"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 in order that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work (John 9:1-4)."This passage sometimes causes problems in dealing with the problem of evil and suffering. It appears that Jesus is saying that this man's sin is not due to any sin he or his parents committed. His blindness was so God could be glorified in him.
That raises the question as to whether God causes suffering for the righteous. The Bible declares repeatedly that God is good (Ps 34:8) and his eyes are toward the righteous (1 Pet 3:12). The Bible seems to say that God does not cause the suffering of the righteous, which is what causes the difficulty with this passage
There are many ways people have dealt this passage. I want to begin with looking at the passage as it is in Greek. You can see how the passage is in Greek by reading either the KJV or the NASB. Both of these italicize words that are not in the Greek text, but are supplied by the translators to smooth the reading of the text. Sometimes the words supplied turn certain passages more into an interpretation rather than a translation, which is what I believe may have happened in this verse. Look at what you have when you take out the italicized words.
"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, "Neither this man sinned, nor his parents; but in order that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work (John 9:1-4)."
This follows the wording of the Greek text. The problem is that it is now awkward. But keep in mind is that the original Greek manuscripts contained no punctuation. The punctuation is not part of the original text. So try putting a period after the word "parents" rather than a semicolon, and put a comma at the end of verse three after "him" rather than a period. Here is what you have.
"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, "Neither this man sinned, nor his parents. But in order that the works of God might be displayed in him, we must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work (John 9:1-4)."
This is true to the Greek text, and it eliminate the theological difficulties. Jesus simply states that this man's blindness was not due to his nor his parents sin. Instead of trying to determine who was at fault, he says we must do God's work, which is of more practical value than simply laying blame for a physical ailment.