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.'”
[45:54]Genesis 2:7 “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”
[56:12]John 8:1-11 “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?' This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.'”
Observation questions- In John 9, what question do the disciples ask about the blind man, and how does Jesus redirect the conversation? [49:25]
- What does Jesus do with the dirt and saliva, and what does the man have to do before he can see? [57:33]
- What different responses do the neighbors, the parents, and the Pharisees have to the man’s healing? [58:49]
- How does the healed man speak about Jesus as the chapter goes on, and where does he finally end up? [01:03:48]
Interpretation questions- Jesus does not deny the reality of sin or suffering, but he refuses to let blame be the final word. Why does the blame question fall short, and how does it keep people stuck? [51:12]
- The use of mud and dust points back to Genesis and creation. How does that deepen the meaning of this healing beyond simply fixing the man’s eyes? [56:12]
- The man receives sight as he obeys Jesus before fully understanding him. What does this show about the relationship between trust, obedience, and healing? [57:33]
- Jesus says the greatest blindness belongs to those who think they already see. Why can certainty become more dangerous than confusion or weakness when it comes to recognizing God’s work? [01:12:19]
Application questions- When suffering shows up, is there a habit of immediately asking, “Whose fault is this?” What would it look like to also ask, “What might God want to do right now?” [50:20]
- Has there been a wound, failure, diagnosis, or part of the past that has started to feel like the ceiling of life? What would it mean to let Jesus define the future more than that condition defines identity? [51:39]
- Is there an area of life where understanding is being demanded before trust is offered to Jesus? What might obedience look like while the path still feels unclear? [57:33]
- Have certain people been quietly kept in an old category, like the neighbors who could not imagine real change? Who might need to be seen again with room for God to do something new? [59:52]
- Has fear of cost ever made it tempting to distance from what Jesus is doing in someone else’s life? What relationships, settings, or circles make that fear feel most real? [01:01:57]
- Could strong convictions in any area have hardened into a kind of dogma that leaves little room for surprise, healing, or testimony? How would that be recognized honestly? [01:03:09]
- Jesus goes looking for the one who has been cast out. Is there someone lonely, discarded, or drifting who may need more than kind thoughts right now? What could it look like to go toward that person this week? [01:07:04]
