The document discusses the healing of a blind man by Jesus in Bethsaida, highlighting the gradual nature of the miracle as Jesus initially restored partial sight before fully healing him. It reflects on the themes of faith, spiritual blindness, and the significance of Christ's method, emphasizing His personal approach and the importance of solitude in deepening one's understanding of spiritual needs. The narrative serves as an illustration of the larger spiritual truths concerning the progressive journey of faith and the healing power of Christ.

1. JESUS WAS USING SPIT TO HEAL
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Mark 8:22-25 22They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged
Jesus to touch him. 23He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When
he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"
24He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." 25Once more Jesus
put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw
everything clearly.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Restoring The Blind To Sight
Mark 8:22-26
A.F. Muir Illustration of Christ's -
I. WISDOM. He rebuked a vulgar curiosity, and perhaps baffled a Pharisaic intrigue. His
privacy, so needful for bodily rest and spiritual preparation for the great conflict he felt to be
impending, was thus preserved; and the course of teaching and working upon which he had
entered was not seriously disturbed. The subject of the miracle was himself preserved from
undue excitement with its attendant dangers. And shall we not suppose that a deeper and more
spiritual understanding may have arisen between the Saviour and the recipient of his mercy
during those solemn and deeply moving experiences which preceded his recovery? His deep,
unbroken attention was secured as he felt the Saviour's touch and listened to his voice. By
leading him away he tested and exercised his faith. By emphasizing the stages of recovery he
made it clear to the man himself that it was no accidental occurrence, but a deliberate cure. And
in the means used - so evidently inadequate to produce such a result - he showed how
supernatural the power that was being exercised. The questions asked encouraged the man to put
forth his own power as he received it, and thus to co-operate in the curative process. The final
injunction to silence and home-going present the incident as a deep personal experience in the
mind of the man, and as an evangelic message to those who were most likely to receive it in
simplicity and gratitude.
II. MERCY. Although the shadow of death was falling upon the soul of Jesus, he was full of the
instinct and will to save. There is scarcely any appreciable pause in his work; and retirement is
not inactivity, but quieter, deeper, and more continuous, because more naturally prompted,
action. Each case of distress as it arises receives his deliberate and careful attention. His
diagnosis of the blind man's state must have been perfect. It was impaired original power that
had to be restored, and the treatment corresponded to this fact. The interest of the Saviour in the

2. case is as great as that of the saved. The sinister ends of those who brought the blind man, or
watched to see what would be done, did not prevent him showing the mercy required. When the
bodily cure had been completed, the spiritual welfare of the recovered one was carefully
provided for. The aim is complete salvation in every sense of the word. What Christ does he will
do perfectly.
III. JUDGMENT. Unworthy men were debarred from seeing the wonders of his saving power.
They might have perverted the privilege to an evil end, and so injured themselves and the cause
of Christ; so they were shut out. It is a fearful sentence against a place or a person when the
spectacle of the Lord's saving grace is denied, and the things that make for peace are hidden from
view. - M.
Biblical Illustrator
And He cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto Him.
Mark 8:22-26
Blindness common in the East
R. Glover.Blindness was and is more common in Egypt and Syria than in any other part of the
world. The glare of light, the dust which is produced by a dry season, extending from May to
November, in which rain rarely falls, and the fruit of the newly ripe fig, all tend to produce
inflammation of the eyes, and this, when severe or repeated, produces blindness. One-tenth of the
population of Joppa today are blind. In a neighbouring town, Lydda, a traveller, probably
exaggerating, said every other person was blind of one or both eyes. In Cairo, a city of 250,000
inhabitants, there are 4,000 blind. Accordingly, this was one of the commonest ills which the
Saviour had to treat.
(R. Glover.)
Sight for the blind
J. R. Thomson, M. A.I. A SYMBOL OF THE SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS OF HUMANITY.
II. A SYMBOL OF SALVATION BY DIVINE CONTACT.
III. A SYMBOL OF THE PROGRESSIVE CHARACTER OF SPIRITUAL
ENLIGHTENMENT.
IV. A SYMBOL OF THE POWER OF CHRIST TO EFFECT COMPLETE ILLUMINATION.
(J. R. Thomson, M. A.)
Christ's method of dealing with individual souls

3. A. F. Muir, M. A.I. HE ISOLATES FROM DISTURBING INFLUENCES. First with Christ,
that afterwards he may be in Him.
II. HE ENCOURAGES AND CONFIRMS FAITH. Personal contact and operation, and kindly
words, evoking patient's inner freewill and power.
III. HE EXACTS IMPLICIT OBEDIENCE. The first use of the restored vision is to avoid those
upon whom the man had formerly depended — a hard task! The life Christ's people are bidden to
lead may not commend itself to their judgment or desire, but it is best for their spiritual interests;
and if Christ is to be a complete Saviour, He must be an absolute and unquestioned Lord.
(A. F. Muir, M. A.)
Curing spiritual blindness
A. F. Muir, M. A.I.Deliverance from blind guides.
II.Transfer of confidence to the true Guide.
III.Revelation of the invisible power of God.
IV.Exercising the soul's newly acquired powers of spiritual vision.
V.Giving spiritual direction for the future.
(A. F. Muir, M. A.)
Earnestness and knowledge the parents of faith
Hugh Price Hughes.The only progressed cure recorded in the New Testament. Why was it not
instantaneous like the rest? Nothing our Lord did or left undone was without meaning; so there
must have been a reason for this. That reason cannot have been in Christ. He was no respecter of
persons; His tender sympathy yearned over this sufferer as tenderly as over the rest. It must be
traced, then, to the man himself and his fellow citizens. It the tone of morality had been higher in
Bethsaida, if public opinion had been more upright, if the collective example of the citizens had
been better, the probability is that the man would not have been so criminal. Now, what was
wrong?
I. WANT OF FAITH. Why was there a lack of faith?
1. Because there was a lack of earnestness. Distinct evidence of this. His friends bring him to
Christ, and from the fact that he does not speak except to answer a question, we infer that he was
not particularly anxious to be brought. No such eagerness as in the case of Bartimaeus.
2. Because there was a want of knowledge. This man was an inhabitant of Bethsaida Julius,
which was within easy walking distance of most of Christ's great works. The people living there
had heard His wonderful words of life; and surely if those who could see, and who therefore,
were without excuse, had realized their privileges and acted up to them they might have taught
this man; but they had not done so. They had not rejoiced in the good news from God; they had
not realized that the promised Messiah had come; they had not hastened to be His witnesses to
their neighbours. If they had done so, they would have brought home to the mind of this poor
blind man such a sense of the power and love of Jesus Christ, that he would not have hesitated
for one moment to believe that Christ was well able to restore him at once to perfect vision. And
because they were so unworthy Christ sends the man to his house, saying, "Neither go into the
town," etc. His fellow citizens were not worthy to hear the story of the great work which God
had wrought in him. We must not cast our pearls before swine, or give .hat which is holy to the

4. dogs. This man himself was the monument of their spiritual shortcomings; and if in the first hour
of his faith in Christ and his own personal experience of the power of Christ, he had returned to
his cold-blooded, indifferent, cynical neighbours, they might have quenched the little flame of
grateful love which was springing up in his heart.
(Hugh Price Hughes.)
Significant actions
Hugh Price Hughes.The profound and saintly Bengel calls our attention here to this touching
spectacle, that significant fact — that Christ did not command his friends to lead him out of the
town, but He led him out Himself. Oh, what a spectacle for men and angels — the Divine Son of
God tenderly taking the hand of this poor blind beggar, and leading him out of the town Himself!
And why did He lead him out of the town, away from the noise and confusion and preoccupation
of town life? Surely it was because solitude and silence are great teachers of earnestness. He
needed to be alone with himself and with his great want. It has been well said by a great teacher
of our own time, that solitude in the sense of being often alone, is essential to any depth of
meditation and character; and at present there is very little meditation and depth of character in
this man. It is necessary that he should be alone awhile, that he might realize the meaning of
these things — his great need and the love of God. And then it is also very significant that,
instead of speaking a word to him as usual, He moistens His finger and places it upon the
sightless eyeball of the blind, in order that by palpable evidence He might bring home to this
man that He is about to bestow upon him a supreme blessing. But, so far, the efforts of Christ are
not entirely successful; for, after He had put His hands upon him, He asked him if he could see,
and he looked up, and said, "I see men as trees" — I can see better than I ever saw before, but so
vaguely, so dimly, the out. line is so indistinct, that I confess I cannot distinguish between the
men and the trees at the side of the road, except by the fact that the men are moving. Now, you
will observe that Christ did not abandon His work when it was half done. Indeed, He asked the
man whether he could see, in order to bring home to him the fact that he could see a little, and
that so far hope might spring up within him; but, at the same time, that he might also bring home
to him the fact that he could see only very little. And then Christ put His hands upon his eyes a
second time, and after that second touch he saw clearly.
(Hugh Price Hughes.)
Healing the blind
C. H. Spurgeon.Men arrive at Christ by different processes: one is found by Christ Himself,
another comes to Him, another is borne of four, and this blind man is led. This matters little, so
long as we do come to Him. The act of bringing men to Jesus is most commendable.
1. It proves kindly feeling.
2. It shows practical faith in the power of Jesus.
3. It is thus an act of true wisdom.
4. It is exceedingly acceptable to the Lord; and is sure to prove effectual when the person himself
willingly comes.In this case there was something faulty in the bringing, since there was a
measure of dictation as to the method in which the Lord should operate.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Lord heals in His own way

