Mark 8:22-27
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.23 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?”
24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
25 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. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into[a] the village.”
In Marks gospel we get this depiction of Jesus and the disciples arriving at Bethsaida a town in Israel which is near the Sea of Galilee. So this for Jesus and most of the disciples is near home this is their old stamping ground, you’ll probably remember Jesus calling some of the disciples from their nets at the Sea of Galilee.
So here they are in this town of Bethsaida and some people bring Jesus a blind man but not only do they bring this bloke to Jesus they ask in quite a persuasive way; “is Jesus willing to do the deed too touch and heal this bloke?”
So Jesus takes the blind bloke by the hand and leads him out of the village. Now the question arises why he would take him out of the village to heal him.
Well there are a couple of different tacks we can take on this; the first is this:
a) That Jesus is sensitive to the man’s requirements he knows he’s blind and he knows that he is going to heal him. That when he is healed the process could be a bit confusing so he wants to get him away from the business and busyness of the village and out in to wide open spaces.
b) The second idea is that the village itself had previously rejected Jesus teaching and did so while knowing the miraculous things he had done. He says in Matthew’s gospel. (Matthew 11:21-22)
Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 2 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the Day of Judgment than for you.
There’s a bit more as Matthew opens up where we see this village was unrepentant. This could well be why Jesus says after the healing for the bloke for him not to go into the village. Interestingly Jesus miracles were not always welcomed. Just as in this day we often see that great things done in his name are not always welcome. We know in the Salvation Army, that ‘reforming society’, even when it has huge long term benefits for all people is not always welcome and we come up against opposition.
So if we just hold that in the place it is, let’s think about how Jesus healed this bloke.
1) Well for a start he spits in the blokes eyes. Now this is in our day and age a pretty strange going on. “How are you doing?” “Not so good, I’m blind”, “Well how about I just lob a goober in your eyes, that should sort it out.”
Back in the day they believed in the healing powers of spit, today you burn a finger where does it go straight in the mouth. The term “Let me kiss it better” comes from this sort of background.
The important thing here is that Jesus spat in the blokes eyes, he touched the man, and he healed the man, well to an extent. “Do you see anything?” “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
Something was happening in the man’s physical that had happened because of his interactions with Jesus.
This might have been the healed man’s thinking; “A couple of minutes ago before Jesus did what he did I couldn’t see spit, then he spat, since Jesus touch I see people walking around and they look like trees. Now that’s better than being blind. Fuzzy vision is better than nothing.” I can see!
This bloke understood that they were people walking around they may have looked like trees, but they were people and he knew it. Through Jesus healing touch he had vision and understanding.
Did Jesus say to the bloke my works done here in Chapter eight; I’m off to chapter nine, sorry but I’m pretty busy. I must be off, I’m due for the transfiguration, I can’t keep Elijah and Moses waiting and I’ve got to sort out some evil spirits that keep throwing a kid on the ground. See you round mate.
2) No what Jesus does is he places his hands on the man again. Mark tells us “Then his eyes were opened, his sight restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village.”
A couple of things come out of this. Jesus preformed a miracle - a full miracle and the man was empowered. No one lead him by the hand, he went home by himself empowered to find his own way. His vision was restored.
The thing here is that, vision brings understanding and empowerment. (SBI)
The man had both because he could now see the way for what it was. Prior to his healing he was in darkness, there was no way other than being lead. Lead to where he worked or begged, lead to maybe a familiar place to his home where he knew the way around and could cope, but in a limited way. Life without Jesus is like this it’s limited / restricted. Spiritually it’s not how God intended it. Without Jesus people flounder and struggle with what is around them, with the things of the world because they are caught in darkness. This man now had vision he had understanding and empowerment.
3) Interestingly though even with Jesus; life is not always a box of birds. Sometimes we have to gain more clarity, gain a greater understanding, and actually seek restoration through repentance because if we don’t play our part spiritually we can still have blinkers on. Jesus tells a parable about two sons who old Dad had asked them to go and work for him, at the end of the parable he addresses the Pharisees, that bunch of religious blokes. Then Jesus asked them “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
They replied “The first,”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.” (Matthew 21:31-32)
So from this we gain something. But first, have you ever wondered why pigeons’ walk funny? “According to (a number of sources), a pigeon walks the way it does so it can see where it’s going. Because it can’t adjust its focus as it moves, the pigeon actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to refocus.(Video Clip pigeon walking) This is the way it walks: head forward, stop; head back, stop.
