Tag Archives: blind man

THE GOSPEL OF MARK -EVERY PERSON UNIQUE

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EVERY PERSON UNIQUE

22 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 the village.” Mark 8:22-26

Why did Jesus have to touch this man twice to be healed? Why did He spit on the man’s eyes? Why did He deal with him alone, outside the village? Why did He send him straight home? Was His popularity becoming a hindrance to His real mission? Were the crowds getting to Him?

These are all questions which can probably only be answered by speculating but, as we look across His entire ministry, there are trends and patterns which help us to find answers. Jesus did not operate according to formulae. Every person was a unique individual and, in union with the Father through the Holy Spirit, Jesus ministered to each one according to his personality, understanding and need. Likewise, He touched their hearts individually. He was never responsible for formulae like “accept Jesus as your personal Saviour” or “be born again” or even “say the sinner’s prayer” as though any one of these is a guaranteed entrance into the kingdom of God. Jesus’ ministry was more about changing people’s awareness than about “making a decision” for Him.

Secondly, He sometimes spoke to a need and sometimes used a physical aid or a sign to arouse faith in the individual. There was always a combination of confidence in Jesus and the operation of divine power – triggered by the faith that produced the miracle. Sometimes the miracle was instantaneous and at other times, like on this occasion, it happened in stages or in response to obedience, on the way (the ten lepers).

Thirdly, it seems that Jesus avoided the limelight more and more because His presence and actions were producing sensation and popularity for the wrong reasons. He did not advertise His presence or send His disciples out to gather the crowds. He wanted people to be convinced of who He was so that they would love and trust Him as the Son of God. Only this would produce loyalty and obedience strong enough to take them through fire and water with Him.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?

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WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?

“He came to the outskirts of Jericho. A blind man was sitting beside the road asking for hand-outs. When he heard the rustle of the crowd, he asked what was going on. They told him, ‘Jesus the Nazarene is going by.’

“He yelled, ‘Jesus! Son of David!  Mercy, have mercy on me!’

“Those ahead told the man to shut up, but he only yelled all the louder, ‘Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!’

“Jesus stopped and ordered him to be brought over. When he had come near, Jesus asked, ‘What do you want from me?’

“He said, ‘Master, I want to see again.’

Jesus said, ‘Go ahead – see again! Your faith has saved and healed you.’ The healing was instant. He looked up, seeing – and then followed Jesus, glorifying God. Everyone in the street joined in, shouting praise to God.” Luke 18:35-43.

This story is a wonderful illustration of how faith interacts with the power of God. Luke has not identified this insignificant blind beggar, but we know from the other gospels that his name was Bartimeus. From God’s point of view, he had a name; he had an identity; he was a person of value who had a disability which made him an outcast of society, but not of God. He was worthless to people, a parasite, but not to Jesus.

To the untrained ear, the sound of his voice begging for hand-outs mingled with the shouts of the rest of the crowd and was lost in the din, but not to Jesus. He always hears the cry of the needy, raised in hope and expectation.

Bartimeus was tiresome; he refused to be put off by the heartless people around him who ordered him to shut up. Why should he? He had a sudden hope and he wasn’t about to let the opportunity to be freed from his blindness be lost because of other people. Instead of keeping quiet, he yelled all the louder. It’s no wonder Jesus heard him! He didn’t hear his voice as much as He heard his heart.

Isn’t that just like Jesus! The gospels record many similar incidents – Jesus responding to a heart cry. The outer covering of the crying heart didn’t matter to Him – lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors, blind, lame, sick, deaf, rich, poor, Pharisee or sinner; He heard and responded to them all.

The interaction between the blind man and Jesus was very simple – no long prayers, no beating about the bush, no reasoning or explanations, just a simple question, ‘What do you want from me?’ and an equally simple response, ‘Master, I want to see again.’ Interaction over, transaction done! ‘Go ahead – see again!’

How tragic that we, in the tradition of those who have gone before us, are perpetuating the terrible distortion of the gospel, which we call Christianity. We have turned this simple exchange between Jesus and us into a rigmarole, with religious paraphernalia, elaborate rituals, and teachings that twist and distort the simplicity of a partnership with Jesus in submission to Him and in the company of His redeemed people.

When I watch some of the goings-on on so-called Christian TV, sadly, I ask myself, ‘Is this why Jesus came?’ and my heart bleeds for the people who are sucked into the deception and who are missing out on the beauty and simplicity of a union and communion with Jesus that shifts all the weight of living onto His shoulders.

Jesus sternly rebuked the disciples for getting between Him and the little children whom mothers had brought to Him for His blessing. Being drowned with a millstone around their necks was a better option than hindering anyone from coming to Him, He said. What about the leaders who mindlessly perpetuate all the nonsensical practices that take ordinary people’s attention away from Jesus? He came to set us free, not to tie us up in endless deviations from His pure and simple truth.

My plea to the people of God is this: Don’t let people shut you up and keep you away from getting close to Jesus. All that matters is that you and He keep interacting so that you can walk close to Him in the confidence that you are hearing and listening to each other.

He will do the rest! 

Walking Trees

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WALKING TREES

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 restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home saying, ‘Don’t even go into the village.’ (Mark 8: 22-26).

Why so secretive? Was this another of those occasions when Jesus wanted to dodge the crowds? Never did He pass up on an opportunity to show mercy. When this blind man was brought to Him with a desperate plea to heal him, He responded immediately with a great big “yes” but, at the same time, He was not in Bethsaida on a healing campaign.