5. C. H. Spurgeon.We must not attempt to dictate to Him how He shall operate. While He honours
faith, He does not defer to its weakness.
1. He does not consent to work in the prescribed manner.
2. He touched, but no healing came; and thus He proved that the miracle was not attached to that
special form of operation.
3. He did nothing to the blind man before their eyes; but led him out of the town. He would not
indulge their observation or curiosity.
4. He did not heal him instantly, as they expected.
5. He used a means never suggested or thought of by them — "spit on his eyes," etc.
6. When He did put His hands on him, He did it twice, so that, even in compliance with their
wish, He vindicated His own freedom.
(a)Thus He refused to foster the superstition which limited His power.
(b)Thus He used a method more suited to the case
(c)Thus He gave to the people larger instruction.
(d)Thus He displayed to the individual a more personal care.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Man cannot chose his remedy
Madame Swetchine.Is the sick man the doctor, that he should choose the remedy?
(Madame Swetchine.)
Symbolism of touch
E. N. Packard.In the touching of the eyes with spittle, and laying on of hands, there was no
inherent efficacy. They were means and channels of grace. Christ has established a Church in the
world, and an ordained ministry therein, and holy sacraments, which only through Him become
healing powers in the world. He could have spoken a word to the blind man at Bethsaida and all
would have been accomplished that was sought for. He could save men's souls directly by fiats
of omnipotent grace, but He has chosen a Church to embody and set forth the fulness of His love
toward a lost world. He has used means.
(E. N. Packard.)
Analogy to spiritual cures
E. N. Packard.Doubtless we are inclined to press the analogy between the gradualness of this
man's cure and the gradualness of certain restorations to spiritual life; but this seems quite
unauthorized. The cure was not an ideal type of all soul cures, but an instructive illustration of
occasional Divine methods. The instant the blind eyes began to see, there was a miracle
practically accomplished. The instant we turn to God in repentance and faith the new life begins;
and regeneration, whenever it occurs, is instantaneous. Yet, for all that, our capacity to receive
the fulness of Christ is at first but small, and the light must wax stronger and stronger as we walk
in it day by day.
(E. N. Packard.)
The gradual miracle

6. C. J. Vaughan, D. D.Variety is one mark of God's working, as order is another. There was a
fertility of resource, and a diversity of administration, which bespoke the agency of One who
from the beginning was with God and was God, the Doer of all God's acts and the Partner of all
God's counsels. The spiritual eye is not utterly closed nor utterly darkened; but its sight is
confused, its discernment of objects both misty and inaccurate.
1. It is so in reference to the things of God. We can speak but for ourselves: but who has not
known what it is to say, I cannot make real to myself one single fact or one single doctrine of the
Bible? I can say indeed — and I bless God even for that — Lord, to whom else can I go? where,
save in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, is there either the hope or the peradventure of healing
for a case like mine? And therefore I can cling to the Christian revelation with the tenacity of a
shipwrecked sailor whose one "broken piece of the ship" is his only possibility of escape: I can
just float upon that fragment, knowing that, torn from it or washed off from it, I am lost: but if
the question is, whether I really see ought; whether I can discern with the mind's eye the sacred
and blessed forms of a Father and a Saviour and a Comforter who are such to me; whether, when
I kneel down to pray, I can feel myself to be apart with my God; whether, when I approach
Christ's Table, I feel myself to be His guest; whether, when I ask to be kept this day from all sin,
I feel myself to be the temple of a Holy Spirit whose indwelling is my safeguard and my chief
joy; then I must answer that my hold upon all these things is precarious and most feeble; that
seeing I see, but scarcely perceive; that my God is too often to me like the gods of the heathen,
which can neither see, nor hear, nor reward, nor punish; that I too often conduct myself towards
Him as though I thought wickedly that He was even such an one as myself, equally short-sighted,
equally fallible, equally vacillating, equally impotent. More especially is this the case in
reference to the distinctive doctrines of Divine grace. How little do any of us grasp and handle
and use the revelation of an absolute forgiveness! What can we say more, in regard to all these
things, than that at best we see men as trees, walking? that we have a dim, dull, floating
impression of there being something in them, rather than a clear, bold, strong apprehension of
what and whom and why we have believed?
2. And if this be so in the things of God, in matters of direct revelation and of Christian faith; it is
scarcely less true in reference to the things of men; to our views of life, the present life and the
future, and to the relations in which we stand to those fellow beings with whom the Providence
of God brings us into contact. We all profess as Christians to be "looking for the resurrection of
the dead, and the life of the world to come." And yet, when we examine our own hearts, or
observe (however remotely) the evident principles of others, we find that in reality the world that
is holds us all with a very firm gripe. We cannot appreciate the comparative dimensions of things
heavenly and things earthly. The subject appears to suggest two words of application. First, to
those who are truly in the position which I have sought by the help of this miracle to indicate. To
those who are really under the healing hand of Christ, but upon whom as yet it has been laid
incompletely if not indecisively. Many persons think themselves quite healed, when they are at
best but half healed. Many, having experienced a first awakening, and sought with sincerity the
gift of the Divine forgiveness, rest there, and count themselves to have apprehended. The
importance of going forward in the process of the healing. Secondly, and finally, a word of
caution must be added to those who are too easily assuming that they are even half healed. The
hand is not laid without our knowing it, nay, nor without our seeking it. Even the first act of
healing is a gift above gold and precious stone: despise it not! Power out of weak. ness, peace out
of warfare, light outer darkness, sight out of dim, groping, creeping blindness, this it is to be the
subject of the first healing.

7. (C. J. Vaughan, D. D.)
The free agency of Christ
C. H. Spurgeon.I. IT IS A COMMON WEAKNESS OF FAITH TO EXPECT THE BLESSING
IN A CERTAIN WAY. They besought Him to touch him.
II. WHILE OUR LORD HONOURS FAITH HE DOES NOT DEFER TO ITS WEAKNESS. He
used a means never suggested by them — "spit on his eyes," etc.
III. WHILE OUR LORD REBUKES THE WEAKNESS OF FAITH, HE HONOURS FAITH
ITSELF. Faith ever honours the Lord, and therefore the Lord honours it. If faith were not thus
rewarded, Jesus Himself would suffer dishonour. He who has faith shall surely see; he who
demands signs shall not be satisfied. Let us forever have done with prescribing methods to our
Lord.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Seeing or not seeing, or men as trees walking
C. H. Spurgeon.I. PICTURE THE CASE. A person with a darkened understanding, not a man
who might be pictured by a person possessed with a devil.
II. NOTICE THE MEANS OF CURE. His friends brought him to Jesus. He first received contact
with Jesus. A solitary position: Jesus led the man out of the town. He was brought under
ordained but despicable means. Jesus spit on his eyes. Jesus put His hands on him in the form of
heavenly benediction.
III. CONSIDER THE HOPEFUL STAGE. The first joyful word is — "I see." His sight was very
indistinct. His sight was very exaggerating. This exaggeration leads to alarm. There is to such
people an utter loss of the enjoyment which comes from seeing beauty and loveliness.
IV. NOTICE THE COMPLETION OF THE CURE. Jesus touched His patient again. The first
person he saw was Jesus. Jesus bade him "look up." At last he could see every man clearly.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Seeing men as trees walking
L. Palmer.I. AN IMPROVEMENT UPON THE PAST. He was no longer blind — thus an
immense change had taken place. There is an infinite distance between the lowest type of a
Christian and the finest specimen of an unconverted soul. The most subtle animal and the
barbarous savage may seem to resemble each other; but a gulf which only God can bridge
separates them. Thus the most imperfect act of faith in Christ lifts a person out of the natural into
the spiritual realm.
II. A STATE THAT IS STILL UNSATISFACTORY. "Men as trees walking." Whilst an
imperfect faith will save the soul, yet it will not prevent incorrect views of truth: exaggerated
views; and many needless fears. Most of the theological contentions are through imperfect
conceptions of truth. Two men with perfect sight would see an object alike — two with very dim
sight would each see it to be different.
III. A GUARANTEE OF PERFECT VISION. The blade is a prophecy of the ear: the morning
twilight of the noonday splendour: the buds of spring of the fruit of autumn. He which hath
begun a good work within, will perfect it. He is the finisher as well as the author of our faith.

8. How strange if Christ had left the poor man thus. "Now are we sons of God — therefore it doth
not yet appear what we shall be."
(L. Palmer.)
Three views of Christ's work
Dr. Parker.I. Christ's work as a SALVATION. The restoring of sight was a point on the brilliant
line, the end of which was the salvation of mankind; so was every miracle of healing.
II. Christ's work as a PROCESS. The good work was not accomplished in this case, as in other's,
by a word; it was done gradually. It is so in spiritual enlightenment. All good men do not see
God with equal quickness or with equal clearness.
III. Christ's work as a CONSUMMATION. "He was restored, and saw every man clearly." He
will not leave His work until it be finished, if so be men beseech Him to go on to be gracious.
(Dr. Parker.)
The cure of a blind man
M. Henry.I. A BLIND MAN BROUGHT TO CHRIST. Their faith. If those who are spiritually
blind will not pray for themselves, let others pray for them.
II. A BLIND MAN LED BY CHRIST. He did not bid his friends lead him. Never had the blind
man such a leader before.
III. A BLIND MAN MARVELLOUSLY CURED.
1. Christ used a sign.
2. The cure was wrought gradually, but —
3. It was soon completed.He took this way because —
1. He would not be tied to any one method.
2. It should be to the patient according to his faith, which at first was very weak.
3. He would show how spiritual light shines "more and more to the perfect day."
(M. Henry.)
Get hold of sinners by the hand if you mean to get hold of them by the heartGough, the
temperance orator, tells of the thrill of Joe Stratton's hand laid lovingly upon his shoulder, just at
the time when he was reeling on the brink of hell; and of another gentleman of high
respectability, who came to his shop when he was desperately struggling to disengage himself
from the coils of the serpent, and almost ready to sink down in despair; and how he took him by
the hand, expressed his faith in him, and bade him play the man. Gough said, "I will:" and he did
— as everybody knows.
The gradual healing of the blind man
A. Maclaren, D. D.I. HERE WE HAVE CHRIST ISOLATING THE MAN WHOM HE
WANTED TO HEAL. Christ never sought to display His miraculous working; here He
absolutely tries to hide it. This suggests the true point of view from which to look at the subject
of miracles. Instead of being merely cold, logical proofs of His mission, they were all glowing
with the earnestness of a loving sympathy, and came from Him at sight of sorrow as naturally as
rays from the sun. A lesson about Christ's character; His benevolence was without ostentation.

