Mark 8:22-26

On the other side of the lake, Jesus had a dispute with the Pharisees (8:11-12). While in the boat on the way to Bethsaida, Jesus spoke to the disciples of the “yeast of the Pharisees” (self and self-motivation, need for proof of Messiah, power, Jews-only salvation, etc.). The disciples thought it was about bread. But it was not. It was about self and being unable to see reality because of self and the need for gratification. Jesus was a savior better than Moses (bread from nothing), and His miracles should have been seen in the light of Israel’s past. They (the Pharisees and even the disciples) were blind to reality.

Bethsaida was on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee, the “house of fisherman.” Lots of Jesus’ teaching included fishing illustrations (Matthew 4:19) because this region thrived on the occupation and people understood the language of fishing. Bethsaida was part of the “orthodox triangle” around Galilee and full of devout Jews. A lot of synagogues have been unearthed in this region, and most of Jesus’ miracles happened in this area (Bethsaida, Capernaum, Korazin). Peter, Andrew, and Philip were successful fishermen from here. This is where Jesus fed 5,000. It was a prosperous town.

People brought a blind man to Jesus so He would touch them. They obviously knew Jesus could do something about this man. So they had seen his miraculous signs before. Why was touch—why is this significant?

The woman in Mark 5 had touched Jesus and was healed from her hemorrhaging. Jesus took Jairus’ daughter by the hand and brought her to life. He touched the bread, breaking it and feeding 5,000, then 4,000. He placed hands on the man’s ears in the Ten Towns district and gave him hearing (He told the man to be quiet, but he wasn’t). Touch seemed to be associated with a lot of His miracles. People were impressed by what they could see happening. Touch means something to the one healed, I would think.

Jesus did touch the man, but this didn’t bring immediate healing. He led him outside the village. Why would He do this?

They were in a region full of devout Jews. Perhaps there were a lots of rabbis, teachers, Pharisees around. In Dalmanoutha, the Pharisees badgered Him over proving Himself with some kind of miraculous sign. But healing was to be about the one healed, not in satisfying curiosity or the desire for the sensational. Jesus could have been trying to get the man away from these people.

He spat on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him. I always thought of this as pretty gross, actually. Ancients believed that saliva had healing properties. I can’t imagine that this was what Jesus was thinking here. These were devout Jews. In their Scriptures, spitting on someone is only referred to in a negative way, an act of rejection and contempt. People spat on Jesus after His trial on the day of His crucifixion.

But why would Jesus do this? I’ll take a gander, but understand that it isn’t clearly stated, so more thought is definitely due on this besides my own. Could this have been a way of Jesus showing contempt to the blindness and what Satan had been doing? Was it a concession to this man’s possible belief in what the ancient healers had taught (again, I doubt this answer just based on where they were). Was it a supernatural anointing?

Jesus asked the man, “Do you see anything?” Strange. He didn’t do this anywhere else. He didn’t heal in two stages anywhere else either. But think about it! This follows Jesus’ rebuking of the disciples: “… do you have eyes that fail to see…?” I would assume the disciples may have witnessed this healing. Could this be a lesson for them?

Contempt would be God just giving self-centered hearts a sign to indulge curiosity or a need for a sign to reveal truth. Blindness is seeing as a Pharisee, or seeing as a disciple in the boat whining about not having enough bread. You only see “trees walking around,” not with clarity. Jesus’ touch brings healing to a heart who wants true healing and clarity of thought and life. Sight is restored with the touch of Jesus, and healing means that the self is left dead. There’s no need to make a dead man happy!

Jesus told the man to not even enter the village. I might interpret this as Jesus saying (really to the disciples as much as the man), “The ones who brought you, the ones in the village, are blind. They won’t see this with clarity. They’re seeking the sensational to satisfy themselves. I want you to be healed. Don’t stoop to their blindness, trading one blindness in for another.”

Healing: not just physical. It’s healing of the heart. It’s healing of your perceptions and sight into the things of God, giving you clarity to see what’s true versus what’s false, the things of God vs. the things of Satan.

Father, open my eyes! If I seek You to gratify curiosity, don’t reveal what I’m looking for but what You know I need for new, healed, and complete Kingdom life. I want to see the world through Your eyes. I want to see truth, with perfect sight and twenty-twenty focus. I want desire today to please You, to love You, to follow You, forsaking my self, not trying to make that dead man happy.

Fill me with Your Spirit! Fling laboring harvesters into Your harvest field today, wherever that might be. Please, begin with me!

Jesus... all!