NT Lesson 69-70 John 9-10

https://www.lds.org/manual/new-testament-seminary-teacher-manual?lang=eng

Lesson 69: John 9

Introduction

Jesus healed a man who had been born blind. The Pharisees questioned this man and cast him out of the synagogue because he refused to condemn Jesus as a sinner for healing on the Sabbath. The Savior sought out the man, and the man worshipped Jesus as the Son of God.

I. John 9:1–7  Jesus heals a man who was born blind

---Bring to class a news article that describes someone who has faced an adversity. Summarize the article for students, or write its headline on the board.

• What other examples have you seen of people who experience adversity?

---Point out that some people wonder why God allows adversity to drastically affect their lives.

---Look for a truth as we study John 9:1–5 that can help us better understand why God allows adversity to affect our lives.

---Read John 9:1–2 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for the adversity a man faced. Invite students to report what they find.

• According to verse 2, what did the disciples ask about the cause of this man’s adversity?

---Many people in the Savior’s day believed, as do some people in our day, that the adversities people face are the consequences of sins that they or their parents had committed. (You may also want to point out that the disciples’ question assumes the reality of a premortal existence.)

• Do you think this belief was correct? Why or why not?

---Read John 9:3–5 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for the Savior’s teachings about this man’s blindness.

• What do you think it means that “the works of God should be made manifest in him”? (verse 3).
• From the Savior’s teachings in these verses, what truth can we learn about our adversities? (Students may use different words but should identify a truth such as the following: God can use our adversities to show forth His works and power.)

---While there may be many different causes of adversity in our lives, God can use our challenges to help accomplish His righteous purposes.

---Invite students to think of an adversity they have faced or are currently facing. As students continue to study John 9, ask them to ponder ways in which God could demonstrate His works and power through them because of those adversities.

---Read John 9:6–7 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for the way in which God manifested His works and power through the blind man’s experience.

You could also show a portion of the Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos video “Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind” [time code 0:00–3:37]. This video is available on LDS.org.

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• What do you imagine it was like for this man to see for the first time?
• How did this man’s adversity allow others to witness God’s power?
• In this account, the man needed to wash in the pool of Siloam in order to receive his sight. What might you need to do so that God can demonstrate His works and power in your life?

II. John 9:8–41  The Savior seeks out the man He had healed after the Pharisees cast the man out

---John 9:8–15 says that after the blind man had been healed, some people disputed whether he was really the man who had been born blind. Others wondered how he had been healed and brought him to the Pharisees, who began questioning him.

---Search John 9:14 for the day on which the Savior healed the blind man. Ask a student to report what he or she finds.

• What reaction do you think the Pharisees had to Jesus healing the man on the Sabbath?

---Take turns reading aloud from John 9:16–38. Ask the class to follow along, looking for another adversity that the healed man faced.

Instead of having students read, you could show the rest of the video “Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind” (time code 3:37–7:47). Instruct students to look for another adversity that the healed man faced.

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---Help prepare students to identify a principle from this account by reminding them that the blind man’s parents were brought before the Pharisees to be questioned.

• According to verse 22, why did the blind man’s parents defer to their son to explain how he was able to see?

---“Synagogues served as the religious and social center for many Jewish communities. Synagogues offered access to spiritual instruction and worship, as well as educational and social opportunities. Because the synagogue was so integral to Jewish society, to be cast out of the synagogue … meant more than being excommunicated and losing fellowship with the religious community. It meant banishment from cultural and social affairs as well. This threat was apparently severe enough to keep the parents of the man born blind from getting too involved in the investigation of [their son’s healing]” (New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 230).

• According to verse 24, what pressure do you think the healed man was experiencing?

---Read verses 30–33 silently, including the excerpt of Joseph Smith Translation, John 9:32 found in verse 32, footnote a, looking for the man’s response to the Pharisees.

• What reasoning did the man use to defend Jesus? (You may want to suggest that students mark his words in verse 33.)
• What did this man know about Jesus Christ?

---Point out that this man was cast out of the synagogue for fearlessly defending the person who had healed him (see verse 34).

• Why do you think this man was willing to stay true to what he knew about Jesus Christ, even though it meant being cast out of the synagogue?

