Why Do Saints Get Sick?
J. Gerald Harris
John 9:1-12
Almost no one likes to be sick. Americans proved that last year as they consumed over 20,000 tons of aspirin in their efforts to feel better. No matter how successful you may be in other areas, when you are sick it is difficult to enjoy life at all.
Therefore, the desire for physical healing is one of the strongest desires human beings can have. When we're not well we crave wellness. When we are healthy we hope to continue in good health. But when sickness comes it is not without significance in the life of the believer.
Sickness is a topic that was dealt with constantly in the New Testament. There were many occasions on which Jesus healed the sick during His earthly ministry. There were times when the early apostles healed people of physical illness. But just as plainly, the Scripture also tells us that there were times when even the great saints of God did not receive physical healing.
So, this morning we're going to deal with the subject, "Why Do Saints Get Sick?" Now, that is a question that has been asked for ages, and it brings us to the first point of our message for today.
I. THE CAUSES OF SICKNESS
Look in our text at verses 1 and 2 (read). In the day of Jesus the rabbis taught that all suffering was directly attributed to acts of sin, either by the individual or by his parents. So, the question of the disciples is a question that dominated Jewish thought. Whenever anybody got sick it was automatically associated with sin.
Now, that kind of theology can get a little touchy. You can imagine, somebody comes along and says, "I haven't been feeling well." And all of the rabbis say, "Aha, I wonder what law he's transgressed."
But that was the way it was. They associated suffering with sin. So, the question of the disciples was a very natural question: "Who caused it, this man or his parents?" That was a profound question, because the man was born blind.
The disciples must be thinkin ...
J. Gerald Harris
John 9:1-12
Almost no one likes to be sick. Americans proved that last year as they consumed over 20,000 tons of aspirin in their efforts to feel better. No matter how successful you may be in other areas, when you are sick it is difficult to enjoy life at all.
Therefore, the desire for physical healing is one of the strongest desires human beings can have. When we're not well we crave wellness. When we are healthy we hope to continue in good health. But when sickness comes it is not without significance in the life of the believer.
Sickness is a topic that was dealt with constantly in the New Testament. There were many occasions on which Jesus healed the sick during His earthly ministry. There were times when the early apostles healed people of physical illness. But just as plainly, the Scripture also tells us that there were times when even the great saints of God did not receive physical healing.
So, this morning we're going to deal with the subject, "Why Do Saints Get Sick?" Now, that is a question that has been asked for ages, and it brings us to the first point of our message for today.
I. THE CAUSES OF SICKNESS
Look in our text at verses 1 and 2 (read). In the day of Jesus the rabbis taught that all suffering was directly attributed to acts of sin, either by the individual or by his parents. So, the question of the disciples is a question that dominated Jewish thought. Whenever anybody got sick it was automatically associated with sin.
Now, that kind of theology can get a little touchy. You can imagine, somebody comes along and says, "I haven't been feeling well." And all of the rabbis say, "Aha, I wonder what law he's transgressed."
But that was the way it was. They associated suffering with sin. So, the question of the disciples was a very natural question: "Who caused it, this man or his parents?" That was a profound question, because the man was born blind.
The disciples must be thinkin ...
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