March 03, 2024
BEYOND BELIEF: TRULY SEEING, ONE STEP AT A TIME
March 03, 2024
Pastor Jonathan Falwell
As a Christian, do you realize that you are on a journey that will take a lifetime? You will constantly be tempted by the world, but He will be faithful to you every day. You will be ever learning new facets of His character and understanding His will for you. No matter how many times you read your Bible, or how many chapters you memorize, there will always be areas of growth as you walk and talk with Jesus. There will even be times as you read verses you have read for years that you suddenly exclaim, “I never noticed that before!”—it is the Holy Spirit illuminating passages as you go from “faith to faith”, “precept upon precept, line upon line.” Today we see this illustrated in the miracle of the blind man whom Jesus healed—one step at a time. Join us as we see new light shed on a familiar account.
Focal Passage: Mark 8:11-21, 22-26, Heb. 11:6.
The desperate need to see:
- Read Mark 8:22. By now, you should recognize the name of the town of Bethsaida, where it was located, and which disciples were from there; does anyone recall? It was a small “hometown” village, and Jesus and His disciples were often passing through, or visiting. Can someone retell what has just happened in the first twenty verses of Mk. 8?
- As you visualize Jesus walking from one area to the next, what are three groups of people that immediately come mind who followed Him? Was this crowd any different? Who, particularly, did it include? What kind of a mission were they on?
- The Greek word for the term the people who brought the blind man to Jesus is “beseeched” Him. What does that word mean to you? How did they indicate their faith in Him by their words? Does it seem to indicate the blind man was very dear to them?
The gradual process of sight:
- Read Mark 8:23-25. What do you think the ones who brought the blind man to Jesus expected to see Him do? Why would Jesus have led the man out of the town?
- Would it surprise you to learn that in the Roman culture, human saliva was considered a curative agent? Does that fact make you view the action of Jesus with less distaste than we as westerners might naturally feel? Why did Jesus ask the man if he could see? How did he reply?
- What did his answer tell you about his history? When Jesus touched his eyes again, what happened?
The failure to see when it’s right in front of you:
- Read Mk. 8:11-12. In this passage, what had the Pharisees seen Jesus do? Why would they ask for a sign? What was their reason for doing so? Why did they hate Him so? Can you imagine how they will feel when they stand before Him and know He is God’s Son?
- Read verses 13-21. How does Jesus continue this teachable moment? How could the disciples think there might be a problem because they had no bread?
- What questions did Jesus ask them (knowing that they were talking among themselves)? What did He mean, “Do you not understand? Are your hearts still hard? Do you not see? Do you not hear? Do you not remember how much food was taken up after [I] fed the thousands?”
- He was making a huge point here: Whom do YOU say that I AM? What about YOU?
APPLICATIONS:
1. Looking for Him is the first step to truly seeing! (Matt. 6:33, Jer. 29:13, Matt. 7:7).
2. It takes time and effort to fully understand who He is.
3. Seeking and trusting Him leads to absolute sight!
Close:
This miracle has probably caused many questions over the years as people deal with the obvious, that Jesus could have just thought the healing, and the man would have been healed; or, as in some cases, He could have said “(Eyes), OPEN!” and it would have been done. But He chose another way so that He could teach not only the disciples but also us a very important lesson: we, too, are very slow to see God at work, slow to understand, and slow to hear His voice. We often lack the faith to trust that He will do what we are asking Him to do. We want it now. We want it our way. We want it without pain and without waiting. We don’t want to pay for it, work for it, think for it. We are just like the Pharisees quite often. How often do we read our Bible and later can’t remember what we read? Or get out of church and that evening try to recall what was preached? How frequently do we forget to pray for our food, or for our family?
This journey, as stated in the opening, will take us a lifetime to complete, and it will not end until we step through that doorway into Heaven. May we start it with a surety that Jesus Christ is God’s Son who came to the earth to live among men, who lived a perfect life, died a cruel death on a cross to pay for OUR sins, was buried, and then on the third day rose to life again! He ascended back to heaven to sit beside the Father and is waiting for the day when God will say, “Go get My children!” Until then, may we be always faithful, telling His story.
By Sandy Day
March 03, 2024