The Blind Man at Bethsaida
Mark 8:22-26 NLT
“When (Jesus & his disciples) arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him.”- Mark 8:22
Again, we see people begging Jesus to touch and heal someone as with yesterday’s miraculous event. I believe the people begged Jesus for a miracle because they were not at all accustomed to such things happening in their midst. They were amazed and frightened at the same time. Who is this man who can heal the sick with a single word or touch? Even in our society today we would be awestruck at seeing such a thing up close and personal. The only difference is that today people would find a million reasons as to why it wasn’t really a miracle. Man’s arrogance is his undoing. It reveals an incredible amount of ignorance regarding the truly important things in life.
Why did Jesus take the man by the hand and lead him outside the village? It would appear to be for the same reason as the previous post, to be alone with the man and not with a crowd of onlookers. In this particular case Jesus actually spit on the man’s eyes and then touched his eyes. Asking him what he could see may mean that this man wasn’t born blind, for how else would the man know that the people walking around by them looked like trees? How would he know what trees looked like? It was then that Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again and the man’s vision was completely restored. This man’s healing came in stages and was not instantaneous. The reason for this may be to show his disciples that not all healings were immediate, but rather gradual in nature.
What does this mean for us today? That God is a personal, one-on-one God who desires to deal with us on an individual basis. Knowing God as we hopefully do, we can accept miraculous events as natural when He is involved. Some responses come right away and some take time, but just as the man eventually left with his sight, so we will be satisfied with the answer God knows we need the most. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.
In His name & for His glory,
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
Resources: Verse Notes from The Life Application Study Bible, p.2127; Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament, Copyright 2004.
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