---Remind students that after the man was cast out of the synagogue, the Savior found him and asked whether he “believe[d] on the Son of God” (verse 35). Invite a student to read John 9:36–38 aloud, and ask the class to look for the man’s response.

• What happened to this man’s testimony of Jesus Christ? (He came to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.)
• What principle can we learn from this man about remaining true to what we know? (Students may identify a variety of principles, but make sure they understand the following principle: As we remain true to what we know in spite of opposition, our testimonies will be strengthened. Write this principle on the board.)

---To help students better understand this principle, invite a student to read Ether 12:6 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what happens after we remain true to the Lord when we experience opposition to our faith.

• Why do you think our testimonies are strengthened after withstanding opposition or trials of faith?
• How has your testimony been strengthened because of opposition?

---To help students identify another principle from this account, ask how many students use corrective lenses (such as glasses or contact lenses).

• What do these lenses do to your vision?
• What was this man’s physical vision like after Jesus healed him?
• How was this man’s spiritual vision or understanding of the Savior corrected or improved?

---Read John 9:11, 17, 33 silently, looking for phrases that describe the man’s vision or understanding of who Jesus was. Ask them to report what they find. (Their answers should include “a man that is called Jesus,” “a prophet,” and a man “of God.” Write these phrases on the board, and invite students to mark them in their scriptures.)

• According to these phrases, what happened to this man’s spiritual vision? (It was corrected and improved. These phrases reflect the growth of this man’s spiritual maturity and comprehension of Jesus’s true identity.)
• Why do you think his vision and understanding of the Savior became clearer? (He exercised faith by staying true to what he knew.)

---Scan John 9:36–38, looking for the way this man ended up seeing the Savior.

• What did this man end up seeing about the Savior? (He came to realize that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.)
• How correct did this man’s vision become?

---Invite a student to read aloud the following statement by President Howard W. Hunter. Ask the class to listen for what President Hunter said happened to this man.

“Now sight had been given twice—once to remedy a congenital defect [a physical defect from birth] and once to behold the King of Kings before He would ascend to His eternal throne. Jesus had quickened both temporal and spiritual vision” (“The God That Doest Wonders,” Ensign, May 1989, 16–17).

• How might the man’s healing from physical blindness represent his healing from spiritual blindness?
• What principle can we learn from this account about what can happen to us as we exercise faith in Jesus Christ? (Students may use different words but should identify a principle similar to the following: As we exercise faith in Jesus Christ, our spiritual vision and understanding become clearer. Write this principle on the board.)
• Why do you think exercising faith is necessary in order to see and understand spiritual truth more clearly?

---Some Pharisees were standing nearby when the man saw and worshipped Jesus as the Son of God. Invite a student to read John 9:39–41 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what the Savior taught about blindness.

• How would you summarize what the Savior taught the Pharisees?

---In response to the Pharisees’ question, “Are we blind also?” (verse 40), “the Savior used a metaphor, teaching that individuals who were ‘blind’—those who did not know who He was—‘should have no sin’ (John 9:41). On the other hand, individuals who could ‘see’—those who had received enough witnesses concerning the Savior and His divine mission that they should have known who He was—would be accountable for their actions. The Pharisees were among those who could ‘see,’ and thus their ‘sin remaineth.’ Spiritually speaking, they chose to be blind because they refused to recognize Jesus as the Son of God, despite the many witnesses they had received” (New Testament Student Manual, 231).

---To conclude, invite students to look at the two principles on the board and to ponder which one they feel they should apply in their lives (they may feel a need to apply both principles). Give students time to write in their class notebooks or scripture study journals how they will apply this principle. Encourage them to pray for guidance on how to do this.

Commentary and Background Information

John 9:2. “Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave the following insight into what Jesus taught His disciples when He healed the blind man:

“By this act of giving sight to a blind beggar Jesus, in a dramatic and irrefutable manner, proclaimed himself as: (1) The Light of the World; and (2) The very Son of God. Incident to its performance he also: Confirmed the disciples’ belief in pre[mortal]-existence; rejected the belief of some that physical handicaps result from ante-mortal sin; taught that his own work was assigned him by the Father; reaffirmed that he stands in judgment upon the world; and taught that rejection of light and truth bring condemnation” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:479).

