Class Lesson March 26, 2023

 

4

Jesus Opened My Eyes to the Truth

Question 1:

When have you been really glad you could see clearly?

THE POINT

Jesus led me to increasingly see who He is.

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE

When I moved to Texas in 2005, I needed to get a new driver’s license. When I went to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the woman assisting me administered an eye test. All I had to do was read the letters on the screen. No problem. I aced the first screen and the second screen. But the third screen was broken. It looked like a Rorschach test. When I asked about the broken machine, she responded with a smirk and told me to read the line again. The machine was working just fine, but my eyes weren’t. I needed glasses and I had no idea. I am not sure how long my eyesight had been suffering, but I had obviously never noticed because I had become used to it.

Later when I put on glasses, I understood what I had been missing. This is often how we operate in the spiritual realm. We think we’re seeing life for what it is, but when we encounter Jesus and see the world through Him, we see the truth—and we see it clearly.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

John 9:1-7

1 As he was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him. 4 We must do the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 After he said these things he spit on the ground, made some mud from the saliva, and spread the mud on his eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So he left, washed, and came back seeing.

My wife often accuses me of having so much out in front of me that I miss what is right around me. It’s sometimes easier to plan and schedule things weeks or months out than it is to find a few minutes to take care of something in the now. This was not the case for Jesus. He knew where He was going (ultimately to the cross) and yet He took advantage of every moment along the way to love, teach, and serve people.

This was the case when Jesus and His disciples were on their way out of the temple complex (John 8:59) and they passed by a blind man. The temple area was highly populated and well trafficked. With all the hustle and bustle around the area, it would have been easy for Jesus and His disciples to just walk on by. Even more so because Jesus was already having to “go stealth” in order to escape being stoned by the Pharisees. This threat, though, did not keep Jesus from seeing this man. Jesus sees everyone and everything. Nothing escapes His sight. And what did Jesus see? A man who had never seen anything. What a setting for an amazing encounter!

Question 2:

When have you seen God’s work on display in someone’s life?

In the first century it was assumed that any illness or infirmity was the result of sin.

The religious leaders looked down on the disabled because they saw them as unclean and sinful. This was one of the primary ways Jesus set Himself apart from them. While the religious leaders ignored and even shunned these people, Jesus embraced them. He saw them and their needs.

Even Jesus’s disciples assumed sin was the cause of the man’s blindness. They were unsure, though, whose sin had caused this ailment. Was it his or his parents? Jesus’s answer helped them deconstruct years of bad theology. What Jesus was about to say would open their spiritual eyes even as He would open the blind man’s physical eyes.

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned.” Boom! A new truth to process. This man who had lived in darkness was about to see for the first time. The light of the world was going to illuminate the darkness of this man’s life.

We are not told why Jesus spit and made mud, but after Jesus covered his eyes with it, He sent him to the Pool of Siloam. Siloam means sent. The “sent one” of God, who is the light of the world, sent this man to the pool. It’s important to note that the emphasis should be on the one who sent him, not on the location to which he was sent. The healing didn’t come from the waters of Siloam, but from the “Sent One” who brings light into the darkness.

John 9:32-33

32 “Throughout history no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

The Pharisees in John 9 missed the point. This man, blind from birth, could now see, but these men were only concerned with what day of the week the miracle happened and who this healer thought He was. The “religious experts” who were supposed to be able to see with spiritual eyes were utterly blind, but the man born blind who was not the “expert” on spiritual matters saw a miracle and believed the miracle worker. He could see enough to know that this man, Jesus, must be from God. How could He not be? He had done something no one thought possible: heal a man blind from birth.

Question 3:

What are some obstacles that prevent people from recognizing God’s work today?

One great thing about Jesus is that He is still at work. The question is: will we see Him at work? One of the most impactful spiritual principles I have ever experienced came from Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God. Blackaby wrote that Christians should look for where God is at work around us and join Him in that work. I was a teenager when I first heard that, and since then, I have always tried to do that. It has become a habit for me to ask God daily to show me what He is doing around me. Repeatedly God has opened my eyes to something He is doing just because I asked for my eyes to be opened.

When we are blessed to notice God on the move, we don’t need to stand around and argue about it like the Pharisees did; we just need to jump in and join in. When we obey Him in this, we are not only jumping into His work, but we are jumping in with His power.

