What does John 9:3 mean?
This counters a misconception common in Jesus' era, which is also a cornerstone of many religions today. Jesus' disciples assume the man they've encountered (John 9:1–2) suffers blindness as punishment for something. This raises a difficult question: did the man somehow sin before he was born? Is he being punished for his parents' sin? The disciples' attitude parallels the concept of karma, which implies that all earthly suffering is payment or punishment for prior acts of wrongdoing. Jesus' answer definitively refutes that idea.In a very broad sense, all human suffering is the result of sin. Adam's disobedience brought death and destruction to the entire human race (Romans 5:12). In fact, it brought death to all of creation (Romans 8:20–22). Much suffering results simply from living in a fallen world. It is also true that much suffering can be directly linked to personal sin, whether experiencing the consequences of our own sin or being affected by the sins of others. Violence, starvation, crime, broken homes, and other effects of sin can impinge on people not directly to blame.
Jesus' words prove that not all suffering is punishment for the sins of the one who suffers, nor is their suffering a punishment for the sins of someone else. This blind man did not experience blindness as a judgment on sin, either his or someone else's.
A common interpretation of this verse is that the man was born blind specifically so Jesus could perform this miracle. This would harmonize with verses such as 2 Corinthians 12:7–9 and Exodus 4:11. However, it's also true that New Testament Greek was not written using punctuation. Based on the context, it's also possible that Jesus meant His comments about sin and the parents separately from His remarks on the works of God. That is, one could reasonably punctuate this passage as "…or his parents. But, that the works of God might be displayed in him, we must work…"
Either way, the emphasis here is refuting that the man's sin was responsible for his condition.
