Do you See Anything?

Opening Prayer (Consecration & Petition)

“As we navigate through the Gospel of Mark, consider the transformative power of Jesus' touch. Just like the blind man who was brought to Him, we often wander through life in our own blindness. Our perceptions can be clouded by our struggles, fears, and the noise of the world. Jesus heals us in stages, opening our eyes bit by bit. This story reminds us that spiritual sight is a process, and with every touch from Jesus, our understanding deepens, and our faith grows stronger.”

Read Mark 8:22-26

Key Question: Do we see (understand) what Jesus is leading up to?

I. A familiar song and dance drives the point home. (v. 22)

Bethsaida is located in the NE near the mouth of the Jordan River. Around 2 BC, just a few years before Jesus’ birth, the town was designated a Polis by the Romans and renamed Bethsaida Julia to honor both the Roman Emperor and his daughter, Julia. It was also the political capital of Herod the Tetrarch.

Jesus once more meets a group of people who now bring a blind man to him for healing. Notice the emphasis here on the request for Jesus to simply touch the man, trusting the power they might have heard about and seen before.

This verse uses strong language that reflects the desperation of those who have no other hope. The word pleaded (Parakaleo, Gk.) conveys urgency, which we might correlate with the words “begged” and “urged.”

This is one of three instances when Jesus heals in private. First, it was Jairus’ daughter; second, it was the deaf and mute man; and now, it is the blind man near Bethsaida.

There appears to be a desperate awareness of the need and the supply among those who have heard of Jesus and his work.

2 Corinthians 5:7 LSB

7 for we walk by faith, not by sight—

II. Jesus does not stick to any preconceived notions we have about him. (v. 23-25)

Jesus uses touch to communicate the nearness of God, even in what some readers and his original audience may have perceived as unusual. The acts of spitting and touching or anointing were used as gestures to communicate the notion of healing, especially to a Gentile audience.

Mark introduces something that is important for the disciples and for today’s readers. Jesus asks a question to reveal the manner in which he will heal the man, and the way in which spiritual blindness is dispelled in some cases.

This text shows us the progression in which the Holy Spirit leads us, from death to a new birth in the power of God’s providence. The blind man shows how spiritual blindness is the normal condition for a broken community, and in God’s power, we see in part, and then we have a clear vision of what is and will be in the Kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 13:12 LSB

12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.

Here we see that God deals not only in the immediate and incandescent but also in the progressive and often elusive, subtle work of salvation and new life.

Do we understand what God is doing?

III. Jesus continues to give hope and holds to his judgment of disbelief. (v. 26)

Earlier in Jesus’ ministry, he declared that Bethsaida and Chorazin were cursed for their lack of belief in him. This ought to light a fire under us to grow in the Word of God so as to understand the mystery and wonder of Jesus Christ and his earthly ministry.

Luke 10:13-14; Matthew 11:21-22

Matthew 11:21–22 LSB

21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 “Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.

We must remember that Jesus’ time has not yet come for him to be revealed as the Messiah, though we are not too far from the key question, “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus is the Messiah, yet he continues to instruct people to keep quiet and to avoid entering their towns to reveal what he is doing.

A bottom line for the hearers and readers of the Gospels is that if we are to enter eternal life, and if we are to grow into the likeness of our Savior, then we are to plead with the Son as we read in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Psalm 119:18 LSB

18 Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law.

Proverbs 29:18 LSB

18 Where there is no vision, the people are out of control, But how blessed is he who keeps the law.

2 Corinthians 4:18 LSB

18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Ephesians 1:18 LSB

18 so that you—the eyes of your heart having been enlightened—will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

Walking with Jesus…

            A. We learn that we please him not by outwitting him, but by simple faith alone.

            B. We come to trust him to fulfill all our needs.

            C. We discern what is life-giving versus what kills our souls.

            D. We realize his infinite wisdom and wonder-working presence.

Closing Prayer (Adoration & Thanksgiving)