1. What was the purpose given by Jesus for the man being born blind in the Gospel of John, Chapter 9 verse 3?
So that the work of God might be displayed in his (the man born blind) life
2. Read the following passages of Scripture:
After reading these passages and Chapter 9 of the Gospel of John, what can we conclude about sin and its relationship to suffering or sickness?
Sometimes sickness and suffering are caused by sin and sometimes they are not.
3. How was the work of God displayed in the life of the man born blind?
He worshipped Jesus
He was healed and many saw the power of God
Put yourself in the man born blind’s shoes. How do you think he felt at the following stages of the story? What 2 or 3 words do you think he might have said aloud or to himself at each stage of his story as provided here in the Gospel of John, Chapter 9?
1. Why was the man born blind brought to the Pharisees?
Because he was healed on the Sabbath and they thought a law was broken
2. Why were the Pharisees having a hard time with the blind man’s story?
Because they could not believe that a man could be healed on the Sabbath or by a sinner who broke the Sabbath to heal him
1. Why did the Pharisees summon the blind man’s parents as provided in the Gospel of John, Chapter 9 verse 18?
Because they were the only ones who could verify that the man was born blind
2. What did the Pharisees try to persuade the blind man to say in the Gospel of John, Chapter 9 verse 24 and what does it indicate about their character?
That Jesus was a sinner and that he was not from God, that they prejudged him
1. Who could the Pharisees called as a witness that might have settled the whole matter for them? In your opinion, why wasn’t he called?
Jesus, they were afraid of him and had already decided he was not of God
2. Where is it prophesied in the Old Testament that the Messiah would open the eyes of the blind?
Isaiah 29:18-19 18 In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
Isaiah 35:5 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Isaiah 42:7 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
1. What 2 places in the New Testament did Jesus indicate that opening the eyes of the blind was an indication he was the Messiah?
Luke 4:16-19 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Matt 11:2-7 2 When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" 4 Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
2. Jesus stated the Pharisees were not blind and that they claimed they could see in Chapter 9 verse 41. What could they not see and what do you think was the sin they were they guilty of?
They could not see Jesus was the Messiah and they rejected him. Their sins were many – pride, judgment of the innocent to condemnation, misleading the Jewish people, valuing their tradition more than the truth of Scripture.