vs 22-23 Who brought the blind man to Jesus? What do you think was the significance of Jesus’ actions? Why do you think Jesus asked the question of the man?

Once again we see others involved in ministry. Verse 22 tells us that "some people" brought the blind man to Jesus. Not only did they bring the man, but they also were the ones to ask Jesus to heal him. Notice it says they "begged Jesus to touch him." Those who are suffering often don’t have the faith or the strength to bring themselves to God. They need others to encourage them and bring them to Christ. Let us also be willing to be a friend to others and bring them for healing, for deliverance, for salvation.

This healing of the blind man is unusual in many respects. Verse 23 tells us Jesus led him outside of town. Why he did this we do not know. Sometimes God wants us to take steps of faith before performing a miracle in our life. Then Jesus began the process of healing by spitting in the man’s eyes and putting his hands on him. If we think of Jesus as a man, this doesn’t make sense. But when we think of Jesus as God, we see that the Creator is anointing the blind man’s eyes with a healing salve.

This healing is also unusual in that Jesus asked the man if he saw anything. Most of Christ’s healings were instantaneous. But this one was done in stages. For whatever reason, it was important for this blind man to be involved in the healing process step by step. Sometimes God takes us step by step so that our faith will grow. Perhaps this was the case here.

vs 24-26 Why wasn’t the man healed the first time Jesus touched him?

Now the work of healing is complete. If all we had in the gospel were the stories of the times when people were healed immediately by Christ, we would think that’s the way it’s done every time. But here we see a healing done in stages. In each stage the blind man was involved in the faith process. The first stage was believing Jesus enough to walk with him outside of town. Since the man had been blind, he probably had never wandered outside of his village. It would have been a frightening experience. But Jesus asked him to walk by faith. The second stage was only partial healing. The man received part of his sight, but his vision was poor. When he replied to Jesus’ question in verse 23, he could have been very discouraged that the healing didn’t work. Perhaps he began to doubt and feel immense disappointment. But nevertheless he held onto his faith. Then the third stage was complete healing. Jesus caused the vision to be restored.

There are times when we will have to hold onto our faith as Christ gradually heals us. He may ask us to step out into a frightening place where we have never gone before. Then we may receive partial relief, but still have the same condition. But as we believe in God and allow Jesus to minister to us, we find we are eventually completely restored.

Just as the man was healed gradually, in the same way God will cause our faith to grow. We start off blind spiritually. But as we walk in faith, we slowly have our spiritual eyes opened until eventually we can see clearly God’s work in our life.

vs 27-28 Why would people say Jesus was one of these people? What was the significance of each of these replies? Who do others say Jesus is today?

Notice the people identify Jesus with the powerful prophets of God from the past. Elijah was prophesied in Malachi 4:5 and a great prophet was promised in Deuteronomy 18:15-18. This speaks of the three-fold ministry of Christ. Christ preached repentance as John the Baptist, he performed mighty miracles as Elijah, and he proclaimed a warning as the prophets.

Today, some say Jesus was a prophet or a good man or a man obedient to God. They are just like the people of Jesus’ day. They don’t really understand who Jesus is.

vs 29 Why do you think Jesus asked this question? How did Peter know the answer? How do you know the answer? Why do you think many people will not accept Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God?

Unlike the other people of his day, Peter knew who Jesus was. He was the Christ, the son of God. I think Jesus intentionally asked this question so that his disciples would think about the implications of his ministry. We often condemn Peter for his impulsiveness, but here we see a man who has the mind of God. He understood in his spirit that Jesus was no mere man. He understood the difference between the Old Testament prophets and the son of God.

If you talk to most people about God, you will have few that will find it offensive. But as soon as you start talking about Jesus, you will find many who don’t want to listen anymore. People like to believe in a loving God somewhere off in heaven who smiles down at them and, when they are in trouble, hears their prayer. But they don’t want to think about Jesus who calls people to take up their cross and follow him. They would rather have the benefits without the commitment.

vs 30-31 What kind of Messiah were the disciples looking for? What portion of the Old Testament speaks of the suffering Messiah? Why was it necessary for Christ to suffer?

The disciples, and the Jews, were looking for a Messiah who would rescue them from the oppression of the Roman rulers. This is why Jesus had to explain how the Messiah came to suffer first. Jesus will some day take his proper place as King of the Jews ruling from Jerusalem. But this will come at the end of the age. First, it was necessary that Jesus die for our sins so that not only the Jews, but all people who accept Christ would be saved.

It is surprising that the Jews did not understand that the Messiah would suffer. There are many scriptures that speak of it. The most famous is Isaiah 53. If Jesus never suffered, there would be no atonement for sins. All the Old Testament sacrifices looked forward to the true Passover lamb sacrifice of Jesus. Now it is no longer necessary to travel to the temple to make a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus has made that sacrifice once and for all time. The earthly temple in Jerusalem was destroyed only a few years after Christ’s resurrection. It has been replaced by a new temple in the heart of each and every believer.

vs 32 How would Peter have "rebuked" Jesus concerning this matter? How do you think Peter responded to Christ’s reply? Has God sometimes had to tell you the same thing Jesus told Peter in verse 33?

My impression is that Peter is arguing with Jesus that something so horrible could never happen to him. He is probably thinking of the Old Testament promises that the Messiah would rule and reign on earth. From one moment of great spiritual insight, Peter turns to listening to the arguments of Satan. How easy it is for us to lose sight of spiritual truth, and how quickly we can fall into believing the lies of the enemy of our soul. Peter must have been very surprised by Jesus’ reply. But the fact is most of us have done the same things. One moment we are full of the love of God and want to do nothing else but serve him with all of our heart. And then just as suddenly we find ourselves entertaining sinful thoughts or pursuing temptation. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to rebuke us. Let us be willing to admit how weak we are at times.

vs 34 What are the three things Jesus said his followers must do? How do you do each of these three things?

There are three things Jesus tells us we must be willing to do: deny ourselves, take up his cross, and follow him. We deny ourselves when we place God’s priorities over our own, when we submerge our wishes and desires to God’s. We take up the cross when we assume the work of ministry to which God has called us. The cross represents our commitment to the Lord. There will be times when the cross seems heavy, but most of the time we will hardly notice the burden. Following Christ means that we must obey his words and follow his example. There are many people who claim to be Christians, but they ignore Christ’s words. We cannot be a true Christian if we are not willing to do these three things - deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Christ.

vs 35-38 What does verse 37 mean to you? Name the three most important things in your life. How do you sometimes place each of these things above God? How do we sometimes act ashamed of God?

Jesus explains to us why it’s so important to follow him. Nothing is more important than our eternal soul - neither riches nor pleasure nor intellectual pride. If we aren’t willing to deny ourselves, we are really not ready to be followers of Christ. Nothing should be more important to us than God. Nothing!

In verse 38 Jesus points out our major problem - we are worried what others think. We are too ashamed to forego the trappings of this world to serve God. What will people think if we don’t wear the finest clothes, drive the newest car, and live in the fanciest home? What will people think if we aren’t willing to participate in parties and unethical workplace practices? What will people think if we talk about Jesus and prayer and the Bible? Because we are blinded by the sinfulness of this generation, we are, in essence, ashamed of Christ and all that he offers us.

The question Jesus asked 2000 years ago is still important for us today - what can we give in exchange for our soul? Let us be willing to take our eyes of this world and place them on God. Then we will see clearly how we are to take up our cross.