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| Do You See Anything? |
By:
Gord Lang |
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Vision – it’s a faculty that is so essential to normal human life. Without it we are dependent on others, and our existence becomes extremely limited. Of course, when we think of having vision, we often assume that we are referring to physical sight, but as we consider the subject we must also concede that spiritual vision is just as crucial to our normal existence. Without a vision, the ancient prophet asserted, the people perish. Jesus had much to say about vision. Not only are we told of His mercy to the physically blind, but we also hear His words of rebuke to the religious leaders of the day – you blind leaders of the blind!
Jesus was teaching in Bethsaida one day, when the people brought a blind man to Him, and pleaded with Jesus that He would heal the unfortunate man. We know that Bethsaida was the hometown of Andrew, Peter, Phillip, and John so, perhaps, the man was a friend of the disciples. Whether or not it was actually the aforementioned disciples, Mark tells us that they brought him to Jesus. The actual word that the apostle uses for brought literally means to bear, or to carry. We must consider that these friends expended a good deal of personal time and energy in order to connect their friend with the Healer. It wasn’t sufficient for them to merely inform the unfortunate one about the possibility of his release and subsequently leave him to find his own way to Jesus. They were clearly on a mission to ensure that the connection was made – knowing that Jesus was the answer to the blind man’s dilemma. In our own ministry to others, we must ask ourselves – how committed are we to ensuring that the needy are literally brought to the One that we know is the answer to their problems? It may take a considerable investment of our personal time and effort, but we need to realize that, if the connection can be made, the results are guaranteed.
Interestingly, the word that Mark uses to describe the blind man, is a word that means to be darkened by smoke. In modern medical terms, it is possible that the man may have suffered from cataracts as opposed to being totally blind, but, regardless of the state of severity, it was of prime importance to connect the man with Jesus. Perhaps, in our experience the one to whom we are ministering is not totally spiritually blind – it may be that he is experiencing a spiritual grey area with which he is having difficulty. The closer we can bring him to Jesus, the greater will be his chances for a full restoration of his spiritual sight.
Taking him by the hand, Mark says, Jesus brought him out of the village. Whether his disability was partial or complete, we see the compassion with which Jesus ministered to people. It was a gesture of tender concern for the unfortunate one as Jesus led him outside of the village limits. Why, one might question, would Jesus lead the man outside the village to perform His life-changing miracle? Wouldn’t it be better to operate on Main Street so that everyone would see the power of God at work? Wouldn’t such a strategy convince the entire village that He was, indeed, the Messiah? The answer may partially lie in the original meaning of the word – village. By definition the word literally means the common sleeping place. It was a place where people were used to inactivity, immobility, and complacency. We can readily see that such an environment is certainly not conducive to the miracle-working power of God in anyone’s life. Following Jesus’ example, there may be times in our own ministry when the Holy Spirit will prompt us to move our object of ministry outside of an environment of complacency so that their faith, as well as ours, will be more attuned to God’s perfect will.
Once they were out of the village, Mark relates, Jesus began ministering to the blind man in earnest, and the first course of action Jesus took was to spit on the man’s eyes. In a society where spitting at a person was the ultimate expression of contempt, such action must have been a shock to the bystanders as well as the one being ministered to. But a close examination of the scriptures reveals that this was not the only time that Jesus took this line of action. In John’s gospel we are told of another blind man’s experience where Jesus spat on the ground and made mud out of the spittle with which He anointed the man’s eyes. Mark also relates another instance where Jesus spat on a dumb man’s tongue in the process of ministering healing to him. Is there some logical explanation to such actions? Bible commentator Matthew Henry suggests that the spittle represents the eye salve referred to in Revelation 3:18 with which Christ anoints the eyes of the spiritually blind. Additionally, modern science has discovered that human saliva contains such antibacterial agents as secretory IgA, lactoferrin, and lactoperoxidase (Wikipedia.org). Whatever the reason may have been, I would not suggest trying this at home unless the Holy Spirit specifically gives that direction. In our efforts to be His disciples we must be careful not to assume that we can simply emulate Jesus’ actions and expect God to follow some doctrine of precedence. We must realize that, during His ministry, Jesus spent much time in daily prayer, and consequently could minister in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in any given situation. If our prayer life is anything of a similar nature then we may also be led to effect some strange acts in the course of our ministry but they must never be simply a result of something we read in the Bible…
…And laying His hands upon him He asked him “Do you see anything?” to which the blind man replied – “I see men , for I am seeing them like trees, walking about”. It appears from this statement that the man was unlike Bartimaeus who was born blind. He clearly recognized men, and he obviously knew about trees, and it became a point of consternation to him that the men appeared like the trees. In modern day medical terms we would say that the man now suffered from astigmatism. He could see, but not clearly – the images were distorted. In the spiritual realm we can see a parallel to some people to whom we may be called upon to minister. As a result of our prayers they may receive a certain amount of spiritual insight but the ability to see clearly is not evident. Notice that Jesus did not scold the man for his lack of faith, He gently laid His hands on the man’s eyes the second time. But, shouldn’t the healing have been complete the first time? Why did Jesus, the Healer, have to touch him the second time? Many Bible scholars have wrestled with those questions and have not arrived at a satisfactory answer. Perhaps we need to realize that sometimes healing is a process as opposed to a one-time event. In His sovereignty, there are times when God chooses to heal us over a period of time. We should not be disappointed or lose faith if our expectations are not immediately fulfilled. The more we believe, the more we are likely to receive. Perhaps that is why Jesus referred to faith as a mustard seed that starts small, but grows exponentially.
And after looking intently, he was restored and began to see everything clearly. Note once more that the writer uses the word restored which indicates that at one time the man was able to see. Now, after a certain amount of concentration, to his utter delight, the man could see clearly. No longer was he confined to darkness, nor did he have to deal with a milder impediment in his sight. Having received the healing touch of the Master, the man was able to see clearly. It’s interesting to note that the word the writer of the Gospel used for clearly means “at a distance”. The stigmatism that resulted from Jesus’ initial touch was completely eradicated. His vision was no longer distorted as he peered into the light – for the first time he could lift up his eyes to the distant hills and see the beauty of God’s creation. The result was an explosive, inexpressible joy and thanksgiving to the One that had restored his sight.
And so it is to the one whom the Lord restores spiritual sight. No longer must they walk in the darkness of this world – they can enter in to the light of the glorious gospel. Nor do they have to be satisfied with a distorted vision regarding spiritual matters. Now everything comes into perspective as they gaze, perhaps for the first time, at the whole picture of God’s love and grace. Such is the condition that God desires for each one of His children. We must never be satisfied with spiritual stigmatism. As we look intently with our newfound vision, everything comes into focus, and we become a witness to those around us who are still groping in the darkness of their existence. |
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