I. Why?
\n\u201cRabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?\u201d After all, there has to be a reason, doesn\u2019t there? Things don\u2019t just happen, reason the disciples: there\u2019s a reason that this particular man can\u2019t see. It\u2019s got to be somebody\u2019s fault. Maybe the man sinned\u2014maybe before he was born, or maybe because of some sin he\u2019d commit later on. Maybe it was his parents\u2014they committed some sin so terrible a while back that it cost them their future son\u2019s sight. If anybody\u2019s going to know the answer, it\u2019s Jesus; so the disciples ask Him. There\u2019s got to be a reason, a cause for bad things like this to happen. <\/p>\n
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We\u2019ll get back to Jesus\u2019 answer in a little while: for now, we simply note that Jesus doesn\u2019t give them the answer that they\u2019re looking for. He gives them a better one. <\/p>\n
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But back to the disciples\u2019 question, for they introduce us to the dangerous pursuit of the unknown \u201cwhy,\u201d as in \u201cWhy did that specific bad thing happen?\u201d \u201cWhy me?\u201d \u201cWhy them?\u201d \u201cWhy Tumbler Ridge\u201d? Why that girl\u2019s school in Iran? \u201cWhy those innocent little children?\u201d \u201cWhy the cancer, why the heart attack, why me, why my loved one, why now? You and I are always tempted to obsess over the why, and that is a real temptation: the devil loves to see us hung up and twisting on the why, because it distracts us from the answer that Jesus gives. <\/p>\n
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But you\u2019re going to ask the question, because you want to know. You feel you have to know\u2014and have the right to know. You want the reason it happened, perhaps because you want somebody to blame; or perhaps because you want to be sure that you\u2019re not to blame. <\/p>\n
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Sometimes, like the man born blind in our text, there\u2019s no reason, no cause to the effect\u2014at least not that will be made known to you. Bad things just happen. Why did you get the flu during the longed-for vacation and have to spend those days in bed? Was it because of those mornings at church when you got a little drowsy and didn\u2019t put in a good effort to concentrate\u2014was the illness a message that you didn\u2019t DESERVE a fun vacation? Was it a message that you pamper yourself too much and don\u2019t deserve it? Why did it happen? Ask yourself all the questions you want, but there\u2019s no answer given. <\/p>\n
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Why did the drunk driver hit your car? Why didn\u2019t he swerve a second later and hit the concrete pillar behind you? Why are you hurt because of his actions? Was it because you\u2019ve been enjoying life too much, taking things for granted? Was it because of that sin of yours way back in high school\u2014you still remember that night, and how close you came to disaster, right? \u2014 and so was it finally your turn? You know why you\u2019re hurt: car A hit car B. But why did it happen to you? No answer. <\/p>\n
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Sometimes, bad things do happen because of things that we do. The drunk driver in the last example might ask, \u201cWhy did I hit that car?\u201d The answer is clearly, \u201cBecause you chose to drink too much and get behind the wheel.\u201d But that doesn\u2019t stop the questions: \u201cBut it\u2019s not like I\u2019m the only one who does that, so why am I singled out to face the music?\u201d \u201cWhy do I have this addiction and others don\u2019t?\u201d \u201cWhy me?\u201d <\/p>\n
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Health issues often do have answers. Why are you in poor health? Because you\u2019ve treated your body badly for years\u2014you\u2019ve ignored your doctor, eaten too much of all the wrong things, filled your body with extra pollutants and scoffed at the notion of exercise and nutrition. Now it\u2019s all catching up: but why right now? And why you, when others seem to treat themselves a lot worse and go a whole lot longer without trouble? Why is the guy, who\u2019s lived on a diet of cigarettes and whiskey, why is he on the news celebrating his 105th birthday? Why are you the one with chronic pain: what have you done to deserve this? <\/p>\n
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Why? Why? Why? You can drive yourself mad with the questions and the quest for answers. And where answers are available\u2014or even discoverable, it\u2019s just fine to ask the questions. In other words, we should make use of God\u2019s gifts of science and medicine to track down the causes of disability and disease where we can, because sometimes there are answers to be found. It\u2019s also good for us to examine ourselves\u2014as individuals and groups\u2014and learn from our mistakes in order to prevent the same problems from happening again. We\u2019re not Cynics or robots, puppets who can\u2019t control our actions: we can learn and do better on a moral level. So where the answers are available or discoverable, it\u2019s good for us to seek them out. <\/p>\n
