[Where We See Brokenness, Yeshua Sees What’s Possible]
Some mornings, reflections come from several directions at once — a sermon, a memory, a conversation, even an older post that rises back to the surface. Today was one of those mornings. As I listened to the message from John 9 and later talked with my wife about her own family’s story, something settled deeply in me about how we see suffering, disability, and the quiet dignity of those who carry burdens they never chose.
Scripture
John 9:1–2
(Click here to read on Bible Gateway)
“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’”
Reflection
I was thinking about several posts I’ve written, this morning’s sermon, and something my wife shared afterward. The sermon centered on John 9, where Yeshua heals a man who had been blind from birth — and He does it on the Sabbath.
The disciples’ first reaction wasn’t compassion. It wasn’t curiosity. It wasn’t hope. It was blame:
“Who sinned…?”
That mindset was common in Yeshua’s day. Many believed that any disability or affliction must be the result of sin — either the person’s or their parents’. Sadly, that thinking hasn’t disappeared.
My wife told me about her uncle, born in a time and place where no doctor was present to help with the delivery. The umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, cutting off oxygen to his brain. He was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He lived with his mother for many years, and after my wife and I married, I had the privilege of visiting him several times.
He couldn’t speak — only grunts and sounds — but behind those sounds was a sharp, intelligent mind. Even with limited ways to communicate, I enjoyed every moment with him. There was a person in there, fully alive, fully aware, fully human.
Yet people in the church said things. They hinted that someone in the family must have sinned. They echoed the disciples’ question without even realizing it.
The pastor shared another heartbreaking story — a woman who accidentally backed over her young daughter and killed her. Instead of receiving comfort, her church accused her. As if her grief wasn’t enough, they added shame on top of sorrow.
This is what happens when we forget the heart of God.
Back in John 9, Yeshua does the opposite. He sees the man. He kneels in the dirt. He makes mud, places it on the man’s eyes, and sends him to wash in the Pool of Siloam. And when the man returns able to see, the religious leaders don’t rejoice — they attack. They interrogate. They condemn.
But Yeshua restores. And He reveals something deeper:
Affliction is not evidence of sin. Affliction is an opportunity for God’s work to be revealed.
This brings me back to a post I wrote called “Children Not Like the Others.” It tells the story of Katie Asher’s son, Houston — a boy diagnosed with a severe form of autism that left him nonverbal with limited motor function. Doctors wrote him off. Many people dismissed him. They assumed he couldn’t understand, couldn’t participate, couldn’t grow.
But his mother never gave up. When she finally found a way to communicate with him, she discovered a world inside him — intelligence, humor, insight, imagination. All of it had been there the whole time. They just needed the doorway.
Those Who Have Been “Othered”
There are many people in our world who have been “othered” — pushed aside, misunderstood, or treated as less-than. Disabled people. Grieving people. People carrying invisible wounds. And yes, gay people.
For many of them, the experience is painfully similar to what we see in John 9. Instead of being welcomed as human beings made in God’s image, they are often treated first as a category, a controversy, or a theological problem. Some have been told that their struggles, their identity, or even their existence must be the result of sin — theirs or someone else’s.
“Who sinned…?”
But Yeshua rejected that entire way of thinking. He didn’t look at the blind man and see a theological puzzle. He saw a person. He saw dignity. He saw someone worthy of compassion, healing, and restoration.
And here is the truth we cannot escape:
Every single person is welcome in Father God’s Kingdom. Every single person enters the same way. Every single person is invited through the same door.
That door is repentance — turning toward the Father. And that door is forgiveness — the forgiveness Yeshua purchased for all of us.
There is no “special category” of people who need more repentance than others. There is no “lesser group” who must crawl while others walk. There is no “clean” group and “unclean” group. We all come to God the same way.
The Kingdom is not a gated community for the spiritually impressive. It is a home for the broken, the searching, the hurting, the misunderstood, and the “othered.”
When we forget this, we become like the Pharisees in John 9 — guarding a door that doesn’t belong to us. But when we remember it, we become like Yeshua — opening our hands, opening our hearts, and letting the works of God be revealed in every life.
Connection to Today
This passage speaks directly into how we treat one another — especially those who are vulnerable, disabled, grieving, misunderstood, or carrying burdens we cannot see. It challenges the instinct to judge. It confronts the habit of assigning blame. It calls us to compassion instead of suspicion.
Unity begins when we stop asking, “Who sinned?” and start asking, “How can God’s love be revealed here?”
Prayer
Father, open our eyes to see people the way Yeshua sees them. Remove judgment from our hearts and replace it with compassion. Teach us to honor the dignity of every person You have created. Where there is suffering, let us bring comfort. Where there is misunderstanding, let us bring patience. Where there is hidden beauty, help us make room for it to shine. May Your works be revealed in all of us — especially in those the world overlooks. Amen.