The formerly blind man said something to these leaders that was extremely profound, especially considering he had not been around Jesus all that long: “If this man were not from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything” (v. 33). In fact, he said that not only could Jesus not have done this miracle, but He could not have done anything. This is the same truth Jesus would later reiterate to His disciples. “The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me” (John 15:5b). We have no power to act. Nothing that is eternal will be done by our hands or said by our lips unless we stay connected to Jesus. He is the source of all wisdom, power, and strength.

John 9:35-38

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, and when he found him, he asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, Sir, that I may believe in him?” he asked. 37 Jesus answered, “You have seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 “I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped him.

After the confrontation with the Pharisees in verses 30-33, the formerly blind man was belittled by the “spiritual shepherds” of Israel and “they threw him out” (v. 34). In that moment, the man showed greater spiritual insight than the religious leaders, and they responded by excommunicating him! By excluding him from the Jewish community, they wouldn’t have to hear him anymore.

Upon hearing that this man had been cast out, Jesus did what a true shepherd of Israel would do: He went looking for him. This is very intentional. Looking for and finding someone doesn’t happen by accident. So often when we talk about situations like this we talk in terms of “finding God,” but God is not lost at all; we are. This is why He sent His Son into the world to find us and save us. So, it shouldn’t surprise us at all to see the Good Shepherd finding the man.

Question 4:

How has your understanding of Jesus grown over time?

Upon finding the man, Jesus asked him one of the most important questions that can be asked: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” This is a question we all should wrestle with. Do we have faith in Jesus? Ironically, this man was ready to believe even before he knew who the Son of Man is. His faith had an anticipating nature about it. He was unlike the Pharisees, who refused to believe the truth. They refused to see the truth with eyes of faith. The blind man in this story wasn’t the one suffering from the great blindness; it was the Pharisees. They had seen Jesus physically but couldn’t believe, but the blind man saw Jesus with spiritual eyes and believed.

The man’s faith culminated in both a declaration and worship. A declaration is important because it verbalizes our faith. It’s an outward sign of something we have come to believe. Another way the man expressed his faith was though worship. As we see more and more of who Jesus is, we increasingly desire to worship Him.

Question 5:

What makes a personal testimony so powerful?

SEEING THE TRUTH

Fill in the acrostic below with truths about Jesus that you have come to see.

The first one has been provided for you.

T-rustworthy

R-

U-

T-

H-

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

ROMANS 10:9

LIVE IT OUT

Jesus led me to increasingly see who He is. Choose one of the following applications:

See. Determine to read through the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. As you read, take note of any insights you discover about who Jesus is and how He desires to work in your life.

Pray. Pray for God to open your eyes and heart. Life change happens when Jesus is at work in us and around us. Ask God to give you eyes to see the people around you who are in need. Jesus saw the blind man for who he was. May God help us see people the way He sees them.

Help. Jesus met a physical need and then used it as a springboard to discuss a spiritual need. Find someone this week who has a need that you can help with. After serving the person, use the opportunity afforded to you to talk about Jesus.

All of us reach a point where we realize our physical limitations, whether it’s our sight or something else. But far more important is that we come to see our spiritual limitations and turn to Jesus for salvation. 

Class Lesson March 19, 2023

 

3

Jesus Gave Me Grace and Forgiveness

Question 1:

What are some of your favorite stories of forgiveness?

THE POINT

Jesus took my guilt and set me free.

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE

Several years ago, I was preaching on forgiveness. I spoke of how God had forgiven us and, therefore, we needed to forgive others. The very next day, a man was waiting in my office to speak to me about my sermon. To know someone wants to “discuss the sermon” fills every pastor with a note of uncertainty. Will this be praise or a heavy critique? Was he going to point out some ill-advised illustration I had used? Was he going to critique my interpretation of the text?

What I found was a man in tears. He told me that he had done some horrible things in his life, and he wasn’t sure he could ever be forgiven. Many people live under this heavy burden. They know the pain they have caused, and they live daily in shame and guilt. The good news I shared with this man is the same good news that is available to all. Jesus came to forgive and to give grace to all who will trust in Him.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

John 8:2-6a

2 At dawn he went to the temple again, and all the people were coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them. 3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. 4 “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. 5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6a They asked this to trap him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse him.

