Expending our energy trying to discover who is to blame is a wide-spread pursuit in our world. It began with our original parents in the Garden of Eden who were the first to be deceived about the nature of our tenderhearted Father, to the degree that hiding from the Lover of their souls and blaming each other seemed like the best course of action.
Fast forward to Jesus who came to reveal the Father to us because, without any distorted understand of his heavenly Father, he was able to live out for us a perfect representation of the Father’s nature and also to perfectly mirror to us, our most authentic selves.
In John 9, Jesus has a remarkable interaction with a man who was born blind that gives us a clear understanding that our Father has never been in the business of blaming or shaming. After Jesus approached this man, Jesus’ followers ask him, “Who sinned—this man or his parents that he should be born blind?” or quite simply, “Who’s to blame for this?”
You have to understand that in the culture of the day, that was a perfectly legitimate question to ask. It was common for someone blind or maimed in any way to be accused of being cursed, even accompanied by spitting at them as an awful way of outwardly agreeing (I add my agreement to this curse by spitting upon you).
Given only two choices, Jesus’ answer was completely counter-cultural and revolutionary. Or at least it seemed so to his followers because they were part of a culture that bought into the lies about the nature of God that simply weren’t true, and Jesus came to set things straight about his Father and about the kingdom of heaven that we are immersed in. Jesus’ answer was “Neither!” He was conveying, “You’re barking up the wrong tree! You’re looking for blame when there is none. My Father doesn’t curse and he doesn’t blame. I’m here to make things right because that’s my Father’s heart and I only do what I see him doing.” (this is my own interpretation that includes references to things Jesus said on several different occasions about himself and his Father).
Then comes a pivotal statement that has been rendered incorrectly in most translations, based on the Greek (please watch my message for much greater detail). John 9:3 in the NIV (and in most translations) reads: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. But if this is what Jesus actually said, it certainly appears his Father caused this tragedy to happen so that decades later Jesus could come to the rescue. This would fit with a world view that God punishes, so someone must be guilty of sinning, which sets up a troubling dichotomy pits Father and son against each other, pulling in opposit directions with Jesus trying to undo what the Father did.
So what is an accurate rendering of this verse? In the Greek, this verse does not say, “this happened” or “this man was born blind.” Translators added a verb (“happened”, “born”) to make it fit with their understanding of hina “so that/in order that” which implies a cause and effect. But in this verse hina is an independent clause (no verb is present to be attached to it) which makes it much more accurate to understand hina is stating a command or wish—"Let this be so!”
Putting this all together, the most accurate rendering of this verse is:
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned. But let the works of God be revealed in him.”
Or here is John 9:3 in the Mirror translation:
“Jesus answered emphatically, ‘His condition has absolutely nothing to do with any sins committed either by himself or his parents. Neither him nor his parents were guilty of sin. This is an opportunity for God’s action (in Christ) to be unveiled in him.’”
So many have stumbled over this verse because it portrayed a Father who Jesus was rescuing us from. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus wasn’t rescuing us from the Father—he was re-introducing us to the genuine heart of our Father that we had been blind to. He was showing us the truth that would set us free to be able to give our hearts willingly to the Author of Love and Grace and Mercy, in whose image and nature we co-live.
To finish the story, Jesus healed the blind man by spitting on the ground and making mud that he placed on his eyes. What the??! Why would Jesus do that? Because, perfectly representing his Father’s heart, Jesus brought the shame and deep wounding of this man who was cursed with spit his entire life, full-circle to fully heal and restore him and to say,
“I don’t curse you, I bless you, because your heavenly Father blesses you! I’m here to restore your entire being and to set you free to be your authentic self!”
Friends, you and I are created in this very same nature. We don’t need to expend energy looking for who is to blame. Instead we get to be participants with Jesus in bringing healing and restoration to each and every person created in the glorious image of our Father! | 
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