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L i f e o f C h r i s t from the gospel of J o h n Lesson 26 A Blind Man Sees John 9:1-41 Mission Arlington Mission Metroplex Curriculum 2010 Created for use with young, unchurched learners Adaptable for all ages including adults Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 26/Page 1 of 11

Life of Christ A Blind Man Sees John 9:1-41 Younger Verse Older Verse Bible Story One thing I do know. I was blind, but now I see!" John 9:25 (NIV) He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind, but now I see!" John 9:25 (NIV) The following is a summary of the Bible story to help supplement your preparation. In your personal study time, use this summary as a guide, and make notes to help you remember your plans for the lesson. Please do NOT read to the children. Do you remember what we talked about last week? We talked about knowing Jesus teachings. Being obedient to what Jesus taught is what really makes us His followers and it gives us the truth, the truth that will free us from sin. And we talked about Jesus being the Truth. Well, as Jesus was teaching the crowd and talking to the leaders, He told them that He was God. He told the truth, but the leaders refused to believe that He was God (or even that He was sent from God). The leaders were so mad, thinking that Jesus was a liar, that they picked up rocks to throw at Him, but Jesus hid from them and went out of the temple. On his way out, trying to get away from the furious leaders, He saw a man. This man was blind. He had been blind all of his life and because he was blind, he was a beggar. This man had no other way to work because there were no seeing-eye dogs and no Braille language back then. In Jesus desire to leave the temple, He did not just rush by this man with the excuse of I m in a hurry. Jesus saw the man and stopped. Jesus disciples thought this man was blind because he or his parents had sinned. Jesus told them that neither this man nor his parents had sinned. This man was blind so that God s miracle-work could happen in him! Jesus spit in the dirt. Then He bent over and made mud with the spit and the dirt. Jesus took this mud and rubbed it on the blind man s eyes. Then Jesus told the man to go to a pool called Siloam and wash his eyes. The man trusted Jesus and went to the pool, and an amazing thing happened! The man left blind, but returned seeing! This man who had lived his whole life in darkness could see! He could see the sun and the birds. He could see the trees and the city where he grew up. He could see the people who passed him on the dusty road and he could see his parents. And as he returned, the people had many questions. Some could not believe he was the same man; others seemed to know that he was. He told Lesson Goals To see that Jesus is from God. Compare physical blindness with spiritual blindness. Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 26/Page 2 of 11

them all that he was the one who had been blind but could now see. When they knew that it was him, they wanted to know how he could see and he told them about Jesus. Some of the people brought him to the leaders. But, the leaders who always seemed to have a problem with the things Jesus did, were upset that, again, Jesus did these things on a Sabbath day. Do you remember that these leaders had made up lots of extra rules, rules from man and not from God, about what they could and could not do on the Sabbath? Well, because of their manmade rules, they couldn t see God s gift of Jesus. They said that Jesus must be a sinful man to have helped the blind man on a Sabbath day. These leaders questioned the man. Then, they even had to have proof that this man had been blind at all - even though they had probably passed him daily in the temple. They called in his parents to testify. That was not even enough! They called the man back and asked him, again, how he had been healed. Then, the man took this opportunity to explain to them what they should have already known. He told them God doesn t listen to those who sin over and over again. He listens to those who obey Him. Never before has anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If Jesus were not from God, He could do nothing! The leaders had had enough, so they kicked him out. When Jesus heard that the man had been kicked out, He went to find him. The man believed and trusted in Jesus. He worshipped Jesus. That is when Jesus said, I came to the world so that those who do not see can see. Jesus wasn t talking about blind people. He was not talking about people who had never been able to see birds or trees. Jesus was talking about the people who live in the darkness of sin. Jesus came to be the Light of the World to our dark lives. And we know that all of us have sinned. Sin is darkness. Jesus came and gave His life while we were still blind to Him, and in the darkness. Do you want to stay in the darkness, like a blind man who will never see, or do you want to walk in the light, following Jesus by being obedient to His teachings in the Bible? Come to Jesus today! Memory Verse Activities Prayer Time Make a Bible Verse blind-fold. On cardstock, trace off a rectangular shape or the shape of a sleep mask (for the eyes). Punch a hole in both ends and attach yarn. Write the memory verse across the mask. Pray, thanking God for making blind eyes to see. Thank Him for giving us the Light, in Jesus. Thank Him for making a way for us to know Him. Preparing for Next Week Lesson 27 The Good Shepherd John 10:1-42 Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 26/Page 3 of 11

