Bible Study – Fourth Sunday in Lent “Searching For Sight”
Share: Your highs (something that made you happy) and lows (something that made you sad) this week with others around you or write them down.
Lent invites us to step off our mental treadmills, take a breath, and look around. Lent invites us to ask: Where are we demanding solutions? Where can we risk staying in tension? Where are we blind just not noticing? What do we thirst for? Where are we bound or stuck? What will we risk doing during these 40 days of Lent to clear a space in which Easter can break through?
A man born blind, and a healing that placed the authorities at risk: How does the way we look at things affect our capacity to see?
How would we know that today is Sunday, if we did not have a calendar? What is different about Sunday? (We come to church, the Sunday paper, different type programs on TV.)
What do you know about the word Sabbath? (A time of resting from work, spending time with God, etc.) When Jesus was teaching, there were very strict rules about what one could do and what one could not do on the Sabbath. Do you know where we got these rules? (Genesis 2:2-4)
Opening Prayer: “Thank you, God, that you help us to see what we are to do in your world. Amen. ”
Please open your Bibles to John 9:1-41 and read or read the scriptures below.
John 9:1-41
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.
17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
Spiritual Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said,[a] “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
Reflection Questions: (Answers at the bottom of the page)
- Who is it that, at the beginning of the story, is blind and cannot see?
- Who is it that has perfect eyesight, and yet cannot see?
- Who are the Pharisees and what is it that they cannot see?
- What did Jesus do to fix the blind man’s eyes?
- What was the Big Problem for the Pharisees in this healing?
- Why do you think the parents of the man born blind were afraid to admit that their son has been healed?
- What is the response of the man who now can see?
- How does Jesus help the man see who he is?
Bible Memory Verse: John 9:39 “Jesus said,[a] “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
Click here for the young learner’s lesson.
Videos (Click on url)
Jesus Heals a Blind Man John 9 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB1yPN_gT8U or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QbYXWnOC8s
Book of John Summary: A Complete Animated Overview (Part 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-2e9mMf7E8
Song: Open My Eyes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAh0avXdgJ0&list=RDjAh0avXdgJ0&start_radio=1
Activities:
Television Show: Decide what television format you will use to tell this story: News show, late night show, or whatever you choose. Produce the show by writing it out and then share it with a friend or family.
Blind Drawing: You will need a piece of paper and pencil or markers. Use a pre-made sleep mask, or a piece of dark thick cloth or scarf to make sure you are blocking your vision. The blindfold should be secure enough so it doesn’t fall off your eyes. Then draw a sun in the top right corner of your paper; draw some grass at the bottom of the page; draw a house in the center of the page; put a chimney on the roof of the house; draw 5 flowers in the grass; draw 3 clouds in the sky and draw 4 birds in the sky. Take off the blindfold and look at your beautiful picture.
Jesus Heals a Blind Man - Crossword: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/jesus-heals-a-blind-man-1
Jesus Heals Blind - Word Search: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/jesus-heals-blind
Jesus Heals a Blind Man - Multiple Choice: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/jesus-heals-a-blind-man-2
Getting Closure: Can you think of a time that you might say, “Oh, I see!” when we really mean, “Now, I understand!” Have you had that experience with a tough math problem? How about figuring out how to use some program on the computer? What else can you think of?
Prayer: Thank you, God, for those “ah ha!” moments, when we say: “I see!!” Amen.
Answers to the Reflection Questions:
- Who is it that, at the beginning of the story, is blind and cannot see? (The man born blind.)
- Who is it that has perfect eyesight, and yet cannot see? (The Pharisees.)
- Who are the Pharisees and what is it that they cannot see? (Pharisees worked hard to make sure people obeyed all the rules of their religion, but they could not see who Jesus was the fulfillment of the law)
- What did Jesus do to fix the blind man’s eyes? (Verses 6-7)
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
- What was the Big Problem for the Pharisees in this healing? (Jesus did it on the Sabbath and they were sure that God’s Law given to them by Moses was broken.)
- Why do you think the parents of the man born blind were afraid to admit that their son has been healed? (They were afraid they would be tossed out of their church as followers of Jesus and they did not want that to happen.)
- What is the response of the man who now can see? (He was not able to see Jesus when Jesus put the mud on his eyes, so he did not know who he was. Maybe with all the furor, he is beginning to suspect that Jesus is someone special.)
- How does Jesus help the man see who he is? (Verses 35-38.) 35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
