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A man transformed and sight restored
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
Why would someone be born blind? Is there a preexisting condition in the parents? Or did something happen to the child before birth? These questions have been asked for centuries, and even though medical science can often provide an explanation, there may still be a feeling that somebody somewhere did something wrong.
Jesus and his disciples came face to face with this point of view during an encounter with a man who had been blind from birth. The disciples—interested in learning how to heal, perhaps—asked Jesus directly: who’s to blame, the man or his parents?
According to John’s Gospel, Jesus replies, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” For Jesus, healing began with the assertion that the man’s relationship with God was the only factor to consider. But it also seems to me that in his Gospel John wants to explore how the man’s inner sight changes as people question him after his healing.
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