John chapter 9 tells the story of Jesus healing a blind man. In this story, we are confronted with the fact that Jesus has a mission and those that are supposed to be in the know, don’t have a clue.
John 9:2 (ESV) “Rabbi (Jesus), who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’”
To find out the character and heart of God, we only have to look at the life of Jesus.
The Prognosis
John 9:3 (GW) “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. Instead, he was born blind so that God could show what he can do for him.”
Instead of being concerned with assigning blame, Jesus is “about doing his Father’s business.” Jesus is revealing the glory of God, by showing grace and mercy and he is teaching his disciples that they are to join in this work with him.
John 9:4 “We must do what the one who sent me wants us to do while it is day…”
Summary: We are all born into this world spiritually blind and even worse, we are spiritually dead and in need of a miracle from God. We need regeneration not merely reformation.
The Practice of Medicine
Instead of standing around and joining in the discussion with his disciples, Jesus, the Great Physician, gets to work.
John 9:6 “After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground and mixed the spit with dirt. Then he smeared it on the man’s eyes and told him, “”Wash it off in the pool of Siloam.”” The blind man washed it off and returned. He was able to see.”
When the doctor tells you to do something, the best thing is to do it. When Jesus gives us new eyes to see, everything changes and we’ll never be the same.
The Prescription
Sometimes we find ourselves not believing something because it’s “too good to be true.”
Well, you didn’t have to ask the blind man who healed him because he knew who it was. His neighbors and parents knew that the man had been blind all of his life and they were dumbfounded. Everyone wanted answers, so they took him to the experts, surely they would have an explanation.
John 9:26,27 “The Jews asked him. “What did he (Jesus) do to you? How did he give you sight?”
The man replied, “I’ve already told you, but you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear the story again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
When it comes to following Jesus, there is always a line drawn in the sand. The guy, formerly known as the blind man, has become a disciple of Jesus and as a result he is kicked out of the synagogue. Jesus hears about it and seeks after the man.
John 9:35-38 “So when Jesus found the man, he asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man replied, “Sir, tell me who he is so that I can believe in him.” Jesus told him, “You’ve seen him. He is the person who is now talking with you.” The man bowed in front of Jesus and said, “I believe, Lord.”
Discussion Questions:
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- If you were joining in on the disciples discussion about who sinned, what would you say?
- After having been kicked out of the synagogue, how do you think this will affect his relationships with his neighbors and family members?
- Jesus included the disciples when he said that “We have work to do…” How difficult is it for you to “share in the work of ministry?” What sort of successes have you had?
- Jesus told the blind man to go and wash. The man obviously trusted Jesus and obeyed. We live in a society that pretty much tells you that you can do whatever you want. How important is obeying Jesus?
- We do a pretty good job of complicating what it means to be a Christian. How significant is it that Jesus merely asked the man to believe?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
http://bible.com/events/82796