Gospel Outreach International

This Bible study examines John 9, the story of Jesus healing a man born blind. The passage reveals profound spiritual truths about spiritual blindness, testimony, and progressive revelation. As we explore this remarkable chapter, we confront an essential question: How does physical blindness become a metaphor for spiritual insight, while those who claim to see remain spiritually blind? Through this man’s journey from darkness to light, we discover how encountering Jesus transforms not only our physical condition but our spiritual understanding.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” John 9:35

• The blind man’s healing was a sign miracle that pointed to Jesus’ authority and power
• The disciples asked whose sin caused the blindness (the man or his parents)
• Jesus rejected the notion that specific sin caused this blindness
• The man’s condition served “so that the works of God might be displayed in him”
• Physical disabilities can become opportunities for God’s work rather than punishment
• Jesus used spittle and clay to heal the man, working within cultural practices of his time
• The Pharisees were upset because the healing occurred on the Sabbath
• The healed man’s understanding of Jesus progressed from seeing him as “a man” to “a prophet” to “the Son of God”
• The man’s parents feared being excommunicated from the synagogue
• Jesus found the man after he was thrown out of the synagogue

He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. John 9:38

This study of John 9 reveals how Jesus used one man’s physical blindness to illuminate spiritual truths about sight and blindness. The progression of the healed man’s understanding—from seeing Jesus as “a man” to “a prophet” to “the Son of God”—shows how encountering Christ leads to deeper spiritual insight. Jesus himself summarizes this truth at the chapter’s end when he says he came so “those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” The passage reminds us that true sight comes not from physical vision but from spiritual recognition of who Jesus is. When we can honestly say, like the healed man, “Lord, I believe,” and worship Him, we’ve made the journey from spiritual blindness to spiritual sight—the ultimate miracle Jesus came to perform.

Bible References

• John 9:1-41
• John 9
• John 1:1
• Isaiah 65
• Exodus 34
• Mark 7
• Mark 8
• Revelation 3:20
• 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4