9. But Christ did not invest the miracle with any of its peculiarities for His own sake only. All that
is singular about it will, I think, find its best explanation in the condition and character of the
subject, the man on whom it was wrought. What sort of a man was he? Well, the narrative does
not tell us much, but if we use our historical imagination and our eyes we may learn something
about him. First, he was a Gentile; the land in which the miracle was wrought was the half-
heathen country on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. In the second place, it was other people
that brought him; he does not come of his own accord. Then again, it is their prayer that is
mentioned, not his — he asks nothing. And suppose he is a man of that sort, with no expectation
of anything from this Rabbi, how is Christ to get at him? His eyes are shut, so cannot see the
sympathy beaming in His face. There is one thing possible — to lay hold of him by the hand; and
the touch, gentle, loving, firm, says this, at least: "Here is a man that has some interest in me, and
whether He can do anything or not for me, He is going to try something." Would not that kindle
an expectation in him? And is it not in parable just exactly what Jesus Christ does for the whole
world? Is not the mystery of the Incarnation and the re, caning of it wrapped up as in a germ in
that little simple incident, "He put out His hand and touched him"? Is there not in it too a lesson
for all you good-hearted Christian men and women, in all your work? We must be content to take
the hands of beggars if we are to make the blind to see. How he would feel more and more at
each step, "I am at His mercy! What is He going to do with me?" And how thus there would be
kindled in his heart some beginnings of an expectation, as well as some surrendering of himself
to Christ's guidance! These two things, the expectation and the surrender, have in them, at all
events, some faint beginnings and rude germs of the highest faith, to lead up to which is the
purpose of all that Christ here does. And is not that what He does for us all? Sometimes by
sorrows, sometimes by sick beds, sometimes by shutting us out from chosen spheres of activity.
Ah! brethren, here is a lesson from all this — if you want Jesus Christ to give you His highest
gifts and to reveal to you His fairest beauty, you must be alone with Him. He loves to deal with
single souls. "I was left alone, and I saw this great vision," is the law for all true beholding.
II. WE HAVE CHRIST STOOPING TO A SENSE-BOUND NATURE BY THE USE OF
MATERIAL HELPS. The hand laid upon the eyes, the finger possibly moistened with saliva
touching the ball, the pausing to question, the repeated application. They make a ladder by which
his hope and confidence might climb to the apprehension of the blessing. And that points to a
general principle of the Divine dealings. God stoops to a feeble faith, and gives to it outward
things by which it may rise to an apprehension of spiritual realities. Is not that the meaning of the
whole complicated system of Old Testament revelation? Is not that the meaning of His own
Incarnation? And still further, may we not say that this is the inmost meaning and purpose of the
whole frame of the material universe? It exists in order that, as a parable and a symbol, it may
proclaim the things that are unseen and eternal. So in regard of all the externals of Christianity,
forms of worship, ordinances, and so on — all these, in like manner, are provided in
condescension to our weakness, in order that by them we may be lifted above themselves; for the
purpose of the temple is to prepare for the time and place where the seer "saw no temple therein."
They are but the cups that carry the wine, the flowers whose chalices bear the honey, the ladder
by which the soul may climb to God Himself, the rafts upon which the precious treasure may be
floated into our hearts. If Christ's touch and Christ's saliva healed, it was not because of anything
in them, but because He willed it so; and He Himself is the source of all the healing energy.
III. LASTLY, WE HAVE CHRIST ACCOMMODATING THE PACE OF HIS POWER TO
THE SLOWNESS OF THE MAN'S FAITH. He was healed slowly because he believed slowly.
His faith was a condition of his cure, and the measure of it determined the measure of the

10. restoration; and the rate of the growth of his faith settled the rate of the perfecting of Christ's
work on him. As a rule, faith in His power to heal was a condition of Christ's healing, and that
mainly because our Lord would, rather have men believing than sound of body. "According to
your faith be it unto you." And here, as a nurse or a mother might do, He keeps step with the
little steps, and goes slowly because the man goes slowly. Now, both the gradual process of
illumination and the rate of that process as determined by faith, are true for us. How dim and
partial a glimmer of light comes to many a soul at the outset of the Christian life! How little a
new convert knows about God and self and the starry truths of His great revelation! Christian
progress does not consist in seeing new things, but in seeing the old things more clearly: the
same Christ, the same Cross, only more distinctly and deeply apprehended, and more closely
incorporated into my very being. We do not grow away from Him, but we grow into knowledge
of Him. But then let me remind you that just in the measure in which you expect blessing of any
kind, illumination and purifying and help of all sorts from Jesus Christ, just in that measure will
you get it. You can limit the working of Almighty power, and can determine the rate at which it
shall work on you. God fills the water pots to the brim, but not beyond the brim; and if, like the
woman in the Old Testament story, we stop bringing vessels, the oil will stop flowing. It is an
awful thing to know that we have the power, as it were, to turn a stopcock, and so increase or
diminish, or cut off altogether the supply of God's mercy and Christ's healing and cleansing love
in our hearts. You will get as much of God as you want and no more. The measure of your desire
is the measure of your capacity, and the measure of your capacity is the measure of God's gift.
"Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it."
(A. Maclaren, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(23) He took the blind man by the hand.—We note in
the act the same considerate adaptation of the method of healing to the man’s infirmities as in the
case of the deaf man in Mark 7:33. As far as the first three Gospels are concerned, these are the
two instances of the “spitting” here recorded, but it is one of the links that connect St. Mark with
the fourth Gospel (John 9:6).
If he saw ought.—The better MSS. give the very words, “Dost thou see ought?”
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary8:22-26 Here is a blind man brought to Christ by his
friends. Therein appeared the faith of those that brought him. If those who are spiritually blind,
do not pray for themselves, yet their friends and relations should pray for them, that Christ would
be pleased to touch them. The cure was wrought gradually, which was not usual in our Lord's
miracles. Christ showed in what method those commonly are healed by his grace, who by nature
are spiritually blind. At first, their knowledge is confused; but, like the light of the morning, it
shines more and more to the perfect day, and then they see all things clearly. Slighting Christ's

11. favours is forfeiting them; and he will make those who do so know the worth of privileges by the
want of them.
Barnes' Notes on the BibleLed him out of the town - Why this was done the sacred writers have
not told us. It might have been to avoid the collecting of a multitude, and thus to have escaped
the designs of the Pharisees who were attempting to take his life, and chiefly on a charge of
sedition and of exciting the people. On this account Jesus chose to perform the miracle alone,
thus showing that while he did good, he desired to do it in such a way as to avoid the
"appearance" of evil, and to prevent, at the same time, ostentation and the malice of his enemies.
Spit on his eyes - Why this was done is not known. It was evidently not intended to perform the
cure by any natural effect of the spittle. It was to the man a "sign," an evidence that it was the
power of Jesus. The eyes were probably closed. They were perhaps "gummed" or united together
by a secretion that had become hard. To apply spittle to them - to wet them - would be a "sign," a
natural expression of removing the obstruction and opening them. The power was not in the
spittle, but it attended the application of it.
Saw aught - Saw anything.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary23. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led
him out of the town—Of the deaf and dumb man it is merely said that "He took him aside" (Mr
7:33); but this blind man He led by the hand out of the town, doing it Himself rather than
employing another—great humility, exclaims Bengel—that He might gain his confidence and
raise his expectation.
and when he had spit on his eyes—the organ affected—See on [1460]Mr 7:33.
and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught.
Matthew Poole's CommentarySee Poole on "Mark 8:22"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd he took the blind man by the hand,.... Not for the sake of
touching him, in order to heal him, as they desired, but to be his guide:
and led him out of the town; to shun all appearance of vain glory and popular applause, being
willing to do the miracle in a private manner; and because of the obstinacy and unbelief of the
inhabitants of this place, who were not worthy to be witnesses of such a cure; see Matthew
11:21;
and when he had spit on his eyes; not as a cause of healing him; for whatever use spittle may be
of to such that have weak eyes, it can have no causal influence upon, or be of any service, in a
natural way, to a blind man to restore his sight unto him:
and put his hands upon him; as he sometimes did, when he healed persons of any disorder:
he asked him, if he saw ought; any object whatever, whether he could perceive he had any sight
at all. Christ's taking the blind man by the hand, and leading him out or the town, and spitting on
his eyes, and putting his hands upon him, and then asking him if he saw ought, are emblematical
of what he does in spiritual conversion, when he turns men from darkness to light: he takes them
by the hand, which expresses his condescension, grace, and mercy, and becomes their guide and
leader; and a better, and safer guide they cannot have; he brings them by a way they know not,
and leads them in paths they had not known before; makes darkness light before them, and
crooked things straight, and does not forsake them: he takes them apart, and separates them from
the rest of the world; he calls them out from thence to go with him, teaching them, that, when

12. enlightened by him, they should have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, and
the workers of them; for what communion has light with darkness? his putting spittle upon his
eyes, may signify the means of grace, the eye salve of the word, which, when attended with a
divine power, enlightens the eyes; and which power may be represented here by Christ's putting
his hands upon the man; for the Gospel, without the power of Christ, Is insufficient to produce
such an effect; but when it is accompanied with that, it always succeeds.
Geneva Study BibleAnd 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 upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek TestamentHYPERLINK "/mark/8-23.htm"Mark 8:23. ἔξω τῆς κώμης, outside
the village, for the same reason as in Mark 7:33, to avoid creating a run on Him for cures.
Therefore Jesus becomes conductor of the blind man Himself, though he doubtless had one
(Weiss-Meyer).—
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
THE FREE-AGENCYOF CHRIST NO. 2761
A SERMON INTENDEDFOR READING ON LORD’S-DAY, JANUARY 12,
1902 DELIVERED BYC. H. SPURGEON AT THE METROPOLITAN
TABERNACLE, NEWINGTONON LORD’S-DAY EVENING,
SEPTEMBER21, 1879
“And he comethto Bethsaida;and they bring a blind man unto him, and
besoughthim to touch him. And 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
upon him, he askedhim if he saw aught. And he lookedup, and said, I see
men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands againupon his eyes, and
made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.” Mark
8:22-25

