Face to Face - Part 8 [Notes]

Lives were changed after an encounter with Jesus... lives of people just like you and me.

Today's Takeaway //  Jesus is the source of physical and spiritual sight.

... the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.¹
– 2 Corinthians 4:4b (HCSB)
_{¹ The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2 Co 4:4). (2009). Holman Bible Publishers.}

As He was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples questioned Him: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him. We must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” After He said these things He spit on the ground, made some mud from the saliva, and spread the mud on his eyes. “Go,” He told him, “Wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So, he left, washed, and came back seeing. His neighbors and those who formerly had seen him as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the man who sat begging?” Some said, “He’s the one.” “No,” others were saying, “but he looks like him.” He kept saying, “I’m the one!” Therefore they asked him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So, when I went and washed I received my sight.” “Where is He?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he said. They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees.
– John 9:1-13 (HCSB)

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
– John 9:5 (HCSB)

All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men.
– John 1:3-4 (HCSB)

When Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, He found him and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
– John 9:35 (HCSB)

“Who is He, Sir, that I may believe in Him?” he asked. Jesus answered, “You have seen Him; in fact, He is the One speaking with you.” “I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped Him.
– John 9:36-38 (HCSB)

Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.” Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and asked Him, “We aren’t blind too, are we?” “If you were blind,” Jesus told them, “you wouldn’t have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see’—your sin remains.”
– John 9:39-41 (HCSB)

What these Pharisees are suffering from is in fact an illusion of sight and this has caused a far deeper darkness than they are aware of, the darkness of refusing to acknowledge one’s blindness and therefore of being unable to accept the light when it is offered.²
– A.T. Lincoln
_{² Lincoln, A. T. (2005). The Gospel according to Saint John (p. 288). Continuum.}

No one is so blind as he who will not see, the one who thinks he has “all truth” and there is nothing more for him to learn.³
– Wiersbe
_{³ Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 327). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.}

1. Read John 9:1-3. Why do you think the disciples were so quick to attribute this man’s blindness to a sin he or his parents committed? Have you ever run into someone who believed all sickness and hardship was the result of sin? How might this theology make someone feel? How do we know this theology is wrong?
2. We all know what physical blindness looks like. How would you describe spiritual blindness?What are similarities between physical and spiritual blindness?
3. Read John 1:3-4. How are light and life related to one another in both the physical and the spiritual realm?What do you think Jesus meant when He claimed to be the light of the world?
4. Read Matthew 5:14-16. In what ways are we to be a light to the world? What is the difference between Jesus being the light of the world and us being a light in the world?
5. Read John 9:13-34. Why do you think the religious leaders had so much trouble believing the man’s story? How can we make sure we’re not like the Pharisees in their unbelief?
6. How might you apply today’s lesson to your life?

Battle Belongs / Graves into Gardens / God I Look to You / My Eyes Have Seen

Get More From the Message | Each week, a new devotional will be available. This devotional is based on the previous Sunday's message, and it aims to take the message further and help you dive deeper into the topic. You can find the devotionals at the link, or sign up to receive weekly emails.

You can watch or listen to past messages online!

Your financial gift to support what God is doing at The Ridge makes ministry possible. Thank you for your generosity—we cannot do any of what God has asked us to do here at The Ridge without your faithful and cheerful giving.