Bible Stories for Adults

Jesus Gives Sight to a Man Born Blind

John 9

Next Week - Jesus, Our Good Shepherd (John 10:1-30)
Bible Words to Remember:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to hose who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

Where is Jesus in John 8? = Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (J7:2)
John 8:1-2 = Teaching in the temple in Jerusalem, A half-year before His final trip
Was it easy for Jesus to teach in the temple without challenge?
John 8:3-6 = No, the Jewish leaders were trying to trick and discredit Him before the people
Were the leaders just trying to test Him or were they already trying to get rid of Him?
John 7:32 = They were already trying to arrest Him to get rid of Him
Why were they unable to arrest Him?
John 7:30 = His time had not yet come

Unable to trap Jesus in any way, what tactics do the Jewish leaders resort to?
John 8:48 = They start calling Him names
How does Jesus respond to this name calling?
John 8:49-51 = He says He is pointing people to the Father and the Way to life
How do the Jews respond to Jesus' claim to have the Way to eternal life?
John 8:52-53 = Even the most righteous men of all time weren't good enough, who are you?

How does Jesus basically say He is the fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham?
John 8:54-56 = Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing My day; he saw it and was glad
How did Jesus drive this claim even stronger after the Jews took this as proof that He was crazy?
John 8:57-58 = Before Abraham was born, I am! - Ex 3:14 - A direct claim to be God
How did the Jewish leaders respond to Jesus claiming to be God?
John 8:59 = They tried to kill Him immediately for blasphemy (punish by stoning - Lev 24:16)

What did Jesus and His disciples see as they walked away from the temple?
John 9:1 = A man blind from birth, Only thing such people could do was beg on the street
Note: This is the only miracle in the gospels where the sufferer was afflicted from birth
Jesus gave sight to the blind more than any other type of miracle recorded
Did Jesus heal every blind man He encountered?
Luke 4:25-27 = No, the man was chosen out of God's grace and his faith
Why did Jesus give sight to the blind and perform other healing miracles?
Luke 7:18-23 (Isaiah 35:5) = Fulfilled Isaiah's prophesies of the Messiah
Note: John already knew who Jesus was, Needed his disciples to realize & follow Jesus
Did Jesus fulfill Messianic prophesies because the prophets had said He would?
John 20:31 = No, He did them so we may believe He is the Christ (Messiah), Son of God

How did this man create an opportunity for Jesus to teach?
John 9:2 = Disciples asked what sin had caused this man's blindness
Note: Some rabbis taught that man can sin in the womb, or even in a pre-existent state
Why did the disciples believe his blindness was the result of some horrible sin?
Job 8:1-4 = Job's friends spoke common belief that bad things are punishment for sins

Why did rabbis teach that you could be punished for the sins of your parents?
Exodus 34:4-7 = God said He would punish the guilty to the 4th generation
What fuller meaning do we get of this from the original context? = Ten Commandments
Exodus 20:1-5 = He will punish those who hate Him to the 3rd and 4th generation
What is the important contrast given in the next verse?
Exodus 20:6 = He will show love to 1000 generations of those who love Him

What is an example of God punishing those who hate Him to the 4th generation?
Numbers 16:31-33 = Earth swallowed households of those who rebelled against God's leader
Note: Households usually consisted of 3, sometimes 4, generations
What is another way that the sin of parents can affect their children and later generations?
Matthew 18:6 = Parent's acceptance of evil often results in descendants accepting evil
Does sinning only affect the sinner, or does it affect others as well?
Notice the many aspects of society that have resulted from past generations going astray

What are some examples of God blessing those who love Him to 1000 generations?
Genesis 17:5-7 = God promised to bless Abraham and his descendants forever
2 Samuel 7:11c-13, 16 = God promised David's dynasty would last forever
What is another way that the faithfulness of parents can affect their children and later generations?
Deuteronomy 4:9 = Faithful parents teach God's ways to their children and grandkids

Had anyone before Jesus challenged the teaching that children are punished for their parents' sins?
Job 21:19 = Job did; Probably around the time of the judges
Did anyone else address the situation more directly?
Ezekiel 18:1-4 = God spoke through Ezekiel that their understanding was wrong
What did God say was the correct understanding of the result of sin?
Ezekiel 18:19-20 = The soul who sins is the one who will die
How does Paul contrast the results of living in sin versus in the righteousness of faith?
Romans 6:23 = The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life

How did Jesus answer the question of who sinned?
John 9:3 = Neither, the man is blind to show God's power
Does God sometimes allow bad things to happen so His glory will show through?
John 11:1, 4, 11, 43-44 = Lazarus died so Jesus could raise him
Note: Heavy publicity from this miracle led Jewish leaders to find a way to get rid of Jesus

