Adults

Small Group Study Questions March 9, 2026 For the week of March 9th-15th

Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and then read the scripture, John 9:1-42.

Relational Question:

How do you deal with judging? Have you ever been misjudged by someone or some people who presumed something about you without even knowing you? Do you ever assume something about someone else based upon their appearance, condition in life, manner of speaking, or economic status? Why do you think we as humans tend to judge people by such superficial characteristics? What changes in our perceptions of people when we get to know more about them personally? What is it about you that influences how you see people?

Study Questions:

This story about Jesus healing the blind man and the Pharisees response was very important to the early church. It was used extensively in the process of teaching the Christian faith to new converts, especially in preparing them to receive baptism. There is some indication that the Apostle John himself may have had a hand in this practice. The story shows a progression from blindness to sight, with questions regarding who Jesus is and how Jesus acts. As the blind man describes his experience of sight, he has to defend this despite the judgements of those around him. Eventually, Jesus reveals who he is to the man and he worships him. As the Pharisees continue to put down the man, they begin to realize to their dismay that Jesus considers them to be the blind ones.

1.      Jesus’ disciples express a common understanding in their culture (and in many cultures) that someone in unfortunate circumstances must be suffering from sin, either theirs or another’s. The religious teachers at this time even taught that people could sin in the womb, and thus suffer ills due to their sin upon birth, such as being crippled or blind. What unfortunate conditions that you see people in do you tend to see as a result of someone’s sinfulness?

2.      Jesus clearly rejects the idea that the blind man is that way because of sin. However, Jesus introduces a very challenging concept: that the man was born blind for the purpose of showing God’s glory. Many translations, including the NIV, say that he is blind “so that” God can work through him. This raises the question, does God cause suffering for a greater purpose? Many think this way and it helps them to find meaning in their suffering. How do you understand the challenges and suffering you face? Does it help if you can think of it as being part of a plan God has for you?

3.      While question 2 is a useful way to understand how God works in suffering, there is another way to translate verses 3 and 4. Instead of saying that the man was born blind “so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.” it could very well read “but so that the works of God might be displayed in him, it is fitting for us to do the works of him who sent me as long as it is day.”  And then the words, “Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” This translation shifts the meaning from the man’s condition being determined by God to Jesus’ saying that the man’s condition is an opportunity for us to respond in a way that brings glory to God. What do you think about this shift in meaning? If this is more in line with what Jesus was saying, what implications are there for us followers of Jesus?

4.      John is very brief in describing the actual healing of the man’s blindness. He includes significant details, like having the man wash in the Pool of Siloam. This was an important pool for Temple ceremonies representing God’s presence and provision for Israel’s life as God’s people. It fits Jesus’ metaphor of “living water” that becomes a spring of water within us for eternal life, but John wants to emphasize the reaction of the people around the man, his parents, and the Pharisees. They ask if he is the same man as was blind before? How is this like people when they come into a relationship with God through Jesus? Is there a noticeable change?

5.    People, including the Pharisees, begin asking questions that call for the man to explain what had happened to him. He cannot do this, and the Pharisees become impatient with him because he cannot speak about his experience in proper theological terms. All he knows is what happened to him, but he is adamant that this really happened. Are you able to be sure about your experience of Jesus and his effect upon you? Can you explain it to people? Is it possible for people to talk about Jesus without having experienced Jesus working in their lives?

6.      John makes sure to mention the man’s parents and their fear of the religious authorities. Why do you think this was important for believers to hear this story in the early church? Has your relationship with Jesus ever been difficult for people close to you to accept?

7.      The Pharisees are concerned about what this healing indicates about Jesus. They challenge the man’s growing understanding of Jesus as a prophet and being sent by God. Since they can’t shake his certainty about Jesus and his experience with Jesus, the Pharisees remind him that he is a sinner, and that his blindness was a sign of God’s punishment for his sin. Have you ever been reminded of your failings in your past or a mistake you have made in your life? Do your failings sometime make you question your acceptance by God, or even your worth as a person?

8.      This part of John’s account closes with the blind man seeing clearly, as Jesus has revealed himself to him and the man worships Jesus. On the other hand, the Pharisees are the ones who are blind because they won’t acknowledge Jesus. What happened that enabled the man born blind to “see” who Jesus is, and what is it that keeps the Pharisees from “seeing” who Jesus is? What enables you to “see” Jesus?

Action Question

Think of two things in your life experience where Jesus changed you? Was this noticeable to others? Did your small group partners notice? Share with your small group partners the difference between how you understood Jesus early in your life compared to how you understand Jesus now? (If you are not in a small group, write these answers for your own reflection.)