Studies

An Amazing Jesus and A Blinded World

OQ: What's the most amazing thing you've ever seen or heard of?

Q: What do you think of when you hear the word, AMAZING? [Kapil Dev, Lata Mangeshkar, snake charmers.] C: The word amazing is used 37 times in the New Testament. 35 of these are associated with one man -- Jesus.

{Choose different people to read these passages one after another: Matt 7:24-29, Matt 8:23-27, Matt 15:29-31.}

Matt 7:24-29. Q: What were they amazed at here? [They were amazed at his teaching. It was plain, simple, powerful.]

Matt 8:23-27. Q: What did Jesus do here that was so amazing? [In the midst of panicked disciples he calmed the storm. The people were blown away, and asked, "what kind of man is this?"]

Matt 15:29-31. Q: And here what did he do? [Here we see the dumb, crippled, blind, lame, all completely healed.] Q. What would you think of Jesus at this point? [great, fantastic.] C: What's so amazing to me is that so few listened to Jesus and followed him! They were blind! C: Let's look at more amazing stories and see why some were blinded.

1. Blinded by Religion. Matthew 9:27-34. Q: What happened here? [Blind healed and the demon possessed freed. The people said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel." (v. 33)]

Q. Who were the Pharisees? [The formal religious Jewish leaders. They were powerful and had a complex system of laws. They were very resistant to Jesus' message.] Q. How could religion blind someone from seeing the 'amazing' Jesus? [Because religion puts God in buildings, books, traditions, statues, pictures, etc. Because those in power want to stay in the power. They're comfortable and don't want to move!]

Q. How did the Pharisees explain these miraculous events?

2. Blinded by Background. Matthew 13:53-58. Q: Where was Jesus? [Nazareth.] Q: What had people there seen? [Jesus'

boyhood, family, etc.] Q: What did they ask? Was it for wisdom, miracles? [No. They only cared about tradition.]

Q: How did they respond to his teaching (v.57)? [They took offence.] Q: Why did they take offence? [Because he was challenging them, and he was different from what they were used to.] Q: How can we be blinded by our background? ["That is not the way daddy did it", "In our family...", "It has never been done this way before", etc.]

3. Blinded by Fear of Change. Mark 5:9-20. Q: What amazing thing happened here? [The demon-possessed man was cured. About 2000 pigs drowned. The man got dressed and was happy.] Q: How did the people respond? [They asked Jesus to leave.] Why? [They were upset about losing the pigs--2000 pigs are worth about 40 lakhs! Also, they were afraid of the change.] Why are people afraid of change? [Because things might become much worse. Because they might have to learn something new. Because they might not be good at coping in the new situation.] Q: Have you ever had to learn how to do something new, like driving, or cooking, or playing a sport? {Let them share, and SHARE YOURSELF.}

Q: What are some changes that Jesus brings in our lives that we might fear? [New friends. Being out late. Inviting strangers. Helping the poor. Not always being at home.] Q: Has Jesus ruined any lives? [No. We shouldn't be afraid of the change he brings.]

4. Blinded by Sin. 2 Cor 4:1-4. Q: Who has blinded the minds of unbelievers? [The god of this age.] Who is that? [Satan.] How has he blinded them? [By sin.] C: Can you see the light tonight? Can you see the amazing Jesus? Or are you blind? When an amazing person impacts your life, amazing things happen. C: Tonight, what is amazing about your life?