John 9:2-3 The Blame Game

“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. 

Observation

The Jews believed that a physical ailment was a sign that either you or your family had sinned. The disciples ask Jesus the question, whose to blame for this man's blindness. They asked this question in front of the man, somehow associating his blindness with deafness I think. It seems like this showed that the disciples thought less of the blind man. A SOAP for another time. 

Jesus's response surely takes them by surprise, when He says that this blind man's suffering is so that the glory of God can be revealed.  Jesus mixes mud and saliva to heal the man; there is no other account in the gospel of Jesus healing that way.

The need for someone to blame is threaded throughout mankind. We ourselves have a need to blame. I was reading in Isaiah 53 about how we judged Jesus the same way. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! (Isaiah 53:4 NLT). I don't think there was any coincidence that the man's physical ailment was blindness. Our need to lay blame makes us all blind. The blind man and the disciples all had their eyes opened that day; however, as we read on in John we will see that the religious leaders just can't get past the need to blame someone.

Application

I saw the need to blame first hand as a Materials Manager. Some product wasn't completed on time, ordered on time, or received on time. When I would have a meeting with teams about it we would spend more time on who we should blame then we ever did coming up with a solution. In order to circumvent this time-waster, I one day opened up the meeting by throwing myself on the blame alter. Although it wasn't my fault, the need to blame someone was satisfied. As time progressed we made a joke out if it and the need to blame became less and less important. In fact, people began offering themselves on the alter of blame so that we could progress. 

Jesus didn't do anything wrong, but he took the blame so that we could see. When the accuser comes and tells me that I'm to blame I can remind him that there is One who already to the blame for me and it is finished!

Prayer

Thank You, thank You Jesus for taking my blame. Please continue to open my spiritual eyes and enlighten me so that I can see what You are doing all around me. I don't ever want to get stuck on the blame treadmill again.