The belief of the Jews in regard to the relation of sin and suffering was held by Christ's disciples. While Jesus corrected their error, He did not explain the cause of the man's affliction, but told them what would be the result. Because of it the works of God would be made manifest. "As long as I am in the world," He said, "I am the light of the world." Then having anointed the eyes of the blind man, He sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam, and the man's sight was restored. Thus Jesus answered the question of the disciples in a practical way, as He usually answered questions put to Him from curiosity. The disciples were not called upon to discuss the question as to who had sinned or had not sinned, but to understand the power and mercy of God in giving sight to the blind. It was evident that there was no healing virtue in the clay, or in the pool wherein the blind man was sent to wash, but that the virtue was in Christ.

Jødefolkets tro med hensyn til forbindelsen mellem synd og lidelse næredes også af Jesu disciple. Skønt Jesus rettede deres vildfarelse, gav han dem ingen forklaring på årsagen til mandens sygdom, men fortalte dem, hvad der ville blive følgen af den. Ved hjælp af den skulle Guds gerninger åbenbares. Han sagde: Mens jeg er i verden, er jeg verdens lys. Da han havde smurt dyndet på den blindes øjne, sendte han ham hen for at tvætte sig i dammen Siloam, og manden fik sit syn igen. På denne måde besvarede Jesus disciplenes spørgsmål på en håndgribelig måde, sådan som han plejede at besvare spørgsmål, der blev rettet til ham af nysgerrighed. Disciplene var ikke kaldede til at drøfte det spørgsmål, hvem der havde syndet eller ikke havde syndet, men til at forstå Guds magt og barmhjertighed ved at give en blind synet. Det var indlysende, at der ikke var nogen helbredende virkning hverken i dyndet eller i dammen, hvor den blinde blev sendt hen for at tvætte sig, men at kraften fandtes i Kristus.