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MARK 8:22-38
Healing, Confession, Resurrection
Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida
Mark 8:22 Then He came to Bethsaida; (Fish house)and they brought a blind man to Him, (Step 1skip for now)and begged Him to touch him. (Step 2)23 So He took the blind man by the hand (Step 3)and led him out of the town. (Step 4)And when He had spit on his eyes (Step 5)and put His hands on him, (Step 6)He asked him if he saw anything. (Step 7)
24 And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."
- COURSON - I love this man's honesty with Jesus. He saw the Lord, but he didn't yet have an ability to see people properly. And therein is a lesson. When you and I were touched by the Lord and saved, our eyes were opened. And yet even though we were now able to see Him, our healing was not complete until we could also see people clearly, for if we love God but hate our brother, we miss the mark entirely.Many of us have no problem loving God. But there are some people who seem like trees to us. They "stump" us.We wish they would "leave." We try to cut them down.
- "What is the greatest commandment?" they asked Jesus.
- "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength," He answered. "And the second is like unto it," or literally, "There's a second part to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (see Mat_22:35-40).
- SO… We HAVE to wonder… Why did Jesus heal this man in what appears to be stages?
- Let’s look at the context… Jesus has been chastising His own Disciples for being without understanding… They were worried about bread, when really, Jesus was warning them about false doctrine.
- They could see a little bit of what Jesus was doing, but they STILL hadn’t completely seen it.
- SO… Imagine this with me. Jesus begins to heal the man, but the man is honest with Jesus and says, “I only see a little bit…”
- Imagine at that moment, Jesus turning to His Disciples and giving them a look that says: “this is you, guys. But watch this…”
25 Then He put Hishands on his eyes again(Step 8)and made him look up.(Step 9)And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. (Step 10)26 Then He sent him away to his house, (Step 11)saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town." (Step 12)
- IE, I don’t want anything from you… Or your town, I came to serve and not BE served yet.
BTW, Any guesses to how many steps Jesus used?
(Go back & count)
Hmmm…
Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; (55 miles)and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"
THREE WRONG ANSWERS…
28 So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say,Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."
29 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."
30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.
- This was the right answer, but it was incomplete…
- Perhaps His warning was “Wait until you can see better than the blind man before you start teaching!”
- He THEN reveals the true purpose of His coming – It was NOT to over throw Rome, as they hoped.
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
34 When He had called the people to Himself,with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
Jesus is foretelling the event which we will gather to commemorate this Friday – His death, for us, upon the
Cross.
BUT… Next Sunday, as we do every Sunday, we will celebrate His resurrection. As we close today…
Here might be another reason that Jesus healed the blind man in stages:
Good Timber
by Douglas Malloch
The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.
Having a tough time my friend?
Perhaps, It is just God making you strong!