What Do You See?

What Do You See?

Mark 8:22-26

Jazz pianist George Shearing was blind from birth and composed more than three hundred pieces. Shearing toured continually throughout his career. He could often be found in busy downtown areas, navigating crowded sidewalks with his dark glasses and white cane.

On one occasion, he was at a busy intersection at rush hour, waiting for help in crossing the street. Finally, someone tapped him on the shoulder. What Shearing heard next was not an offer for help but a request.

“Excuse me, sir,” a stranger said to Shearing, “would you mind helping a blind man cross the street?”

Shearing was about to tell the other man that he was blind as well. Then he thought, “Why not give it a go?”

So, Shearing said, “Certainly, my friend. Here, take my arm.”

The two men set off across the street together, the blind leading the blind.

Shearing heard many unnerving sounds as they crossed the street—tires squealing, horns blaring, the angry voices of cab drivers—but they made it safely to the other side. Later Shearing recalled the incident and said, “I’ll never do it again, but I’m glad I did it once. It was the biggest thrill of my life!”

Our text today introduces to us another blind man. He’s about to experience a thrill far greater than crossing a busy intersection with blinded eyes. He’s about to experience one of the strangest miracles in the New Testament.

Jesus and His disciples return to Bethsaida. The last time they were here, Jesus had healed a lot of their sick. Now that He’s returned, a group of people bring a blind man begging Him to perform another miracle.

Their request is for Jesus to “touch” their friend.

These people were Gentiles and they had come to believe that Christ’s power to heal was in His touch. They didn’t understand He was able to heal with a word, or with a thought, if He wanted.

As we watch Him bring sight to this blind man, there is more going on here than meets the eye. Like all of Christ’s other miracles, this one seems to be for the sake of the disciples as much as it is for this blind fellow. You see, all of the miracles are really parables in action.

Jesus has been trying to teach His disciples that He’s the Messiah; that He’s God in the flesh. They failed to get the message! In spite of seeing Him do the amazing and impossible again and again, they just don’t get it.

This miracle reveals the way God opens the eyes of the spiritually blind. This miracle teaches how God is able to take someone who cannot understand spiritual truth and how He works patiently with them, step by step bringing them to a place of understanding.

As this process unfolds, Jesus, at one point, asks this man what he sees.

As we work through these verses, I want to ask you the same question.

What do you see?

Is your spiritual sight as sharp as it should be? Do you have Him in clear focus in your heart and life today? Do you know Who He is and understand what He’s doing in your life?

What do you see?

Let’s look at the steps in the healing of this man’s blindness. And as we do, I think we can find a word of hope, help and blessing for today.

So, let’s pray and we’ll read our text.

Pray!

Mark 8:22–26 ESV

And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand 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?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

The first thing we see is the preparation for his healing.

Preparation

The first thing Jesus does is to take this blind man by the hand and lead him out of town away from the crowds just as He did with the deaf and mute man in Mark 7.

Jesus touches him as requested, but nothing happens! Or does it?

Nothing visible took place as far as the crowd is concerned.

Jesus goes up to this man, takes him by the hand and begins to lead him away.

I picture Jesus leading him around the obstacles that were in his path. I can hear Him patiently and kindly leading this poor blind man along one step at a time, all the while holding his hand.

We’re a people who were until recently accustomed to touching each other, shaking hands or hugging. It’s just how we greet each other, saying it’s good to see you or meet you. It’s just a little physical connection with others.

But, holding someone’s hand for a long time can be an intimate experience. Remember how thrilling it was to hold your girlfriend or boyfriend’s hand when you were dating? Think about how special it is just to hold the hand of your spouse as you walk around. There’s something intimate about that gesture that says much more than a simple “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.”

Holding someone’s hand says, “I care!”

We see a clear picture of how He leads lost, blind sinners and brings them to the place of salvation. We don’t recognize His touch until our blinded eyes are opened, but throughout our lives, Jesus was working and leading us to bring us to the place of saving faith.

Every event, every circumstance, every tragedy and every blessing is simply Him taking your hand in His.

We see the preparation for his healing and next we see the process of his healing.

