A businessman was late for an important meeting and couldn't find a parking space. As he frantically circled the block, the man got so desperate that he decided to pray.
Looking up toward heaven, he said, “Lord, take pity on me. If you find me a parking space, I'll go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life, and not only that, I'll give up drinking.”
Miraculously, a parking space appeared.
The guy looked up again and said, “Never mind. I found one.” (John Beukema, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; www.PreachingToday.com)
There are some people in this world who can’t see for looking. The evidence could be as clear as the nose on their face, but they cannot see it, because they simply refuse to see it.
It reminds me of an old Persian proverb which says: He who knows not, and knows NOT that he knows not, is a fool; shun him. He who knows not, and KNOWS that he knows not, is a child; teach him. He who knows, and knows NOT that he knows, is asleep; wake him. And he who knows, and KNOWS that he knows, is wise; follow him.
The question is: How can we get to the point where we become truly wise? How can we get to the point where know that we know that we know? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Mark 8, Mark 8, where Jesus is working to bring His disciples to that point.
Mark 8:11-13 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 miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. (NIV)
The Pharisees were those who knew not, but knew not that they knew not. Oh, they thought they knew. They thought they had all the answers, and they wanted to put Jesus to the test. But even if Jesus passed their test with flying colors, they wouldn’t believe it. Even if Jesus gave them sign after sign after sign to prove to them that He is Lord, they still wouldn’t be able to see Him for who He was, because they didn’t want to.
The fact is Jesus had already given them sign after sign after sign. In Mark 1, in one of their synagogues, He cast out a demon. In Mark 2, in their very presence, He healed a paralyzed man. In Mark 3, in another one of their synagogues, He healed a man with a withered hand. In Mark 5, He raised a little girl from the dead. In Mark 6, He fed 5,000 men plus their wives and children with just 5 rolls and two fish. In Mark 7, Jesus heads to Gentile territory and does a few more miracles, but now in Mark 8, when Jesus gets back to Israel, the Pharisees ask for a sign.
What do the Pharisees need a sign for? Jesus had performed many miracles in their presence so far, but they refuse to see it. It’s not that they can’t see it; they won’t see it. They simply refuse to recognize Jesus for who He is, because they don’t want to. It’s like they’re saying, “I know it all, so don’t confuse me with the facts.”
The Pharisees here are people who know not, but they know not that they know not, so they are fools. That’s why Jesus leaves them without giving them a sign. It wouldn’t have done them any good anyway. Proverbs 26:4 says, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.”
My friends, if you want to be truly wise don’t be like the Pharisees who refuse to see.
DON’T BE LIKE THOSE WHO WON’T SEE.
Don’t be like those who don’t want to be confused with the facts, because they think they know it all already.
H. G. Wells, who wrote The War of the Worlds, once wrote a short story called The Country of the Blind. It's about an inaccessible, luxurious valley in Ecuador where, due to a strange disease, everyone is blind. After 15 generations of this blindness there was no recollection of sight or color or the outside world at all. Finally a man from the outside – a man who could see –literally fell into their midst. He had fallen off a high cliff and survived, only to stumble into their forgotten country.
When he realized that everyone else was blind, he remembered the old adage: “In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” Wells writes:
He tried at first on several occasions to tell them of sight. “Look you here, you people,” he said. “There are things you do not understand in me.” Once or twice one or two of them attended to him; they sat with faces downcast and ears turned intelligently towards him, and he did his best to tell them what it was to see.
But they never believed him. They thought he was crazy. The man fell in love with a girl there and the girl's father, Yacob, went to talk to a doctor about him. A conversation ensued:
[The doctor said]: “I think I may say with reasonable certainty that, in order to cure him complete, all that we need to do is a simple and easy surgical operation—namely, to remove these irritant bodies [his eyes!].”
“And then he will be sane?” Yacob asked.
“Then he will be perfectly sane, and a quite admirable citizen,” replied the doctor.
“Thank Heaven for science!” said old Yacob.
Wells goes on to point out that the man would not be allowed to marry Yacob's daughter unless he submitted to an operation that would blind him. So what would the man do? Wells writes:
He had fully meant to go to a lonely place where the meadows were beautiful with white narcissus, and there remain until the hour of his sacrifice should come, but as he walked he lifted up his eyes and saw the morning, the morning like an angel in golden armour, marching down the steeps…
It seemed to him that before this splendour, he and this blind world in the valley, and his love and all, were no more than a pit of sin. And the man who could see escaped the country of the blind with his life. (www.online-literature.com/wellshg/3; www.PreadingToday.com, submitted by Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois)
That’s the kind of world we live in. It’s like the Country of the Blind, which is proud of its science and knowledge and even its own spirituality, but it is oblivious to the truth. And when they hear the truth, they think it’s crazy.
My friends, don’t let the world suck you into its ignorance. At the very least, admit your inability to see, so Christ can open your eyes. If you want to be truly wise, don’t be like those who won’t see. And 2nd, if you want to be truly wise…
DON’T BE LIKE THOSE WHO CAN’T SEE.
Don’t be like those who have no sense. Don’t be like those who have no understanding of who Jesus is. That’s where the disciples are at this point. They haven’t figured it out yet, but Jesus is going to help them as they get into a boat to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
Mark 8:14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. (NIV)
That’s one bread roll to divide between the 13 of them.