13. THERE is a very wonderful variety in the miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the variety is apparent even in the way in which men come to Him to
partake of His blessing. With regardto the blind men to whom our Lord gave
sight, we read of some that they were brought to Christ by their friends, as in
the case ofthis man at Bethsaida, who was almostpassive all the way through.
His friends appear to have had more faith than he himself had, and therefore,
they brought him to Jesus. There were othercases in which the blind men
cried to Christ, and as far as they could, came to Him of themselves. Some of
them even came to Him in the teeth of stern opposition, for when the disciples
upbraided one of them for crying out so loudly, he cried out the more a great
deal, “ThouSon of David, have mercy on me.” So that, you see, some were
brought to Christ by their friends, and others came to Him in spite of much
opposition. Then there is that notable case, whichmany of you must
remember, of that remarkable blind man, who had been blind from his birth,
to whom Jesus came uninvited. Jesus saw him, and anointed his eyes with the
clay which He had made, and then bade him go and washin the pool of
Siloam. “He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.”Thus,
from the very commencementof our Savior’s earthly ministry, there were
differences in the wayin which one class ofcharacters, the blind, came to
Jesus Christ. I. The lessonfor us to learn from this undoubted fact is, just this,
that THERE ARE GREAT DIFFERENCES IN THE WAY IN WHICH MEN
COME TO JESUS CHRIST, and differences even in their first desires. Some
will begin to seek the Saviorlike merchantmen seeking goodlypearls and
when they have found him, He will be the pearl of great price to them. Others
will be like the ploughman whose ploughshare struck againsta crock of gold,
they will know Christ’s value as soonas they stumble upon Him, as it were,
and will be ready to sell all that they have, and buy the field, that the treasure
may be theirs. Some of you who are here may geta blessing instantaneously,
though you have not come speciallyseeking it. Others of you may have come
here for months and years, seeking the Savior, and you may find Him now.
Some may begin to seek evenwhile the sermon is progressing, but may not
find Christ for a while, while others will no soonerseekJesus thanthey will at
once find Him. Some will be brought by the example of the godly, some by the

14. preaching of the minister, some by a kind word from a friend, many by
parental exhortations, some by a holy book, some by no outward means at all,
some simply by their own thoughts in solitude, or at the dead of night—all led
by the one gracious Spirit of God, but eachone brought to Christ in a
different way, and by different means from all the rest.
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I think that the same divergence will be found, not only at the beginning of the
Christian life, but also all the way through that life in all who are the subjects
of divine grace. All Christian men are like eachother in some respects, but no
one Christian man is exactly like anotherin all points. There is, often, a great
family likeness in the children in one family. Sometimes, you might go where
there are ten or twelve, and you might pick them all out, and say, “Yes, we are
quite sure that they all belong to this family, there are certaindistinctive
features which evidently show that they belong to these parents.” After you
have noticed that resemblance, take the ten or twelve children, one by one,
and look at them individually. Perhaps, at first sight, you might say that you
did not know one from the other, but those who see them day by day will tell
you that there are distinct differences of countenance and contour about each
one, and idiosyncrasies ofcharacterwhich distinguish them from one another,
so that there is not one of them who is exactly like the rest. Now, it would be a
greatpity if they should all begin to wish that they were exactly like some one
in the family whom they setup as a model. It would be a right and proper
ambition that every son should wish to be like a godly father, and that every
daughter should seek to imitate a lovely and gracious mother, but that one girl
should wish to be just like her sister, or a boy to be exactlylike his brother,
would be absurd, yet have I often seenthat absurdity in the church of God.
One is depressedbecause his experience is not quite like his neighbor’s,
another because he sees that there are points in his experience that are unlike
anybody else’s, and I have even knownthem go and try to remove their names
from God’s register, and unchristianize themselves, and what is worse,
sometimes unchristianize one another, because theyare not all exactly run
into the same mold, like so many shot, preciselyalike in form and shape, as

15. manufactured articles are when they come quickly from under the die. No, we
fall into grievous error when we entertain this kind of idea. God’s ways are
diverse, from the beginning to the end, God the Father, Godthe Holy Spirit,
and our Lord Jesus Christ, act sovereignly, and do not choose to follow one
particular mode of actionin every case. ThatlessonI wish to teach, first, in
reference to our prayers. We must not attempt to dictate to God with regard
to His answers to our prayers. Let us learn that lessonfrom the incident
before us, “They bring a blind man unto him, and besoughthim”—“to open
his eyes”?No, that would have been a very proper prayer, but they “besought
him to touch him.” But Christ did not do His work according to their request,
“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 upon him, he askedhim if he saw
aught.” Now, with regardto our prayers, we may bring our children, and
friends, and neighbors, to Christ, and we may ask that they may be saved, but
we must not dictate to Christ the methods by which salvationis to come to
them, for it is very usual with Him not to follow those means which we would
prescribe to him. That plan of touching the sick personwas a very common
one with Christ, and therefore the people beganto expectthat He must always
heal by a touch. Naamanthought that the prophet Elisha would come out to
him, “and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his
hand over the place, and recoverthe leper.” But he was mistaken, as were
those folk at Bethsaida. It was a sort of understanding among them that
Christ’s touch was the usual method by which His cures were wrought, so
they besoughtHim to touch their blind friend, but He would not give any
support to that notion. If they thought that He wrought His miracles by
putting His hands upon the sick, then He would not put His hands upon them,
He would let them see that He was not bound to any particular method. If He
had allowedthem to cherish such an idea, probably their next step in error
would have been that they would have said that it was an enchantment, a kind
of performance, by certainpasses and touches, as by a wizard or conjurer,
through which Christ went in order to heal the sick. Superstition can be very
easilymade to grow, and you and I, mark you, may think ourselves perfectly
free from superstition, yet all the while, it may only have takensome other
form from that in which it appears in other people. For instance, if the Lord is
pleasedto bless a certain preacherto the conversionof souls, you may settle it

16. in your mind that, if you getyour children to hear him, they will assuredlybe
saved. Yet it may not be the case, forthe Lord has a thousand ways of saving
souls, and He
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is not tied to any one man as His agentor instrument. It may get to be a kind
of superstitious notion that, in some one personalone, the powerof converting
others may rest. Or it may be that you say to yourself, “I was convertedby
reading such-and-such a book, if I getmy boy to read that book, it will
convert him, too.” Yet it may have no influence whatever upon him, for the
grace ofGod is not tied to any book, nor to any way of working that you
choose to prescribe. I should not wonder, my dear friends, if some of you
have tried to tie the Lord down to your way of working. Forinstance, in your
class in the Sunday school, it was the reading of a certain chapter in the Bible
that brought one of your scholars to Christ, so, in order to bring the restof
them to the Savior, you getthem to read that chapter. That may be all right,
for the Lord can bless it to them if He pleases, but at the same time, you must
remember that He is a Sovereign, and that, therefore, He will probably use
other means in other cases. Youpreached, dear friend, in the street, or in the
chapel, and God blessedthat sermon, so you have made up your mind that
you will preach it a secondtime. I recommend you not to do so, for very likely
it will hang fire if you do. If you begin to confide in the sermon, God will not
bless it. I think it is often well to do with a goodsermon as David did with
Goliath’s sword, he said that there was none like it, yet he did not keepit by
him for constantuse, but he laid it up before the Lord, then it was ready for
the specialoccasionwhen it was required. When God has blessedany sermon
that I have preached, I do not make it a rule to preach it again, lestI might be
led to put my trust in that sermon, or to have some confidence in the way in
which I set forth the truth, rather than in the truth itself, though I never
hesitate to preach the same sermon againand again if I feelthat the Spirit
leads me to do so. We must not, in our prayers, tie the Lord down to any
particular means, for He canuse what means He pleases, andHe will do so
whateverwe may say. We may ask Him to open the blind man’s eyes, but it is

17. not our place to beseechHim to touch the blind man in order to effect His
cure. Notice, also, thatChrist did not answerthe prayer of these people in the
place where they presented it. They brought the blind man to Him, and they
evidently expectedthe Lord Jesus Christ to open His eyes there, but Jesus did
not do so. “He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town,”
right awayfrom the place where the people wantedto have the miracle
performed. The Savior actedas though He could not do anything in the
matter until He was out of the town, and He would not speak a word to him
till He got him quite away by himself. Well, now, it is very easy, in our
prayers, to fix upon a certain place as the one where God will give His
blessing, and to think, “The friend I am praying for must be convertedin the
Tabernacle, ormust be converted in the little meeting that I hold in my house,
or must be brought to Jesus Christ in the church where I attend, or in the
chapel where I worship.” But our Lord may, perhaps, never convert that
young man in any one of the places you have mentioned, He may meet with
him behind the counter, or on board ship, or walking by the way, or on a sick-
bed. Do not be disappointed, therefore, when your place does not prove to be
God’s place. Take your friend to the house of God, for Christ’s miracles on a
Sabbath day and in the synagogue, are frequent, but do not try to tie Him
down to the synagogue, forHe must be left at liberty to work His miracles in
His own way. Neither, dearfriends, must we, for a moment, try to tie the Lord
Jesus Christ down to work in our particular manner. I have no doubt that
these people meant to prescribe to Christ that He should open that man’s eyes
directly. He had done so before, and He was able to make the sightless one see
in a single moment, and they, therefore, naturally expectedthat He would do
it. But the Savior did not do so, He did not work an immediate, but a
progressive cure. He opened the man’s eyes a little, and afterwards opened
them more fully. This was a very extraordinary miracle, there is no other case
like it in Scripture. All the other cures that Christ wrought were immediate,
but this one was progressive. So, my brother, the Lord may hear and answer
your prayer, but it may not be by a conversionin the way you expected. You
thought that, on a sudden, you would hear that your dear friend had been
turned from darkness to light. You have not heard that, but you have heard
that he begins to be more thoughtful

