“Blind in Bethsaida” (2)

Notes
Transcript
Mark 8. 22-25
Mark 8. 22-25
“Blind in Bethsaida” (Conclusion)
Mark 8. 22-25
K. Adrian Scott
January 5, 2025
Contextual Introduction.
Only Mark's Gospel account gives us this story. All the previous healings by Jesus, for the most part, were instantaneous, or as in the case of the ten lepers, the healings were progressive healings or gradual, except this one.Christ’s disciples brought a man to him and wanting Jesus to ‘touch’ him, that is, heal him, through a divine and miraculous touch. Jesus is, like His Father, is always at work - “My Father is working until now, and I too am working” (John 5. 17).
v. 22; “And they came to Bethsaida.” Bethsaida means ‘house of hunting’ or ‘fishing.’ And this makes sense since Bethsaida was a small fishing village on the northeast coast of the Sea of Galilee. Bethsaida is mostly known because the Lord sternly reprimanded the people there for their general lack of faith the village despite of them having witnessed several miracles that the Lord Jesus performed there (Matthew 11).
v. 22b; “And some people brought to him …”
Review.
” Some people” obviously followers of Christ. The parable of the Great Banquet recorded in Luke 14.23 gives us this - “Go out to the highways and country roads and urge people to come in, so that my house will be filled” (NET Bible). This is how the people knew to take the blind man to Jesus - it is because of their own witness or experience! They merely shared what they knew because of an experience with Jesus.
This movement called Christianity can and will see a great crowd of the formerly blind people who were wonderfully helped if we, the Church, would simply bring them to Jesus. Fill your cars up! Help us establish home Bible Studies. Just bring people to Christ and Christ will do the rest!
However, we should not under-emphasize ‘where’ the people took the blind man. They took him to Jesus. We must lead people to Jesus who alone can heal the hurting. The church who is faithfully discharging our responsibilities to evangelize, that is, telling others about Christ, that will be grow and be blessed, while those churches who are not obedient to Christ’s commands will constantly struggle to exist.
v. 22b; “a blind man.” They brought a man who could not see. The man is physically without sight; but is there something else he is blind to? Are there other things he cannot, see? Isn’t the man also blind to the person and work of Jesus? Yes. After all, he did not seek out Christ, but the disciples brought the man to Jesus! Is it fair to ask if he was blind to Jesus’ presence or His nearness? Yes, he is. Is he blind to the nature of personal salvation and the possibility of a personal "walk" with Christ? Yes. Is he blind to the Lord's saving grace? Yes, he is. He knows nothing of it. Is he blind to the comfort found in the words of Christ? Yes, he is in the dark when it comes to understanding the person and the work of Jesus Christ! But that still is not all he is blind to. It is true, this man cannot see the Savior, which also means he also is blind to his own sin. Being aware of our own sin is the key factor to any of us ever being saved. Unless one becomes aware of and becomes convicted of their own sin, and has genuine contrition or regret because of their sin, there is no possibility of being saved. A person cannot repent (having a change of heart/mind and going a different direction because of it) unless they are aware of the presence and dominance of sin in their lives. “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts. 2.38).
The man’s complete blindness reminds us of the severity of sin upon an unconverted person. He is bound by his blindness and that blindness is permanent except by a miracle of God through Jesus Christ. As sad and hopeless as it is, we are all examples of people whose spiritual condition was such that only God can help. An optometrist is not what this man needs. His need is beyond human help.
v. 22b; “They brought a blind man to him.”
Cannot we see the importance of not only ‘telling’ but ‘bringing’ (“they brought”) people to Jesus. There is only so much that we can personally do, but each of us can and must tell and bring! Perhaps one could make the point that the ‘telling’ is evangelism or spreading the Good News, while ‘bringing’ is discipleship which requires a personal investment.
v. 22c; “and begged Him to touch him.”
There must be passion in the Christian life!
