John 9:1-7
1As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2“Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.
The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”6Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
Response 1: What do you think Jesus meant when he said, “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then on one can work. But wile I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”?
3So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”
4But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” 5So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6he stayed where he was for the next two days. 7Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”
8But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they said, “only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”
in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”9Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. 10But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.” 11Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.”
12The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” 13They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died.
14So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”
Response 2: What do you think Jesus meant when he said, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. But at night there is danger of stumbling, because they have no light?
Response 3: Jesus’ disciples think he has delayed his journey because the Jewish leaders in that region tried to kill him the last time he was there. But, Jesus says, he’s not afraid of the Jewish leaders – this terrible thing has happened to Lazarus and his sisters because he intends to transform something big and ugly into something big and beautiful. Bad things in our lives create open doors for Jesus to do what he does best – re-create us into lovers who trust him with our lives. Can you think of a situation that seemed bad but someone’s faith in Jesus turned it around? Tell us about it.
Haygood Youth Ministry 