“And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? — the disciples assume that physical disability results from personal or parental sin. This reflects a common theological view: suffering is punishment for sin (cf. Job 4:7, though Job itself questions this). The disciples' question frames blindness within the categories of moral causation and divine retribution. Jesus will reject this framework, reorienting understanding toward God's redemptive purposes rather than explanations of suffering rooted in sin-causation.