The Man Born Blind Now Sees
Month 7: The Miracle Worker · Bible Story
Today's Scripture
Read together: John 9:1-11
1 Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth, 2 and His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him. 4 While it is daytime, 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 When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes. 7 Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing. 8 At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was, but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” But the man kept saying, “I am the one.” 10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. 11 He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.”
Memory Verse
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?””— John 11:25-26 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Proverbs 28-30
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Proverbs closes with vivid pictures of wisdom for everyday life — leaders, the poor, even the little ant.)The Heart of It
As Jesus walked along, He passed a man who had been blind his whole life. This man had never seen a single sunrise, or a single face. The disciples treated him like a riddle. "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" They assumed someone must be at fault. But Jesus flipped their question upside down. The man's blindness was not a punishment to blame on anyone. It was a place where "the works of God should be revealed in him." Then Jesus did something strange and tender. He spat on the ground. He made clay. He put it on the man's eyes. And He told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. The man went. He washed. And he "came back seeing." For the first time in his whole life, light flooded in.
Notice that Jesus didn't wait for the man to ask. He simply saw him. He saw the one everyone else had walked past for years. Afterward the neighbors crowded around, arguing about whether this was even the same beggar. But the man kept his answer plain and honest: "I am he." He couldn't explain everything about Jesus yet. He just knew what had happened. "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes... so I went and washed, and I received sight." That is faith in its first, simple form. It isn't having all the answers. It is obeying what Jesus says, and telling the truth about what He's done. Jesus is still the One who opens eyes that have never seen. And He still starts with the people the world overlooks.
Around the Table
A man had never, ever been able to see. Jesus put soft mud on his eyes. The man washed it off. And suddenly he could SEE everything!
Let's do it: Close your eyes tight. Then open them wide and say, "Thank You, Jesus, that I can see!"
The disciples wanted to know whose fault the blindness was. But Jesus cared about something different. He cared about what God could do. What changes when we ask, "What is God doing here?" instead of "Who's to blame?"
Let's talk: Is there a hard thing in your life right now? Could you ask, "God, what good could You do through this?"
Jesus could have healed the man instantly. Instead He sent him to go and wash. Obeying came first, and then came sight. The man trusted Jesus' word before he had any proof it would work.
Let's go deeper: Where is Jesus asking you to obey before you fully understand? What would "going to wash" look like for you this week?
💬 Conversation Starter
If you woke up tomorrow and could suddenly do something you've never been able to do, what's the first thing you'd run to try?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Some people claim Jesus' healings were just people feeling better. But think about this man. He was born blind. His whole neighborhood knew him. And now he could plainly see. That isn't a feeling. It is a public fact, one his own neighbors had to wrestle with (). Real miracles leave evidence that other people can check.
For Dad · Go Deeper
Pay attention to how Jesus reframes suffering here. The disciples had a tidy formula. They thought pain always traces back to someone's sin. Jesus flatly rejects that. And yet He doesn't pretend the blindness was a good thing in itself. Instead He sets it inside a bigger story. It is a place where "the works of God should be revealed." That's a posture worth carrying into your own home. Your children will face things you cannot fix and cannot fully explain. A diagnosis. A disappointment. A loss. The temptation is to scramble for a cause, or to assign blame. The better path is to lift their eyes toward what God might yet do. You don't have to manufacture a silver lining. You simply trust that the same God who turned clay into healing can bring His works into your family's hardest places. Lead them to look for the worker, not just the wound.
Draws on: D.A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (Pillar New Testament Commentary).
Let's Pray Together
"Lord Jesus, You see the people everyone else walks past. You open eyes that have never seen. Open our eyes too. Help us see You clearly. Help us trust You even when we don't understand. Thank You that You can work in our hard places. In Jesus' name, amen."
Jesus sees the one everyone passes by. And He opens eyes that have never seen.