John 9:8–38. As we exercise faith in Jesus Christ, our spiritual vision and understanding become clearer

President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

“Be believing and your faith will be constantly replenished, your knowledge of the truth increased, and your testimony of the Redeemer, of the Resurrection, of the Restoration will be as ‘a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life’ [D&C 63:23; see also John 4:14; Jer. 2:13]. You may then receive guidance on practical decisions in everyday life” (“Personal Revelation: The Gift, the Test, and the Promise,” Ensign, Nov. 1994, 61).

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

“Exercise faith in the Savior. Strive to hearken to His counsel and obey His commandments. He will bless and lead you as you move through this sometimes treacherous world.

“I solemnly testify that Jesus Christ guides this, His church. He knows and loves you personally. As you walk in faithful obedience, He will bless you, inspire you, and lead you to greater knowledge and capacity. I certify that He lives” (“Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge,” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 88).

Supplemental Teaching Idea

John 9. An alternative conclusion to the lesson

To help students apply the principles from this lesson, provide them with copies of the following diagram. Instruct students to cover their left eye and to hold the diagram at arm’s length. Ask them to look at the + sign with their right eye and to slowly move the paper toward their face. At some point, the dark circle on the right should disappear from their peripheral vision (you may want to explain that the point at which the dot disappears is referred to as a blind spot).

Point out that as students adjust the distance of the paper from their eye, the dot will reappear. Invite them to look at the two principles on the board and to ponder the following: If the dot on the diagram represents the Savior, what adjustments could you make in your life to apply one or both of these principles so that you can see the Savior more clearly? Give students time to write in their class notebooks or scripture study journals what they will do.

© 2016 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Right margin extras:

Help students apply doctrines and principles

As students apply the principles of the gospel in their lives, they will receive promised blessings. Give students time during class to ponder or write about what they have understood and felt and to consider specific actions they should take to apply a principle. At such times, encourage students to ask for guidance from the Lord.

Lesson 70: John 10

Introduction

Jesus taught that He is the Good Shepherd and that He would lay down His life for His sheep. He also testified that Heavenly Father had given Him power over death. Some people accused Jesus of blasphemy for proclaiming that He was the Son of God.

I. John 10:1–24  Jesus teaches that He is the Good Shepherd and will lay down His life for His people

---Invite a student to come to the front of the class. Blindfold the student, and then gather several sets of scriptures, including the blindfolded student’s set. Ask the blindfolded student to feel each set of scriptures and try to determine which set belongs to him or her. After the student attempts this, ask:

• Why were you able (or unable) to determine which is your set of scriptures?
• If I asked you to feel each of your classmates’ faces, how many do you think you could correctly identify? (Do not ask the student to actually do this.)

---Invite the student to remove the blindfold and return to his or her seat. Explain that a shepherd in the Middle East was once asked how well he knew his sheep. He responded, “If you were to put a cloth over my eyes, and bring me any sheep and only let me put my hands on its face, I could tell in a moment if it was mine or not” (G. M. Mackie, Bible Manners and Customs [n.d.], 35).

• If you were a shepherd, what do you think it would take to know the sheep in your flock as well as this shepherd did?

---Read John 10:14 silently, looking for what Jesus called Himself. Ask them to report what they find. Write the following statement on the board: Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd.

• Why do you think “the good shepherd” is an appropriate title for the Savior?

---Look for truths as we study John 10 that teach us how the Savior is our Good Shepherd.

---To help students understand the cultural setting of John 10:1–5, explain that in the Savior’s day, shepherds led their flocks to food, water, and shelter during the day. At night, several shepherds gathered their individual flocks into a common sheepfold. A sheepfold is a cave or enclosure surrounded by rock walls that have sharp thorns placed along the top to prevent wild animals from entering.

---Divide students into pairs. Invite each partnership to read John 10:1–5 aloud together, looking for what a good shepherd does. After sufficient time, invite a few students to report what they found. Write their answers on the board under Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. (Answers might include the following: He enters by the door, He calls His sheep by name, and He goes before His sheep.)

• According to verse 3, how did the shepherd lead his sheep out of the sheepfold?
• According to verses 4–5, why would the sheep follow only their shepherd?
• What did the Savior call those who tried to enter the sheepfold by ways other than the door?