He gently led the blind man away from the people. The poor guy must have wondered where Jesus was taking him. Outside the village, where He was alone with the man and His disciples. Jesus rubbed spit on the blind man’s eyelids. What was the purpose of that? Was it an aid to faith? Was there power in His spittle? Perhaps the reason was far simpler than that. Did Jesus use His spittle to lubricate the man’s eyelids so that He would not injure him when he touched his eyes? Every person, every situation demanded a different strategy.

After the first touch, Jesus questioned him. “What do you see?” This answer to this question seems to indicate that blindness had come on him at some stage in his life – cataracts may have formed or some disease may have caused him to go blind. Whatever the cause, he had once been able to see because he was able to identify trees. People as trees walking? Hazy objects moving – that’s all he could see at that moment. Light had begun to enter his eyes but he was still unable to focus.

Was Jesus perturbed because His touch had not worked? Not at all. He simple touched the man’s eyes a second time and the healing was complete. This time the man’s vision was perfect and he was able to identify everything clearly. Imagine his joy when the world around him once again came into view!

Why did Jesus send him home? Surely the man’s first objective was to run into the village square – unaided and without his cane to guide him, if he used a cane, and tell everyone the good news. What would they think of him if he sneaked off home and didn’t even announce to everyone that he could see again? What about the people who brought him to Jesus? Wasn’t it only right that he should at least report to them what had happened?

Jesus’ instruction had to override his desire to tell the world his good news. The Master had a very good reason for telling him to dodge the people and go home. By the time they found out that he had been healed, Jesus and His disciples would be far enough away to escape being mobbed by a crowd of desperate people wanting healing.

But why did Jesus act so secretively? Surely He wanted them to know who He was. Wasn’t this why He came – to introduce the kingdom of God to His people? Weren’t His miracles a witness to His identity and His mission?

In the next part of Mark’s story we get a clue to the reason why Jesus acted as He did. When He was among His own people, He warned many of those whom He healed not to talk about it because He wanted people to weigh up the evidence for themselves. He did not want a mob of curiosity-seekers to run after Him. He wanted people to believe in Him because they were convinced that He was the Messiah. Miracles do not produce faith. Faith produces miracles. Had miracles produced faith, the children of Israel would have trusted and obeyed God in the wilderness. Jesus would have gathered a crowd of believers in Him before He was ever crucified. But it didn’t happen.

Jesus is not interested in opportunistic followers. Unfortunately, campaigns of miracles and healing are doing exactly that today. People are invited to follow Jesus for what they can get out of Him. When He does not oblige, they walk away disillusioned because they have not learned to bow to Him as Lord.

Whether we experience miracles or not is irrelevant. Jesus demands our allegiance and obedience because of who He is, not because of what He can do for us. He is gracious and merciful, and He does heal and meet our needs, but that is because of who He is, not because of the demands we make of Him.

Do you follow Jesus as Lord, or do you use Him for your own ends?

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

And Now I See

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AND NOW I SEE 

“How, then, were your eyes opened?’ they asked. He replied, ‘The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.’

“‘Where is the man?’ they asked him. ‘I don’t know,” he said.” John 9:10-12 NIV.

This sounds like a far-fetched story! “A man put mud on my eyes, told me to go and wash it off, and then I could see.” That is not only unbelievable; it’s also un-believable. Whoever heard of that! It could have been a fabricated story except for one thing — the blind man was no longer blind and there was no explanation for the miracle.

The poor guy was in for a grilling and he didn’t even know who the man was who had healed him except that His name was Jesus.

“They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.  Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. ‘He put mud on my eyes,’ he replied, ‘and I washed, and now I see.’

“Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.’

But others asked, ‘How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?’ So they were divided.” John 9:13-16 NIV.

At least there were some people who had the good sense to look at the evidence! The Pharisees were at it again — Jesus was an evil-doer because He did not adhere to their Sabbath rules. But they missed the spirit of the Sabbath — for them it was about not doing the wrong things. It was not about doing the right things.

This is exactly where Jesus and the religious Jews parted company. They were sticklers for keeping the rules. Jesus focussed on meeting people’s needs. They accused Him of being a rule-breaker because He “worked” on the Sabbath according to their definition of “work”. For Him is was the right thing to do to set a blind man free from his prison on the Sabbath.

How tragic that so much of the church’s understanding of “righteousness” has become like the Pharisees’ rule-keeping ritual! We have our evangelical Ten Commandments or the equivalent. We are righteous as long as we do certain things and avoid doing other things. Unfortunately we also tend to judge other believers according to our standards of right and wrong.

Interesting, isn’t it, that Jesus had much more to say to people who failed to meet the needs of others than He did to the “sinners” He hobnobbed with to the disgust of the religious ones.  He had no word of condemnation for the Samaritan woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery. Quite the opposite! He was gentle and merciful towards them, but He had a lot to say to the religious hypocrites who covered up their greedy and wicked hearts with religious performance.

“‘The multitude of your sacrifices — what are they to me?’ says the Lord. ‘I have had more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats…

“‘When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if your offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight!  Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.'” Isaiah 1:11; 15-17 NIV.

Perhaps the church would once again make an impact on the world as it did in the first century if it set aside its religious performances and went back to the simplicity of Jesus’ invitation, ‘Follow me.’