose, while offering God-given strength and sustenance in the midst of it."  -Ravi Zacharias
   • Suffering often reveals a great love.
3. Ending
   • When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.  And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent).  So he went and washed, and came back seeing.  (John 9:6-7)
   • One day, because He came as a suffering servant (Isaiah 53), He will end all suffering for those who believe.
   • I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.  (John 9:4)
   • If we are expressing a desire to see a solution to the problem of evil around us, we might ask ourselves if we are as troubled by the problem of evil within us.