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On the other hand, sometimes the answers simply are beyond your reach: that\u2019s especially true when the questions are about God\u2019s wisdom and will, as in \u201cWhy did He let this happen? Why me? Why now?\u201d A wise teacher once said, \u201cWe can only ask the questions that God gives us the answers to.\u201d If God doesn\u2019t give you the answer, then the pursuit is fruitless. It\u2019s even dangerous. Why dangerous? <\/p>\n
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Because if you pursue an answer that God doesn\u2019t give, then you\u2019ll be tempted to make one up and believe that your answer is God\u2019s answer when it very likely is not. The devil likes it when you put words in God\u2019s mouth, because it keeps you from hearing what God has to say. <\/p>\n
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It\u2019s dangerous because by pursuing the answer, you\u2019re earnestly searching for a way to avoid acknowledging your own sinfulness. The devil likes this, too: for when you\u2019re busy trying to prove that you\u2019re not sinful\u2014or not that sinful, it means you\u2019re busy avoiding acknowledging your need for forgiveness. <\/p>\n
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Or it\u2019s dangerous because, when you don\u2019t get an answer, you\u2019ll grow angry with God and declare Him unjust. The devil delights in this, because you will not seek God\u2019s grace as long as you despise Him. <\/p>\n
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So where the Lord provides answers, it\u2019s good to pursue them. But where He doesn\u2019t, beware: for the devil delights when you pursue what God doesn\u2019t tell you, because it does an excellent job of distracting you from what He does tell you… <\/p>\n
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…which means it distracts you from the answer that Jesus gives in our Gospel lesson. <\/p>\n
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II. Jesus\u2019 Answer
\nBefore we get to Jesus\u2019 answer, we need to look back at the disciples\u2019 question and ask a question of our own. The disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Our question is this: are the disciples looking for a Law answer or a Gospel answer? <\/p>\n
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I think they\u2019re looking for a Law answer. They\u2019re asking, \u201cWho did what sin to make this man born blind?\u201d Whose fault is it? Who\u2019s to blame? Remember, the Law is all about what we do, and the Law is given to show us our sin. The disciples are asking a Law question and looking for a Law answer, which isn\u2019t wrong. It\u2019s just that Jesus isn\u2019t going to give them a Law answer. <\/p>\n
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He gives them a Gospel answer: He says, \u201cIt was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.\u201d In other words, neither the man nor his parents did something sinful that specifically earned the curse of blindness. It\u2019s just one way that the curse of sin shows itself in a sinful world. Bad things happen, and bad things will happen to you. But Christ has come to redeem the world, to reverse the curse of sin; and so He is going to display His work and saving power by what He does to this man born blind. <\/p>\n
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He goes on to say, \u201cWe must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.\u201d Jesus has come into this world to defeat sin, to bring light to dark places. To demonstrate this in a very concrete way, He spits on the ground and makes mud with the saliva. He anoints the man\u2019s eyes with the mud and tells him to wash it off in the pool of Siloam. When the man does so, he can see. He can see with his eyes, and he can also see with the eyes of faith that Jesus is a prophet, who speaks the truth, the Word of God. <\/p>\n
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That\u2019s Jesus\u2019 answer to the disciples\u2019 question: don\u2019t spend time tracking down why the man was born blind, because you\u2019re not going to find the answer. Instead, acknowledge that such things happen because of sin\u2014and rejoice that Jesus has come to reverse that curse of sin. <\/p>\n
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That\u2019s Jesus\u2019 answer to you when you\u2019re face with the troubling \u201cwhy\u201d questions. Don\u2019t torture yourself searching for answers that you\u2019re not going to find; because you will make a god out of doubt, and it will destroy your faith. Instead, acknowledge that you\u2019re a sinner in a sinful world, that the wages of sin is death, that bad things are going to happen; and then, look to what is certain. Look to the cross, because you can be absolutely sure that Christ has become flesh and died on that cross to reverse the curse of sin for you. He has not left you forsaken to a life and an eternity where things only get worse and more accursed. Instead, He promises that He has delivered you from sin to eternal life; and while you await that final resurrection to glory, He will treasure you as His instrument so that the works of God might be displayed in you. <\/p>\n