These persons who brought the blind man to Jesus were passionate about the man’s condition and desperately wanted a better life for him. They ‘begged’ Jesus to “touch him.” These disciples of Christ were convinced of two things - they were convinced of the man’s sincere need for healing, and they were also thoroughly convinced that Jesus can heal him! Do you believe Jesus can save anybody? It is evident here that the people that brought the man to Jesus had a heart for the man’s life that was burdened by his condition, and they wanted him to also be able to see! Are we burdened for those who do not know Jesus? Those who are spiritually lost? Burdened because those who are spiritually blind cannot see Him? Here is another proof point about regeneration: to be spiritually blind means you cannot see or comprehend the grace of Jesus without Jesus first touching us! So, Jesus first starts the regeneration process by touching us, then and only then can we see. Without Jesus’ touch, we cannot ever see Him or be saved.
v. 23; “He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village.”
Review.
The people brought the (blind) man to Jesus and Jesus took him by the hand. They could not have put the man in better hands. The Lord knows the way; He knows where we need to be, and Jesus knows how to get us there. This experience is between you and Jesus. Walk with Him! Take the Savior’s outstretched hand! Trust Him and follow Him! We are a group of people that have something in common; we all should be leading people to the Lord Jesus as the solution to the world’s problems, not to a strict theology, not to political ideologies, but to Jesus, the author/beginner, and the finisher of our faith. In our story the followers of Jesus made the correct decision, they brought the man to Jesus. We will not spend more time talking about Jesus if we spend too little time talking to Jesus!
I mentioned to you last week that historically there were a lot of blind people in addition to this man. Spiritually speaking, the Jews were blind because they did not recognize or accept Jesus as Messiah. John 11.57 tells us the Chief Priests were also blind to the person and work of the Messiah. Those who worshipped in the synagogues and were vehemently opposed to Jesus and openly rejected Him as Savior (Luke). The entire generation of people who lived during the time of Christ’s earthly ministry was blind. Luke 17.25 says, “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.” And the world (that) was made through Him, yet the world did not know him” or was blind to him (John 1.10). Jesus’ own people rejected him due to their blindness: “He came to his own and his own people did not receive him” (John 1.11). And blindness continues to this day because Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3.3).
Preaching Point.
The Romans were blind. Herod Antipas, the Roman Ruler during Jesus’ ministry who killed John the Baptist, he was blind. He too could not see who Jesus was and rejected him (Luke 13). Caiaphas the high priest was blind and became a bitter enemy of Jesus. Pilate, the Roman Governor was blind. The Sanhedrin, the Jewish judicial high counsel was obviously blind in their determinations about Christ at the time of our Lord’s arrest and eventual crucifixion. One of the two thieves who hung on a cross next to the Lord Jesus and in his last hour on earth sadly was also blind and did not see Jesus for who He was - the Savior. So, it is possible to be near Jesus, close enough to witness Christ at work in the lives of other people and still be blind to the reality of Christ, that is to not be aware of Him or recognize Christ’s work! Each and every one of us was also blind to the person and work of God’s only Son, the Word made flesh and dwelling among us! Jesus, “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1.15), and the only begotten of the Father according to John 3.16, NASB, 1995, which is translated, ‘the Father’s offspring.’ The things of God had no appeal to us and bore no interest in the sacred scripture or more generally, things spiritual. Church attendance nor the worship of holy God in any meaningful way was of no importance to us. We rarely prayed and were unthankful and most of us did not give a moment of His time to the Lord’s work. Yes, we were all dead, blind, out of touch and completely estranged from the living God too! We were born estranged from God, were not only blind, but it was more critical than that; we were ‘dead’ in our sinful misdeeds, but somehow someone “some people” like the blind man, brought us to Jesus! We should not forget all the people in our lives who made an investment in our spiritual awakening, the village who gathered around us and together brought us to Jesus. Thank God for mothers and fathers who took us and showed us the richness of the Christian life through Christ’s Church. Thank God for grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts and uncles, church women who were kind and motherly to us, deacons who prayed, Sunday School teachers who put up with us and taught us, and youth leaders who were patient with energetic young people, sacrificing time with their own families to help take us to Jesus! And they took us to the right place! Thank God for Charles and Elaine Scott and the Brentnell Church in Columbus, Ohio and my Sunday School teacher Mrs. Smith, Bethesda Church in Urbana, Ohio, for Rev. Frazier and Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Ohio and Elder Ned Banks, Mrs. Hogan, and Mrs. Edna and the tiny Apostolic Church in Mount Vernon, Ohio who together, hand-in-hand and shoulder-to-shoulder took me to Jesus! I am forever humbled, grateful and will never forget the part each of them played in helping take me Jesus, because they knew Jesus was the only one who could help me in my condition! Thank God for the journey filled with twists and turns and curves dips and hills, but with God’s help they got me to where Jesus was and He did the rest! Who helped take you to Jesus? And who will you take to Jesus?
