The Question We Never Asked

Devotional

Day 1: The Bag and the Continental Hand

A blind man’s neighbors dragged him to religious leaders after his healing. Instead of celebrating restored sight, they fixated on technicalities: “What day did this happen?” Their pens scratched parchment as they debated Sabbath violations. Meanwhile, the man stood blinking in sunlight he’d never seen. Like those leaders, we often inventory problems rather than entrust them. Place your burdens in the bag. See God’s continental hand lift what crushes you. [25:43]

Jesus cares more about your healing than your theological footnotes. The Pharisees missed joy because they prioritized rules over the rescued. God’s hand holds both cosmic galaxies and your grief-stained list.

What burden have you been dissecting instead of releasing? Name one anxiety you’ll place in God’s palm today.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
(1 Peter 5:7, NIV)

Prayer: Name three specific burdens as you whisper, “Jesus, carry this.”
Challenge: Write “It is well” on a sticky note. Place it where you’ll see it hourly.

Day 2: Mud, Spit, and Sabbath Debates

Jesus spat on dirt, smeared mud on a blind man’s eyes, and sent him to wash. Religious leaders interrogated the healed man about technique and timing. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man shrugged. The miracle offended their systems. They preferred blindness to broken rules. [45:05]

God works through messes. Jesus used spit and dirt—elements they deemed unclean—to restore sight. The Creator isn’t limited by our protocols.

Where have you dismissed God’s work because it looked unpolished? When did you last celebrate an answer that came through chaos?

“He replied, ‘The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.’”
(John 9:11, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal one “messy blessing” you’ve undervalued.
Challenge: Text someone: “I see God working in your life through ______.”

Day 3: Parents at the Synagogue Door

The healed man’s parents stood trembling before religious authorities. “Ask him—he’s old enough,” they deflected. Fear of exile choked their joy. The synagogue meant community, livelihood, identity. Celebrating their son’s miracle risked losing everything. [57:31]

Compromise often masquerades as wisdom. These parents chose survival over testimony. Yet Jesus later found their exiled son, restoring more than sight—he gave belonging.

What relationships are you managing instead of embracing? Where does fear silence your celebration?

“His parents answered, ‘We know he is our son…but how he can see now, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.’”
(John 9:20-21, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one fear that keeps you from defending someone’s story.
Challenge: Write a family member’s name. Pray for their courage daily this week.

Day 4: Thrown Out, Sought Out

Religious leaders expelled the healed man. Jesus heard—and hunted him down. “Do you believe?” he asked. Not “Are you orthodox?” or “Can you recite Torah?” The once-blind man worshipped while the “seeing” remained blind. [01:09:22]

Religion excludes. Jesus pursues. Your loved ones may leave churches, but Christ trails them into exile. His question isn’t about their mistakes—it’s about His identity.

Who do you assume is too far gone? How might Jesus be moving toward them now?

“Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’”
(John 9:35, NIV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for three ways He’s pursued you.
Challenge: Message someone who left church: “I miss you. Coffee’s on me.”

Day 5: “Can You Help Me Understand?”

A pastor’s sister hid her doubts for thirty years. No one asked. When she finally spoke, it wasn’t to theologians—it was to a listening sister-in-law. Jesus asked the healed man, “Do you believe?” before explaining theology. Questions precede answers. [01:12:49]

Certainty builds walls. Curiosity builds bridges. Your job isn’t to defend God—it’s to discover His work in someone’s story.

What assumption about a doubter needs replacing with a question?

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak.”
(James 1:19, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God for one specific question to ask a wandering loved one.
Challenge: Practice silence for five minutes in a conversation today. Only ask, “Tell me more.”

Sermon Summary

God sets the tone with a big-handed mercy that can hold a whole bag of hurt, guilt, and shame without pretending it’s simple. John 9 then lays the map. Jesus heals a man born blind. The neighbors drag him to the Pharisees. The leaders fix on the Sabbath detail rather than the miracle, so the text exposes a reflex to protect a system while a person stands newly whole right in front of them. The scene keeps narrowing to source-checking and boundary-keeping, not neighbor-loving. The man can finally see clouds and color, but the only thing he gets asked is, What day?

The Pharisees split. Some say Jesus can’t be from God since he “broke Sabbath.” Others say, How does a sinner open blind eyes? The parents get pulled in, but fear of being “put out of the synagogue” chills their courage. The synagogue sits at the center of first-century life, so the pressure is real. The text keeps showing how fear and certainty can move people to talk around a healed neighbor rather than to him. Meanwhile, the man himself grows. First “that man,” then “a prophet,” and finally he lands on the line that carries the weight of witness: “One thing I do know. I was blind, but now I see.”

The contrast sharpens. Religious certainty gets weaponized. The healed man is thrown out. The leaders cannot explain the miracle, so they remove the man who embodies it. Jesus does the opposite. He hears, finds, and asks, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Religion expels; Jesus pursues. The text presses a question into the church’s present life: when doubt shows up or stories get complex, will certainty be used to win arguments or to serve people?

The wound is not theoretical. A sister who voiced doubt felt labeled, othered, and slowly uninvited until belonging cost too much to keep. John 9 names how that happens: fear of losing status, guarding categories, mistaking gatekeeping for faithfulness. The call that rises is simple and costly. Humility asks before assuming. Curiosity listens before defending. Love refuses to lecture its way out of a relationship. Jesus is not done with those who left, so the church does not get to be done either. The first bridge back often begins with, “Can you help me understand what happened?” Then watch for movement only Jesus can make, and when it shows up, name it with hope.