Mark 8:15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” (NIV)
As their boat leaves the shore at this point on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples can look back and see Herod’s opulent palace rising into the sky behind the Pharisees who are standing before it on the shore. The disciples are hungry, with just one bread roll to share between the 13 of them, and perhaps some of them are looking back at the wealth and power of Herod and the Pharisees and are they are longing to be rich and powerful, as well.
It’s a teachable moment for the disciples, and Jesus takes advantage of it. As they’re looking at Herod’s palace and the Pharisees standing before it, He warns them to “watch out” for their kind of yeast. In other words, like yeast which permeates a whole lump of dough, a longing for the outward trappings of success and power can only end up corrupting us all on the inside.
Luke 12:1 tells us that the yeast of the Pharisees is hypocrisy. It’s play acting. It’s putting on a show, pursuing the outward trappings of self-righteousness and self-glory, and Jesus warns us that such a pursuit is morally and spiritually destructive. It’s a powerful lesson, but the disciples are not thinking about spiritual lessons; they’re thinking about their stomachs.
Mark 8:16-17 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? (NIV)
Lit., do you have a calloused heart? Today, we might say, “Do you have such a hard head?” Or “Can I knock any sense into you?”
Mark 8:18-21 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?” (NIV)
These guys are dense. They can’t see it yet. Jesus is Lord! It doesn’t matter that they only have one roll for 13 people. Jesus can take what they have and use it to meet all their needs, as well as the needs of many. They don’t need the wealth and the power of the Pharisees and Herod. They have everything they need in Jesus, but they can’t see it yet. They know not, but THEY KNOW that they know not. That’s why they’re following Jesus, and that’s why there’s hope for them, for they can be taught.
Unlike the Pharisees who WON’T see, the disciples CAN’T see; and sometimes we’re like that too. Sometimes we can’t see, or we forget, what we have in Jesus. He provides for us time and time again; and yet, with each new challenge, we worry about having enough resources.
As Stan Caffy and his fiancé prepared to get married, they cleaned out their respective garages and sold everything to Goodwill. Between the two of them, they sold an assortment of clothes, bicycles, tools, computer parts, and a tattered copy of the Declaration of Independence that had been hanging in Stan's garage for 10 years.
Well, Stan's trash turned out to be another man's treasure.
That particular version of the Declaration of Independence was a rare copy made in 1823. A man named Michael Sparks spotted it, purchased the document for $2.48, and then later auctioned it off for $477,650. Not a bad profit.
Later, Caffy, the previous owner, commented, “I'm happy for the Sparks guy. If I still had it, it would still be hanging here in the garage, and I still wouldn't know it was worth all that.” (Associated Press, Sold! One Declaration of Independence Copy, MSNBC.com, 3-23-07; www.PreachingToday.com)
That describes some Christians. They like to have Jesus hanging around, but they don’t know what He’s worth. They don’t realize what they have in Jesus Christ.
My dear friends, let’s not forget the supreme treasure we have that is Christ. If we want to be truly wise, don’t be like those who won’t see; and don’t be like those who can’t see. Instead, ask Jesus to help you…
SEE!
Ask Jesus to open your eyes. Ask Jesus to give you sight like he does for the blind man here.
Mark 8:22-24 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.” (NIV)
He has some sight, but it’s very blurry. He can’t distinguish between men and trees yet, except that some of them are walking around.
Mark 8:25-26 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 go into the village.” (NIV)
Now, this is the only 2-stage miracle in all of the Gospels. The man is not completely healed at first. It takes a couple of touches from Jesus, but eventually he does come to see everything clearly.
It’s a picture of what Jesus’ disciples are going through in Mark. In terms of their understanding of Christ, their insight is growing. It may take a few encounters with Christ, but eventually they do see clearly.
And so can we if we, like His disciples, continue to depend on Him. We too can come to know Christ intimately if we continue to trust and follow Him even when times are hard.
Remember, the Gospel of Mark was written to Christians suffering under Nero’s persecution in Rome. They were experiencing the most horrendous of trials – beatings, burnings, and bloody massacres, and Mark makes it very clear in the first part of His Gospel: Jesus is Lord even in the hard times. Jesus has all authority. Jesus is in control, and we can trust Him to see us through. It may be hard to see now, but eventually we will see if we stay close to Him.
Fanny Crosby was only six weeks old when she developed a minor eye inflammation. It was a simple thing to treat even in 1820, the year she was born. All the doctor had to do was apply some poultices to her eyes with a little medication. Only the doctor that treated Fanny Crosby was careless. He put too much medication in the poultices, and she went totally and permanently blind.
Later in life, she said of the doctor, “If I could meet him now, I would say ‘thank you’ over and over again for making me blind.” That’s because she saw her blindness as a gift from God. It’s what helped her see Jesus in ways others seldom saw Him, for her blindness had given her spiritual insight few ever had. (Bible Illustrator #500-502, 10/1988.19)
My friends, that’s what hard times can do for us. They can give us spiritual insight we never had before. They can help us see Jesus like we’ve never seen Him before. At first, things may be unclear. At first, we might not fully understand how Jesus can be God in the midst of our trials, but eventually we will if we stay close to Christ.
If you want to be truly wise, don’t be like those who WON’T SEE, and don’t be like those who CAN’T SEE. Instead, be like those who DO SEE, because they let Jesus touch them, not just once, but as many times as it takes. In other words, no matter how hard life gets, keep trusting Him, keep following Him, and eventually you WILL see.
Listen to these words from Fanny Crosby, another blind person who truly saw!
All the way my Savior leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who thru life has been my guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know what-e’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.