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than he used to be, and that he attends the means of grace more regularly
than he formerly did. Perhaps the Lord intends, in his case, to work salvation
by degrees. Do not you go, and run the risk of spoiling it by trying to run
fasterthan God guides you. The daylight does not always come in a moment. I
am told that, in the tropics, there is but slender notice of the rising of the sun,
he seems to be up, and shining in full glory in a few seconds, but here, in
England, you know how long a time of twilight and dawn we have before the
sun has fully risen. No doubt, there are conversions that are just like the
tropical morning, in a moment, the greatdeed of grace is done, but there are
many more conversions that are slow and gradual, yet they are none the less
sure. The genial sun is up when he is up—even if he takes anhour in the
operationof rising—quite as effectually as he is up when he seems to leap out
of the sea into meridian splendor, so, if the Lord should see fit to bless your
friend in a different manner from that which you had thought of, do not you
quarrel with Him. Whatever He does is right, so let us never question any of
His actions. One other point, in which we must not dictate to God, is this. He
may hear our prayer, and grant our request, yet we may not know that it is so.
I do not think that these people, who brought the blind man to Christ, ever
saw him againafter his eyes had been opened. Mark tells us that Christ “led
him out of the town,” that is, awayfrom his friends, and after he had healed
him, “he sent him awayto his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell
it to any in the town.” I suppose they found it out afterwards, but there and
then, at any rate, they did not see the man’s eyes opened. If he did as Christ
commanded him, he went straight awayhome, and kept the matter quiet, so
far, at least, as the generalpublic, and perhaps these friends of his also, were
concerned. Now, it is quite possible that God may hear your prayer for some
dear friend in whom you are interested, and yet you may never know of it till
you getto heaven. The Lord has promised to hear prayer, but He has not
promised that you shall know that He has heard your prayer. A godly mother
may be in glory long before her supplications have been answeredin the
conversionof her son. A Sunday schoolteachermay go home to be with
Christ before the boys, over whom he has agonized, are brought to the Savior.

19. Our farmers know that earthly harvests are sometimes late, and it is the same
in spiritual husbandry. Grace ensures the crop, but even the grace ofGod
does not guarantee that the cropshall come up tomorrow, nor just whenever
we please. So, dearfriend, keepon sowing the goodseedof the kingdom,
waterit with thy tears and thy prayers, and then leave with God the question
whether you shall see the harvest, or not. He may, in your case, fulfill that
gracious promise, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come againwith rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him,” or
He may choose to make you simply the sower, and another the reaper. It is for
you to believe that your petitions shall be granted, even if you do not live to
see it. There have been many instances, in which men’s prayers have
prevailed, although they themselves have never lived to see that happy result.
I think I have told you before now, the story of a godly father, whose unhappy
lot it was to see his sons grow up without the fear of God in their hearts, and
this was a very heavy burden upon the goodold man’s spirit. Day and night
he wept and prayed about it before God. At last, the time came for him to die,
and he had not then one son or daughter who had found the Savior. It had
been the old man’s prayer that his death might be the means of the conversion
of his children if they were not brought to Christ in his lifetime, and so it was.
Yet the scene at his death was very different from what he had hoped that it
might be, for it was a very gloomydeparture. His faith was grievously tried,
he did not enjoy the light of Gods countenance, he was put to bed, as God
often puts some of his best children to bed, in the dark. He died humbly
trusting in Jesus, but not triumphing, not even rejoicing, he was in greatpain
of body, and deep depressionof spirit, and his last thought was, “This
experience of mine will only confirm my sons in their infidelity. I have borne
no witness for Christ, as I had hoped to do, and now they will saythat their
father’s religion failed him at the last, and so, my heart’s desire will not be
granted to me.”
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Yet it was granted, though he did not live to see it, for after they had put him
in the tomb, and had come home from the funeral, the eldest sonsaid to the

20. others, “You noticed, brothers, what a struggle our father seemedto have on
his dying bed, and how hard it went with him. Now, we all know that he was a
man of God, his conduct and example were such that we have no doubt about
his being a true Christian, yet if he found it so hard to die, what will it be for
us when we come to the day of our death, and have no God to help us, and no
Christ to look to in the hour of our extremity?” It was remarkable that the
same thought had struck all the goodman’s sons, and they went to their own
homes, deeply impressedby their father’s gloomydeath, to seek their father’s
God, and to find him. Could the old man have known what was best, he would
have chosenjust such a death in order that he might thereby, be the means of
bringing his children to Christ. In like manner, you may not be sure that you
will see here, the answerto all your prayers, but you will see it when you get
up yonder, when God shall bid you fling up the celestialwindows, and you will
look down, and see the harvests which you never reaped, but for which you
sowedthe seed. You will see upspringing from the soil, the rich result of your
labor, though you saw it not while here on earth, and your heaven will be all
the sweeterbecause thenyou will know that the Lord has heard and answered
the prayers that you offered in your lifetime here below. II. Secondly, I learn,
from this narrative, that WE MUST NOTATTEMPT TO TELL THE LORD
JESUS CHRIST HOW HE IS TO WORK, for He has various ways of
working in the blessing of men. Forinstance, when this blind man was
brought to Him, He did not open his eyes with a word. Often, when the sick
were brought to Him, He spake, and they were at once cured. He might have
done so in this case, He might have said, to the blind man’s eyes, “Be opened!”
The ancient fiat might have been repeated, “Light be!” and there would have
been light in his darkness. But there came out of Christ’s mouth—not a word,
but spittle! Christ spat on the blind man’s eyes. Ah! but if anything comes out
of His mouth, it does not matter much what it is, whatevercomes out of the
mouth of the Christ of God means healing and life to those whom it reaches.
He has His own ways of working. Usually He is pleasedto save men by the
preaching of the Word, and sometimes, the greatchange is brought about
through very feeble testimony, yet nevertheless, it is the Word of the Lord that
is spoken, and it comes from the mouth of God, so He blesses itto the opening
of blind men’s eyes. In this case, too, Christ did not work upon this man all at
once. As I have already reminded you, He wrought a gradual cure upon him.

21. So, dear friend, you must not yourself dictate to Jesus Christ as to how you
will be saved. I know that some of you do. One said to me, in my vestry, that
she believed she had found Christ, but she was half-afraid it could not really
be so. “Why not?” I asked, and she answered, “Myold grandfather told me
that it took him three years before he gotpeace, and he was lockedup in a
lunatic asylum most of the time. I thought it was an awful affair altogether.”I
inquired where she could find anything in the Word of God to support that
idea, and then told her simply to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and not to
trouble about what her grandfather did. I have no doubt that he got to heaven
even through a lunatic asylum, but there are other and better ways of getting
there. Mr. Bunyan tells us that his pilgrim went through the Slough of
Despond, and did not pick the steps well, so he floundered, and it was with
difficulty that he got to the other side. Mr. Bunyan pictures Evangelistas
bidding the poor seekerfly towards a certain wicketgate, and keephis eye on
the light within that gate. Now, that was a mistake on the part of Evangelist,
and it was through that mistake that the poor pilgrim gotinto the Sloughof
Despond. The Gospeldoes not tell you to look out for wicketgates, norto
keepyour eye on any light. You remember how at last, the poor pilgrim did
get rid of his burden, it was at the cross that the burden rolled from his
shoulders, and disappearedinto the sepulcher so that he saw it no more, and
dear friends, that is where your eye has to be turned—to the cross ofChrist,
and to the full atonement He has made for all who trust in Him.
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As for wicketgates, andthe Sloughof Despond, the less you have to do with
them, the better. “But is there no Slough of Despond?” someoneasks. Oh, yes!
twenty of them, but it is far easierto go through that Sloughwith the burden
off rather than on your shoulders. The best thing you can possibly do is to go
to Christ first, for then you can better go whereveryou have to go. As for me,
I would rather avoid the Sloughof Despondaltogetherif I could, and keepmy
eye everupon the cross, forChrist crucified is the one and only hope of
sinners. You must not any of you say, “Bunyan went through the Slough of
Despond, according to his ‘Grace Abounding,’ he was there for years, and

22. there is our Pastor, I have often heard him say that he was along while in that
Slough.” Yes, I am sorry to say that he was, but that is no reasonwhy you
should go there. If, when I was a youth, I had heard the Gospelof Christ
preachedas plainly as I have preachedit to you, I feel certain that I should
never have been in the bog so long as I was. But I heard a mixed sort of
Gospel, a mingle-mangle—a mixture of law and Gospel—a muddling up of
Moses andChrist— something of “do” and something of “believe,” and
therefore, I was for so long a time in that sad state of bondage. In fact, the
goodsound-doctrine people that I used to hear said, “You must not come to
Christ, for you do not know whether you are one of the elect, and you must
not come until you do.” I know perfectly well that nobody canpossibly tell
whether he is elector not, till he finds it out by coming to God, and that no
one ever comes to God the Father, who makes the election, exceptby Jesus
Christ His Son. So we have first to do with the Son, and afterwards with the
Father. That I did not know when I was seeking the Savior. I wanted an angel
to tell me that I was one of the elect, but I was obliged to come to Christ, as a
poor, guilty sinner, and just trust in Him, and so to find peace in believing.
That is the plan that I should recommend you to adopt if you want to be
saved. Do not say, “I shall not come to Christ till I stick in the mud of the
Slough of Despond, I shall not come to Him till I get laid by the heels in Giant
Despair’s Castle, Ishall not come to Him till I getwhipped on the back with
the ten-thonged lash of the law.” If you really want to have that lash, perhaps
you will get it, and I hope you will like it, but the Gospelsays, “Come and
welcome!Come and welcome!Come to Jesus just as you are!” Never try to
lay down rules and regulations for Christ, but let Him save you in His own
way, and be you content, just as you are, to take Him just as He is. There is
one more point about this man in which the singular sovereigntyof Christ is
seen, and that is, He did not make use of the healed man, though we should
have thought that He would have done so. If this miracle had been wrought in
the presentday, we should soonhave seenthis man in the Salvation Army, or
in some other public position. Nowadays,the rule seems to be, send off a
paragraph to the newspapers, “Somany in the inquiry-room, so many
convertedon such-and-such a night. Blow the trumpets! Beatthe drums! Let
everybody know!” But that was not Jesus Christ’s wayof working, He told
this man not to go into the town, and when he did gethome, not to tell