---The Pharisees were among the group of people Jesus was speaking to (see John 9:41).

• How were the Pharisees like thieves, robbers, and strangers in a sheepfold?

---Read John 10:6 silently, looking for the Pharisees’ response to the Savior’s teaching. Ask them to report what they find.

---As recorded in John 10:7–16, the Savior continued teaching about the differences between Himself and the Pharisees. Invite a student to read verses 7–10 aloud, including the Joseph Smith Translation in verse 8, footnote a. Ask students to follow along, looking for Jesus’s teachings in these verses.

• What additional insight about the thieves does the Joseph Smith Translation of verse 8 give?
• What do you think the Savior meant when He said, “I am the door” (verses 7, 9)?

---“Shepherds in Israel stood at the entrance of the sheepfold and inspected each sheep as it entered, treating injuries as needed. After the sheep were gathered in the sheepfold for the night, the shepherd would lie down to sleep in the entrance, barring the way so predators or thieves could not hurt the sheep” (New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 231–32).

• How are these shepherds’ actions similar to what the Savior does for us?
• How do you think the Savior gives life “more abundantly” (John 10:10) to those who follow Him?

---Read John 10:11–15 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what else the Savior said good shepherds do. Point out that a hireling is someone whose primary motive for working is merely to get paid.

---Invite a few students to come to the board and to write anything else they found about the Good Shepherd under Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. (Answers might include the following: He gives His life for His sheep, He knows His sheep, and He is known by His sheep.)

• What is a shepherd willing to do that a hireling is not?
• What truth can we learn about the Savior from these verses? (Students may use different words, but make sure they identify the following truth: As the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ knows each of us and laid down His life for us. Write this truth on the board under Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd.)

---Remind students of the Middle Eastern shepherd who knew each of his sheep so well.

• How well do you think the Savior knows you?
• How might the way you live each day be affected by understanding that the Savior knows you and was willing to lay down His life for you?

---After He taught that He would lay down His life for us, the Savior indicated something else He would do. Invite a student to read John 10:16 aloud. Ask the class to look for what else the Savior said He would do for His sheep (meaning His people).

• What did the Savior say He would do for His sheep?
• What does this verse indicate about the location of His sheep?

---The Savior was teaching the Jews in Jerusalem that He would visit God’s children in other lands, teach them His gospel, and bring them into His fold (His Church). Explain that the Book of Mormon sheds light on this verse.

---Take turns reading aloud from 3 Nephi 15:15–17, 21; 16:1–3. You may want to suggest that students write this reference in the margin of their scriptures next to John 10:16 or that they mark verse 16, footnote a.

• How do these verses help us better understand John 10:16? (The “other sheep” refer to the Nephites and lost tribes, not the Gentiles.)

---Read John 10:17–18 silently, looking for a doctrine about the Savior. Invite them to report what they find. (Students may use different words but should identify the following doctrine: As the literal Son of God, Jesus Christ had power to lay down His life and take it up again. Encourage students to mark the words that teach this doctrine in these verses.)

• Why did the Savior have both the ability to die and the ability to rise again after dying? (From His mother, Mary, a mortal woman, Jesus inherited mortality, including the capacity to die. From Elohim, His Father, He inherited immortality, the power to live forever. Thus, He had inherited the abilities to die and to rise again, which were necessary for Jesus to be able to perform the Atonement. [See the lesson on Matthew 1–2.])

---John 10:19–24 says after the Savior had taught these things, the people were divided in their opinions about who Jesus was. They approached Jesus at the temple and pressured Him to proclaim His true identity as the Christ.

II. John 10:25–42  Jesus proclaims that He is the Son of God

---Invite another student to come to the front of the class. Blindfold the student, and then instruct several other students to take turns saying a certain word (for example, “shepherd”). Ask the blindfolded student to listen to each person saying the word and determine whether he or she can recognize who is speaking by that person’s voice.

• Why might some voices be easier to recognize than others?

---Instruct the student to remove the blindfold and to return to his or her seat. Invite a student to read John 10:25–30 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for the Savior’s response to the people’s request to tell them whether He was the Christ.