V. 23b; “And led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, do you see anything?”
Preaching Point
First, to be led by Christ is never a dreadful thing but is a good thing. What results we would all experience if everyone had the testimony that Christ was leading us. Jesus is leading the man away from the village of passive onlookers, skeptics and perhaps some sympathetic supporters to a place where Jesus can talk with the man and eventually touch him for healing purposes. Get alone with Jesus. Do not be afraid to leave your village, your comfort zone. God has something in mind here. Take His outstretched hand; walk with Him; Trust Him! Follow Him! There Jesus would be able to minister to the man one-on-one without distraction and to not turn this man’s healing into a “circus.” The integrity of Christ in this instance is quite the opposite of what we often see in some religious services today, particularly some featured on television and social media where a so-called healing service was turned into a sideshow. There are only two alternatives: either we walk with Jesus, or we walk blindly alone! Would he rather stay blind in Bethsaida or go with Jesus, and see? The man has chosen to walk with Jesus although he does not know where he is going. All he knows at this point is, he is walking with Jesus! And that is all he needs to know! Jesus will tell him every and anything else he needs to know as they walk. Do not be guilty of wanting to see too much too soon! Christianity is a marathon and not a sprint.
This I know; it appears like they did not walk too far! The Lord Jesus will not delay His work in your life! He will attend to our needs. In fact, He is waiting for you!
v. 23b; “And when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him.”
Preaching Point.
The two of them are now in a place where Jesus was apparently alone with the man. Sometimes the Lord must move us to help us. He moves us away from the distractions in our lives. Often things we do not even realize are distractions, so the Lord can do the work that is helpful to us. Jesus took saliva and put it on the eyes of the blind man and laid his hands on him. Anything Jesus wants to give you, take it; do not resist the Lord no matter how useless it may appear because the Lord has a purpose for everything He does. He put saliva on the man’s eyes means Jesus touched him and laid His hands on him which indicates a separate and purposeful touch for the purpose of healing the man. That touch by Jesus was a different touch. Applying saliva to the man’s eyes alone did not heal the man’s blindness. By the way, the practice of ‘laying on of hands was a practice not only in Jesus’ era but was an Old Testament practice by the Priests when they prayed over a sacrifice given by a person for the purpose of cleansing or forgiving them of their sin in the Old Testament books of Leviticus, chapter 1 and Numbers 27. It was also a practice exercised in the New Testament Church according to 1 Timothy 5 and 2 Timothy chapter 1. The ‘laying on of hands’ was for the purpose of healing the man’s blindness and it is a way of saying, ‘it is not me but God working through me.’ Note, the Lord Jesus never has laid his holy hand upon anyone, and they are still the same. No one has received that holy touch, been given access to the divine virtue of Christ Jesus the Lord and has left Christ’s presence the same as when they entered His presence. This is how we know we are Christians because we have been touched and changed through the touch of the Master’s hand! It is no longer me or you, but it is the Christ that is at work in us. Hear the words of Jesus in John 4.34, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work.” And if you have not been touched by the Savior, you can ask him to touch you right now and that blessed Son of God will not turn you away: “whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6.37).
v. 23c; “he asked him, do you see anything?” The man to whom Jesus is ministering to now has an opportunity to testify to what he is experiencing. This act of testifying is not for the Lord’s benefit, but it is for the benefit of the man receiving his healing as well for the benefit of those might have been with him or now seeing him after his healing, that they will see and know and hopefully experience this same power of God who is at work in this man’s life for themselves! “Do you see anything?”
v. 24; Yes, “And he looked up and said, I see people, but they look like trees walking.”
“And he looked up” - When the Lord Jesus is at work in your life, you can most assuredly look up!
