Bible Study John 9 Man born Blind vs the True Blinds

I like this chapter. It is a detailed descriptions of events that have many lessons for us and yet there are much humor in it. Our hero does not have a name and is recognized as the "Man born Blind".


Q1 Why was the man born blind? Whose fault is it? (John 9:1-7)

1. Man can tell what is abnormal or bad.
   Blindness is bad. Sin is bad. Some how we have this believe, irrespective of religions or cultures, that doing good bring good outcome and bad outcome is due to some wrong did in the past (this or earlier ancestors). This is a moral argument for the existence of God. We can trace our sins and wrongs back to Adam. But there is little we or even Adam can do about our past, and only God can undo or do better than that. The better than is done by Jesus Christ. Adam was born from the earth. Believers are rebirth with the Holy Spirit of God through Jesus! We part-take the nature of God and become children of God! The people who hurt us and caused problems for us are the ones least concern and able to correct the hurts and fix the problems. Don't wait for them to do something about it. Do something about it ourselves - forgive, fix and go on with our own life. Accepting and embracing our good and the bad is the beginning of a abundant life. Accept ourselves because Jesus has accepted and love us. Jesus does more to transform and empower us with His grace. Believe and trust Him.
   
2. What we are born with does not mean it is normal.
   Blind is abnormal even though the man was born with it. Accept the weaknesses we are born with. Face them upfront and fix them. We are also born strengths. Discover them too. Develop our strengths and manage our weaknesses are key to abundant life of champions. However, if we don't admit our weaknesses or sins, and instead give accuses for them, then we will never break out of them. Confession of our sins to God is not about God's forgiveness (for God has already forgiven all our sins in Jesus' cross two thousands year ago) but about our deliverance from its bondage in this life. God does not want us to be in sin's bondage.
   
3. From past oriented thinking to future oriented thinking.
   "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him". Jesus shifted the whole attention from past-oriented blame focus to future oriented for good thinking. God can make a seemingly hopeless situation into one that bring glory to God and joy to the people. Ask God for a miracle for your present crisis. Listen carefully to His analysis and guidance. Our present problem is the result of past pattern of decision making and behavior. Unless we change our thinking pattern and behavior, we will always end up in the same crisis again even if God bail us out. God will tell us what to change so that we don't have to live in miracle after miracle. Life in the promise land is better than the life in the desert of miracles (manna, water, cloud by day and fire at night).
   
4. Get up and Do as per instruction of God.
1. Jesus made spit and made mud and than put it on the man's eyes. Jesus have many ways to heal people. Each according to the need of the situation. Don't put God into a box and don't make a doctrine out of a method of healing. It is just a method for the particular situation. It can be repeated but don't make it the ONLY way!
2. Do as Jesus said and go to pool of Siloam to wash. The man could not have gain his sight if all he did is to wipe off the mud. He had to follow Jesus' instruction exactly as sign of trust. Sometimes we ask God for help but we want to do them in our own terms and then blame God for not helping us! Be like Naaman. He listened to his servant and humbled himself to wash seven times at the Jordan River as per instructed by the prophet Elisha (2 King 5).

Lesson: Rather than argue about whose fault is it, ask what good can come out or be done about it. Then do it.


Q2 How to witness for God? (John 9:11)
The best form of witnessing is our own real life story. An real experience cannot be explained away as we shall see in this passage. Some of us may not have dramatic conversion experience like sickness to health, addiction to freedom, criminals to pastors, but our own story is real and it is likely to be more common. Don't undervalue your experience of conversion just because it is 'normal' or 'common'.  Is Jesus still relevant to 'normal' people like us? If we want a template of witnessing, a framework for story telling, let take the man version. John 9:10-11

1. Before: I was born blind. (They asked him how he got well).
2. The Source: Jesus. 
3. What Jesus did? He made mud, anointed my eyes, tell me to go to Siloam and wash.
4. What did I do? I went as told.
5. What the outcome? I got my sight.
6. What about you? Do you want to know Jesus? (8:35-38)

Q3 What are things forbidden in Sabbath according to the Pharisees?

1. Doing work like making mud and opening eyes (healing).

Q4 What was the mindset of the Pharisees? Why can't they accept Jesus?

1. Good man follows the Rules of the Sabbath (actually our man enhanced rules).
2. Those that break the Rules could not be good man and definitely not from God.
3. Such Sabbath-Rules breaking man could not have performed a healing miracle.
4. The healing miracle could not be true. 
5. If he is seeing now, he could not have been born blind.
6. My belief is Sabbath Rules is bigger than facts. I reject such facts as lies. 
7. Such Sabbath-Rule Breaking people are misleading the people and should be put to death.

Prejudice and biased are sticking to own mindset irrespective of the truth and facts. Sometimes there could be an error in our observation, an illusion, like the acts of the magicians. We know it could not have happened as what we are seeing. We just don't know the trick behind it. That was what the Pharisees thought and they continue to pursue the case hoping to discover the tricks! They checked with his parents and despite the pressures, the parents reported the fact that he was truly born blind. They tried to get him to change his testimony but failed.


Q5 What is the truth? What it revealed about Jesus?
To the prejudiced, the real world is confusing and puzzling. The man gave the simple, clear and logical argument that silenced the 'brilliant' mind of the Pharisees. John 8:30-33.

1. This is an amazing thing! 
2. Yet, you do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 
3. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but God listens to those who worship and do His will. 
4. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 
5. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. i.e. Since he healed me, He must be of God.

Lesson: Mind without prejudices is able to see thing clearly and logically.
Check our assumptions behind our beliefs.

Q6 Who is truly blind? What is the consequence?
The Pharisees who stick to their prejudices and refused to see the truth about Jesus remained in their blindness and sins (John 8:41). If only they acknowledged their blindness, and see Jesus as He is, they would be saved.


Q7 What about you? What do you say about Jesus?