• How did the Savior describe His sheep? (The Savior’s sheep hear His voice and follow Him.)
• According to verse 28, what will those who hear the Savior’s voice and follow Him receive?
• What principle can we learn from these verses? (Students may identify a variety of principles, but be sure to emphasize that if we come to know the Good Shepherd’s voice and follow Him, He will lead us to eternal life. Write this principle on the board under Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. You may want to suggest that students write this principle in the margin of their scriptures next to John 10:27–28.)

---Remind the class of the second blindfolded student and his or her ability to recognize classmates’ voices.

• What can we do to come to know the Savior’s voice? (See also D&C 18:34–36.)
• What have you done to become more familiar with the Savior’s voice?
• In what ways can we show that we follow the Savior?

---Give students time to ponder how they can better hear the Savior’s voice and follow Him. In their scripture study journals, invite them to write either (1) a goal to listen more carefully for the Savior’s voice and specific ways they will do so or (2) a goal to better follow His voice and how they plan to do so.

---John 10:31–42 says that after the Savior testified that He and His Father are one, the Jewish leaders sought to stone Him for blasphemy. However, He responded to their accusation by quoting Psalm 82:6, which reads, “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are the children of the most High.” The Savior then asked the Jews why they accused Him of blasphemy when He said He was the Son of God, given that the scriptures say we are children of God and can be gods ourselves.

---Conclude by testifying of the truths and principles taught in John 10 and by encouraging students to apply them.

Commentary and Background Information

John 10:30. “I and my Father are one”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles clarified the meaning of the declaration that the Savior is one with His Father:

“Our first and foremost article of faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost” [Articles of Faith 1:1]. We believe these three divine persons constituting a single Godhead are united in purpose, in manner, in testimony, in mission. We believe Them to be filled with the same godly sense of mercy and love, justice and grace, patience, forgiveness, and redemption. I think it is accurate to say we believe They are one in every significant and eternal aspect imaginable except believing Them to be three persons combined in one substance, a Trinitarian notion never set forth in the scriptures because it is not true” (“The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 40).

Elder B. H. Roberts of the Presidency of the Seventy helped us understand the Savior’s logic in refuting the Pharisees who accused Him of blasphemy:

“Let it be observed that in the above conversation when Jesus was accused of making himself God, he did not deny the charge; but on the contrary, called their attention to the fact that God in the law he had given to Israel had said to some of them—‘ye are Gods.’ And further, Jesus argued, if those unto whom the word of God came were called Gods in the Jewish law, and the scripture wherein the fact was declared could not be broken, that is, the truth denied or gainsaid [declared untrue or invalid]—why should the Jews complain when he, too, that is Christ, who had been especially sanctified by God the Father, called himself the Son of God?” (New Witnesses for God, 3 vols. [1909–11], 1:465–66).

John 10:27. “My sheep hear my voice … and they follow me”

President Harold B. Lee taught about various ways we can hear the Savior’s voice:

“If we will live worthy, then the Lord will guide us—by a personal appearance, or by His actual voice, or by His voice coming into our mind, or by impressions upon our heart and our soul. And oh, how grateful we ought to be if the Lord sends us a dream in which are revealed to us the beauties of the eternity or a warning and direction for our special comfort. Yes, if we so live, the Lord will guide us for our salvation and for our benefit” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee [2000], 51–52).

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught about how we can follow the Savior:

“How do we follow the Savior? By exercising faith. By believing in Him. By believing in our Heavenly Father. By believing that God speaks to man on earth today.

“We follow the Savior by repenting of our sins—by experiencing sorrow because of them and forsaking them.

“We follow the Savior by entering the waters of baptism and receiving a remission of our sins, by receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and allowing that influence to inspire, instruct, guide, and comfort us.

“How do we follow the Savior? By obeying Him. He and our Heavenly Father have given us commandments—not to punish or torment us, but to help us come to a fulness of joy, both in this life and for the eternities to come, worlds without end” (“Follow Me,” Ensign, May 2002, 16–17).

© 2016 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Right margin extras:

Help students understand cultural settings

Writers of the scriptures wrote as directed by the Holy Ghost, yet the words and imagery they each used were influenced by their culture. Helping students understand this culture can clarify and deepen their understanding of the imagery, stories, teachings, doctrines, and principles in the scriptures.