‘Do you see anything, Adrian?’ Yes, for awhile, however, I saw men as trees walking also. I did not see things, holy things that is, very clearly. I saw Christ and Christianity as a legal system where I thought I took the initiative and came to Jesus on my own because I had a ‘come to myself’ experience like the Prodigal Son. But in that Luke 15 story of the two sons, the emphasis is not on the love of the Son, but it is the love of the Father that drew the drifting Son back home! Here is what that text says and what it does not say. It does say the Prodigal (which means,‘to be wastefully extravagant’) the Prodigal “came to himself” but it does not say he “came by himself.” It was God who put in his brain thoughts of the love of his father that eventually brought him to his senses. By his own will, he was estranged from the father, but by the power of the father’s love, he was brought back to a restorative relationship with his father. ‘Do you see anything, Adrian?’ Yes, I saw and thought that once I was saved, I must keep myself saved. Somehow, I must keep myself free from any sin, no matter how big or small it is, because if the Lord were to return before I had a chance to repent of that sin I would be no longer be ‘found’ but ‘lost’ eternally. I did not apply this text to myself - “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10.28). Did I see anything, Yes, I did. But what I saw was blurry. I saw the sovereignty of God, but it was not clear. I thought I controlled my own spiritual destiny. I saw the power of God to forgive, but it also was fuzzy. I thought God forgave but still punished me for my sin. It wasn’t completely paid for on the cross. I had to make an investment in my own forgiveness. I saw the grace of God but did not see grace as ‘free’ but I thought it was earned. Yes, I saw salvation but it was blurry because I did not see it as an perfect ‘gift of God’ but I saw salvation as a team effort, where I did my part and God did part. Salvation was not clear to me either. Now, like this man, I was walking with Christ, confessing Him, and that was certainly a significant improvement since I could see some things, but my perspective on what I was seeing was wrong. Thank God the blind man was honest in admitting he was not seeing things as clearly as he needed or wanted to see them. He still could not pass the eye examination part of the Driver License exam! I say to you this morning, do not settle for some of what God has for you, but wait and pursue Christ’s full blessing! His full revelation or the complete resolution to your condition of blindness and what God has in mind for you!! “Wait on the Lord.” Thank God, that even in this there is space for gratitude! The man who once could see nothing but total and complete darkness, can now see something! Enough light has come into his vision that he can partially see!
This two-stage healing was intentional by the Lord. Here we also see, as I understand Holy Scripture, an example of progressive revelation. Christ’s disciples also experienced this, and it was to a great degree the miracles Jesus performed by the power of God that they too learned more and could see better. Often, we cannot and do not understand the mysterious ways of God. We do not get all of what God has for us at the same time! It would have been a mistake if the blind man in his blurry state decided to walk away, leaving either satisfied with some clarity and somethings still blurry, or leave Jesus altogether having decided this ‘Christian’ thing is not for me! I have known of people who out of frustration have walked away from the visible church when they did not see as clearly as they thought they should. But if they had only waited. Sadly, the agenda of some churches is not the agenda of Christ and from those churches people get confused. Don’t leave, but wait and be patient and let the Lord complete His work in you! ‘Progressive revelation’ requires ‘progressive faith.’ We will grow spiritually no further than our personal faith will take us. If you are a shallow Christian spiritually speaking, you will not have a deep understanding of the faith because you are not a person of the Word. The depth of your dive into the Word of God will dictate the depth of your walk with Christ.
Preaching Point. Now we know God is at work because prior to this meeting with Jesus, the blind man saw nothing. But now by his own admission, he sees something. Apparently, for the first time the once blind man sees people. In its simplest form our text is telling us, Jesus gives sight to the spiritually blind. This is a start, and God is not finished with him yet! What things are still fuzzy to you?
But remember, partial sight is also partial blindness!
1). The nation Israel, for example, who can see religion and Temple worship, but he cannot plainly see the Redeemer. They see the Law, or at least the spirit of the Law, but as a nation cannot grasp the doctrines of grace. Who else might this blindness apply to?
2). Perhaps this blindness applies to the people of Jesus' day - those of his own hometown of Nazareth, for example (Luke 4 and,
3). even the disciples of Christ who do not have the complete revelation of who Jesus was or at least lacked a clear picture of the mission of Christ on earth, clearly seen in Peter's rebuke of Jesus the Christ in (v.32). It is proven because in the following verses (v. 27-30) Jesus asks His disciples "who do men say that I am?" And “whom do you say that I am”?