There are few encounters recorded in the Scripture that are more thought-provoking than the woman caught in adultery. I suppose this is because it’s easy to see ourselves in the text. Sometimes we can see ourselves as the sinful woman. We have messed up big time, everyone knows it, and we are looking for any grace we can get. Other times we can identify with the self-righteous religious leaders who wanted to stone others. We look at someone’s sin and, in our zeal for truth and righteousness, we forget what it was like to be the one in need of grace. We are more interested in revenge or exacting justice.

Question 2:

Why is our first reaction often to judge others?

The religious leaders brought to Jesus a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. Let’s not pass by this too quickly. They didn’t bring her to Jesus to determine if she was innocent or guilty. She was guilty. She had “done the crime” and she was about to have to “do the time.” One interesting thing about this situation is that the guilty man is nowhere to be found. The law of Moses (Deut. 22:22) called for both guilty parties to be killed, but in this instance, they only brought the woman. This is our first indication that they were more interested in testing or accusing Jesus than they were in keeping the law. They were clearly more concerned with wiping out the Messiah than they were with wiping out the sin.

The test was set up this way. If Jesus said they should stone the guilty woman, then He would be viewed as cruel and a man without mercy. This would surely turn the people against Jesus. If Jesus ignored the woman’s blatant sin, then the leaders had cause to say Jesus had no regard for the law and the Scriptures. It seemed like the perfect trap.

The easiest response would have been for Jesus to refuse to get involved. He could have just affirmed the truth of Scripture and moved on, leaving the woman to face the consequences for her sin. However, Jesus, being full of compassion and grace, loved this woman and knew what was really happening. He knew she was guilty, but He refused to leave her at her worst moment. We are like this woman; we’re all guilty of breaking the law of God. None of us are righteous (Rom. 3:10). We are sinners to the core, and yet Jesus, seeing us at our worst, chose to die for us, the righteous for the unrighteous.

John 8:6b-9

6b Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. 7 When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center.

We’d love to know what Jesus wrote on the ground, and many have speculated. I’ve often heard that Jesus was writing the sins of all those standing around. If this were the case, it would be easy to see why the men dropped their rocks and walked away. We really don’t know what Jesus wrote, but the text seems to indicate that the power wasn’t in what He wrote, but in what He said.

The religious leaders were persistent. They didn’t ask just once, but they continued to press. When Jesus gave them a response, it wasn’t the response they were expecting. They were expecting a “gotcha moment,” but they were the ones who were “got.”

Several years ago, I was pushing for some changes in our church that I felt were going to be beneficial to our future. I had painstakingly taught through the Scripture on these issues and felt like these changes were going to better align us with the biblical mission and structure of what is called for in Scripture. After talking with our leadership and putting together a plan, we began to present it to the church body in a series of what we called “asking and listening sessions.” We conducted several of these meetings where people could hear me explain the changes in a smaller setting and then ask any question or make a comment.

At one of these sessions there was a man who wasn’t a big fan—OK, he hated the plan—of what we were proposing. When his turn came to speak, he made the mistake of using the history of the church as a reason for not doing something the Bible was clear about. When I graciously responded that the Scripture was more important than what the church had done historically, he blurted out “I don’t care what the Scripture says; we have never done it like this.” In that moment everyone in the room embraced the plan and we never looked back. In that poorly-phrase and ill-timed comment, the church took an even deeper look into Scripture and decided to move forward with the plan. What this man thought would drive home his viewpoint actually drove people away from his viewpoint and toward the truth. In a similar way, the religious leaders’ plan backfired.

The first to recognize the impact of Jesus’s words were the older men. We aren’t told why, but perhaps they were the first to leave because of their life experiences or the depth of their own sin. Whatever the reason, they dropped their stones and walked away while Jesus bent back down to write in the dirt again. The reality is that all of us are sinners and we share a common outcome: death.

Question 3:

When are you most tempted to “throw stones”?

John 8:10-11

10 When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

The right question can be powerful. It can engage us, draw us in, and force us to reflect and respond. The Bible is full of more important questions. “Who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). To this woman brought before Him, Jesus asked two questions that had life-changing answers. Jesus asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” This woman was facing death at the hands of the Pharisees, but then the Messiah spoke. Jesus didn’t say much, but His words were poignant and powerful. Jesus’s questions pointed to a great truth for this woman: her accusers were gone!

