Mark 8:22-26 (NKJV) A Blind Man Healed at Bethsaida
22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 23 So 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 on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”
25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. 26 Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”
V22 “Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.”
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary: “Bethsaida was an important town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 6:45). It was a base for fishermen who worked the rich fishing grounds of the lake. Among those fishermen were the brothers Andrew and Peter, who became two of Jesus’ disciples. Another disciple, Philip, was also from Bethsaida (John 1:44).”
They might refer to friends or family. Someone led him to Jesus.
They had faith, believing that Jesus could heal him.
V23 “So 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 on him, He asked him if he saw anything.”
Why did Jesus lead him out of town? He did it 1) for privacy, 2) so the healing was not for show, and 3) to prevent Jesus’s evil complainers from causing trouble.
Why this method? God’s healings come tailored for every individual. Somehow this man needed the healing done in this way. Perhaps it was to test his faith or reveal His glory in a new way. The spitting does mean Jesus opened the man’s eyelids and spit in them. More likely Jesus put some spit on His finger and rubbed it in on the man’s eye or eyelids.
Constable on John 9:1-12 offers other reasons: “Jesus may have intended these sensory aids to strengthen the man’s faith. Jesus may have varied His methods of healing so people would not think that the “method” was more important than the “Man” doing the healing.
“Perhaps Jesus also used saliva and clay to associate this act of healing with divine creation (Gen 2:7). [Note #553: Lindars, p. 343; Blum, p. 307.] Another suggestion is that by covering the man’s eyes with mud, Jesus was making his blindness even more intense to magnify the cure.”
V24 “And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”
V25 “Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.” This time there was no spit or other methods. Jesus put His hands on the man’s eyes and had the man look up. The man obeyed, showing his faith, and the man was healed.
V26 “Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.” Why not tell everyone? Possibly because opposition was growing and the people only wanted Jesus around for fleshly desires of food and healing, but they rejected the spiritual and prophetic desires which are more important. Healing eyes is wonderful, but healing the heart (soul/spirit) by a new creation is the most important. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (EHV) So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. The new has come!
We learn:
- Jesus uses different methods to accomplish the same goal. We can apply this for our spiritual and life in this world as well.
- Jesus was seeking the heart, not the numbers of followers.
Questions:
- Do we lead others to Jesus?
- Are we willing to let Jesus use us differently than what we would like?