Prophetically speaking, is this passage hinting to or pointing to the present state of Israel who is blind to the truth of the Gospel? Blind that Christ was among them, but they did not see him. Blind that they do not know that the Messiah they say they are looking for was already among them? This bears some thought because Israel’s eyes, that is, National Israel, like this blind man’s eyes, will one day become opened and they will see Romans 11.25: “that a partial blindness or hardening has happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in” (NET Bible). Also, like this blind man, Israel will clearly see the One whom they pierced.
Now, let me say this partial healing provided some hope of the possibility of complete sight. Seeing something is progress and is certainly better than seeing nothing! The man knew what he was seeing was not right, however! His perspective was off. The fact that he knew men should not look like trees was a revelation within itself! How would he know since he had never seen a tree or a man? God will not let you nor me become satisfied spiritually until we receive all that God intends to give us.
There is the natural historical phenomenon of Jesus literally and physically healing a man who is blind, and for that we can attest to Christ as very God for certain. But there is also a spiritual application to this miracle, as well. The progressive nature of this healing should remind all of us that this is indeed the way the Lord Jesus has spiritually healed our blindness also. Regarding our personal salvation, ‘everyone one of us were given our spiritual sight like this man progressively,’ (R. C. Sproul) or in stages. We saw then and now see incrementally, spiritually speaking, ever leaning about Christ through His word and progressively seeing more clearly as the Holy Spirit gives us light. One does not learn everything about God, the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit all at once. If you are a Christian however, you are not where you were in terms of your spiritual growth, five, ten years ago, and for that you should be grateful.
v. 25; “Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.”
Preaching Point. We can take from this text that the Lord wants us to see clearly, that is, to experience the full revelation of His person and work. This is God at work in us. What things were we blind to?
1) We were blind to the patience of God.
2) blind to the love of God that caused God the Father to spare no holy expense but sent the fulness of God in Christ to die for the sins of the world. We were blind to the vast love of God that with the currency of grace bought sinners forgiveness through the blood of God’s Son.
3) we were blind to the goodness of God that desires the best for God’s image-bearers.
4) I was blind to my own sin, my own spiritual blindness, and the deep grief that sin had brought upon our Creator as all humanity willfully walked away from God’s goodness and instead ran into the arms of sinful rebellion.
5) my blindness had left me helpless to see the distance my sin had put between me and the Savior. When the brightness of God’s glory shown in my heart; when the reality of God’s perfect holiness, God’s pure character, uncompromised by sin; when the radiance of the Son of God, God’s nearness, God’s personal nature; when God touched me, when God touched my spiritual eyes, my eyes were opened, and I see as I had never seen before. And I have seen ever since that day! The once blind man nor I have lost our spiritual sight!
The Proposition.
Now here are three things I see differently, and more clearly now that my eyes have been opened by the power of God’s Spirit:
I see myself as I appear before God, hopelessly blind and in need of God’s forgiveness; blind to my arrogance and my personal ignorance in thinking that God had to bend to my demands before I would serve Him.
Since God has opened my eyes, I now see others differently. We do not see color differences, nationalities, or ethnicity primarily when we see others, but rather see them equally made in the image of God, and equally needing God’s forgiveness, and as another sinner needing to be redeemed by the blood of the cross of Christ.
I now see others as no more guilty and no less guilty than I of offending the very God of heaven and earth. I now see that “in Him” there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave, or free person division; no male-female separation, but I see as believers we are all one in Christ Jesus! Finally, I see God through the Son of God, the Lord Jesus standing before me, more beautiful than I ever imagined. I now see the Lord more kind, more just and more holy than I ever could have imagined when I was blind. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty! The reality of the depth of God’s love that would reach out to me, the generosity of Christ’s forgiveness, the freeness of God’s grace, and the abundance of God’s mercy is all clearer to me than ever before. I was blind, but now I see!
God does not do anything half-way; nor does God start something God cannot finish. God desires us to see things as they really are. Discernment is not in abundance within the body of Christ, unfortunately. You nor I have “arrived.” God is still working in and on each one of us, healing us through good and bad experiences, through our growing knowledge of God’s Word and fervent prayer; and by healing our spiritual sight and expanding and perfecting our spiritual perspective and by making the will of God clear to us.
Conclusion.
The takeaway from this text: A person can 'see' when they encounter Jesus. A spiritually blind person can receive their sight, but it will only be because of the work of Jesus who alone can open our eyes!
Now that you see, what is next for you in the body of Christ? It is exciting to think of what God has for each of us next!