The Impossible Question

In John 9, Jesus and His disciples were walking along the road and saw a blind beggar sitting there. Now, in that day they thought that an affliction like blindness was a punishment for sinning. But this man had been blind since birth, so the disciples wanted to know whether he had sinned before he was born, or if he was suffering because his parents had sinned.

The problem is, Jesus could not answer that question. It had no answer. That's not the way suffering works.

•  Sometimes you suffer because of your own bad choices. Addiction usually occurs because someone has chosen to consistently use drugs or alcohol.
• Sometimes you suffer because of someone else's sinful choices that affect you. If you were abused as a child, it's not because you deserved it. It's because someone else chose to sin, and you took the brunt of it.
• And sometimes you suffer just because we live in a fallen world, full of hurt and injustice and pain. If you have cancer, it's not a punishment. It's just part of the effect of sin on this world.

The disciples thought the beggar was being punished for sin, and wanted to know who to blame. But Jesus answered, "No, it's not that this man or his parents sinned. Instead, this is a chance to do God's work." Then He healed the blind man. He understood that damage caused by sin is an opportunity for grace.

The disciples saw a beggar; Jesus saw a person. The disciples saw the effect of sin; Jesus saw an opportunity for grace. The disciples asked who to blame; Jesus showed them how to help. 

The horror and glory of the cross

Today, the cross is recognized as a beautiful symbol of Christianity, and the Red Cross is recognized around the world for helping people in need. But in New Testament time, the cross was something horrible. In fact, the word "cross" was so offensive that even well-bred pagan Romans tried not to use it, substituting some other phrase that sounded better, like "lifted up” or “hanged on the unlucky tree.” The cross was an instrument of torture and terror, designed to execute a person in a way that would strike fear into the heart of everyone who saw it. It was also a symbol of racism. A Roman would never be crucified - the cross was reserved for slaves or traitors. In the 1950s and 60s, the KKK used burning crosses to spread fear and intimidation through the American South; in much the same way, first-century Romans used crucifixion to remind the Jews of what would happen should they try to resist Rome.

So in Galatians 6, when Paul says that he would never brag about anything except for the cross, it was absolutely shocking. How could he take pride in a symbol of terror and oppression?

It's because Jesus changed the meaning of the cross forever. Paul recognized that the crucifixion of Christ was a life-changing death. It represents a total break from "the world" - that is, the warped value system and self-centered way of life that is everywhere around us. The cross changes our perspective, and we see that people are more important than money and character is more important than success. We see the horror of sin and the beauty of holiness.

Along with our perspective, the cross changes our heart. It actually enables us to follow Christ, to have a life that reflects God's value system, to have a soul that responds to the Spirit. Accepting Christ's death on the cross as your own is the single most powerful moment of your life - and it's a moment that will last for eternity.