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Discussion 4
They Met Jesus: the Blind Man
The healing episode in John 9 is more than an encounter of a blind man with Jesus; here is a confrontation between the power of God and the power of authoritarian and sterile religion. The Pharisees have become so bound by the additions to the Law of God of all the small details of traditions accumulated through the centuries that they are unable to recognize the works of God in their midst. The blind man comes to Jesus with deep physical and social needs and discovers him to be much more than a healer. In the face of much opposition and even .financial pressure he comes to see the real issues involved and grows in his personal loyalty and commitment to Jesus. He refuses to be swayed by the numbers or intensity of the influential people who oppose Jesus. For those of us who are tempted to deny Jesus in the face of such pressures from society today, this blind man offers a pattern to follow.
The Blind Man
John 9:1-41
1. For background on the atmosphere in Jerusalem, read John 7: 11-14, 25-27, 31, 32, 40-46. What seems to be the chief topic of conversation in Jerusalem at this time? How would this make anything Jesus says or does there of immediate significance?
2. What is the disciples' reaction to the blind man? Why does a man blind from birth pose such an interesting problem as far as the disciples are concerned?
3. What does Jesus' answer indicate about the relationship between sickness and sin? Contrast with John 5: 14. What should be our attitude toward sickness? See James 5: 13-16.
4. What does Jesus state about himself in verses 4 and 5?
Why would he make the claim, I am the light of the world, in this context?
5. Why would Jesus have the man go wash in the pool, rather than healing him on the spot? What would such involvement in the actual healing do for this man? How does the exercise of faith affect the one who practices it?
6. Who is stirred by the healing of the blind man? Why are the neighbors so curious and seemingly belligerent over the man's healing (verse 14)? How does the blind man explain his healing to his neighbors? How does he identify Jesus?
7. Why would the neighbors take the healed man to the Pharisees? For possible reasons, see 7: 31; 9: 14, 22. How do these religious authorities handle the problem (verse 16)? What is the proper place of spiritual leaders in our lives today? What benefits, dangers, and misuses of authority are possible?
8. In verses 10 to 17, what development do you observe in this formerly blind man's estimate of Jesus? Why do the Pharisees ask the healed man to evaluate Jesus?
9. How is the man's testimony received? What course do these inquisitors take? What does the reaction of the man's parents indicate about the pressures they faced? What religious pressures do people face today?
10. How do you know that the Jews here are not involved in a sincere search for the truth? Why was the prospect of being put out of the synagogue so serious in that day? How do the man's parents get off the hook?
11. What comparable reactions may men and women have today in trying to avoid the issue of who Jesus is? When does .agnosticism become a refusal to know or to commit oneself? 12. What are the Jews asking the healed man to do in verse 24? Compare with what Jesus says in John 8:42.
13. Consider the claims of Jesus to be God. "So close was His connection with God that He equated a man's attitude to Himself with the man's attitude to God. Thus, to know Him was to know God (John 8:19; 14:7). To see Him was to see God (John 12:45; 14:9). To believe in Him was to believe in God (12:44; 14:1). To receive Him was to receive God (Mark 9:37). To hate Him was to hate God (John 15:23). And to honor Him was to honor God (John 5: 23 ) ."*
14. How does the healed man differ from his parents?
What danger does he face? What has it cost men through the centuries to be faithful in their commitment to Jesus Christ? What may it cost you? How does this man answer the challenge in verse 24? How does he go on to put his tormentors on the defensive? Note how his thinking about Jesus develops from verse 25a and verses 30-33.
15. How do the Jews respond to the healed man's logic? A personal attack usually is the recourse of those who are losing an argument. What does it cost this formerly blind man to decide for Jesus?
16. Why, do you think, does Jesus seek out the healed man in verse 35? What more does Jesus do for him beyond giving him his sight? Describe ways in which God seeks out men today so that they may come to truly know him.
17. Describe this healed man's final .step of commitment to Jesus. Trace the three major decisions which have led him to this point.
18. In what way is Jesus Christ's coming into the world a judgment (verse 39)? How are men judged by his presence and their response to him? How did the Pharisees fail?
SUMMARY
1. Was the healed man's worship of Jesus a step of faith? In what way? What evidence do you have concerning Jesus which would help you to make an intelligent decision about committing yourself to him?
2. Describe the factors that lead to such spiritual blindness as the Pharisees exhibited.
3. The healed man could have said to himself, "I've had trouble all my life. Now that I can see, I'm not going to make trouble. I'll just conform to the pressures the majority put on me. It won't really matter what I say about Jesus. In my heart I am thankful." Have you ever rationalized like this? In what situation?
CONCLUSION
Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind, wrote a poem describing the beauty of the white lily in the garden. How could she know white? How could she capture the lily so sensitively? In his mercy, God seems to give the blind or those otherwise deprived, special sensitivity and insight. The blind man In John 9 could see with his old inner sensitivity and his new physical sight who Jesus really was - more than man, more than prophet, the Son of God worthy of worshIp. In John 9:3 Jesus said that the man was blind so that the works of God could be shown in and through him. Surely this included not only the miracle of his receiving physical sight,. but also the greater miracle of spiritual sight and the commitment of his life to Jesus as Lord.
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