Key Takeaways

1. Protecting systems can eclipse people Systems feel safe, measurable, and defensible, but they can turn compassion into a checklist and people into problems to solve. John 9 shows leaders circling a policy while a healed neighbor stands ignored. When guarding the frame matters more than serving the face in front, vision narrows and love goes dim. Repentance begins by asking who is being missed. [46:56]
2. Certainty can become a weapon Conviction is a gift until it is used to silence, exclude, or punish. The Pharisees “knew” enough to throw out a miracle they couldn’t explain, and a man they wouldn’t embrace. When certainty cannot hear testimony, it hardens into self-defense. Wisdom holds truth with patience, leaving room for God to surprise. [66:18]
3. Jesus pursues the ones cast out Religion expels; Jesus goes looking. He does not wait at the synagogue door; he finds the man in the street and reintroduces himself as the Son of Man. Hope for loved ones who left does not rest in persuasion techniques but in Christ’s relentless nearness. The church’s job is to join that pursuit, not to police the threshold. [69:22]
4. Humility asks before assuming Stories of departure are tangled with pain, fear, and unmet questions. Assumptions protect the comfortable but shut down the conversation that could heal. A simple, patient ask can open a door pride keeps shut: “Can you help me understand what happened?” That question honors dignity and invites truth into the room. [71:04]
5. Listen before defending or lecturing Defense centers the church’s reputation; listening centers the person’s wound. Lectures rush to tidy what love must learn to carry. Presence and good questions create space for an adult encounter with Jesus, not a teen-level rerun. Trust that God does not need protection, but the neighbor needs attention. [74:09]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[25:43] - Vision prayer: the big hand of God
[27:30] - Meet and greet: belonging and names
[30:22] - Offering and partnership across cultures
[31:44] - Praying toward one family of God
[39:33] - Family story: doubt and distance
[43:23] - Who loves someone far from faith?
[44:17] - John 9: the healing on Sabbath
[46:56] - Prompt: protecting systems over people
[50:11] - Division among the Pharisees
[52:20] - Source-checking vs seeing the person
[58:51] - “I was blind, but now I see”
[60:49] - Crafting gentle conversation starters
[63:31] - The healed man’s bold pushback
[65:20] - Weaponized certainty and expulsion
[68:58] - Jesus finds the one thrown out
[70:10] - More Than Later: asking and listening
[74:09] - Practical steps for bridge-building
[81:56] - Benediction and sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
John 9:1-41 (ESV)
(Focus on verses 13-34 for the healed man’s interaction with the Pharisees and his parents’ response)

Observation questions

In John 9, what details did the Pharisees focus on after the blind man was healed, and what did they ignore?
How did the healed man’s understanding of Jesus evolve throughout the story (e.g., “that man,” “prophet,” “Son of Man”)?
What reason did the parents give for not answering the Pharisees’ questions about their son’s healing?

Interpretation questions

Why do you think the religious leaders prioritized debating Sabbath rules over celebrating the miracle of healing?
The healed man says, “One thing I do know. I was blind, but now I see” (John 9:25). What does this statement reveal about the relationship between personal experience and religious certainty?
The sermon mentions that the parents feared being “put out of the synagogue” ([55:32]). How might social or communal pressures still shape how people talk about faith today?

Application questions

When have you seen a system (church, workplace, family) prioritize rules or policies over caring for a person’s needs? What happened, and how did it feel?
The sermon warns that “certainty can become a weapon” ([01:06:18]). What is one situation where you’ve been tempted to use your convictions to “win” instead of listen? How could humility change that approach?
A sister who voiced doubt felt “slowly uninvited” from community ([42:35]). What practical step could you take this week to pursue someone who feels distant from faith—not to fix them, but to listen?
The healed man was expelled, but Jesus “found him” ([01:08:58]). Who in your life might need you to embody Jesus’ pursuit rather than avoidance? How could you initiate a gentle conversation with them?
The sermon suggests asking, “Can you help me understand what happened?” ([01:12:49]). What fears or assumptions might make this question hard to ask? How could you prepare your heart to hear an answer without defensiveness?

Sermon Clips

``The man can't, in good standing, be clean amongst other believers. The man can't, good standing, have any sort of now that he can see, have any sort of job or he'd have any sort of community, any sort of fellowship, any sort of they're casting him out out. Like, go to a different city and make up a new name and Here's the big point. Sometimes the people most convinced that they're protecting God, they accidentally push people farther from him. [01:06:41] (44 seconds)

So, let's throw it out. How was that ever the answer to anything of faith or of Jesus? The pharisees can't hear that their spiritual logic is flawed. And so, they weaponize their certainty. We are sure that this could not happen and because we are so sure of our stance, we use it as a weapon and we cast you out of society. Not just out of religious gatherings, it's not like, oh, so the man can't go to Sundays, big deal. The man can't participate in social activity. [01:05:51] (50 seconds)

Cause that's the most important thing about standing looking at a man who was born blind and now he can see. Wait, what day were you healed up? Why aren't they celebrating the miracle? I mean, they're not just religious authorities, they're also there to serve the people and to care the people and I believe the rabbis of the day tried to love their people. This whole time, there's there's a a legal argument is about to kick off here [00:45:43] (32 seconds)

Most of most of my former youth group students, they understand Jesus at a teen level, a teenager's level because that's when they walked away from church. But the issues they're struggling with, the issues they wrestle, the issues of why they cite they walked away from church and from God, those are adult complex issues and teenager understanding of Jesus isn't enough to face those complex issues. I'm not belittling their faith, I'm just saying you can't solve calculus with just algebra. How do we help bridge that gap with them? [00:59:25] (53 seconds)

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The Question We Never Asked

Devotional

Day 1: The Bag and the Continental Hand

Day 2: Mud, Spit, and Sabbath Debates

Day 3: Parents at the Synagogue Door

Day 4: Thrown Out, Sought Out

Day 5: “Can You Help Me Understand?”

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

The Question We Never Asked

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