John5:14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.
Jesus met the man again in the temple
John 2:14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Temple denotes the area surrounding the temple including the court of the Gentiles, in distinction from the temple proper. Livestock merchants and money changers ( exchanging idol free coins for those tainted with pagan engravings) eased the logistical burden on pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem from afar by providing them with appropriate animals and coins for sacrifices and offerings. By conducting their business within the temple complex, however they disrupted worship ( esp for Gentiles) and obstructed the temples purpose.
Rev 11 (NKJV)
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¹ Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.
² But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
At a short distance from the site of his healing. Jesus’ words may imply that the man suffering is caused by personal sin
John 9:1As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.
2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him
The disciples questions reflected the assumption, customary in ancient Judaism, that suffering could be traced to specific sins
Job 4:7Stop and think! Do the innocent die?
When have the upright been destroyed?
8 My experience shows that those who plant trouble
And cultivate evil will harvest the same.
The underlying concern of this assumption is to clear God of wrongdoing against innocent people
Exodus 5:20 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.
Numbers 14:17 “Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said, 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.’
(1) God’s long-suffering character means he is slow to anger: He was willing to endure the rebellion of the people for an extended period of time to respond to their waywardnes with grace and faithfulness. Later in Israelites history the prophets responded to Israel idolatrous practices adopting Canaanites god’s and goddesses in worship and practicing injustice against their own people by declaring God’s long-suffering would soon come to an end. His judgement came to pass in the Assyrian and Babylonian invasion of Israel and Judah in the eighth and sixth centuries B.C.
(2) Abundant mercy describes God’s lavish loving kindness and covenant loyally to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But inspite of His love, His justice and righteousness would not allow him clear the guilty. Moses understanding the balance between the love of God and his righteous judgement came through his close relationship with God.
(3) The phrase visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children meant stemming the tide of sinfulness within the family structure often took many generations. God does not cause one descendants to suffer for the sins of their fathers
Deuteronomy 24:16 “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.
Ezekiel 18:1Then another message came to me from the Lord:
2 “Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’?
3 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you will not quote this proverb anymore in Israel.
4 For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.
Exodus 20:4“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.
5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.
6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
Not to make a carved image run counter to every instinct of Near Eastern cultures, but to do so is an affront of God jealous. God is concerned to protect the integrity of His relationship with his people
Exodus 34:14 You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you
If Israelites made idols to worship, it would be an act of disloyalty and repudiation. When the Lord made himself known to the Israelites, they did not see any form
Deuteronomy 4:10 Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’
11 “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness.
12 And the Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice.
13 He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.
14 It was at that time that the Lord commanded me to teach you his decrees and regulations so you would obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
15 “But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai.
16 So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman,
17 an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky,
18 a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea. 19 And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The Lord your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth. 20 Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.
The best way to know and worship him was to recall what he had already done and said to be alert to trust him and see what he would do in the future
But he does punish children who keep doing the same sort of sins as their parents. This passage set the stage for the words of the Shema
Deuteronomy 6:4Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.
7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.
9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gWhich instructed parents to set an example in worship of God in the context of the family.
Deuteronomy 5:9 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.
Yet the New testament makes it clear that suffering is not always a direct result of person’s sin
Luke 13:2 “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered?
3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God
2 Corinthians 12:7 Even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.
Galatians 4:13 Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. 14 But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself.
We should not speculate about the cause of a person’s suffering but relialise that even evil can contribute to the glory of God ( esp the crucifixion
John 12 (NKJV)
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²⁸ Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
³⁷ But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
³⁸ that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
³⁹ Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”
⁴¹ These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
John 17 (NKJV)
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¹ Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
⁵ And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was
In conclusion
A worse thing may refer to eternal judgement for sin
John 5:22 In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge,
23 so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.
24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
25 “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live.
26 The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. 27 And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.
28 Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son,
29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.
30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.