Who Makes Men Deaf, Mute, & Blind?
Who Makes Men Deaf, Mute, & Blind?
In Mark 9, it states that bad spirits make people blind; however, in John 9 and Exodus 4, it states that God causes men to be blind.
"The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" (Exodus 4:11 NASB1995).
"As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him," (John 9:1-3 NASB1995).
"When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again," (Mark 9:25 NASB1995).
To answer this supposed contradiction, all we have to realize is that the phrases are never exclusive. It does not say "Only God does this" or "Only bad spirits do this". If I were to say, "I bake bread", and then later say, "My sister bakes bread", I never contradicted myself as I never was exclusive in my speech.
God may make or allow someone blind, mute, or deaf for a few reasons. Jesus, in John 9, tells us this act was done so that a miracle could be performed. It is possible here that God did not literally make the man blind; but rather, he did not prevent it. These trials a person goes through can cause great growth. Paul became blind for a time, but when his vision returned, he realized that he was spiritually blind (Acts 9). God works through men for the greater good (Romans 8:28).
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