EYES TO SEE AND EARS TO HEAR
Mark 8:1-33
I've been going through an online bible reading plan with someone where we read the passages of the day and comment accordingly. Mark 8 was among the readings this week. In vs. 18 Jesus asks his disciples if they have eyes but fail to see and ears but fail to hear. As I read through the chapter I saw how each of the encounters fit within the context of having eyes to see and ears to hear. So let's get into Mark 8 and see what we can come away with.
1) That won't be enough.
Vs. 1-10, "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 set before 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 men were present. And having sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha."
From Matthew's gospel we learn what was going on for the three days the people were with Jesus. He was healing. People kept bringing the lame, blind and mute to Jesus. The people were amazed and they praised God. This went on for three days. It doesn't specifically say if Jesus was teaching during these three days but it makes sense that he would be.
If they had brought any food at all it was minimal as Jesus makes it clear if they tried to travel to find food they would collapse. It's amazing that for three days the people weren't focused on getting food; they were locked in on Jesus. And who knows how much longer it would've continued. Jesus makes it clear that it can't go on like this; his compassion wouldn't allow it.
I wonder why the disciples didn't come to Jesus before now and highlight the food issue. They must've been hungry too; why didn't they say anything? Perhaps there was just so much going on that the disciples didn't even give it a thought.
When we have eyes to see we can have tunnel vision. We start doing something God puts on our heart and we get so busy that we don't stop to breathe. We have to pause and take care of ourselves as we take care of God's business, or any other business for that matter.
When Jesus mentions that the people needed something to eat the disciples respond with a practical statement. Seeing through physical eyes, it was clear that seven loaves of bread and a few small fish wasn't enough to feed 4,000 plus. But with Jesus, who looked at the situation through spiritual eyes, one loaf and one fish would be plenty with enough leftover to feed the disciples too.
What's interesting is that up to this point the disciples had already seen Jesus do some amazing things. In chap. 4 we have the boast story, where Jesus calmed the wind and the waves. In chapt. 5 he raises Jairus' daughter from the dead. In chapt. 6 we have Jesus walking on water but before that is the account of Jesus feeding the 5,000!
Hello, did the disciples have amnesia or something! Here they were making a practical statement when they had already seen Jesus do a multiplication miracle? Since they already had eyes that saw, they should've seen this current situation through spiritual eyes, but it seems they didn't.
But we can be like that too. We look at our current situation through physical eyes even though God has shown us many times before what he is capable of. Perhaps we have spiritual amnesia sometimes too. So we pray to be able to look at every situation through spiritual eyes; believing in the ability of God to do what looks to be impossible.
2) Can't you see?
Vs. 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."
The Pharisees wanted a sign to prove that Jesus was the Christ. It's pretty telling that Jesus' response was a deep sigh. A deep sigh can mean a few different things-frustration, angst, tiredness. I can see Jesus sighing here because if there was anyone who should've been able to recognize that he was the Messiah, it would be the ones who had studied the scriptures their whole lives.
They should've seen it more clearly than anyone else; but they didn't. They didn't see it because they didn't want to see it. Sometimes the reason we don't have eyes to see or ears to hear is because we don't want to see or hear the truth.
There were plenty of times Jesus went after the religious leaders for their misrepresentation of God and their duties. Jesus told them they nullified the truth for the sake of their traditions. Jesus called them out on many other things and they didn't like it.
They knew about the miracles Jesus had done. But they said it was by the prince of demons that Jesus drove out demons. Jesus set them straight on that. They accused him of blasphemy for his claim to be God's Son. But they knew they couldn't prove that he wasn't.
In fact, all the evidence they had seen suggested that Jesus was in fact the chosen one; but they didn't want to believe it because that would mean they would have to be held accountable for their actions and that they would have to change how they operated.
The Pharisees asked for a sign, even though the sign was right in front of them all along! There had been plenty of signs but they didn't have eyes to see. Helen Keller, "It's a terrible thing not to be able to see. But it is even more terrible to be able to see but have not vision."
Vs. 14-21, "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?”
It's interesting to hear how the disciples took Jesus words. It says they discussed it so the 'not enough bread' statement wasn't just a knee-jerk remark; this was the conclusion they came to after they discussed it! "He said yeast because he's scolding us for not bringing enough bread." Did they even contemplate that Jesus was speaking spiritually here? That's why they got the kind of response they did from Jesus.
Jesus asked them if they failed to have eyes to see and ears to hear. He takes them back to when he fed the 5,000 and the 4,000. Why did he ask them how many baskets of leftovers they picked up? The leftovers showed that Jesus didn't forget about taking care of them too.
Jesus is like, "I'm not talking about literal yeast. You know how yeast works its way through the dough. I used that to illustrate that if you listen to the teachings of the Pharisees and entertain the things they say about me, their poison will work its way through your whole heart so watch out. But you thought I was upset because you didn't bring bread. Really? With the miracle I did with the loaves and fish do you think I'd be worried that you only brought one loaf of bread?"
