Worshiping the One Who Opened His Eyes
Month 7: The Miracle Worker · Loving Others
Today's Scripture
Read together: John 9:35-38
35 When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, He found the man and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is He, Sir?” he replied. “Tell me so that I may believe in Him.” 37 “You have already seen Him,” Jesus answered. “He is the One speaking with you.” 38 “Lord, I believe,” he said. And he worshiped Jesus.
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: Song of Solomon 1-4
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Song of Solomon celebrates love as a good gift from God — a picture of faithful, joyful devotion.)The Heart of It
The healed man stood up for Jesus. So the religious leaders threw him out. They cast him out of the synagogue and rejected him from his own community, all for telling the truth. He had gained his eyesight, but it seemed like he had lost everything else. And then comes one of the most beautiful sentences in the chapter. "Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when He had found him..." Jesus went looking for him. The man had been faithful. Now he was alone and rejected. But he was not abandoned. Jesus sought him out. He asked, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Then He revealed Himself plainly: "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you." The man answered right away. "Lord, I believe!" And then he worshiped Him.
This is where every miracle is meant to lead. Not just to amazement, but to worship. Notice something about Jesus here. He never accepted worship that belonged to God alone. Yet He receives this man's worship gladly. That is a quiet but powerful claim to be God. And notice how loving others fits in. The man first loved Jesus enough to defend Him in public. And Jesus loved the man enough to come and find him when he was rejected. Worship and love flow together. When we truly see who Jesus is, we can't help but adore Him. And that adoration spills out into how we treat the people around us. It especially shows up toward the ones who have been cast out, left out, or pushed aside. The same Jesus who came looking for one lonely man still goes after the overlooked today. And He invites us to join Him in it.
Around the Table
Everyone was mean to the man. But Jesus came to find him, just him! The man was so happy that he said, "I believe!" and he worshiped Jesus.
Let's do it: Put your hands up high and say, "I love You, Jesus!" That is worshiping Him!
Jesus went looking for the man after everyone rejected him. Who is someone near you who might feel left out? How could you go and find them this week?
Let's talk: What does it look like to love someone the way Jesus came and found this man?
The man worshiped Jesus, and Jesus accepted it. Good people in the Bible always refused worship, because only God may receive it. But Jesus received it. What does that tell us about who He is?
Let's go deeper: Real worship led this man to love and courage. How does adoring Jesus actually change the way you treat people?
💬 Conversation Starter
Has anyone ever come looking for you when you felt left out or alone? How did it feel? That is a small taste of what Jesus did for this man.
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Some people claim Jesus never said He was God. But here He gladly receives worship. Every faithful angel and apostle in Scripture refused it (; ). Jesus accepting worship is one of the clearest signs that He claimed full deity.
For Dad · Go Deeper
There's a pastoral pattern here that's easy to miss. The man's loyalty to Jesus cost him. It got him excommunicated. He was cut off from the worshiping community, and likely from his work and friendships too. Following Jesus faithfully sometimes brings loss before it brings comfort. But watch what Jesus does. He doesn't leave the faithful man stranded. He seeks him out and gives him something far greater than what he lost. He gives him a personal, face-to-face relationship with the Son of God, and it leads to worship. As a father, you'll want to prepare your children for a hard truth. Standing for Christ can be costly, and honesty isn't always rewarded by the crowd. But pair that hard truth with a tender one. Jesus never forgets the faithful. The Shepherd notices when one of His own is cast out, and He comes after them. Teach your kids both halves. There is the cost of discipleship. And there is the relentless love of the One who seeks His scattered sheep.
Draws on: Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John (New International Commentary on the New Testament).
Let's Pray Together
"Lord Jesus, You came looking for the man no one else wanted, and You gave him Yourself. Thank You for seeking us too. Make us worshipers who adore You. And make us people who go and find the lonely and the left-out, just like You did. In Jesus' name, amen."
Jesus seeks out the rejected and the lonely. And seeing who He is turns my heart to worship.