Connect: What reminds you each day that Jesus is with you and wants to be with you?
Warm-Up
- Have you ever been in a situation in which you were blind to something right in front of you?
- From a heart level, has there ever been a time in which you were blind to who Jesus is?
Read John 9:1-5
- What do the disciples ask Jesus when they first see the blind man? Why do you think they ask this?
- In what way are the disciples connecting sin and suffering? Do we ever do that today? How can it nurture self-righteousness and a lack of compassion?
- Are sin and suffering connected? Why does Jesus (in effect) caution connecting them too quickly?
- How do the eastern ideas of karma and reincarnation connect suffering with personal fault? How is Christianity radically distinct to this?
- How does Jesus answer the question? What does he mean by this?
- What does it mean when Jesus refers to himself as the light of the world? How is this good news?
Read John 9:6-12
- Throughout this chapter, how many times does John remind us that the man was blind from birth?
- Why is this such an important point to reiterate? How shared was the knowledge about the man?
- Who heals the man? How does Jesus heal the man? What would this have been like to witness?
- As Jesus heals the blind man, how does this point to the gravity of his identity?
- What steps did the blind man take in recognising Jesus? What does it mean to worship Jesus?
Read John 9:30-41
- How do the Pharisees respond to the healing of the man? How many people do they question?
- Why—in the face of so much evidence—do you think the Pharisees still refuse to believe?
- How is spiritual blindness such a precarious situation? Are you ever in danger of this?
- How is being blind to our blindness an even more dangerous situation? Have you ever seen this?
- What do you think causes spiritual blindness? What helps us to see clearly?
- What is the greatest healing that occurs in this chapter? In what way does every person start blind?
- What has helped you to see who Jesus is clearly? How does God continue to do that with you?
Apply The blind man moves from knowing very little about Jesus to worshipping him. What step might help you grow in seeing and trusting Jesus more clearly this week?