Jesus used practical imagery to communicate spiritual truth. I understand how the disciples could've been confused about Jesus' metaphor, but after all they had experienced, they should've come to a different conclusion than what they did.
If we hear with physical ears we will miss the point. We may have trouble connecting the dots sometimes. The disciples discussed it but we don't see them going back and asking Jesus what he meant by the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod. When we're unsure about something that Jesus said, we need to pray and ask for help to gain a clear understanding.
3) Coming into focus.
It's good when our spiritual confusion dissipates and things start becoming clearer.
Vs. 22-26, "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 go into the village. ’”
It's interesting that Jesus lead him out of the village to heal him. And at the end, some manuscripts say, "don't go and tell anyone in the village". There were times when Jesus would ask that the person not tell anyone when he did a miracle or even that he was the Christ. This was so things could progress and develop as they were supposed to, not because Jesus didn't want anyone to know he was able to heal or that he was the Savior.
At first glance, it appears that Jesus wasn't good enough to heal him with one attempt; he needed two. But that's not the case. Jesus used different methods to do his miracles and they all served a purpose. After Jesus spit in his eyes he asked him if he saw anything. "Yeah...spit!"
He saw things in a blur. He could tell he was seeing people but it's obvious he couldn't see them clearly. What if Jesus had said, "that's good enough. Hey, at least your vision is better than it was, right?" If that was me I'd be like, 'hey, where you going; don't leave me like this'! Thankfully, Jesus didn't stop there. He gave the man a second touch.
That's what we need sometimes. We can see but our vision is blurry. Sometimes we think we can see clearly when we can't. We need the second touch of Jesus in order to see things correctly. If we don't take the time to focus we will miss important factors.
When we think we see clearly we go and tell people that trees can walk; we saw it with our own eyes. But then when the second touch comes we realize we made a mistake. How often have we gone forward with a blurry perspective only to have to remove the proverbial foot from our mouth when things became more clear?
In a lot of ways the blurry vision this blind man experienced is like our physical eyes and the clear vision is like our spiritual eyes. Whether it's a thing or a person or a situation or a conversation, the way we look at it can make a world of difference. We will miss things if we only look and hear with physical eyes and ears.
But if we engage with spiritual eyes and ears we'll see more clearly. It can mean the difference between looking at something with the naked eye or with a microscope or telescope.
When we face a situation we can just look at what's physically happening or we can put on our spiritual eyes and ears and consider things from a spiritual perspective. That can mean the difference between thinking it's all over, doom and gloom or being positive and hopeful about a situation because we know Jesus is at work and there's more going on than what my eyes can see.
When we're in a conversation do we hear with our physical ears or with our spiritual ears? Sometimes we just go by what a person is saying without contemplating what they're not saying. When our spiritual eyes and ears are engaged we can see the spirit behind someone's words and actions.
This happens with the bible. We can read it with physical eyes and just see words. But if we have spiritual eyes we can see the depth of meaning behind those words. If Jesus asks, "do you see anything?" we may need to ask for a second touch so we can see clearly.
4) You are the Christ.
Vs. 27-30, "Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.’” Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him."
There were a lot of people who saw and heard Jesus. The question is, with what eyes did they see and with what ears did they hear? For some people, clearly their vision was blurry. They saw Jesus as a reincarnated prophet. But Peter saw with spiritual eyes and heard with spiritual ears to be able to conclude that Jesus was the Savior. In Matthew's version, Jesus called Peter blessed because God revealed this to him.
Peter's vision was correct; he saw clearly who Jesus was. However, that didn't mean he saw everything clearly.
Vs. 31-33, "He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Peter had in mind the things of man; he was hearing Jesus' words through physical ears and contemplating them with his natural heart. He did not have in mind the things of God; he was not hearing the spiritual purpose in Jesus' words. His mind was not comprehending the worth of what Jesus' death and resurrection would accomplish.
This can be true of us. We may see some things clearly but other things we won't see so clearly. Peter was operating in the Spirit when he was convinced that Jesus was the Christ but he was operating in the flesh when he rebuked Jesus. Peter was a work in progress and so are we. Peter needed the second touch of Jesus in order to see clearly and we will too sometimes.
When Christ came into our lives we began to see in a way we had never seen before. But we still had a limited view of things. Over time and with the continued touch of Jesus our vision and understanding becomes clearer. A. W. Tozer said, “As we begin to focus upon God, the things of the Spirit will take shape before our inner eyes.”
One day at a time we are being conformed to the image of Jesus; the one who saved us from our blindness. But we need to continue to fix our eyes on Jesus; he's the only one who can give us that special touch and open the eyes of our hearts so that we can walk by faith through a world filled with darkness and blindness.
Jesus is restoring our spiritual sight so we can see with complete clarity, but it’s a process. As long as we stay close to him and stay close to each other and keep studying his word, then our sight will become clearer and clearer.
