Reel Luke
Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar
Luke 18:35-43
Helpful Stuff to Know
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- In the ancient world, blindness (and any other type of physical illness or disability) was often viewed as a result of someone’s sin.
- "Son of David" was a Messianic title. The Old Testament prophets said that the Messiah would descend from King David (his story is in 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles). David wrote many of the Psalms, including the familiar Psalm 23.
Be Sure Not to Miss
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- Jesus was approaching Jericho on his way to Jerusalem for the most important week of his life — the crucifixion and resurrection. He could have been so focused that he ignored everyone he met, but instead he still stopped, listened, and helped anyone who asked.
- The blind man must have heard about Jesus before this.
- By calling Jesus the “Son of David,” the blind man was acknowledging Jesus’ true identity as the promised Messiah and Savior.
- Jesus first asked the man what he wanted. He gave the man a chance to speak for himself.
- The man’s first response to being healed was to follow Jesus and praise God. Those who saw praised God too.
- Right after the story about a poor beggar who couldn’t see anything comes the story of a very rich man who wanted to see Jesus. Pay attention to the different interactions in the two stories.
Be Careful About
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- This story doesn’t promise that if someone has enough faith, Jesus will heal them. That is what happened in this particular story. While he lived on earth, Jesus performed many miracles to show his true identity and power.
1. Read Luke 18:35–43
Here's a few different ways you can read and recap the story with your group.
- Read it through one time with people just listening to you. Then read it through a second time with people following along in their own Bibles.
- Ask a few people to act out the story while you read it.
- Ask one or two people to retell the story after hearing it.
- Ask two people to retell the story in the first person, as though they were actually there. One person can do the play-by-play (tell the details of what happened), and the other can offer color commentary (add details about how they felt, what surprised them, what confused them, etc.). First-person retelling can make the story feel more real. It's also a blast.
2. Reel Questions (set the scene)
- Where did this story happen? What do you think it looked like? Smelled like? Sounded like?
- Make a list of all the people in the story (including "crowd" if there is one), and give a one-word description of each e.g. impatient, desperate, funny, selfish, awkward, etc.
- List everything that Jesus did and said in the story. What was your favorite scene or statement?
3. Story-Specific Questions
- Jesus would have been able to tell the man was blind. Why do you think he first asked the man what he wanted instead of just healing him right away?
- What do you think the blind beggar meant when he said to Jesus, “Have mercy on me!"?
- How do you think the blind beggar knew who Jesus really was?
- How do you think the man praised God? When and how do you praise God?
4. Wrap-Up Question
- Why do you think this story is included in the Bible? What do you think God wants us to learn from it?