What did Job's friends believe was the cause of his disasters?
Job 36:5-12 = He must have sinned horribly and strongly needs repentance
Were the friends correct?
Job 42:7 = No
Although Job never learned the reason, why had these things happened to him?
Job 2:2-6 = To reveal his faithfulness, even through deep adversity
How should we respond when we have trouble understanding why bad things happen to good people?
Job 26:14 = Recognize with Job that we can barely begin to understand His great ways

How did Jesus explain to His disciples that giving God's vision to this man was part of His calling?
John 9:4-5 = While He was in the world, He was to be the light of the world
How is Jesus the light of the world?
John 8:12 = He brings people out of the darkness of sin into the light of life
If Jesus is the light of life, why don't all people fly to Him like June bugs on a window screen?
John 3:19-20 = Men loved darkness instead of light

Why do men love the darkness and hate the light?
Ephesians 5:11-14 = The light exposes everything, including all evil deeds
How should we conduct ourselves when living in the light of the Lord?
Ephesians 5:8-10 = As children of light, bearing the fruit of light that pleases the Lord
Why is it important to bear the fruit of the light?
Matthew 5:14-16 = So others can see our light and praise our Father in heaven
Is this light from us doing these good deeds?
2 Corinthians 4:6 = No, we reflect His light - made his light shine in our hearts

How did Jesus deal with the man's blindness?
John 9:6 = Made mud with spit and rubbed it in the man's eyes
Was this Jesus' magical way to repair bad eye? Maybe a first century radial kerototomy?
Matthew 9:27-31 = The magic was faith, not the method
How did Jesus call upon the man's faith to complete the healing?
John 9:7 = He sent him with instructions and he went
Did Jesus' approach help people focus on the message rather than the method?
John 9:10, 15, 19, 26 = Everyone wanted to know how
Was it typical for people to look for the how instead of the why?
John 3:3-4 = We tend to look for human explanations instead of faith

Didn't the fact that this man who had been blind since birth could see bring his neighbors to faith?
John 9:8-9 = They disbelieved so much that they decided he wasn't the same person
How did they respond when they couldn't dispute that this really was the blind man?
John 9:10-12 = Tried to find a logical explanation or ask this Jesus how He did it

Unable to find a logical explanation on their own, to whom did the neighbors turn?
John 9:13 = The smartest religious leaders - the Pharisees
What issues concerned the Pharisees when they heard what Jesus had done?
John 9:14-16 = Healing on the Sabbath proves He is not from God; how can He do it then?
Unable to figure it out, where do they turn for insight?
John 9:17 = Asked the man who had been blind what he thought about it

With this man appearing to be a liar or in cahoots with this Jesus, what do they investigate next?
John 9:18-21 = They check out the man's parents, they confirmed he had been born blind
Why did the parents avoid responding to how their son received their sight?
John 9:22-23 = They were afraid of being accused of siding with Jesus & excommunication
Note: The synagogue was the center of Jewish community life, membership was important

Realizing that a significant miracle had really happened, what do the Pharisees do next?
John 9:24-26 = They tried again to get the facts from the blind man
How did they respond when the man questioned their motives?
John 9:27-29 = They accused the man of being a disciple of a prophet of who knows what
How did the man respond that showed his understanding of Jesus and growing faith in Him?
John 9:30-33 = Said that this miracle proved that Jesus was from God
How did the Pharisees respond to this claim that reflected an erroneous belief they had?
John 9:34 = Said the man's blindness proved he was evil, even very evil before birth

How was the man who had stood up for Jesus before the Pharisees even further blessed?
John 9:35 = Jesus came and found him
Note: Son of Man was a term recognized by the Jews to refer to the Messiah (Dan. 7:13-14)
How did the man respond to Jesus' inquiry of his faith in the Messiah?
John 9:36 = He had faith and trust in Jesus to guide him truthfully
How did the man respond when Jesus pointed him to the Messiah?
John 9:37-38 = He confess his faith in Jesus and worshipped Him
How did the man grow in faith and understanding of Jesus through this story?
John 9:11, 17, 33, 35-38 = From man called Jesus to prophet to man of God to Messiah

What other lesson does this story have for us besides gaining sight through faith?
John 9:39 = Those without faith are really blind, even if they think they see
What does Jesus tell the Pharisees that warns us of the blindness of sin without the sight of faith?
John 9:40-41 = Relying on yourself and not faith in Jesus will not save from guilt of sin