This same Messiah who refused to condemn this woman caught in the act of adultery is the same Messiah who came to save you and me. We are just as guilty of sin. Just like her, we deserve to die, but instead we are given life through faith in Christ. Jesus offers us the same grace-filled truth He gave to this woman: “Neither do I condemn you.”

Question 4:

How can we communicate to others they are sinners without condemning them?

Note the last words of Jesus to this woman as she soaked in His grace. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” This is the heart of repentance. It means that we receive the gift, turning toward the Savior and away from sin. It means we walk away different than we came. We draw close to Him and away from the world. Repentance coincides with grace.

We don’t repent in order to receive grace. Notice that Jesus told the woman she was not condemned before He told her to stop sinning. We repent as we see the gracious gift of Christ applied to our lives. Through grace we are set free from the law of sin in our lives. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:1-2). Do you stand boldly in the grace of Jesus, no longer condemned, or are you still struggling with the accuser trying to live under the law of sin? Embrace the freedom Jesus provides.

Question 5:

In what ways does this encounter clearly demonstrate the gospel?

FREE FROM SIN

Use the space below to draw a picture that represents the concept of “sin” for you. This could be a specific memory from your childhood, an abstract representation of sin, an illustration, or whatever else comes to mind. You could also write a lyric from a song.

“The way to no longer feel guilty is not to deny guilt, but to face it and ask for God’s forgiveness.”

RANDY ALCORN

LIVE IT OUT

Jesus took my guilt and set me free. Choose one of the following applications:

Confess sin. What are some ways sin has reared its ugly head in your life? Take a moment and think about the consequences of that sin. Confess those sins to Christ. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Write a prayer. Most of us speak our prayers, but writing prayers can be a powerful exercise. Write a prayer of thanksgiving to God for saving you from your sin. Mention His mercy and grace. Ask Him to help you show grace to others even as He has shown grace to you.

Extend grace. Rarely a week goes by when there is not some situation that has me flustered. Someone has cut me off in traffic or one of my kids has pushed my last button. Prepare yourself now to extend grace. Extend grace to others. When you do, you reflect Christ to others.

It’s a powerful thing indeed when someone recognizes their need for forgiveness and repents. As those who have experienced that forgiveness, let’s be quick to offer that hope to others. 

Teacher Notes:

Click Here to Watch

Robert Holmes Bell Jr. (born August 23, 1970) is an American author, speaker, and former pastor. Bell founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan, and pastored it until 2012. Under his leadership, Mars Hill was one of the fastest-growing churches in America. Bell is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Love Wins and the writer and narrator of a series of spiritual short films called NOOMA.

In 2011, Bell announced his resignation from Mars Hill Church to start "a spiritual talk show in Los Angeles". Bell's 2011 book, Love Wins, had caused controversy within evangelical circles because of its teachings about hell; that controversy caused thousands to leave Mars Hill and led to Bell's departure. In 2018, there was a documentary about Bell called The Heretic. Bell denies that he is a universalist and says that he does not embrace any particular view but argues that Christians should leave room for uncertainty on the matter.

My Encounter with Jesus

The Bible is full of these stories of people that encountered Jesus in their moment of need – the lonely, the blind, and people caught in sin.

The Woman at the Well & The invalid man at the Pool of Bethesda

John 8:2-11

The Woman Caught in Adultery

There are few encounters recorded in the Scripture that are more thought-provoking than the woman caught in adultery. Why is that?

 

Our lesson says that it’s because we see ourselves in the text.

·      Sometimes we can see ourselves as the sinful woman. 

·      Other times we see ourselves as the self-righteous religious leaders who wanted to throw stones. We look at someone’s sin and, in our zeal for truth and righteousness, we forget what it was like to be the one in need of grace. We are more interested in revenge or exacting justice.

 

Jesus Gave Me Grace and Forgiveness

John 8:2-11

At dawn he went to the temple again, and all the people were coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They asked this to trap him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse him. Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center. When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

 

………………….

 

 

Who is the universal character of this story? Why?

·      The adulterous woman – because we all are just like her

 

Who do we tend to be most like in this story? Why?

·      The Scribes and Pharisees - Self-righteous

 

Self-righteousness is a sin all people are guilty of but often oblivious to in their own selves. Jesus’ encounter with the woman caught in adultery exposes this pharisaical, hypocritical tendency in us all.

