Apr25 Written by:Nathan Williams
Friday, April 25, 2008
Have you ever wondered at the time Jesus healed the blind man in two stages?
Mark 8:22-25
22 And they *came to Bethsaida. And they *brought a blind man to Jesus and *implored Him to touch him.
23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, "Do you see anything?"
24 And he looked up and said, "I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around."
25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.
I have often wondered about this. Where else did it take Jesus TWO TRIES to fix someone? I know of no other place. Questions might arise, such as, "Was Jesus not powerful enough to heal this man with one step?" If we think about it, obviously this cannot be the case. Jesus knew exactly what He was doing when He healed this man. He knew this man would only partially see after the first step of the healing process. So the question remains: WHY did Jesus do it this way?
I think the answer comes from a look at the previous context.
Mark 8:14-21
14 And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them.
15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."
16 They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread.
17 And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them, "Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?
18 "HAVING EYES, DO YOU NOT SEE? AND HAVING EARS, DO YOU NOT HEAR? And do you not remember,
19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?" They *said to Him, "Twelve."
20 "When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?" And they *said to Him, "Seven."
21 And He was saying to them, "Do you not yet understand?"
Jesus had just had a conversation with His disciples about a spiritual matter - and yet they could not grasp the spiritual meaning. Jesus was talking metaphorically, and they were thinking physically. This is a problem even today as people butt heads with the word of Christ - we're not always on the same wavelength!
I believe Jesus performs this miracle in such a way as to demonstrate His disciple's lack of understanding. They have eyes, but they're not seeing clearly yet. However, the fact that Jesus completely heals this man should give His disciples (including you and me) great encouragement. The message to us is clear - Jesus can make us see clearly! Just because we're not all the way there doesn't mean we can't get there. Things may look fuzzy, but stay with the Lord. He has the power to make us see.
God bless,
Nathan
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