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That work of God might be miraculous healing. The Lord is certainly free to work miracles of healing as He wills. But a greater miracle is faith. Physical healing in this world is only a temporary blessing, because your body is still going to die. Faith, on the other hand, gives eternal life. <\/p>\n
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You see, in your troubles, in the midst of those very things that cry out for an answer to WHY, faith is a work of God on display in you. Consider the story of Job, a man who had everything\u2014and then had everything taken away. His friends gathered around him and asked the same question that the disciples ask in this Gospel lesson: what did you do so that God would punish you so? His wife cut bitterly to the chase and said, \u201cCurse God and die.\u201d How did Job respond? He said, \u201cThe LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD\u201d (Job 1:21). He said, \u201cFor I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God\u201d (Job 19:25-26). That is the work of God displayed in Job: where everyone else saw only the darkness of sin and curse, Job shone the light of God\u2019s truth and faithfulness to them. <\/p>\n
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So it is with you. Where, in their suffering, other people see God as only distant, uncaring or angry, the Lord displays His work of faith in you. In suffering, you cling to the answer that He makes crystal clear: you say, \u201cI do not know exactly why I suffer this now, but I do know that Jesus Christ has come into this world to save me. In His time and according to His mercy, He will deliver me; and in the meantime, I know that He has not forsaken me.\u201d Where you do doubt or grow angry with God or demand answers He doesn\u2019t provide, you recognize your old sinful nature at work and you confess your sins. And you rejoice that the Lord forgives you. <\/p>\n
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The Lord does forgive you, and the Lord has not forsaken you. Jesus declares in the text, \u201cAs long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.\u201d Though He has ascended into heaven, Jesus remains in the world, as near to you as the means of grace. He remains the Light of the world, saving you from the darkness of sin and death. Where He added His Word to mud to make the blind man see, He added His Word to water and gave you faith to see in your baptism. Where He sought out the healed man to speak again His saving Word, He still speaks His saving Word to you, to strengthen your faith so that you might believe in the Son of Man. He feeds you His own body and blood, so that His work of faith might continue to be displayed in you. <\/p>\n
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Many questions in this life about suffering will remain unanswered. But the Lord makes this answer perfectly clear: He declares that He has come into this world of darkness to shine the light of His grace upon you. He has gone to the cross to die for your sin, and He is risen again to deliver you to everlasting life. Do not seek answers that He does not give, but instead cling to this truth that He makes clear above all others: that all your sins have been forgiven. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I. Why? \u201cRabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?\u201d After all, there has to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[176],"wpfc_sermon_series":[],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[],"class_list":["wpfc_preacher-pastor-j-fritsche","wpfc-sermon-single","post-4893","wpfc_sermon","type-wpfc_sermon","status-publish","hentry"],"sermon_audio":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sermons\/2026\/03\/Sermon-for-Sunday-March-15-2026.mp3","sermon_audio_duration":"00:19:28","_views":"19","bible_passage":"John 9:1-7,13-17,34-39 The Word of the Lord from John 9:3: \u201cIt was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.\u201d This is the Word of the Lord.","sermon_video_embed":"","sermon_video_url":"","sermon_bulletin":"","_featured_url":false,"sermon_date":1773576024,"_sermon_date_auto":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/wpfc_sermon\/4893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/wpfc_sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/wpfc_sermon"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4893"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/wpfc_sermon\/4893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4894,"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/wpfc_sermon\/4893\/revisions\/4894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wpfc_preacher","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwpfc_preacher&post=4893"},{"taxonomy":"wpfc_sermon_series","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwpfc_sermon_series&post=4893"},{"taxonomy":"wpfc_sermon_topics","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwpfc_sermon_topics&post=4893"},{"taxonomy":"wpfc_bible_book","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwpfc_bible_book&post=4893"},{"taxonomy":"wpfc_service_type","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/redeemerlutheranchurch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwpfc_service_type&post=4893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}