Seeing Jesus clearly
Mark 8:22-26
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.”
Jesus again shows his authority and power by restoring a man’s sight. What an experience!
Notice the context of this miracle – it follows incredibly miraculous feeding of thousands, and testing by the Pharisees. Jesus rebukes his disciples who seem unaware of the true meaning of what they have witnessed and the challenge the Pharisees will pose. In frustration Jesus says “do you still not see? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?” In other words do you not see what is really happening? I am declaring I am the Son of God but you are caught up with the mundane!
So while responding with sympathy and changing the blind man’s life for ever, Jesus used the miracle of healing to illustrate this point to his disciples (who would have been there to witness it.) He challenges the “blindness” of the disciples (and Pharisees for that matter) by partly healing the man who, though he could see, saw the world as muddled. He then healed him so he could see clearly. This is what Jesus wanted for his disciples – to see him clearly, that is to see him as the Son of God, as revealed by his miracles.
This miracle comes at the end of one section of Mark. We are about to move into the chapters where Jesus reveals his destiny is to suffer and die. So, the disciples will really need to “see” clearly to travel this journey with the Lord, to understand what he came to do – to die in their place.
Jesus wants us to “see” him clearly too. He wants us to understand him and to know him. He calls us to follow him and learn from Him. What an incredible thing that is – and the Father has given us the Holy Spirit to make Jesus known to us. We are not far from him, he wants to show us who he is.
Dearest Lord Jesus, in your beautiful act of healing the blind man you changed his life. Thank you for revealing yourself to the people there and to us. Reveal yourself so I can know you more. Amen
Written by Claire Moore