Did Jesus deny the fact that suffering is caused by a person's own sins?

[Shri Anil asked: Jesus healed a blind man who was blind from birth. People asked Jesus the reason for the blindness of the man. They wanted to know whether the blind man was born due to his own sins or due to his parent’s sins, to which Jesus replied that it was neither due to his sin nor due to his parent’s sin, but that it had happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. But the truth is that unless a person has committed a sin previously, he will not suffer in this world. Then why did Jesus say so?]

Swami replied: A good question indeed! After healing a sinner, sometimes, Jesus would also say that the sins of that sinner had come to an end on that day and hence, he was healed. This means that it is indeed true that diseases and worldly problems are the punishments of one’s own sins. But Jesus wanted to glorify God by that miracle. He wanted to draw the attention of the people to the aspect of the omnipotence and loving kindness of God, so that it increases the devotion of people. Hence, He did not attribute the blindness to the concept of deeds and their fruits. If He had stressed on the concept of deeds and their fruits, the concept of devotion would have been neglected. The concept of devotion is more important than the concept of deeds and their fruits because God is omnipotent and He can cancel any sin at any stage, if He wishes so. There is none to question Him. In spite of this truth, God always follows the norms of justice that He Himself has established.

Here, people may misunderstand that God has to follow the norms of justice like a servant following the orders of his master. God’s omnipotence, which allows Him to do anything, including violating the norms of justice, seems to be masked here by the norms of justice. Jesus wanted to enlighten this masked point by His reply. He wanted to reveal that the miracle was done by God, who possesses complete freedom. Jesus wanted to clarify that God had not performed the miracle, bound by the norms of justice, following the concept of fruits and deeds. Even though God has full freedom to violate even the justice established by Himself, He does not use such special power because it brings blame to God. People may think that He is an arrogant and mad administrator. So, He always follows the constitution formulated by Him in giving punishment to sinners. But due to this, God should not be mistaken to be a judge in the human court, who is duty-bound to strictly follow the constitution without any freedom. Jesus wanted to stress on the point that God is not like such a judge who has no freedom, but that God, being the supreme judge, possesses full freedom to do anything. There is no superior entity, which is capable of binding God. This statement of Jesus should only be viewed in that light and it does not mean that God violates His own constitution of punishing the sinner.

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| Shri Datta Swami |Did Jesus deny the fact that suffering is caused by a person's own sins? |