Process

One of the things that makes this miracle so unique is that it’s the only time in the Gospels where Jesus healed someone in stages. Usually, Jesus either touched them or spoke to them and they were healed. Here, Jesus uses a two-step process to open this man’s blind eyes.

This reminds us that you can’t put God in a box.

God works with individuals and each one is important to Him. Jesus raised three people from the dead over the course of His earthly ministry. Each one was different. He touched the daughter of Jairus. He touched the stretcher on which was carrying the body of the widow’s son. He spoke to Lazarus.

His healing miracles were also different.

He healed one leper by touching him. He healed a group of ten lepers by speaking to them. Sometimes Jesus would go where the sick were, other times they would bring the sick to Him. Sometimes Jesus went and touched the sick, other times Jesus would heal from a distance.

You just can’t push God in a box and say, “That’s how He does it every time.”

Some people have problems here. They hear someone’s testimony about how they were saved out of deep sin. They go into great detail about how God worked in their life through extraordinary events to bring them to Jesus for salvation. Maybe the person listening got saved in Vacation Bible School when they were a small child.

Sometimes that person might think, “Well, I didn’t have an experience like that other person, so I must not be saved.”

Folks, it’s not experiences that save souls, it is “grace through faith.”

If you had one of those earthshaking, amazing, awe-inspiring conversions, praise the Lord! If you didn’t, praise the Lord! Just so you have it settled in your heart that your faith is in Jesus and Him alone. It’s not about the experience, it is about genuine, saving faith.

Jesus tailors His work to the individual! How He worked in my life is not how He’ll work in your life.

Let’s watch how Jesus works in this blind man’s life to give him back his sight.

The first thing Jesus does is spit in the man’s eyes. I imagine this man’s eyes to be diseased, matted shut, crusted over. Jesus just turns to him and spits in his eyes! To us that sounds disgusting. If someone were to spit in your eyes, you’d be ready to fight.

In ancient times, people thought differently than we do. They believed there was healing power in human saliva. We still believe that to a certain degree today. If you get a cut on your finger, what is the first thing most people do? That’s right; they stick it right in their mouth.

So, Jesus spits in his eyes and touches the man. Jesus was saying to the man, by His actions, “I’m about to do something for these eyes of yours.”

I imagine that someone spitting in your eye would be a little disturbing but the spitting is immediately followed by His touch. This man can’t see, but he can feel. He was working in a way that makes no sense to us, but it was understood by the blind man.

Then, Jesus asks him if he can see anything. When the man opens his eyes and looks around, he says, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.”

And we can infer some things because of his statement.

· First, it tells us that the man hadn’t always been blind. He was able to identify the people around him as people.

· Second, it teaches us that he healing was far from complete. He could discern light and shapes, but he couldn’t see clearly.

· Third, this partial healing does not suggest, as some imply, that the healing powers of Jesus were failing. They actually say that the opposition to His ministry is so great, and the power of the devil so strong, that Jesus is having a hard time healing this man. But Jesus is using this man’s healing as a living parable! Jesus could’ve healed him with a thought, but He chose to do it this way to teach His disciples and us a valuable lesson.

Then, Jesus touches him again, and this time, everything becomes crystal clear. His healing is complete. His eyesight is restored.

Let’s not miss what He’s trying to teach us here.

This blind man is a living illustration of the spiritual condition of the disciples. Ever since they’d been following Him, in a sense, He’d been “spitting in their eyes.” He’d been using one shocking, amazing, miraculous event after the other to teach them that He was the Messiah, the very Son of God.

They’d seen Him heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, walk on water, and multiply bread and fish, along with many other powerful proofs of His identity and deity. But these guys still didn’t get it!

He’d spit in their eyes and touched them but they never would fully comprehend just Who Jesus was until after He died and rose from the dead. Jesus led His disciples from a place of total blindness to a place where they could see Him clearly.

In this passage, they’re just like the man was in verse 24. He wants to lead them and grow them until they become like the man in verse 26.

That’s His goal for every one of us!

When He starts to work with us, we’re totally blind in our sinful condition. Jesus comes along and “spits in our eyes.” He brings conviction and totally shakes up our world.

He uses conviction to open our eyes and point us to Jesus.

When we come to Jesus and are saved, we’re like the man in this miracle. We see sometimes, but we don’t see them clearly.

