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Scripture:
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 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?" And he looked up and said, "I see people, but they look like trees, walking." Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village." —Mark 8:22-26Background Story: Jesus Heals A Blind Man at Bethsaida
We've known that Jesus had worked many miracles in His time. In the four gospels, we saw miracles told in different perspectives and presentations. Most of them are worked at an instant except for this one story of Jesus healing a blind man outside the village of Bethsaida.
1. Miracle through People
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. (Mark 8:22)Bethsaida is a village of no faith (Matthew 11:21). We can see here that people brought this man to Jesus, maybe because of their concern for him or maybe they just want to take advantage of his struggle to witness God's miracle first hand. Either ways, they knew Jesus could do something to this man. We can also see that it's not the blind man's initiative and effort that he was presented to Jesus, but of the people around him. Probably because of the idea of being blind, or maybe because of his unbelief in healing. So, similar to this man, we may also find ourselves lacking of the strength to come to God, or have this unbelief because of our personal struggles. But sometimes, God uses people around us, in prayer and in faith to bring us near to Him, ready for healing.
2. Miracle in Place
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?" (Mark 8:23)So Jesus, took this man and led him to a place of solitude, away from the village of noise. In fact, Jesus can heal him instantly in that very moment, but we can see here that Jesus desires something more than the physical healing. Sometimes, God brings us to a place where we can meet Him one on one, and impress us with things we cannot see when we are in the midst of the distraction.
Notice that Jesus brought him out of that place along with Him by the hand, and the man followed Him without knowing the benefit of "following". Now, Jesus spit on his eyes to show that He cares for him and soothes the man's hurting before the healing touch. Same with us, Jesus comforts us first before He heals us.
3. Miracle in Patience
And he looked up and said, "I see people, but they look like trees, walking." (Mark 8:24)Now, after Jesus touched the man's eyes, we can see that it wasn't fully restored, the man saw that people look like trees. With this fact, we can infer that he can see before, but he was just blinded by any reason. So, Jesus decided to show him the glimpse of the miracle to first allow the faith of that person to grow. He did it intentionally, because again, He does miracles not to show off, but to point everyone to Him being the Savior and Lord. Sometimes, God heals us partially and just by glimpse, for us to grow our faith in patience. And God can use each trials and pain to move us from unbelief to belief.
4. Miracle in Progress
Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (Mark 8:25)After all that the man was being separated with Jesus, He felt cared and loved, and healed partially. Jesus has now built the excitement on him, so finally laid his hands on his eyes again. Now, when he opened his eyes, the passage does not say "partially" or "have that full sight". It says that "he saw everything clearly". He just proved to this man that He is the author of perfector of his faith (Hebrews 12:2). We may have a very different and unique story like this man, but this proved us that Jesus is never limited on any method of encountering us, may it be by an instant or by progression.
5. Miracle to Preach
And he sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village." (Mark 8:26)In spite of the joy of being healed, Jesus instructed this man not to return to the village, but go back to his home. Many people anxious of the result of the healing are waiting inside and if they knew this, they would all come to Christ not because of the faith that He is the Savior and Lord, but because they just need the healing. Remember that Bethsaida has no faith in spite all the miracles done inside.
How joyous it is to go and walk seeing everything clearly. We can hold on to the loving hands of God and believe that he will meet everyone of us where we're at.
He knows our personal pain and through that, He can open the eyes of our heart and reveal Himself more clearly.
Photo by: Duncan Torres
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