A Miracle in Two Parts
Mark 8
Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.” And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and fail to see? Do you have ears and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.”Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8)
I suppose, when you read this, in your time, you will come to the conclusion that we were awfully dumb. It seemed that Jesus certainly thought so. Read it again and see if you don’t agree. Just to help you remember, this conversation happened immediately after Jesus had fed four thousand people, with only seven loaves and a few fish. And what’s more, not too long before that, he fed over five thousand, in much the same situation. You may recall that, even after witnessing that previous miracle, we, his disciples, had the nerve to ask this question: “How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?” And now, to make matters even worse, we were worried that we’d forgotten to bring bread with us in the boat.
Was Jesus angry with us? You can’t miss it. But don’t forget, we were all chosen by him, hand-picked if you will. So maybe, he had only himself to blame! I can just imagine how many times he must have regretted his choices. Surely, he might have done better with twelve other men.
Because you must remember that we had already been walking with Jesus every day, for well over a year. In that time, we had witnessed miracle after miracle of healings, giving sight to the blind, driving out demons, even turning water into wine. We’d heard him teach and preach about the Kingdom of God. So, you would think that we’d have, by now, a pretty good idea as to who Jesus really was. But did we? I think you know the answer to that question.
Let me share with you what happened next. It’s really important for you to understand what we, at the time, could not see.
As soon as we arrived at Bethsaida, people approached us with a blind man. Jesus then took him out of the village, and this is what happened next:
He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again, and he looked intently, and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (Mark 8)
Christ Healing the Blind Man
I hope you don’t miss the symbolism in this miracle. In any case, I will come back to that.
Because just after this, we left and went to Caesarea Phlippi. And there, Jesus finally asked us the most important question, the one question that, eventually, everyone, both in our time and in yours, must answer.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16)
Finally. Yes, finally, after all of the miracles and all of the teaching and preaching, the truth of Jesus was given to us. I can’t say why Jesus waited so long to ask this pivotal question, but he did. Perhaps he understood how slow of mind we were! I wonder if you might have a theory as to why he waited so long?
And more important, why had we been so blind? Why could we not see? And why, even now, was Jesus revealed to us, not through our own observation and intelligence, but purely as a gift from our Father God? “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.”
I think I can answer these questions and I hope that my answers will help you, in your time, as you reflect on our struggles. Because you, too, may be struggling to fully understand who Jesus is. If you are, please know that you are not alone.
Was Jesus nothing more than a great preacher, like John the Baptist? Or was he a prophet like Elijah, a man who could also heal sick people? No, Jesus was much, much more, more than any human could possibly be.
Looking back, I can now see that we were perhaps a bit too comfortable in our blindness. I mean, we followed Jesus, but honestly, we weren’t sure exactly why, and we weren’t even sure who he truly was. Whenever we were challenged, we looked to him to rescue us, just as he did when we were sinking in the midst of a storm. And he was always there, always doing the right thing, always protecting us, performing amazing miracles. And so, we relied on him without going any deeper into exactly who he was and what, ultimately, he would expect of us.
But then, Jesus began to change. He sent us out to deliver his message, carrying nothing with us. He told us to feed large crowds and then criticized our lack of faith when we didn’t know what to do. And he told us troubling things about not only his future, but about ours as well. In short, we were beginning to learn that the price to follow Jesus was going to be terribly high. Remaining in our partial blindness was becoming much more difficult.
What’s more, we could sense the mounting rejection from our religious leaders. These were men we respected and we could feel their hatred of Jesus. You will no doubt remember how their hatred eventually resulted in his death.
So, yes, perhaps down deep, we didn’t want to know any more about Jesus. Perhaps we were comfortable with a more limited view of who he was. Maybe you can understand our reluctance to fully embrace the totality of Jesus. I hope that you have not fallen into the same trap, of a comfortable level of faith in him, one that demands little of you, obedience without any true understanding, just watching him perform.
So, for us, witnessing miracles wasn’t enough. Hearing Jesus preach wasn’t either. After so much evidence, we still had only a partial sense of who he was. It literally took an act of God to show us. And I must add that, over the remainder of his time with us, our faith in Jesus needed to be reinforced again and again. I can only hope that your faith doesn’t drift like ours did.
And that brings me back to the blind man and how it took a second try for him to be able to see clearly. I promised to show you the symbolism in this miracle.
To me, it showed how Jesus would not give up. To him, it wasn’t enough for the man to see only in part, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Jesus wanted him to be able to see clearly, fully, just as he wants each of us to see him clearly, for all the fullness of our God in him. He kept trying with the blind man, and also with us, and I am sure that he will keep trying with you, too.
But there’s one more thing, one more, that you might have missed. Yes, as Jesus was laying his hands on the man’s eyes for a second time, the man “looked intently.” It was only then that his sight was fully restored and he could see clearly. And what did he see? Well, the first thing he saw was the face of Jesus!
And looking “intently” is what I have come to believe that Jesus asks of us, all of us, who would seek to know him and follow him. You see, we can’t look the other way; we must look “intently” to fully see him. That means we must look with intention. Yes, we must be intentional and not lackadaisical in looking at Jesus. Living in the comfort of a limited view of him will never be enough.
As I said, I have needed regular reinforcement to keep my faith from drifting. And, thanks be to God, as long as I have “looked intently” at Jesus, I have been given, just as Simon Peter was given, the answer to that most important question:
“But who do you say that I am?”