Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Mark 8:22-26


22 Jesus and his followers came to Bethsaida. There some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch the man. 23 So Jesus took the blind man’s hand and led him out of the village. Then he spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on the man and asked, “Can you see now?” 24 The man looked up and said, “Yes, I see people, but they look like trees walking around.” 25 Again Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then the man opened his eyes wide and they were healed, and he was able to see everything clearly. 26 Jesus told him to go home, saying, “Don’t go into the town.” ~ Mark 8:22-26

Today, we return to our study of Mark 8. The setting for today's passage was the town of 
Bethsaida which was a village located near the beginning of the Jordan River on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. Mark is the only one of the Gospel writers who recorded this very interesting and strategically used story. 

In v.22-23 of today's passage we read, "22 Jesus and his followers came to Bethsaida. There some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch the man. 23 So Jesus took the blind man’s hand and led him out of the village. Then he spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on the man and asked, 'Can you see now?'"

This miracle is different than the other miracles of the Lord Jesus because He spit on the eyes of this man. In three of His many miracles, the Lord Jesus used spit. In the first, the healing of the man who was deaf and mute, He spit on his own fingers before he touched the man's ears. In the second, the healing of the man who was born blind, He spit on the ground, mixed clay with it, and applied it to his eyes. Here, the Lord Jesus spit directly into the eyes of this blind man. We have been told, for eye trouble, the spit of the first born son has unique healing powers. By using His spit in this way, the Lord Jesus subtly declared Himself to be the first born son of the Father.

These healings were object lessons, pictures of the truth the Lord Jesus was offering to the willing heart. Spit comes out of the mouth. The imagery the Lord gave that day was: it is the Word of God which grants our hearts the ability to recognize and to pursue God. Through His mouth, the Lord Jesus was potentially awakening the faith of this blind man and all who were present that day.

Hebrews 11:3 reads, "It is by faith we understand that the whole world was made by God’s command so what we see was made by something that cannot be seen."

In v.24-25 of today's passage we read, "24 The man looked up and said, “Yes, I see people, but they look like trees walking around.” 25 Again Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then the man opened his eyes wide and they were healed, and he was able to see everything clearly."

There is no other account in Scripture of anything like this healing. On other occasions, the Lord Jesus spoke and instantly the person was made whole. Not so with this miracle. The Lord Jesus healed this man in two-stages. He spit on the man’s eyes, then He put His hands on the man’s eyes, because He wanted those witnessing it, including the disciples, to see that they are like this blind man, blind men in need of the Savior.

The significance of this two stage healing is: There is progression involved. It is one thing to be made alive to God or to be born again, it is yet another to grow in our ability to be defined by God on a continual basis. The most permanent healing in our lives is the healing that takes place in our souls. In order to make sense out of life, we must be in progression with the LORD. No relationship grows apart from progression, particularly progression of faith, and trust.

In v.26 of today's passage we read, "Jesus told him to go home, saying, 'Don’t go into the town.'"

The Lord Jesus told the healed blind man to not go into Bethsaida and tell the people there about this miracle. Christ had performed many miracles in Bethsaida, but the people there had rejected them in unbelief. And, as a result of their rejection, according to Matthew 11:21, the Lord had pronounced a woe upon them.

Rejection of truth causes loss of spiritual privilege. If we do not want God in our lives, He will leave us alone, which is the worst thing that could ever happen to us. This proves miracles do not give birth to faith in the God of the Bible, nor do they cause our faith to grow. In fact, our faith grows as a result of two things: that we run to God in the midst of our trials, and, hearing the spoken word of God in our daily walk with Him. You see, it is a relationship. It is more than just a ticket that gets us into heaven, it is about heaven coming to us. And, not only to us but through us. And, when we get to heaven, we will meet those whom we influenced to the point of them getting to heaven. Now, that, that will be an eye opener. Then, we will see what it is all truly about.