JESUS SPEAKING
Then he came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to him, and begged him to touch him. So he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when he had spit on his eyes and put his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.” Then he put his hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Then he sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town” (Mark 8: 22-26.)
INSPIRED THOUGHTS
A blind man who could see nothing had to be led to Jesus, but Jesus does something unexpected. He leads him out of the city. And for what reason? (POSSIBLE INTERPRETATION: Possibly because the city of Bethsaida was wicked and refused to believe in him. In another scripture Jesus says, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes” (Luke 10: 13.) Jesus is comparing these two modern cities to a couple of ancient cities. Tyre and Sidon were cities that God destroyed because they had refused to turn away from evil. It appears as though Jesus has finished ministering to Bethsaida at this point, and so he leads the man out of the city to do his miracle. He further tells the man not to return to the city and not to tell them about the healing. It is interesting to note that the man was not instantly healed. Jesus could have healed him right away, but there might be a lesson to learn here. First, every human being needs to meet Jesus, and admit that they are completely blind to the things of God. Next, they need to trust Jesus and take him by the hand, and allow him to lead them. The blind man came to Jesus to receive his sight, and the first thing Jesus did was to begin to lead him somewhere else. The man didn’t ask why, he just followed. Jesus leads many people out of the life of sin they are in, symbolized in this scripture by Jesus’ leading of the man out of the sinful city. He then warns the man not to go back in to the city, as Jesus warns those he leads out of a life of sin to not return to that life again. There are two healings wrapped in to one; the partial healing and the full healing. The first healing takes place when we follow Jesus, symbolized by the man’s initial healing when he sees trees walking around. The second healing of the blind man may symbolize the second coming of Jesus Christ. In other portions of scripture it is said that in this life we see dimly, but in the next we will see clearly. We have had the first experience with Jesus, but still we are awaiting the second.
Interestingly enough, I recently broke one of my molars. The pain was severe, so I went in to see a dentist. Apparently half of my tooth had broken off. He went in and did a root canal. The pain stopped immediately, and my troubles seemed all but over. The only difficulty was, I still had half a tooth and no dental coverage. I waited a couple of months until I received my insurance and now I have a second appointment with a dentist to receive a crown and to have my tooth restored to ‘as good as new.’ In this life, those of us who come to Jesus Christ and put our faith and hope in him have whatever pain we feel inside relieved. We come to know a peace that surpasses all understanding. Yet, we are still afflicted by things because we have bodies made of flesh. We know hunger, we know thirst, we know physical pain; some people contract diseases, some people suffer the losses of loved ones. Christ has touched our hearts and our lives and we have received his Holy Spirit, and that Spirit leads us through this evil world to place where we will be healed completely. We see with limited vision in this place and our understanding of heavenly things is blurred. Yet, there is time that is coming when we will receive new bodies, that don’t grow old, in a place where there is no more pain and suffering. We will never thirst, or hunger, or want for anything. In that day, when Christ returns, we will see clearly, and we will be made perfect.
Our goal as Christians is to bring blind people to Jesus Christ, that he may take them by the hand and lead them through this world, and in to the world to come. We can do this by being his messengers. We represent Jesus Christ in this place. He is our teacher, and we are his students. Knowing who he is not enough, we must be doing what he does. Jesus continues his work in this place through all those who lay down their lives to take up the cross. May God bless you as you reach out to those who are lost, and as you bring the blind to the only one who can help them to see.)
“Lord heavenly Father, we come before You today and ask and pray that You would reveal the truth of this scripture to us. Help us Lord to Look forward to your return and to put our trust and faith in Your leading. Father, also we pray that You will bring blind people our way that we can lead them to You. We love You, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.”
Jesus Speaks 