23. anybody what had been done to him. Why was he not to tell anybody? Well
first, because the Lord wanted to do good, and not to have a noise made about
it, and secondly, because there was no need to tell anybody. Suppose I had
been for years a blind preacher, and that my eyes had been opened, would
there be any need for me to tell you next Sunday that my eyes were opened!
You would see it for yourselves, everybody can see when a man’s eyes are
opened, and often, the bestway in which a man can tell that he is converted is
simply by letting other people see what a change there is in him, because if his
eyes are not really open, it is of no use for him to stand up and say, “Bless the
Lord! my eyes are open,” while he is still blind. I have heard people say that
they were converted, and I have thought that, if the work were done over
again, it would not hurt them much, and that indeed, six or sevensuch
conversions would not amount to much. Oh, give us a conversionthat speaks
for itself! Give us a new heart that shows itselfin a new life. If a man is not
able to control his temper, or to speak the truth—if he is not a good servant,
or a goodmaster, or a goodhusband—do not let him think it necessaryto
proclaim what Christ has done for him, for if he has done anything that was
worth doing, it will speak for itself.
Sermon #2761 The Free-Agencyof Christ 7
Volume 48 7
Now I must close by just noticing one fact about this man as to the early steps
that Jesus Christ used with him. There is one point I want to dwell upon for a
minute. Our Lord, before He did aught else with the blind man, took him by
the hand, and led him out of the town. There are some of you here, perhaps,
with whom the Lord has been thus working, you have begun to come to listen
to the Gospel—throughyour wife, perhaps, or through some Christian friend.
I am very hopeful concerning you, for although you cannot yet see, the Lord
has takenyou by the hand. All the faith that this poor man had was a yielding
faith, he gave himself up to be led, and that is a saving faith. My dear friend,
give yourself up to be led by Christ now. If you have come under gracious,
heavenly influences, yield yourselfup to them. The Masterled this blind man
right awayfrom other people, and it will be a goodsign when you begin to feel
that you are getting to be lonely. Sometimes, when the Lord means to save a

24. man, He lays him aside by illness, or if not, He takes him away from the
company he used to keepby some other means, or if the man is allowedto go
into the same company, he gets to dislike it. He does not feel at home with
those who were once his boon companions, he goes in and out of the shop as if
he were one by himself. He has the Lord’s arrow sticking in him, and like the
wounded stag he tries to getawayto bleed alone. You feelsometimes, as
though nobody understood you. You read in the Book ofJob, or the
Lamentations of Jeremiah, and you say, “This is the kind of experience that I
am passing through. I have a broken heart, and a troubled conscience,and I
feel that I am all alone.” Well, dear friend, that is the Lord Jesus Christ
leading you out of the town, getting you awayfrom everybody, and mark you,
the place of mercy is the place where a man stands alone—awayfrom
everybody excepthis Lord. Do not draw your hand back from the hand that is
leading you away. Perhaps ungodly company has been your ruin, and it is
through solitude that God intends to save you. Be much alone, think over your
own case. Makea personalconfessionof sin. Seek forpersonal faith in a
personalSavior. You were born alone, you will have to pass through the gates
of death alone. Although you will stand in a crowdto be judged, yet you will
be judged as a separate individual, and even though myriads perish with you,
your loss will be your own if you are lost. Therefore, look into your own
affairs, cast up your own account, and before the living God, stand separate
from all your fellow-men. I believe that, if any of you have reachedthat point,
you are where the deed of grace shallbe done. May the Lord enable you to
yield yourself up completely to Him, for your safetylies there! We rightly put
faith before you as a look, but now I will put it before you, if you have not
even an eye to look with, as the yielding up of yourself to the guidance of the
Savior. Be nothing, and let Christ be everything. Give yourself entirely up into
His hands, and He must and will save you, for that, though it be faith in its
passive form, is nevertheless a real and saving faith, and blessedare all they
that have it. May Godgrant it to every one of us now, for Jesus’sake! Amen.
BRIAN BELL

25. Mark 8:22-33 6-16-13 His Touch, His Title, His TargetI. Slide#1
Announce: A. Slide#2 IsraelInfo Mtg - Next Sun 1:30pm. No need to come if
you were at the 1st. B. Slide#3 Marriage Retreat:Hyatt RegencyIndians
Wells Resort& Spa $400. Signup online or at info booth in 2 weeks. C.
Slide#4 Father/SonAdventure: D. Slide#5 Pray for Diamond, CCCambo:(17)
has EB, EpidermMOLysis Bullosa. In constantpain, not walking. [epitome of
joy/worship] E. Slide#6,7 Father’s Day:Dad? - we have adoptive dads(non-
biologicalkids), divorced dad, noncustodialdad(live awaydads), the at home
dad, single dad, specialneeds dad, stepdad, traditional dad, traveling
dad(dads on the road), urban dad, & now Duck Dynasty dad. 1. Fathers Day -
a day to celebrate Fatherhood. - What is Fatherhood? 2. If we think of the
Fatherhoodof God, we get a picture of someone who is strong & loving & who
sacrifices himselffor those he loves. That’s a picture of RealFatherhood&
RealManhood. a) Fatherhood/Masculinity is how to be a heroic & brave man,
and who knows the difference of what it is to be a cowardor a bully. b)
Masculinity has nothing to do with being a macho loud mouth bully or being
an emasculatedpseudo-man. c) Fatherhood/Masculinityis one who uses his
strength to protect others. d) C.S.Lewis did an essaycalled, “Menw/o
Chests.” Menshould have a chest& a heart. e) Fatherhood/Masculinityis
having the courage to do the right thing when all else tells you not to do it. [7
Men & the secretof their greatness, Eric Metaxis]II. Slide#8 Intro: A.
Outline: His TOUCH; His TITLE; His TARGET. 1. Have you experienced
Jesus Touch? Do you know His Title? What was His Target?
III. Slide#9 HIS TOUCH (22-26)A. This is only recorded by Mark. 1. And
the only miracle that took place in stages. 2. About 2 ½ yrs have passedsince
the disciples begantheir journey. B. (22) Bethsaida – on the very top of the
Sea of Galilee, on the eastside of the Jordanriver right before it spills into
Galilee. C. (23) He took the blind man by the hand – I love that. D. Led him
out of town – Why? Bethsaida was under judgment.
1
1. Mt.11:21 Woe to you, Bethsaida!Forif the mighty works which were done
in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in
sackclothand ashes. 2. So Jesus took the man out of there & told him not to go

26. back(26). [he wasn’t from there] E. Slide#10 Why in 2 stages? 1. 1st, we know
Jesus couldhave healed this man instantly. 2. It seems reasonable thatthe
limitation was on the side of the human, not the divine. 3. Alexander Maclaren
speaks ofChrist “accommodating the pace of his power to the slowness ofthe
man’s faith.” 4. Or perhaps it was the atmosphere in Bethsaida that hindered
him. a) Remember His problem in Nazareth. see Mark 6:5,6 5. All I know
is…There are many times I need a 2nd touch. a) Praise Godfor His 2nd, 3rd,
& 4th touch upon our lives. b) How many things weren’tclear to me, the 1stI
heard of them?
F. In another accountit says he broke into song, singing... :) I can see clearly
now, the rain is gone, I cansee all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark
clouds that had me blind. It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun-
Shiny day.
IV. Slide#11 HIS TITLE (27-30)A. (27) Now they walk 25 miles north to one
of my favorite places in northern Israel. 1. Slide#12 CaesareaPhilippi -
(Beautiful) - It is at the headwaters ofthe Jordan. 2. Slide#13 Strange place to
revealHimself though? - Originally known as a centerfor Baalworship. Also
it was the site of a greattemple to the Greek god, Pan. a) Called Banias from
Paneas. OT area was calledLaish, or Dan. 3. Normally disciples would ask
their rabbi the questions, but Jesus reversesthe process. [looking around at
these grotto’s/niches, who do you sayI am?] B. Slide#14 (28)John? (Herod
thought this); Elijah? (They were waiting his return according to Malachi);
Prophets? (maybe he’s just another prophet?) 1. All would agree He was
special. 2. He has his place among the greatestmen. (He always makes the Top
100 influential men in history lists) a) But this is inadequate for Jesus…He is
not just one of a series. b) He stands alone, unprecedented, unparalleled,
unrivaled, unique. 3. Slide#15 The spotlight turns to them…what do you
think?
2
a) Feelthe burn of that spot light today folks, because He still asks everyone
that same question. b) The prize for the right answeris….EternalLife. c)
Slide#16 Who do you say that He is? Welcome to the fork in the

27. road...everyone finds it! (1) Was Jesus just a Legend? - A Liar, for claiming to
be God? A Lunatic, crazy & not knowing what He was doing? - Or, Lord? C.
Slide#17 (29)What a moment of revelation…You are the Christ. 1. Matthew
adds, Blessedare you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but My Fatherwho is in heaven. Mt.16:19 2. Christ isn’t Jesus’
last name. Nora cuss word. 3. Jesus is His name (Jehovahis salvation); &
Christ is His title, meaning “anointedone”. [Heb. Messiah]a)Jesus seemedto
be very reluctant to use this title of Messiah/Christ(only 3 times in the sayings
of Jesus), probably because ofall of its current misconceptions. 4. The
confessionofJesus as the Messiahmarks the midpoint of this gospel& the
turning point in Jesus ministry.
V. Slide#18 HIS TARGET (31-33)A. Beganto teach – He makes a departure
here in His teaching. 1. Now that He is recognized, He immediately begins His
journey to the cross. a)You might make a mark in your bible, as I did mine,
as there’s an important division here. b) Betweenvs.30/31.Up to this point the
focus was on Jesus as Servant, from now on it’s Jesus as Sacrifice. c)
Slide#19,20 Looking back - there was crowds, preaching, and popular
ministry; Looking ahead - the crowds slip away, the skies darken, & all roads
lead to Jerusalem.1 2. He starts His death March! B. (31) 1st of 3
announcements that Jesus made of his death & Res. 1. Jesus stretchedout his
arms & said, “I love you this much” & “I’d rather die than live w/o you.” 2.
Elders (gen. name for the members of the Sanhedrin); chief priests
(Sadducees);& scribes (mainly Pharisees)= the Sanhedrin. a) And they would
rejecthim like a counterfeit coin. C. (32) The Blind man went from having a
blurred vision, to seeing clearly;but Peterwent from clear, back to fuzzy.
[can you relate?]1. This was a nonsensicalrevelationat the time.
3
1 David Hewitt, Mark, pg.118
2. 1 minute, inspired from heaven, next minute his inspiration is from hell. a)
1sthe stoodon the top rung of a ladder that reachedinto the heavens;Then
he dives off an Acapulco cliff…only to belly flop in front of all the onlookers.
b) One minute he was Peterthe rock;then Peterthe boatanchor. 3. Petersaw