As we spend time with Him in His Word and in prayer, He develops our spiritual sight. He causes us to “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18) His goal is to take us like He finds us and make us more like Jesus.

We’re still just like the disciples, aren’t we? He’s proven His power to us in more ways than we can name, and sometimes we still don’t get it. We’ve seen Him do the impossible, the incredible and the surprising time after time and we still doubt. He’s “spit in our eyes” more than once.

Are you growing in the things of God? Are you allowing Him to lead you along, one step at a time? Are you making progress?

When you’re first saved, you’re a baby. That’s why salvation is called the new birth. But we’re not supposed to stay babies. We’re challenged to grow.

He wants us to make progress! None of us have arrived, but we should all be gaining ground. When we aren’t, something is terribly wrong.

There may be someone here today who has never really trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. You’re waiting until you can figure this Christianity thing out. Listen, you shouldn’t wait to come to Jesus until you have all the answers. It’s very likely that you will never have all the answers.

If He’s dealing with your heart; if you feel that He has taken you by the hand and is leading to you Him; you should surrender to His will and come today.

It may be that He’s been “spitting in your eyes” lately. If He’s been disturbing your sleep, He’s simply trying to call you to Him. Come to Him today. Let Him take you where you are and lead you to where He wants you to be. You don’t have to know everything to be saved; you just have to know Him!

We see the preparation for his healing, the process of his healing and finally the postscript of His healing.

Postscript

Jesus heals the blind man.

He also teaches His disciples a lesson that they probably never really grasped until much later. This is a powerful miracle with a powerful message. Unfortunately, this miracle ends on a very sad note.

Jesus tells the man not to return to Bethsaida and not to tell anyone about the miracle.

Now, this isn’t the first time Jesus told someone not to tell others about a miracle. When He did this, it was usually to prevent great crowds from gathering, or to prevent the people from getting caught up in a frenzy over miracles. This time, I think His reasons are different.

Bethsaida is near the place where Jesus fed the five thousand. They were given clear evidence that Jesus was the Messiah, but they refused to believe in Him. As a result, Jesus pronounced a curse on the city of Bethsaida.

Matthew 11:21–22 ESV

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

The town of Bethsaida had been rejected because of their unbelief. They rejected the great light they had been given, and they would receive no more light because of it. That’s why Jesus took the man out of town to heal him. That’s why Jesus told the man not to return to the town. The town was off limits, but Jesus was still willing to deal with individuals.

The community had been judged, but individuals could still be saved.

This is a picture of our nation. As a whole, I’d say that God has rejected America. As a nation we’ve turned away from Him. We’ve rejected Him as our God and we have turned a deaf ear to the call of the Gospel. America has been abandoned by God.

We’ve instead decided that our faith and trust should be place in flawed men. We’ve decided only men can make the necessary change in this country. We’ve decided that for some reason that our passion should be politics instead of the gospel. We’ve decided that politicians can save us instead of our Savior.

People will always fail us but God never will.

But please understand, God will still save, bless and use individuals. If you hear His voice, you can be saved from your sins. You can become a child of God. You can miss Hell and go to Heaven. That’s His promise. If you’ll come to Him and ask Him, He will save you. He won’t turn you away.

But understand that He won’t call forever.

The time to come is while He is calling you to come to Him. The time to come is right now. If you refuse, there will come a day when He will call no more. He’ll abandon you to your choice and allow you to go off into Hell. Don’t let that happen in your life! Don’t let your story end like Bethsaida! Come to Jesus and be saved while there is time, come while He is near and calling you to Him.

So, what do you see?

Have your eyes been opened? Have you seen yourself as a lost sinner headed to Hell and Jesus as your only hope of salvation? Have you seen the truth that Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sins of His people and that He rose from the dead to provide salvation to all who would believe in Him?

Have you seen the truth that you need a Savior today? Has He revealed your condition to you? Is He calling you to come to Him? If He is, please don’t delay. Come to Jesus while He calls.

Have you seen where you are in your spiritual growth? Are you growing and learning more about Him as you do? Are you maturing in Jesus and becoming less like your old self while you become more like Him?

Has He spoken to you today? If He has, come while He is calling.