Scripture Union Discovery 19th March 2025 Devotional Message for Wednesday
TOPIC: Blind Spots
Opening Prayer
Thank you for the gift of prayer, Father, and that you welcome me whenever I come to you offering my praise and thanksgiving, or even my complaints. You listen to my expressions for need; help me remember that my greatest need is you.
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Read JOHN 9:13–34
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.
17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 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!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
Reflect
How would you have responded to the miracle of the blind man?
Learning to drive can be scary. Changing gears smoothly, mastering parallel parking, checking your mirrors regularly—there’s so much to get used to! One key principle that student drivers have to grasp quickly is that of blind spots.
These are areas which you, as the driver, cannot see clearly. As the Pharisees learn of the miraculous healing of the blind man, they cannot see the wonder of what has happened due to their ‘blind spots.’ They are shocked that such a thing could have happened on a Sabbath and so, immediately refuse to accept the validity of the miracle (v. 16).
We can all have blind spots in our own lives—things we cannot ‘see’ because of prejudices, expectations, or our own pride. The Pharisees miss out on the extraordinary privilege of knowing Jesus, the Son of God, because of their own blind spots. They couldn’t see that Jesus had come to bring in a new era and usher in God’s kingdom in a fresh way.
It may seem absurd to us now that Jesus shouldn’t heal people on certain days of the week, but for the Pharisees, this was a key component of Jewish life. There’s a challenge for us not to be like the Pharisees and miss what Jesus is doing in and around us because of preconceived ideas of how Jesus must work.
Apply
Where might you be missing all that God has for you because you are less than open to how he is working or what he is doing?
Closing prayer
Father, I ask you to highlight blind spots in my life where expectations and experiences are affecting how I see things. Help me to see things as you do.
Scripture Union Discovery 19th March 2025 Devotional © 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved
