We Aren’t Called to Assign Blame, but to Accept Responsibility

In John 9, we’re told the story of Jesus and his disciples walking up on a man who was born blind. The disciples saw a situation we’ve all seen. Something is broken in the world, something isn’t right and, like us, they wanted to know whose fault it was. So, who’s fault is it, the disciples wanted to know. Is it the parents? Did they do something during the pregnancy that caused his blindness? Was he mistreated as a child? Did this man do something to cause his blindness? Is God punishing him for some past sin?

Reading this story, I thought about watching the evening news. These days, no one reports the news, they just tell the story of one group blaming another group for everything that has gone wrong in our world. Democrats blame Republicans and Republicans blame Democrats. States blame the federal government and the federal government blames the states. Governors blame mayors and mayors blame the state governments. The rich blame the poor and the poor blame the rich. Whatever is going on there’s somebody to blame. We need to find the people who are to blame and tell them to fix whatever they messed up. Then, we can go back home and feel better because we’ve told the guilty party this is their mess to clean up.

Everyone wants to assign blame but no one will take any responsibility. I get the feeling the disciples weren’t going to do anything to help the blind man. They just wanted to know whose fault it was. If we know who’s to blame, we think we’re relieved of any responsibility to be part of the solution. It’s their fault. It’s their mess. Let them clean it up.

But did you notice Jesus’ answer? “It’s not the man’s fault. It’s not his parent’s fault. This is a chance for God…” Jesus wasn’t interested in discussing who was at fault. It didn’t matter how the circumstances happened. What mattered for Jesus was here was a moment in which God could show His power, grace and mercy. It wasn’t the man’s fault. It wasn’t his parent’s fault. It certainly wasn’t the fault of Jesus. While Jesus wasn’t to blame, Jesus did take responsibility for the man’s blindness.

When Jesus announced His public ministry in Luke 4, he read from the prophet Isaiah:

18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set free the oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Lk 4:18–19).

In this man’s life, Jesus saw the chance to do what He proclaimed He had been sent to do – to recover the sight of this blind man. Jesus wasn’t to blame, but He was responsible. It wasn’t Jesus' fault, but He was able to respond. And He did.

Once, I was with a group of friends and one of the guys in the group began to talk about his marriage. According to our friend, he and his wife were on the verge of breaking up. When we asked what was wrong, he gave us a long list of things his wife was doing and not doing that was tearing his marriage apart. One guy in our group began to probe and push back which frustrated our friend. Finally, our friend slammed his hand down on the table and said, “Listen guys, it’s not my fault.”

“We’re not saying it is,” the second friend replied. “We’re not saying it’s your fault at all. We are saying you are responsible for your family and your marriage.” It’s not your fault, but you are responsible. To this day, it’s one of the most profound things I’ve ever heard anyone say. “It may not be your fault, but it still may be your responsibility.”

What kind of story would we have had if Jesus had looked at the blind man and said, “This isn’t my fault” and simply kept walking? For that matter, what kind of story would we have if God had looked at our broken and messed up world and said, “That’s not my fault”? The good news of the gospel is that Jesus, even though none of this was his fault, took responsibility for everything. That’s the gospel.

That’s the gospel that’s lived out every time a follower of Christ sees a point of brokenness and says, “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. This is a chance for God to show His goodness.”

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells those who are welcomed into His kingdom, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.” (Mt 25:35–36). Notice Jesus never pointed out who was to blame in any of these scenarios. The person could have been hungry because they gambled away all their money. They could have been thirsty because they didn’t pay the water bill. They could have been sick because of harmful lifestyle choices. They could have been in prison for a double homicide. Blame didn’t matter.

Jesus never says “why” these people were in the mess they were in. It didn’t matter. Jesus saw every mess as a chance for God to show His power and mercy.

I was the chaplain for the Brentwood Fire Department for several years. Whenever there was a house fire, I was called to tend to the family. The responders on scene had only two jobs – keep everyone safe and put out the fire. Finding out what caused the fire was someone’s job. The fire crews were only there to put the fire out.

If someone was trapped in the burning house, no one discussed whose fault the fire was. No one ever said, “The fire’s your fault. We’re not going to save you.” They got the people out of the burning house. All of the other questions would be answered by someone else.

That’s us. Every time we see a piece of our broken and messed up world, we have to remember we’re not there to decide whose fault it was. We’re there to pull everyone out of the burning house and put out the fire. Finding blame is done by a totally different department.

So, look around. The mess in the world around you may not be your fault.

But it still may be your responsibility and a chance for God to show His power, mercy and grace.

This essay was first posted in Scot McKnight’s newsletter.