[What we gain from the time Jesus addressed the Pharisees is that] In our spiritual walk with the Lord we [at times] have the same problem as the pigeon. We have a hard time seeing while we’re moving. We also need to stop between steps -- to refocus on where we are in relation to the World and the will of God. That’s not to say we have to stop and pray and meditate about every little decision in life. But certainly our walk with the Lord needs to have built into it a pattern of "stops," which enable us to see more clearly before moving on.” (http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/improving-your-focus-michael-gibney-sermon-on-growth-in-christ-49099.asp?Page=1) Sited 25/10/2012: Thanks Michael Gibney!
Where the Pharisees failed and where the tax collectors and prostitutes didn’t was they refocused and they had the task of asking God to bring their lives back into focus.
4i) Where I want to take this sermon is three places; one of which I always find quite uncomfortable. But really feel that God is placing on my heart to go, a place that I must go even though it is uncomfortable. But the first is this, as a community of believers, as a leadership team we have a desire for vision, a vision for our corporate ministry, our future direction as this part of the Salvation Army.
The thing is that when we gain this Vision from God it will bring both understanding and empowerment. I believe that we are gaining a vision of where God wants us to be heading. We are currently at that place of Jesus first touch on our vision, we are seeing the vision in part and in seeking his further touch we will be able to see it, and see it clearly.
As we continue in prayer individual prayer, corporate prayer, we will see clearly and be able to head in the direction that Jesus asks us to. Then we will be able to lead others home. What I’m asking today is that over the next couple of months is this ‘please pray for clarity of vision for our Corps future direction.’
4ii) a) The next place I want to go is one I have no trouble with and it is this. You may already be following Jesus but stumbling occasionally and want to see things clearly, to get your spiritual perspective a clear as it can be to see things as God would have you see them. If you are in this place, I firmly believe that seeking out Jesus is where it is at, he tells us “"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) and from the Old Testament God says “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13).
It may be seeking him through the Bible, through prayer, through engagement with people of faith, through committed service to others as you put aside the old stuff and seek life in him. It may be that as you ask the Spirit of God to give you clarity he will come and be with you and do just that.
This seeking after God is not some half-hearted act, as you engage in it, it becomes gaining vision through commitment.
b) There may be someone here that for today you may be new to this understanding of Jesus, that he is God; that he heals. You might find something going on inside a tension a stress in your spirit. You might want to put some stuff right with God, you may have been on a journey of discovery and want God to increase your understanding of him, to empower you with his power from on high, the part of him that is The Holy Spirit. If that is you we have a place here called the mercy seat, please come for prayer come a knell in this place.
4 iii) Now the bit that God has placed upon my heart to talk about that makes me feel uncomfortable and it is this, healing. I must admit here and now that I’m the most unlikely contestant for a healing ministry. I have a gammy arm that I’ve asked Jesus to sort out a good number of times, still gammy. However the apostle Paul himself had a thorn in his flesh that was never healed, yet through his ministry God did miracles.
Another couple of reasons I feel uncomfortable are these, one day feeling as uncomfortable as I do now, I called people forward and a lady came for healing a lady came and knelt and was healed of a stroke that she had recently suffered. I praise God that she was! Within a few months she had however left our congregation.
I prayed for a man in the Intensive Care Unit once who I was told was certainly dying after a disease had all but destroyed his lungs. He recovered to the point that he could again communicate with his family, walk around and just as he was in the process of transferred back to the wards he had a fatal heart attack. Why I don’t know.
What I do know however is that when God asks me to do something I have to be obedient and he’s asked me to be obedient today.
If there is anyone here who would like prayer for healing if you could come and stand at the front here and I will pray for you, I don’t know the outcome of the prayer, what I do know is that sometimes healing occurs. I leave it with God, he Awesome and mighty in power.
What I also know is that through obedience in responding to God, in allowing him to lead us by the hand we gain vision, understanding and empowerment.