28. only shame in the cross, Jesus sawglory. Petersaw defeat, Jesus saw victory.
4. This kind of belief encouragedpoliticalrevolution rather then spiritual
revival. a) He had to warn them…He was going to Jerusalemnot to
reign…but to die. D. Slide#21,22(33)Getbehind me Satan – Ouch, that kinda
stings. 1. He lookedat his disciples (His back to Peter) – because they agreed
w/Peter’s assessmentofthe situation. [Peterwas spokesman]2. Peterhad
become the unwitting carrierof demonic doctrine, parallelto that which
Christ facedin the wilderness whenSatan tempted Him to abandon the
Father’s will & seek aneasySaviorhood. a) Satanwas in Peters voice. 3. Jesus
wasn’t calling Peterthe devil. But, He saw in Peters mistakenconcernthe
same temptation to avoid suffering & choose the easyway. 4. So, why such
strong language? - As it gets closerto the cross He couldn’t have any tolerance
toward this temptation. a) Peterdoes learn this lessonthough, he writes much
about suffering/sacrifice in 1st Pet. (1) Soul-saving salvationcould only come
through a suffering Messiah. There was no other way. E. This is why I
believe the story of the gradually healedblind man preceded this. 1. He is
chiding His disciples for their slowness ofspiritual understanding. They were
slow to perceive, slow to comprehend what Jesus was saying & doing. a)
Spiritual maturity is not something that happens all at once. We have to grow
& develop. F. Slide#23 Lastly, What is not mentioned in vs.31 (or in 9:31,
10:33,34)is WHY? 1. Mark gives us the cleareststatementofWHY after the 3
predictions. In 10:45 The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, & to
give His life as a ransom for many 2. This is the greatcentral fact of history
and of our lives. Jesus, the Son of Man, the exalted human, divine God-man,
came & was sent by God the Father - to give his life as a ransom for many. a)
Slide#24 GodCan RansomWhat Man Can’t. Our sin had, as it were,
kidnapped us and put us in a prison of our ownmaking, far from God, in the
chains of iniquity, under God’s holy wrath, and powerless to free ourselves.2 4
2 John Piper on Mark 8:31
(1) A ransomhad to be paid. b) But listen to Ps.49:7,8No one can redeem the
life of another or give to God a ransom for them - the ransom for a life is
costly, no payment is ever enough. 3. In other words, no mere man can
ransom another man’s soul. And you can’t ransom your own. a) Slide#25,26
Then listen to verse 15 of that psalm: But Godwill redeem me from the realm

29. of the dead; He will surely take me to himself. Man can’t. God will. G. “Peter,
if you resistmy plan to die, you resistGod. You side with SatanagainstGod.
Satandoesn’t want me dead, because he wants you in hell. Satan wants me to
bow down and worship him and jump off temples for fame and turn stones
into bread for self-preservation. The lastthing he wants is for a ransom to be
paid for his captives. But that’s what God wants, Peter, because, he loves you.
My coming to die as your ransom is the love of God.”3 5
CHRIS BENFIELD
The Blind Man at Bethsaida Mark 8: 22-26
Today we find Jesus has returned to Bethsaida, a town near His home-base in
Capernaum. He had been there following the feeding of the 5,000,and the
stormy night when He walkedon the water. During His previous visit, Jesus
had healedmany who were sick and afflicted throughout that area. As He
returned, He again encounters a man in need of His touch.
Our text today reveals greatspiritual truth. While everyone cannot identify
with physical blindness, we canrelate to the spiritual blindness all deal with
prior to salvation. Through His encounter with the blind man we discoverthe
process through which one receives spiritual sight in salvation. As we discuss
the phases ofthis encounter, I want to preachon: The Blind Man at
Bethsaida.
I. The Condition of the Man (22) – And he cometh to Bethsaida;and they
bring a blind man unto him, and besoughthim to touch him. While Mark

30. doesn’t offer much detail, we do find enough to discern the condition of this
man. Consider:
A. His Infirmity – His name is not mentioned, but we do know the man
suffered from physical blindness. He was unable to see, surely depending on
others for his well-being. The text doesn’t revealhow long he had been in this
condition, and it really doesn’t affectthe outcome. Regardless ofthe time
involved, the man was currently blind and unable to see.
 Mostare unwilling to admit it, but we all can identify with this man. In fact,
we are all born with such an infirmity. Due to the fall of Adam and the curse
of sin, all are born spiritually blind. We are unable to see the truths of the
Gospel, being blinded by sin. We are unable to do anything about our
condition, and must rely on others to help us. While men are unable to save,
they can assistus by pointing us to the Lord and providing direction for those
who walk in blindness.
B. The Intercession– We also find that this man was loved by those who knew
him. He was not left alone to suffer through life. Some of his friends had heard
that Jesus was in town and they brought the man to Jesus. Theypleaded with
the Lord to touch this man, desiring Jesus to heal him of his infirmity. Those
who were able to see intercededfor one who could not.
 This is very simple and yet it amplifies a profound truth. Where would we
be had someone not caredenough to share Jesus with us, interceding with the
Lord regarding our salvation. I am
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forever grateful for all who prayed for me and shared the Gospelwith me. We
now have an obligation to do the same for others who have yet to experience
salvation.
II. The Compassionofthe Lord (23a) – And he took the blind man by the
hand, and led him out of the town. Here we discoverthe compassionJesus
showedthe man in need. We find:
A. It was Personal – The man stoodin need of a personal touch from the
Lord. He was the one who was unable to see. He had a particular need and
Jesus dealtwith him personally. The healing of others would certainly have
been a blessing, but their healing would not have provided sight for him. Jesus
was willing to meet the need of this man.
 I am thankful for the blessings and salvationof others, but their salvation
was not sufficient for me. I too stoodin need of the Lord’s touch. While I was
surrounded by those who had receivedtheir spiritual sight, I remained in
darkness. Thankfully Jesus was interestedin my need and was willing to
provide salvationfor me!

32. B. It was Private – Jesus led the man out of town, away from the distractions
and noise, to a private place to deal with his need. This would further affirm
that Jesus was aware ofhis need and genuinely concerned. Jesus was leading
the man to a place where He could minister unto him.
 Salvation often occurs in a public setting, but it is always a personaland
private experience. The Lord leads us to a place of faith through the
conviction of the Spirit. We have to come to a place where we realize our need
and trust the Lord to provide what we desperatelyneed. One cannotreceive
salvationwithout being led of the Lord. He must work in our hearts and lives
through the Spirit, leading us to the place of salvation.
III. The Transformationof the Man (23b-26)– As Jesus workedwith the
blind man, his life was transformed through the power of the Lord. Consider:
A. The Provision(23b) – and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands
upon him, he askedhim if he saw ought. As Jesus beganto minister to the
man, He spit on his eyes and laid His hands upon him. While many may find
this somewhatunsettling, Jesus knew what He was doing. The man was blind
and could not see whatthe Lord was doing. No doubt like others with specific
physical limitations, their other sensesare more in tune with the world around
them. The man could feelthe touch of Jesus and the dampness on his eyes.
This servedto prove the Lord was working.
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 I know we are not savedby feelings and our emotions do not prove
salvation. However, as the Lord works with us in salvation, we are aware of
His provision and our need for Him. Through the working of the Spirit, we
come to a place where we feel the Lord’s presence, drawing us to Himself.
This is not a physical touch, but it is undeniable. I still remember the day
Jesus touchedme, through the working of the Spirit, leading me to faith and
salvation.
B. The Progression(24-25)– And he lookedup, and said, I see men as trees,
walking. [25]After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him
look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. This part of the
passagecauses confusionforsome, but it reveals greattruth. Following the
initial touch from Jesus, the man could see, but his sight was not yet as it
should be. He saw images that were still distorted. As he lookedat men, they
appearedto be trees that were walking. His sight was being restored, but it
was not yet as it should be. Jesus touchedhis eyes againand this time he saw
clearly.
 This in no way conveys that Jesus was limited in His powerat this moment.
He could have simply spokena word and the man’s sight would have been
completely restored. Jesus workedwith the man in such a way with purpose.
Jesus was leading the man in faith. As the Lord touched his eyes the first time,

