Bible ReadingJohn 9:1-41 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 was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.”
[36:20] [37:11] [41:56] [42:26] [48:51] [52:27]John 1:4-5 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
[30:52]John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
[32:35]John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
[01:01:39]Observation questions- In John 9, what different responses do people have to the man’s healing—the neighbors, the parents, the Pharisees, and the man himself?
- What does Jesus say when the disciples ask who sinned, and how does he redirect their question? [39:26]
- How does the healed man’s description of Jesus grow through the chapter—from “the man called Jesus” to “a prophet” to “Lord, I believe”? [48:51]
- What does Jesus do after the man is cast out, and how does the chapter end? [52:27]
Interpretation questions- Jesus says the man’s blindness becomes a place where “the works of God might be displayed.” What does that help a group understand about suffering that cannot be neatly explained? [39:33]
- Jesus heals this man with mud and washing instead of simply speaking a word. What might that action reveal about who Jesus is and what kind of healing he is giving? [46:02]
- The Pharisees keep examining the miracle but seem to grow darker instead of clearer. What does that show about the danger of claiming to see while refusing Jesus? [55:02]
- The healed man cannot answer every challenge, but he keeps returning to, “I was blind, but now I see.” What does that suggest about the power of a changed life when faith is questioned? [49:24]
Application questions- Has there been a hard place in life that has felt meaningless, unfair, or like punishment? What might it look like to ask not only “Why is this happening?” but also “How might God show his work here?” [41:02]
- Jesus told the blind man to do something that probably made little sense at the time. Is there an area right now where obedience to Jesus feels clear but not comfortable or easy to explain? [42:26]
- Some people move toward the light, and others resist it. Has there been a time when following Jesus created tension with people who preferred things to stay dark, hidden, or unchanged? [44:29]
- The healed man’s boldness grew because his life had really been changed. Where has Christ changed something in such a real way that it gives strength to keep trusting him, even without having every answer? [50:49]
- Jesus went looking for the man after he was cast out. When has Jesus felt especially near in a lonely, costly, or rejected season? [53:13]
- Jesus warns against saying “we see” while remaining blind. Where might pride, self-confidence, or a fake sense of spiritual clarity keep someone from receiving light from Christ? [56:36]
- Eternal life is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. What habits or changes would help a group member move from merely knowing about Jesus to actually knowing him more deeply this week? [01:01:39]
