Day 285 – Jesus’ Ministry in Jerusalem #2

• What great words we’ve read today, and, as we’ll discover, some searingly ironic words. Let’s work through the passages, and discover what Jesus says about true blindness.
• A man was blind from birth. There was a presumption, as we read in John 9:2, that it was either his sin or his parents’ sin that caused him to be blind. This view was misguided, if perhaps understandable. How did Jesus correct this understanding? Is it really helpful to you to know that many of the challenges that you face are nothing to do with your actions, but only that God sometimes allows tough times to occur, so that though them we might become closer to Him?
• Verses 4 says that “night is coming”, so work should be done “whilst it is day”. What could “night” be referring to?
• The man was healed, and of course this caused a stir. In John 9:8 we read that some people debated whether it was the same person that they had seen before. Perhaps he had a twin, they thought! What was his response? Did you enjoy reading about the astonished reactions?
• The man told the Pharisees who it was who healed him. What was their response in John 9:16? Why was this an astonishing comment?
• Verse 18 shows the Jewish leaders’ continuing refusal to believe that the miracle occurred. Who did they go and challenge next?
• It’s really interesting to see the response of the parents in John 9:20-21. John explains why in verse 22. The parents were scared of the Jewish establishment who were threatening anyone who called Jesus “Lord”, and so they stopped short of saying that Jesus healed him. They let their son speak for himself instead!
• After this, they spoke to the healed man again. He knew he wasn’t perfect, but praised Jesus for his healing. He argued Jesus’ case against the Pharisees. What were the different arguments the man used? Do you think the Pharisees wanted to hear the truth?
• What happens to the healed man in the end?
• The verses in Luke help show Jesus teaching that bad things will happen to people, regardless of their sin, or their lack of sin. Take care to consider these words. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking, or suggesting, that someone is necessarily a “worse” sinner than someone else based on the things that happen to them – or that God loves them less.

Have you spotted the irony in today’s passage? A man who was blind can now see – in a physical sense. But in a spiritual sense, he can also see because he can perceive who Jesus is. The real blindness comes from the Pharisees whose eyes worked perfectly, but refused to “see” that Jesus was the Christ.

We all know people who are “blind” to the good news of Jesus. Funnily enough, they may say we’re “blind” too. The third passage today talks about this, you might have spotted. But our faith is not based on unsubstantiated hope or blind faith. The gospel has truth to it, and there are many people who can tell of the changing power of Christ in their lives. The scriptures say that some will always be blind; they will never accept the gospel. All we can do is to pray, earnestly and sincerely, that as many people as possible will come to do so.