“JESUS
CHRIST - A MAN APPROVED OF GOD (Acts 2:22)”
Miracle #26-
Mark
8:22-25,26
THE TEXT:
22 And he
cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought
him to
touch him.
23 And 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 upon him, he asked him if he saw
ought.
24 And he
looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
25 After
that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he
was
restored, and saw every man clearly. (Mark 8:22-25)
22
And he
cometh to Bethsaida
Bethsaida
was one ‘tough’ city with the blindness of unbelief.
They had
seen a lots of miracles but had remained unmoved about Christ being God
in the
flesh (1Timothy 3:16)
“Woe unto
thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty
works, which
were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented
long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matthew 11:21)
a blind
man
unto him,
How
fitting to
perform a miracle for blindness such as this … as the whole city of
Bethsaida was
blind as well … with their eyes of understanding remaining closed
(Ephesian 1:18).
and
besought
him to touch him.
The
word
‘besought’ has the same meaning as ‘beseech’ meaning urgently
and fervently.
Why
touch?
The people that brought this man knew that when Christ touched
people,
they were healed … as with the case of the widow with an issue of
blood, where
an automatic dose of virtue came out of Christ
(Mark
5:30).
But
as we
shall see, the virtue here, would be imparted consciously
into
the blind man on the faith of others (John 1:44)
As
stated, it was an unbelieving city,
but even so, Christ chooses to heal this blind man even though does not
ask for
it … indeed making him look up (Luke
8:25).
23
And he
took the blind man by the hand
When
Christ
takes you by the hand, something will happen … be it a healing or a
deliverance
(Matthew 9:25; Mark 1:31; Mark 5:41; Acts 3:2; Acts 9:8; Hebrews 8:9)
and
led him
out of the town;
Indeed,
Dear
Reader, Christ’s healing for us also took place ‘out of town’ at
Calvary … out
of a ‘kingdom of darkness’ called Jerusalem (Colossians 1:13).
Similarly,
Bethsaida,
being a city in darkness, was not going to be the place where
Christ
would heal this blind man.
and
when he
had spit on his eyes,
To
spit on
someone in the Bible, is to express derision and contempt.
However
Christ, in spitting on the man’s eyes, was not showing disgust
toward
the man, but an abhorrence at the condition of blindness.
Remember,
this is also a message for Bethsaida as a whole, that Christ was
spitting on
their blindness as well.
Indeed,
unlike
other spitting in the Bible, we are reminded that Christ’s spit has
a
dual function … one of contempt and one of healing
(John
9:6).
and
put his
hands upon him,
It
may have
been his shoulders or arms but not on his eyes at this stage … and for
a specific
reason that we shall uncover.
he
asked him
if he saw ought.
Christ
knew
what the answer would be … that the man would see.
24 And he
looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
The
reasoning is as follows …
a. Christ,
as the Son of man, is rightfully called the Branch (Jeremiah
33:15) … with
God the Father being the tree … out of which Christ has come (Hebrews
7:14).
b. Having
said that, Christ is the tree … as Christ is the Father in the
flesh (1
John 5:7-8; Isaiah 9:6).
c. As
Christ,
having created all things, men are made in his image as
trees as
well (John 1:3; Genesis 1:26)
d. That
the
blind man sees walking trees indicates they are natural physical
men
… they are not dead … as they are walking.
e.
However,
only when Christ specifically touches this man’s eyes can he
see Christ
as the tree of life (Genesis 3:22).
Let us
continue …
25
After
that he put his hands again upon his eyes,
This
was to signify
as to the place on the man’s body where Christ would now spiritually
heal
to truly open his eyes of understanding (Ephesians 1:18).
The fact
that this man sees natural physical men at this stage, simply means his
eyes
have been brought back to physical life … it’s the first stage of his
healing.
But it is
not until that Christ touches the man a second time, specifically on
his eyes,
that he will see the true spiritual tree
… that of Christ as the tree of life.
and
made
him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
Christ
says
“As you physically look up at me, you will see me … the tree of life!”
Indeed
Dear
Reader, we are reminded … “… when these things begin to come to
pass, then
look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth
nigh.” (Luke
21:28)
This was a
lesson for Bethsaida to see, that not only could Christ make men
physically
see, but should the city look at him a second time, they would be
spiritually
healed.
Although
Philip
came from the ‘blind’ city of Bethsaida (John 1:44), he was an example
of one
who had his eyes of understanding opened by Christ (Ephesian 1:18).
It
seems
fitting then, that Philip could help ‘open’ the
Ethiopian’s eyes
to see Christ (Acts 8:27).
In
addition,
certain Greeks would come to Philip also asking to see
Jesus (1
John 12:21).
Conclusion
This
was a specific
message to the particularly blind city of Bethsaida, and indeed blind
Israel …
that as the man eyes were physically opened, so Christ could
spiritually open
their eyes.
The
first
time, this man looked up to see Christ … he was a walking tree (John
8:24), but
it was not until the second time that he was made to look up,
that he
saw Christ as the tree of life.
And
this
seems fitting, as Christ being the 2nd person in the
Godhead,
is the second witness (Matthew 18:16).
Dear Reader, where do you stand?
but
very few
will look at him a second time,
and
see him
as the tree of life.
Harley
Hitchcock
This
website’s front page is:
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“JESUS
CHRIST - A MAN APPROVED OF GOD (Acts 2:22)”
Miracle #27-