Upon Further Review
Opening Illustration:
"Best known for his iconic optical illusions, impossible constructions defying logic and his prints playing with patterns and symmetry, Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher’s lithographs, mezzotints, woodcuts and wood engravings express a high level of technical expertise and meticulous attention to detail. His images of upside-down staircases and infinite structures appear on posters, album covers and sci-fi books, although people most likely do not know their origin. Escher remained a relatively unknown figure in the art world and students of geometry and crystallography are more likely to have encountered him than students of art history." (https://magazine.artland.com/the-impossible-worlds-of-escher/
Analyzing Escher's art takes effort and more than a simple glance. Most of the things that truly matter in life take time to understand. Our relationship with God takes time and reflection. There are things that at first do not seem clear, but if we will stay the course everything will become clear.
Mark 8:22-26 ESV
22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 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?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”
Upon Further Review things seemed different to the man who was healed. I want to encourage you today to take a second glace, a deeper dive, watch the instant replay through a new lens.
Upon Further Review:
TEXT:
Mark 8:22 ESV
22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him {Jesus] a blind man and begged him to touch him.
Everyone needs friends like these. True friends have their own flaws, but they don't let their flaws keep them from helping you with yours. The Pharisees could not see their own flaws and in their blindness, they kept people from getting to Jesus.
Matthew 23:13 NIV
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to."
Matthew 7:3-5 NIrV
“You look at the bit of sawdust in your friend’s eye. But you pay no attention to the piece of wood in your own eye. How can you say to your friend, ‘Let me take the bit of sawdust out of your eye’? How can you say this while there is a piece of wood in your own eye? You pretender! First take the piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you will be able to see clearly to take the bit of sawdust out of your friend’s eye."
Matthew 23:26 NIV
"Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."
Blindness is a part of the human condition. We cannot see our own face without the aid of a mirror. We cannot see our backs. The hardest thing for us to know is what we don't know that we don't know. Everyone needs friends like these. Friends who will hold up the mirror and help us see our need of Jesus. Friends who truly have our backs.
True friends help me see, because they also see themselves.
Proverbs 18:24 NLT
"There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother."
Everyone needs friends like these. True friends will bring you to Jesus.
When we read the stories of Jesus disciples they don't all get speaking parts. But, sometimes actions speak louder than words. The apostle Andrew has one part. In John 1:41, he finds his brother Peter and brings him to Jesus. It was Andrew who brought the boy with the five loaves and two fishes to Jesus (John 6:8-9). And long before Peter preached to the household of Cornelius or Paul evangelized the gentiles, Andrew brought Greeks to see Jesus (John 12:20-22).
Real friends realize they don't have all the answers, but they know that if they can just get you to Jesus... Everyone needs friends like these.
Real friends realize they aren't the miracle worker, but they know that if they can just get you to Jesus... Everyone needs friends like these.
Everyone needs friends like these. True friends will pray to Him for you. They interceded on their friend's behalf.
James 5:16 NLT
"Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results."
Everyone needs friends like these. True friends will not stop until you have been touched by Jesus. They begged. They pleaded. They were asking, seeking, and knocking! They wouldn't shut up!
True friends bring you closer to Jesus, not farther away. If that substance, person, activity is not bringing you closer to Him perhaps you ought to reevaluate its place in your life.
Some friends we don't need, but the ones like those in our text...
Everyone needs friends like these.
Mark 8:23 ESV
23 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?”
The old song says, "there's not a Friend like the Lowly Jesus, no not one..."
Another song says, "What a Friend we have in Jesus..."
Everyone needs a Friend like Jesus. Jesus will meet us at the place of our need.
Hebrews 2:9-15 KJV
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. 13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. 14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Jesus was tempted in all point like we are, yet He never sinned (4:15). He has complete solidarity with us. He knows struggle and pain and loss and grief and death... And because He does...
Everyone needs a Friend like Jesus. Jesus took the blind man by the hand. He touched the blind man... He is not afraid of our frailty or sin. He is willing to touch us...
Everyone needs a Friend like Jesus. Jesus led the blind man out of the village. His first touch was to let the blind man know He cared. Don't despise or belittle God's touch in someone else's life. While everyone else is looking on, Jesus is doing what He does. Taking someone by the hand is an act of intimacy. Taking someone who cannot see and saying, "I will be your eyes as we walk is an act of intimacy that requires the deepest trust..." Jesus guides the blind man away from the village.
There are some healings that will not take place until we allow Jesus to guide us away from some things. While Jesus can do anything anywhere, sometimes He just doesn't. I don't know all the motivations behind Jesus leading the blind man out of where he was in order to heal Him. All I know is that sometimes if you stay where you are your blindness remains.
There is a story of an alcoholic in the Old West who found himself finally giving his life to the Lord. He started going to church, and desired genuine change in his life but he kept relapsing. There was no doubt he had had a genuine encounter with God, but he kept struggling with his addiction. In frustration he went to talk to the pastor of the small country church. As the pastor counseled with him, he asked an eye opening question. "Where do you hitch your horse when you come into town." The man replied, "The same place I always have, in front of the saloon." The wise pastor replied, "You need to find yourself a new hitching post."
There are some places where I cannot go if I am going to remain healed. There are some things that I cannot do. Don't impose them on others. You do you. Jesus did not lead EVERYONE out of Bethsaida, but this one man He did.
1 Peter 3:1 gives advice to spouses about winning their significant others. It says that if we do it right and live as God wants us to, we can win them without saying a word. Stop nagging and start praying and living! I'm meddling, but there are some things you're not going to fix with griping or lecturing. Oh, but if you can carry them to Jesus, Jesus can take them by the hand and lead them out into the place where He can heal them!
