Eyes That Once Were Blind: An Honest Witness
Month 7: The Miracle Worker · Why We Believe
Today's Scripture
Read together: John 9:24-33
24 So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!” 26 “What did He do to you?” they asked. “How did He open your eyes?” 27 He replied, “I already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?” 28 Then they heaped insults on him and said, “You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is from.” 30 “That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will. 32 Never before has anyone heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do no such thing.”
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)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Ecclesiastes 4-6
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Ecclesiastes keeps testing where lasting meaning is found — and where it isn't.)The Heart of It
The man Jesus healed from lifelong blindness is back. But now he's on trial. The religious leaders don't want this miracle to be true. So they pressure him. They ask the same questions over and over. They even insult him. Watch how he handles it. He doesn't pretend to be a Bible expert. When they try to argue him into doubt, he gives one of the most honest, unshakable answers in all of Scripture: "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see." He will not be talked out of what actually happened to him. He can't explain everything about Jesus yet. But he refuses to deny what he plainly lived through.
Then they press him harder, and this ordinary man out-thinks the experts. His logic is simple and strong: "Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing." That is why we believe. Jesus' miracles weren't done in secret corners. They happened out in the open. They happened to real people with names and neighbors, in front of witnesses who could check. Faith in Jesus isn't a leap into the dark. It rests on real events that real people saw and could not deny. Like this man, we don't need to have every answer to stand firm. We can hold tightly to what God has actually done. And that holds us steady when others try to talk us out of it.
Around the Table
Some grumpy men told the healed man, "It didn't happen!" But he said, "I was blind, and now I see!" He told the truth even when it was scary.
Let's do it: Stand up straight and say bravely, "I will tell the truth about Jesus!"
The man couldn't answer every tricky question. But he held onto the one thing he knew for sure. What is one thing you know for sure about Jesus, or about God's love?
Let's talk: Has anyone ever tried to talk you out of something you knew was true? What did you do?
This man uses real logic. No one in history had ever opened the eyes of someone born blind. So this Man must be from God. Notice that both evidence and honesty build his case.
Let's go deeper: Why is it powerful to say "One thing I know" instead of pretending to know everything? How could that help you when someone challenges your faith?
💬 Conversation Starter
Has anyone ever told you that something true didn't really happen? How did you know they were wrong?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says, "There's no real evidence for Jesus' miracles," you can gently point here. The healed man was a local beggar everyone knew. Hostile officials questioned him again and again. They wanted to disprove the cure. And even they couldn't deny that he now saw (). Witnesses who are against you are the strongest kind. They have every reason to lie, and still they can't. We answer "with gentleness and respect" (). We're not trying to win an argument. We're inviting someone toward what's real.
For Dad · Go Deeper
This chapter is a small masterclass in how faith and evidence work together. The healed man's faith grows across the story. He starts by calling Jesus "a Man called Jesus" (v.11). Then he calls Him "a prophet" (v.17). Then "from God" (v.33). And finally he worships Him as Lord (v.38). Faith here isn't a single blind leap. It's a reasonable trust that deepens as he stays loyal to the truth under pressure. There's a fatherly lesson in that. You don't have to hand your children an airtight system of apologetics before they can believe. And you don't have to fear their questions. What anchors a young believer is the same thing that anchored this man. It's a real meeting with Jesus, plus the courage to keep telling the truth about it, even when it costs them. Teach your kids that doubt isn't the enemy. Dishonesty is. The honest seeker who keeps holding onto what he knows will end up where this man did, on his knees before Christ.
Draws on: Craig Keener, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts.
Let's Pray Together
"Lord Jesus, thank You that faith in You isn't make-believe. It stands on real things You really did. Make our family honest and brave, like the man who said, 'One thing I know.' Help us hold tightly to the truth, even when others push back. In Jesus' name, amen."
I don't need every answer to stand firm. I can hold tightly to what Jesus has really done.