Transmigration
Recommended Reading: John 9
In John chapter 9 we encounter a man who has been blind from his youth.
“His disciples asked him, saying, ‘Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?’”
When I first read this, it dawned on me that the disciples were asking a very odd question. If the man was born blind, how could he have sinned prior to birth? The prevailing thought of a person sinning before birth is called transmigration. A creed of the Pharisees, this doctrine was accepted among the Greeks and the Asiatics. The Pythagoreans believed the souls of men were sent into other bodies for the punishment of some sin they had committed in a pre-existent state. (According to e-Sword; Biblical Illustrator Commentary; John 9:1-25.)
The Hindus still hold to this doctrine and believe that sins from a previous life are to be reckoned with in their new life. For example, if they experience headaches, they believe this is their punishment for having spoken irreverently to their father or mother in a past life.
This seems to have been the foundation of the disciples' question to our Lord. Did this man sin in a pre-existent state, that he is now punished in this body with blindness? Or, did his parents commit some sin for which they are thus plagued in their offspring?
In the book of Josephus we learn that the Pharisees had adopted a positive view of transmigration from which, of course, they benefited. They believed that those who were pious were permitted to reanimate human bodies as their reward, without defect, disability, or loss. As the church was born, this view began to infiltrate and contaminate pure biblical doctrine.
As the church at Rome grew, so did the evolution of transmigration. Rather than reanimating a new body in which you suffered for your previous sin, you now could receive a clean slate by having loved ones who were still on earth, pay your way out of suffering. This is where the unbiblical doctrine of purgatory was birthed. After a time of suffering, these sufferers could reach the glories of heaven, if your loved one’s paid enough and prayed enough.
This brings us back to the disciples' question:
“Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Jesus responds:
“Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
Jesus is about to dismantle the prevailing doctrine of transmigration. Jesus says:
“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”
The phrase, “the night cometh, when no man can work,” is talking about when we’re dead. When you’re dead there’s nothing more you can do to change what you didn’t already do or not do when you were alive. Jesus was destroying the view of transmigration and teaching everyone that we can’t wait for another life, this is it!
As children of God, we now must work the works of God. And we must do the work that He has given us to do while it is day, because the night is coming! Since we have only one life to live, Jesus is saying, make it count! Once the night comes there’s nothing more we can do.
As the story continues, Jesus then commands the blind man to “Go and wash.” Can you imagine? A stranger comes up to you and spits on the ground and then makes this gooey salve and smears it on your eyelids. Many, if not most of us, would be reluctant to let someone do this. But the man doesn’t resist and then obeys. After washing in the pool of Saloam, he is miraculously healed.
Why the command? Why not just make him see during this first encounter? Because this is what brings glory to God—obedience. After he obeyed, he was able to see, and then worship.
What does this mean for us today? Obey His Word while it is day! As God opens your eyes to the work he’s doing in your life, then worship and bring great glory to him. Then “Work while it is day!” Make every second count. We are not called to be beggars, but called to be givers and proclaimers that our great God heals the broken hearted, gives sight to the blind, and sets the captives free.
Sincerely,
Mark Hamby
M.S., M. Div., Th. M., D. Min.
Recommended Reading and Listening:
Trusty Takes a U-Turn – book, ages 2-6
Charlie's Choice – book and audio drama, ages 8- adult
The Captive – book and audio drama, ages 12-adult
The Wanderer – book and audio drama, ages 12-adult
Jessica’s First Prayer – book, all ages
Jessica’s Journey – audio drama, ages 12-adult
