John Week 18

John 9:1-41

9 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 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 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

• Jesus rebukes the disciples about his blindness is from sin. Rather his blindness is for the works of God my be put on display
• Jesus spit on the ground and made mud. Jesus puts it on his eye's and tells him to go wash at the pool of Siloam. His eyes are healed and comes back.

8 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?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 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.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 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.” 16 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. 17 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 people were confused by his sight.
• The man tells them about what Jesus did answering their questions.
• They brought him to the Pharisees. He answered the Pharisees' questions.
• The Pharisees are hung up on the fact that Jesus did this on the Sabbeth.
• They ask who is this Jesus. The man replies that he is a prophet.

18 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 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 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.” 22 (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.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

• Because of the manner of how Jesus healed him, they couldn't believe that he was blind in the first place.
• They go and ask the parents. Parents confirm that he was blind.
• The parents were scared and passed the story to their son.

24 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.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 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?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 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. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

• The man is questioned again. They what him to refute Jesus.
• An argument starts between them and the man. They are in such disbelief that anything good could come from this Jesus. They cast him out because of his stance.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

• Jesus approaches the man again. Jesus reveals who he is and the man believes.

Now here is the question of the day: are you the man or the parents?
• The man stood firm in what happened. He constantly proclaimed what Jesus did and paid the price.
• the parents knew what happened but where too afraid of the consequences of proclaiming the healing
So who are we?
• Are joyous or ashamed of following Jesus when you walk in this world?
• Slot of people think we should keep these things private so not to disturb others and their beliefs
• Others in the church believe we should keep quite about what Jesus has done so we don't come off as weird to other church members.
• Why are we so ashamed of what Jesus has done?
• This story still resonance today because we want to be inside a box and not outside. We want to be accepted and not rejected. We are afriad.
If Jesus is who he says he is, shouldn't we want to be like the man?
• We have to find what are stumbling blocks are, because our mindset should be about pleasing God and not others.
• We should be proud to have God on our side.
• it goes back to what we have been talking about, being Children of Light and being visible in this world.
• We should never deny Jesus.

 Family Questions

1. Are you the man or the parents?

2. What makes it hard to share what Jesus has done?

3. How can we a better witness this week for Jesus?