Preschool Lesson Jesus Makes a Blind Man See! Close your eyes. What do you see? Nothing, right? How would it feel to be in the dark all of the time? What would you miss seeing the most? One day, when Jesus was at church, he saw a blind man. This man was born blind. Jesus did not just see the man and pass by. Jesus stopped. People were important to Jesus. You are important to Jesus. He knew all about this blind man and He knows all about you. Jesus spat on the ground. He leaned over to make mud out of the spit and the dirt. Jesus picked up the mud and rubbed it on the blind man s eyes. Jesus sent the blind man to wash his eyes. When the blind man washed his eyes, he could see! For the first time in his life, he could see the white clouds and the blue sky. He could see the trees and the birds. He could see his mother and his father. But he could also see Jesus! What kinds of things can you see? (Allow each preschooler a chance to answer.) Pray: Thank you, God, for caring for me. Thank you for making the blind man s eyes to see. Thank you for all the things that I can see. Play: I Spy Sing: I ve Got a River of Life Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 26/Page 4 of 11

Activities Provide coloring pages and word puzzles that will enhance what you have taught today. Make mud. This can be used to act out the story with a picture, or for forming figures. Play tag, blind-folded! Play in an enclosed space and use the sound of your voices to guide the one who is blind-folded. Bring Braille books, if possible. (Check your local libraries.) Allow your students to read with their fingers. Braille playing cards, writing utensils (slate and stylus) and other games are also available online. Write the memory verse in Braille, making the dots with white puff-paint or a thick craft glue. Use the Braille alphabet to guide you. Play What Is It, blind-folded. Blind-fold your students, one at a time, and place objects in their hands. Begin with easy and work towards difficult items. When they feel they have mastered the game and while they are still blind-folded, hand them a book to read. Talk about what the blind man in John 9 must have felt like. Sing Spring Up, O Well, The Sea Walker, Amazing Grace, and the second verse of Victory in Jesus. Play I Spy. Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 26/Page 5 of 11

One thing I do know. I was blind, but now I see! John 9:25 Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 26/Page 6 of 11

He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind, but now I see!" John 9:25 Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 26/Page 7 of 11

Word Search... A Blind Man Sees D I F A T H E H R Y L F V O O L I S F O G O S B R D I L E C V L I E R E Y X C S N L O E E S N A C I T H Z D O G O T Y R J A B U M V F Z T Y N M G M F S A O W V N S S C J R U L R E D H R U E E L B T E L I G T S L O O P H K M B K I W A E C N W O N O E O L G R T K I O T O E S E I Y F F N W R S O A O L Y T S G S V T L O U H L K N G K S I N C E B I R T H O F L S S R O G J N J N U D I O A O H B T K Y V O E D S H S P G F T S I N C E B T Z E H X A S A Q BLIND SINCE BIRTH NO FAULT GLORY TO GOD JESUS SPIT MUD POOL OF SILOAM NOW I CAN SEE Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 26/Page 8 of 11

Word Search... Jesus Makes a Blind Man See! D E V B O R N D M Y O N N U M P I L E W O J D I S B L I N D D E P Y C E O P I W F J E S U S J M E S I W J E M U D D V Z L L U X U I H Y A D E S P I T E Y A L U H K L V C I C D S X B L Q B X S S E E E BORN BLIND JESUS MUD SPIT SEE Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 26/Page 10 of 11