Lent: A Journey to Hope in Uncertain TimesSample

Jesus was in the business of healing. And He repeatedly upset the religious community of His day by healing on the Sabbath. In the view of the religious leaders, the Sabbath was holy and set apart—absolutely no work was to be done on this holy day. What God had instituted as a gift to the people of Israel had become something that now stood in the way of God’s own work! Jesus ignored this rule, not to defy the Pharisees, but to do the liberating work of healing whenever and wherever it stood before Him.

REFLECT

• In verses 30 to 33 of today’s reading, the man born blind teaches the Pharisees a lesson about Jesus. What are the key arguments of his defense of Jesus?

RESPOND

• In verse four, Jesus tells His disciples, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent me.” What was Jesus trying to communicate to His disciples? What example does it lay out for us?