John 9.1-41 Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind - Sonya Screech

1. Read the passage aloud together. Which words, phrases, or situations in the story stand out for you? 2. At the beginning of the passage, Jesus challenges the disciples on their explanation for the blind man’s condition. He tells them that the important thing to focus on is not why this has come about, but what he (Jesus) is doing. When have you been challenged to think differently about the world as a response to what you see Jesus doing?3. The man who is healed in this story comes to believe in Jesus, but this appears to be a process. Reflect on your own journey to faith and/or how you have experienced faith over the years. How has your understanding of Jesus changed or grown over time? 4. Uncertainty does not appear to be a barrier to belief in this story – the blind man is uncertain but still moves toward Jesus, and Jesus towards him. What might this suggest about the relationship between uncertainty and belief, or faith and doubt? How might this be helpful for our own periods of uncertainty or doubt? 5.“Belief” in this story appears to be about a relationship that grows between the man and Jesus. When Jesus asks “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” he is asking whether the man has confidence in him as Saviour and judge. When the man responds “Lord, I believe!” he is placing his trust in Jesus, and laying his life open.  How does this align with or differ from how you have tended to think about “belief”? Is it helpful to think of belief as relational? 6. Jesus initiates this relationship with the man he heals, and Jesus sees the relationship through (e.g. at the end of the story, Jesus comes to find him). How does this resonate with your experience of faith in Jesus? How might you open yourself further to Jesus’ agency? 7. Read the passage aloud once again. Where are you in the story, or which part of the story is about you today?