This episode provides an excellent example for us to follow when we find ourselves reacting judgmentally or with an attitude of self-righteousness toward someone else’s sin. We must remember how much God has forgiven us and that none of us has the right to throw stones (Matthew 6:14–16; Mark 11:25; Luke 6:37). God wishes to reconcile the world to Himself, and Christians are called to be ministers of that reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18).

 

 

Why are we so quick to throw stones at other people's sins?

When are you most tempted to “throw stones”?

Why is our first reaction so often to judge others?

Forgiveness is in short supply in our culture. We hold grudges, and sometimes we do so for years. We get easily angered with total strangers while we’re driving. We despise those who politically disagree with us, even when the issue is relatively minor.

The inability to forgive is often fueled by our need to be forgiven. While others may hold our words and actions against us, we are offered forgiveness from God, the One from whom we need it most.

What did Jesus mean when He said,

“The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.”

From this passage we learn that we do not accuse others unless we first thoroughly search our own hearts and minds to make certain that we are pure in every possible aspect (Matthew 7:3). Also, if we must admonish someone, we should do so as instructed in Scripture; we always look to God’s glory and never cause unnecessary division or harm (Matthew 18:15), but we do work to keep the church pure. Moreover, Jesus was the only sinless person in the temple scene, and, instead of condemning the woman, He looked ahead to His work on the cross and offered her life. Likewise, we should use every possible opportunity to forgive and to reach out with the gospel and the love of Christ, always remembering that we, too, are sinners in need of the Savior (Romans 3:23).

  

How are each of us in the same situation as the woman in the story?

 

1.    I had broken God’s laws and deserved punishment.

The woman stood before Jesus as we all stand before God. We have rejected Him, His Word, and His love. We stand deserving the judgmental separation that falls on all who refuse Him. In that state we are without hope. Jesus changes that hopeless despair into joyous freedom. Some people are so caught up in the legalism of religion that they lose sight of the compassion of relationship. We need to exercise caution that we are not guilty of twisting God’s Word for our own purposes. Sin is deserving of judgment and punishment but both actions are God’s to carry out not ours.

 

In what unusual way did Jesus respond? What suggests the impatience or uncomfortable feelings of the accusers during the moments of silence after they posed their question to Jesus? Explain Jesus’s reply in light of passages like Deuteronomy 17:6-7. Why might Jesus have stooped a second time to write in the dirt? How did the woman’s accusers respond? If you were the woman, how might you have felt in this situation? What do we learn about Jesus’s desire for us in our sin?

 

 

Jesus intervened on my behalf.

We have been where she was. Condemned by our sin, Jesus intervenes or intercedes to the Father on our behalf. How will we respond?

Jesus knows the truth and knows what is in our hearts even when unspoken. No one is without sin. We are left to contemplate how we will respond to the word of the Lord. Jesus came to intervene for us and set us free.

 

 

Jesus showed me grace and forgave me.

Jesus’s mercy was to motivate her to live a new kind of life. Of course, we don’t know what she did. Even so, He has shown to us grace and forgiveness in our times of moral failure. As the apostle Paul would later write to the Christians in Rome, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). We can live in freedom. We can claim that promise; live in that hope; all because of what Jesus has offered to us.

 

Christ did not come to condemn but to save. Christ has come that our lives may be changed. Grace and forgiveness are given with the expectation that a person will live as one who has received grace and forgiveness and is grateful for it.

 

 

 

How can we communicate to others they are sinners without condemning them?

 

Jesus took my guilt and set me free – He changed me.

How does Jesus communicate the woman's sin without condemning her?

 

Galatians 5:19–21 (NIV)

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. 

I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Does Jesus overlook sin?

“Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

 

Conclusion

The account of the woman caught in adultery is the story of an amazing act of acceptance on Jesus’s part. We stand before Him just as we are in our sin. We deserve judgment and punishment. Instead, He extends mercy and grants forgiveness. Once again, we see how valuable we are in His sight. Not trash to be thrown out but a treasure to be reclaimed. Therefore, we are set free, not to do what we choose, but to live as those who have been changed by an encounter with Jesus and His grace.

 

How does seeing how Jesus dealt with this woman in her sin help you face your own sin?

 

What lesson do you learn from this story about how to treat others who have fallen in their sin?