27 March 2014

Bible Study: A Blind Man (John 9:1-41)


Getting started

Try to imagine what life would be like for you if you were unable to see.

Exploring God’s word

1    Read John 9:1-12, assigning parts for the disciples, Jesus, the neighbors and the blind man. What question does seeing the blind man prompt among the disciples? Why would they think this way? What is the problem with this kind of reasoning?
2    What does Jesus have to say about the man’s disability? How do you interpret his statement? What does he mean by “day” and “night”? What claim does he make for himself?
3    What does Jesus do for the man? What part do you consider faith may have played in his healing? How does he demonstrate his faith?
4    Continue with verses 13 to 34. Why did the Pharisees have a problem with the man’s healing? To what conclusion about Jesus did this lead some of them? To what conclusion do they try to force the man who had been blind in verse 25? What can we learn from his response?
5    Turn to verses 35 to 41. Take a moment to trace the development of the blind man’s awareness of Jesus. How does Jesus interpret this whole incident in verse 39? How would you define spiritual blindness? What makes it so dangerous?

For further thought and action

Do you think it is possible for Christians to be spiritually blind? How does this happen? What is the remedy?

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