“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me” (John 9:1-4).
In Jesus’ day, religious people thought that if someone was born with a sickness or disease, then either the parents had sinned before the child was born or the child had sinned while in the mother’s womb.
So the disciples asked Jesus, “Who sinned—the man or his parents?”
Now, Jesus’ response in the King James Version is a little unclear: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” It sounds as though God made this man blind just so Jesus could heal him and give God the glory.
But, remember, the New Testament was originally written in Greek, and there was no punctuation —no periods, no commas. All punctuation was later inserted by the Bible translators. Therefore, you could change a period or question mark without changing anything in the original manuscripts.
So let’s look at this verse another way. “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents [period].” Jesus answered their question. “But that the works of God should be made manifest in him [comma], I must work the works of him that sent me.”
When we change those two punctuation marks, which were not in the original manuscripts, it changes the whole meaning of Jesus’ response to the disciples and takes all the blame off God. Suddenly the verse lines up with the context of the rest of Scripture.
Jesus didn’t attribute the blindness to God. Healing is the work of God; sickness is the work of the enemy. Instead, Jesus said, “Now I’ll work the works of Him who sent Me.” Then He healed the man.
Jesus never made anyone sick but healed all who came to Him in faith. I come to Him now in faith and receive God’s work of healing in my body.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
For over 40 years, Pastors Mark and Janet Brazee have traveled throughout the world sharing the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Together they've shared the powerful truths of faith and healing in more than 50 nations.
Today Mark and Janet pastor World Outreach Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where they base their ongoing outreach to the world. The Brazees still travel as the Lord leads, and they are raising up a congregation who share their passion to reach Tulsa and the world.