Everyone needs a Friend like Jesus. Jesus "spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him." This was an acts of closeness and intimacy. Spit cleaning is something that parents sometimes do for their children. Spit an effective cleaning solution because human saliva contains the enzyme amylase, which is meant to break down food but also works well for breaking down dirt and grime on an object. Like a caring parent Jesus uses His own Saliva to clean up His kid. Jesus is not going to beat you up because you are spiritually blind. He will do something about it in love!
Everyone needs a Friend like Jesus. His touch is miraculous. Again we we see His willingness to touch our need. Gentle, loving, kind.
Everyone needs a Friend like Jesus. His touch begins a process that opens our eyes. The Christian life is one in which things get clearer the longer we walk with him.
Proverbs 4:18 KJV
"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."
2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV
"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
Many times in Scripture Jesus asked people what they saw.
The reason He gives us sight is because He wants us to see. He wants us to see things clearly. And so there are moments when He will invite us to a place of introspection where we examine the way we are seeing. It is for our benefit.
Healing does not always work immediately. As you walk the Christian walk there are things that you will eventually see things more clearly, but at first glance all may not be clear...
PREACHING POINTS:
1. The First Glance
Mark 8:24 ESV
24 "And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.”
Things are not always what they seem. This man was obviously not born blind. He had a point of reference from which to know that he wasn't seeing correctly. He knew something was not right.
The art of MC Escher is filled with impossibilities. There are illusions and things your brain finds hard to interpret.
Initial verdicts in crimes sometimes look far different in light of new evidence that surfaces. New technology allows investigators and jurist to see things that had not been previously seen, and often it is these things that result in acquittal.
We see through a glass darkly! We do not have all the facts. Life is an enigma!
2. Another Touch, Another Look
Mark 8:25a ESV
25 "Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored..."
Jeremiah 18:4 ESV
"And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do."
There is something powerful about being willing to be in the Hands of Jesus. As long as we remain in His Loving Hands He is willing to mold and shape us and remake us until we are everything He designed us to be.
He's Still Working on Me (Joel Hemphill)
He's still working on meTo make me what I need to beIt took him just a week to make the moon and starsThe sun and the earth and Jupiter and MarsHow loving and patient He must be'Cause He's still workin' on me
He's still working on meTo make me what I need to beIt took him just a week to make the moon and starsThe sun and the earth and Jupiter and MarsHow loving and patient He must be'Cause He's still workin' on me
There really ought to be a sign upon my heartDon't judge him yet, there's an unfinished partBut I'll be better just according to His planFashioned by the Master's loving hands
He's still working on meTo make me what I need to beIt took him just a week to make the moon and starsThe sun and the earth and Jupiter and MarsHow loving and patient He must be'Cause He's still workin' on me
In the mirror of His wordReflections that I seeMakes me wonder why He never gave up on meBut He loves me as I am and helps me when I prayRemember He's the potter, I'm the clay
He's still working on meTo make me what I need to beIt took him just a week to make the moon and starsThe sun and the earth and Jupiter and MarsHow loving and patient He must be'Cause He's still workin' on me
He's still working on meTo make me what I need to beIt took him just a week to make the moon and starsThe sun and the earth and Jupiter and MarsHow loving and patient He must be'Cause He's still workin' on me
Jesus will not cut us off. He won't be upset because we don't see clearly. He will just touch us again! Would you allow Him this morning to touch you again?
You're one touch away from being restored. You're one touch away from being made whole.
It is a journey!
3. The Further Review
Mark 8:25b ESV
"...and he saw everything clearly."
Initial verdicts in crimes sometimes look far different in light of new evidence that surfaces. New technology allows investigators and jurist to see things that had not been previously seen, and often it is these things that result in acquittal.
In sports, the initial call of the refs may be changed upon further review. The instant replay may reveal that the referee didn't see things as the are...
It is a truth that we often do not see things as they are, but as we are.
When we believe the gospel. When we are baptized into Christ. When we are filled with His Spirit. We begin to see things through the lens of the cross and the resurrection. Everything starts getting clearer!
Romans 8:1 NIV
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..."
Everything looks differently on this side of Calvary! Have you ever read the list of the sheroes and heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11? If you read the OT accounts of those people, there are all kinds of flaws and gross errors.
Noah got drunk and something funky happened that resulted in him cursing one of his kids. But through the lens of the cross, Noah was righteous. The bad is forgotten and the good is made great by the grace of God.
Samson was the most carnal gifted hero in all of Scripture. From our perspective He was a mess, but the writer of Hebrews just lists his name as one of those who was a hero of faith!
My father-in-law was a great dad. He gave all kinds of gifts to my wife during her childhood. He favorite gift was a Bible that came in a cedar box. Inside the box was a portrait of Jesus that she used to stare at. There is something comforting about seeing depictions of Him, even though we do not know what He looked like, we imagine Him and our desire to see Him changes us. In the Bible in the cedar box was a page made of red film on top of a page that listed all kinds of sins. If you lifted the film you could see the scarlet-colored sins staining the page. But, when the transparent red page was superimposed over it everything was clean and restored!
When we look at life through the Blood of Jesus everything is right!
We are not given sight because we are so good, but because a Good God was manifest in the Flesh and died on our behalf!
I can see clearly now the rain is gone!
Isaiah 1:18 KJV
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
4. The Walk Home
Mark 8:26 ESV
26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”
I can imagine this man walking into his home that day for the first time in a long time with the ability to see.
Jesus calls us to a place called "home." Our true home is in Him.
Psalm 90:1-2 NIV
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. 2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
St. Augustine wrote, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
Jesus tells this healed man not to return to where he came from.
He now had new lease on life, new things to do.
We often want things to be as they were in the past, but the reality is that they never can be. We must live life forward.
God has given you new sight, and you must use it to move forward.
