Beware of Spiritual Blindness

PIC – Red Velvet cake…You need many parts (ingredients) to make the whole cake! You need - Vegetable oil, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, buttermilk, eggs, red food coloring, white distilled vinegar, vanilla extract, Cream Cheese Frosting, & Crushed pecans, for garnish. Put it together & you have heaven on a plate!!

Last week we talked about faith. We talked about having great faith. We talked about taking Jesus at His Word and stepping out of our comfort zones. We will continue our journey in Mark today.

Mark 8:1–26 NIV

During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.” His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?” “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied. He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

8. In this section of Mark’s gospel, we find several different parts that make one whole.

In this section of Mark’s gospel, we find several different parts that make one whole.

How many of you have every made a cake before?

Mark 8:1–26 NIV

During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.” His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?” “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied. He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

PIC – Red Velvet cake…You need many parts (ingredients) to make the whole cake! You need - Vegetable oil, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, buttermilk, eggs, red food coloring, white distilled vinegar, vanilla extract, Cream Cheese Frosting, & Crushed pecans, for garnish. Put it together & you have heaven on a plate!!

8. In this section of Mark’s gospel, we find several different parts that make one whole.

In this section of Mark’s gospel, we find several different parts that make one whole.

Jesus feeding of the 4,000 – vs. 1-10

The Pharisees question Jesus & ask for a sign from heaven – vs. 11-13

Jesus teaching of the yeast of the Pharisees & Herod – vs. 14-21

The healing of a blind man at Bethsaida – vs. 22-26

All of these parts are joined by one thread – Jesus is dealing with blindness. He deals with both the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees and the disciples as well as the physical blindness of a man from Bethsaida.

What is spiritual blindness? I could offer many definitions, but for our purposes it is simply “not being able to see who Jesus really is.” 2 groups of spiritually blind people in our text –

Acts 10:38 NIV

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

However, everywhere He went He dealt with the opposition of the Pharisees who refused to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

Matthew 15:14 NIV

Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

Jesus called them blind leaders.

ILL – Have you heard about the elderly woman on a busy street corner who was confused & hesitant to cross because of the heavy traffic? Finally a gentleman came up to her & asked if he could cross the street with her. Gratefully she took his arm, but grew progressively more alarmed as he zigzagged randomly across the street, to the blare of horns & screech of locked brakes. Finally on the opposite curb, she said angrily, “You almost got us killed! You walk like you're blind.” “I am,” he replied. “That's why I asked if I could cross with you.”

Unfortunately, these were the ones making the “spiritual” decisions for the nation of Israel – no wonder they missed it!

They came to him as the “spiritual” police squad & demanded that He perform some type of sign from heaven to prove Himself (they actually wanted to trap Him into being found a liar & false prophet – Duet. 13 & 18).

Jesus refused their demand because He knew that even this kind of miracle would not convince them. They had already decided not to believe!

Hearts can become so hard that even the most convincing facts & demonstrations will not change them (Ex - Pharaoh “hardened his heart”…).

Sometimes, we are so stubborn that we fail to see God’s plan for us. God could “write it in the sky, erase it & write it again, & yet we would still not believe!”

Hebrews 3:7–8 NIV

So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness,

1. Their blindness was going away – they could not see fully who Jesus is: yet!

The feeding of the 4,000 is a separate miracle from the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus references this in vs. 19 (read).

Mark 8:19 NIV

When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied.

There are similarities – both miracles included huge crowds with little food, both involved the use of bread & fish, both involved Jesus showing compassion on the crowd & miraculously providing for their needs, in both miracles the crowds were entirely satisfied & a large amount of food was left over.

There are differences – the number of people fed in this miracle is different, the amount of bread is different (5 vs. 7 loaves), the amount of left overs is different (12 small baskets vs. 7 large baskets), the first took place after a day of teaching, this one after 3 days of teaching, & in the first miracle Jesus was motivated by the spiritual needs of the crowd, while, in this miracle Jesus is motivated by the physical needs of the crowd.

However, the main difference I see is the response of the disciples to the need.

In , the disciples attitude is “it’s their problem, let them deal with it” (“send the people away…buy themselves” ). However, in this passage the disciples seem to be saying “we see the same problem you do…what can we do about it?”

