Bible Studies

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The Gospels
John 9:1-41 - Blindness of the Spirit
Key Verses: (NLT)

• 1-2: "As Jesus was walking along, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. ²'Teacher,' His disciples asked Him, 'why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?" - Any kind of deformity, disease, or ailment was considered to be as a result of sin.
  
  
• 3: "It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins,' Jesus answered.'He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him." - There was purpose and intent in this man's blindness.
  
  
• 4-5: "All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end. ⁵But while I am still here in the world, I am the light of the world." - These verses, though cryptic and difficult to understand, point to Jesus as the Messiah and the darkness that is to descend upon the world upon His crucifixion and before His resurrection.
  
  
• 6-7: "Then He spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva… ^7bSo the man went and washed, and came back seeing!" - There was a process to this healing that required a commitment of faith by the man.
  
  
• 13-15: "Then they took the man to the Pharisees. ¹⁴Now as it happened, Jesus had healed the man on a Sabbath. ¹⁵The Pharisees asked the man all about it." - The upholders of the law held court to condemn those who broke it.
  
  
• 16: "Some of the Pharisees said, 'This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.' Others said, 'But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?' So there was a deep division of opinion among them." - It is possible this is Nicodemus' voice being heard in opposition to the other Pharisees.
  
  
• 18: "The Jewish leaders wouldn't believe he had been blind, so they called in his parents." - They refused to believe though the facts were plain. Their focus was on the law, not on the actions of God.
  
  
• 30-33: "Why, that's very strange!" the man replied. "He healed my eyes, and yet you don't know anything about Him! ³¹Well, God doesn't listen to sinners, but He is ready to hear those who worship Him and do His will. ³²Never since the world began has anyone been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, He couldn't do it." - Great things can occur when we turn our focus towards God, worship Him with all our hearts, and willingly follow where He leads.
  
  
• 39: "Then Jesus told him, 'I have come to judge the world. I have come to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.'" - This turns the miracle towards the main issue of the story - spiritual blindness.
  
  
• 41: "If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty," Jesus replied. "But you remain guilty because you claim you can see." - No greater sin exists then to claim holiness when all that exists is self-righteousness.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• Are you blind? What is the cause of your blindness? Is your blindness a permanent disability or are you willing to allow the healing love of Jesus Christ into your heart? Will you go where He sends you in order to be healed? Or, has your heart been hardened by self-righteousness? Does your blindness come from your failure to look for God's presence in your life? Is it as a result of the choices you have made not to respond to His guiding Spirit?
  
  
• Are you carrying out the tasks of God? Do you see each moment and situation in your life as an opportunity to do the work of God? Are your ailments, struggles, and hardships situations provided you by God in order that you can bring His light into the world? Are you acting quickly? Do you see with the eyes of Christ the desperate conditions of the world around you? Are you reflecting His light into this darkness? If not, who will?
  
  
• Are you just an ordinary sinner? Do you feel you are only one person that has limited ability to affect the world? Are there limitations to your ability to serve God? Or can God work miracles through you? Are you willing to open your heart to the possibility that God has a plate full of miracles to perform through you?
  
  
• What spiritual blindness in your life needs healing? What guilt and sin remains in your life because you claim to see but do not? In what ways are you draping your self in robes of religious self-righteousness that keep you from truly seeing the kingdom of heaven? Are you focused on specific verses in scripture that support your thoughts and opinions? Do you judge the world through eyes of piety and superiority? Do you tend to condemn the sinners of the world or do you reach out to them with the light of God's love? Are you a Pharisee, well versed and proud? Or are you a simple sinner ready to do the work of God?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

Three times the Pharisees in this story refused to believe in the healing love of God. Three times their blindness and lack of faith is revealed. Three times they choose to turn from the light of God and, instead, turn inward towards their blind world of piety and self-righteousness. By writing this story in such detail, John reveals to us the importance of opening our hearts to God so the blindness of self-centeredness in our lives can be healed. Sitting in our chairs of religiosity, judging and condemning the world, is the greatest sin we can commit. When we worship God and focus on His love, our eyes are opened to His guiding spirit. With this new sight, miracles occur wherever He leads. With this open willingness to serve, we become the light of Christ in a world of darkness. "All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent (Jesus), because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end."

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