The disciples were growing, in that they were beginning to understand, ever so slightly, that they needed to have compassion on people like Jesus did!

After His confrontation with the Pharisees Jesus warns the disciples to beware of the “leaven of the Pharisees & of Herod.” They totally missed the point!

Jesus was teaching them to beware of “leaven” (evil works that spread & infect) but the disciples thought, “Oh, we forgot the bread!!!”

While the disciples may not have gotten the whole picture of what Jesus was teaching, He continued to teach them because of their growth & His compassion.

God is not a task-master who expects perfection from us immediately.

Psalm 103:13–14 NIV

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

If we will make an effort to know & understand God – He will honor it.

f. If we will make an effort to know & understand God – He will honor it.

James 4:8 NASB95

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:8 NIV

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

g. (NASB) “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Jesus and the disciples went back across the sea to Bethsaida. & upon Jesus’ arrival, some people brought a blind man and they begged Jesus to touch him.

1. The Gospels record the healing of at least seven blind men, & they show that our Lord used a variety of approaches.

2. For some reason not given, the man was not ready for instant sight, so Jesus restored him gradually. The fact that the man recognized men and trees suggests that he had not been born blind but had been blinded by accident or disease.

3. The man was not from Bethsaida, for Jesus sent him home & cautioned him not to enter that town.

4. While we do not know much about this man, we do know that Jesus cared enough about Him to change His life forever!

1. This miracle is unique in two ways –

a. Just as with the healing of the deaf-mute man, this miracle is only recorded in the book of Mark.

b. It is the only instance in in Scripture where Jesus healed someone gradually. Why? Jesus was going to use this miracle to teach His disciples.

2. Two specific steps are recorded here. After Jesus 1st touch, the man looks up & says, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” His vision has been restored, but not completely.

3. Then, after a 2nd touch from Jesus, the vision of the man is completely restored. Now he “he saw everything clearly.”

4. It reminds me of the great Hymn “Amazing Grace” “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me....I once was lost but now am found, Twas blind, but now, I see.”

1. I think there is a reason why this miracle is placed where it is by Mark.

2. Remember this whole passage has to do with blindness. In fact, Jesus had just chided His disciples for their slowness of spiritual understanding. They were slow to perceive & slow to comprehend what Jesus was doing.

3. We must always remember that the miracles of Jesus always had a definite purpose, people were never healed just because. This is the case here as well.

4. Jesus was teaching a definite lesson to His spiritually near-sighted disciples.

5. I believe the message behind this miracle is this – Spiritual growth is a process – it takes time.

6. This is why there is so much encouragement in the N. T. to grow in our faith!

1 Peter 2:1–3 NIV

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

2 Peter 3:18 NIV

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

ILL – There was an old farmer who, in the prayer meetings of his church in describing his Christian experience, always said: "Well, I'm not making much progress, but I'm established." One spring when the farmer was setting out some logs, his wagon sank in the mud in a soft place in the road, and he could not get out. As he sat on top of the logs viewing the situation, a neighbor who had never accepted the principle of the old farmer's religious experience came along and greeted him: "Well, Brother Jones, I see you are not making much progress, but you're established."

1 Corinthians 10:12 NIV

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

1. How is your sight today? Is it spiritually dull? There may be areas in all of our lives that are spiritual “blind spots.”

2. We should pray as David did in

Psalm 119:18 NIV

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

Psalms 119

3. The Bible says in that “when we see the glory of the Lord… Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.”

Hebrews 12:2 NLT

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.

Beware of Spiritual Blindness

Intro:

How Jesus Handled Spiritual Blindness (vs 1-21)

A. The Blindness of the Pharisees – vs. 11-13

1. Their blindness was willful – they chose not to see who Jesus is.

2. Jesus rebuked them and refused them.

B. The Blindness of the disciples – vs. 1-10, 14-21

2. Jesus continued to teach them His truth.

How Jesus Healed Physical Blindness

A. The Blind Man – vs. 22

B. The Miracle – vs. 22-26

Beware of Spiritual Blindness –

Application- How to apply today’s text.

Conclusion. –