34. the man had yet to fully believe. Seeing his vision improve, his faith was
strengthened, and he receivedcomplete healing.
 Is that not how the Lord workedin many of our lives? Some respond in faith
believing the first time they hearthe Gospel, but for many it takes several
times hearing the Gospel, being led of the Spirit, for them to respond in faith
unto salvation. As the Lord reveals Himself initially, we are drawn toward
Him. The seedof the Gospelis planted. As the Spirit continues to work in our
lives, we are eventually brought to the place of obedient faith, resulting in
salvation.
 Actually this process continues following salvation. Notthat we lose our
salvation, or have another salvationexperience, but the Lord does lead us in
ways that strengthens our faith. This journey with the Lord begins at
salvation, but it is a continual growing process as long as we live. At times we
see things blurry because ofdoubt and fear. As we mature in faith, learning to
trust the Lord, our vision improves and we see things more clearly. I am glad
the Lord continues to work in the lives of those who belong to Him! Eph.4:13-
15 – Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge ofthe Son
of God, unto a perfectman, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ: [14] That we henceforth be no more children, tossedto and fro, and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning
craftiness, wherebythey lie in wait to deceive;[15] But speaking the truth in
love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
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C. The Completion (25b) – and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
Jesus does nothing halfway. The man was not left with partial vision. Jesus
completely restoredhis sight. When the Lord finished working with the man,
he had receivedhis sight. He could see clearly.
 When Jesus leads us to the place of salvation, we receive complete, eternal
transformation in Him. We will continue to grow and mature in our faith, but
once received, salvationis complete. We are then forgiven of sin, justified in
Christ, and restoredunto the Father. I remain thankful for the day Jesus
opened my eyes and provided spiritual sight. He touched me, saving me by His
grace. I am secure in Christ the Lord.
Conclusion:Following the miracle of healing, Jesus commandedthe man to
remain silent. Mark 8:26 – And he sent him awayto his house, saying, Neither
go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town. He was not to return into
Bethsaida or speak ofthe miracle with anyone in town. Clearly His time had
not yet come and Jesus wantedto prevent a frenzy regarding the miracle.
However, many suggestthere was another reasonfor this command. The
people in Bethsaida had experiencedmany miracles and yet they refused
Jesus as the Christ. These had rejectedthe Lord and He would not encourage
their unbelief. Their denial had come at a greatcostfor them. Matt.11:21-22–
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida!for if the mighty works,
which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago in sackclothand ashes. [22]But I sayunto you, It shall be
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. It is

36. dangerous to experience the power and leading of the Lord and yet reject
Him.
Jesus is the only way of salvation;there is no other way. If one rejects Christ,
they have rejectedthe sole means of salvation. How have you respondedto His
offer of grace? Are there needs in your life today? If so, respond by faith.
Come to Christ and receive the provision only He can give!
BRIAN BILL
Mark 8:22-26 Seeing Clearly
I love hearing how people come to Christ, don’t you? Here’s the main point of our passage
today: The message of the gospel always remains the same but God uses different methods to
reach different people.
Let’s try a little experiment. Can you shout out in one sentence what method God used to save
you? I’ll start. God used the death of a friend and then my college roommate to share the gospel
with me.
Let me prime the pump with some responses I received to a post I put on Facebook this week.
Here’s what I wrote: “I'm conducting an informal survey to find out what method God used to
bring people to saving faith in Jesus Christ. It would help a lot if you could share in a sentence
how you were saved.”
• I was taken to church as a baby and around 7 years old I realized my need for Christ and
salvation.
• I gained my walk with Christ through Celebrate Recovery at Edgewood.
• My grandfather led my sister and I to the Lord during a Sunday church service where the
preaching was on hell.
• God allowed me to get to the lowest place I needed to be so my hard head would have no
doubts it was Him that saved me from my mess of a life.
• A youth leader led me when I was 15. Yeah for youth leaders that don't give up!
Who’s next? Just raise your hand and I’ll call on you. Remember…just give a one-sentence
summary of the situation God used to save you.
Did you notice how God uses a variety of ways to reach a variety of people? That means that we
shouldn’t make the way he opened our eyes normative for everyone else. The message of the

37. gospel remains the same but God uses different methods to reach different people.
Charles Spurgeon preached on passage at least three different times in his ministry. I read one of
these sermons this week and loved his perspective: “Had our Lord cast all His miracles in one
mold men would have attached undue importance to the manner by which He worked, and would
have surreptitiously thought more of it than the divine power by which the miracle was
accomplished.”
For example, Jesus healed a number of blind individuals and used diverse methods.
• In Matthew 9, two blind men regained their sight when Jesus simply touched their eyes.
• In Matthew 12, we read that Jesus healed a blind and mute man but we’re not told how.
• In Mark 8, a blind man named Bart could see after Jesus simply spoke a word.
• In John 9, a man who was born blind was healed after Jesus spat on the ground to make some
mud and then this mud was put on his eyes. He still couldn’t see until he went and washed in the
pool of Siloam. This man gave a one-sentence summary of his transformation when he declared
in John 9:25: “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
By the way, since more than 90 people shared sentence summaries of how they were saved
(between my wall and the church wall), I decided to sprinkle some of these sentences throughout
the sermon. I was blown away by this response!
I’m hoping you’ll be encouraged by the various methods God uses and if you’re not saved yet,
that you will repent, believe, and receive Jesus Christ today. Who knows, God might use this
sermon to lead you to salvation!
• After a car accident when I was 21 years old…I knew I would not have gone to Heaven if I
died…
• He used a heavenly 2x4 across my head. And then, he brought wonderful believers into my
life…it all started with one invite from a friend to "check out this church", which I reluctantly
accepted, and the rest is His-story.
• I accepted Christ as my Savior at a summer Youth Camp.
• I chose to follow Jesus as a child and my mom led me to Christ. I had some years of wandering
and living in deliberate sin and the death of my brother in law slapped me in the face with
repentance and renewed commitment to the Lord.
• Jail, Cell 121. And a 90-year-old man coming to visit me every Sunday.
The message of the gospel always remains the same but God uses different methods to reach
different people. We’ll totally see this in our passage today. This mystifying miracle is found
only in the Gospel of Mark and it’s the only healing that takes place gradually as Jesus uses a
two-step process to open the eyes of a blind man.
Turn to Mark 8:22-26 and listen to God’s Word: “And they came to Bethsaida. And some people
brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand
and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he
asked him, ‘Do you see anything?’ And he looked up and said, ‘I see people, but they look like

38. trees, walking.’ Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight
was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, ‘Do not even
enter the village.’”
I see three truths that we can lock into from this passage.
• Minister to those in misery
• Watch the Master show mercy
• Be motivated to live on mission
1. Minister to those in misery.
Check out verse 22: “And they came to Bethsaida.” This is a village on the northeast shore of the
Sea of Galilee, near the mouth of the upper Jordan River. It’s where Philip, Peter and Andrew
grew up. Some friends of a blind man find out Jesus has arrived so they do two things that we’re
called to do as well.
• Bring people to Jesus. Look at the next phrase, “And some people brought to him a blind
man…” The word “brought” has the idea of carrying, so you know it takes them some effort.
This is similar to what the four friends did for their paralyzed buddy when they tore the roof
apart to lower him to the Lord in Mark 2:3
• Beg Jesus to touch them. After bringing this man to Jesus, they “begged him to touch him.” To
“beg” means to “to invite; to come to the side of.” Now that their friend is in proximity to Jesus
they start praying and pleading for Him to touch him.
Do you have friends who push you closer to Christ or are they pulling you away from Him? Who
can you think of right now that God wants you to bring to Jesus? Do you know of someone in
misery? If so, it’s time to minister by bringing them close to Jesus and then begin begging Him
to touch your friend or family member.
These salvation sentences explain how important faithful friends are…
• I was saved because I saw two people who were Christians and I wanted what they had.
• I ran into an old friend that was NOTHING like I remembered him, and he was literally
glowing with joy! I had to have whatever he had, and what he had was Christ!
• We had some friends that wanted to take our daughter to church when she was six years
old and we decided that we needed to be the ones to take our children to church. We went
that Sunday and were saved that day after the pastor gave a very convicting message.
• A Halloween party invitation from a person I hadn't seen in years is directly responsible
for the chain of events that lead to my salvation.
• I was saved because of the witness of a friend and the faithful prayers of an aunt and
two cousins.
• People continuously showing up and speaking truth, even when I didn’t want them to.
2. Watch the Mastershow mercy.
Don’t you love watching what Jesus does? He is personal, He shows mercy in private and there’s
often a process involved.

39. • Personal. I love how personal the first part of Mark 8:23 is as Christ makes physical contact
with him: “And He took the blind man by the hand…” The sense of touch would be elevated for
a blind person so this no doubt meant a lot to him. I imagine Jesus leading this man around
potholes and people in his path. In our culture when you shake hands with someone, you are
communicating warmth and openness but when you hold hands it’s much more tender.
After my freshman year at Moody Bible Institute, I spent the summer in Zimbabwe, teaching at a
Bible College. I stayed with the male students in a dormitory on the other end of the campus.
After tossing and turning my first night because of both the heat and excitement of being there, I
got up and made my way to the dining hall which was located on the other end of the soccer
field. As I walked with the students, one young man came up to me and took me by the hand and
held on tightly. I was OK with this for about three seconds but then I started sweating and
became uncomfortable.
I looked around and saw my American teammates laughing at me but then I looked at the smile
on the face of the college student who was studying to be a pastor and recognized that this was
his way of saying he wanted to be close to his teacher. When I realized it was a cultural
expression of honor and respect, I relaxed and we walked all the way across the field holding
hands. I should add that I got up early every day after this and sped across the field before
anyone could hold my hand!
• Private. Just like he did for the deaf and mute man in Mark 7:33, Jesus “led him out of the
village.” Listen. We grow when we get away and gather with God and His people. Abraham was
taken away from Ur. Lot left Sodom and Gomorrah. Moses left Pharaoh’s household. Make sure
you have alone time with Jesus. God brought you here today on purpose for His purposes. He
knows you completely and you matter to Him. Jesus leads lost and blind sinners to Himself and
we know from John 6:44 that if the Father doesn’t call us, we won’t come: “No one can come to
me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”
We see how personal Jesus is and how He uses church gatherings for His purposes with some
more salvation sentences.
• Was saved as a freshman in high school at youth group led by Pastor Ed.
• My grandma and my youth group.
• I was seven years old at AWANA when I made an intentional decision to believe in my
Savior who loves me unconditionally (even though I was very bad at memorizing Bible
verses)!!!
• My husband’s faithful guiding led me to seek a relationship with the Lord. After a few
months of attending Edgewood I was saved during a tithing message!
Years ago I read a book entitled, What’s Gone Wrong with the Harvest? I came across what’s
been called the Engel Scale that really helped me understand how Jesus moves people along a
path toward salvation. This is very encouraging because if God can use me to help someone take
the next step on the road to salvation, he can use anyone. That also means that I haven’t failed if
the person doesn’t get saved. I also like this visual because it reminds me that my efforts should
not stop at conversion because we’re called to make disciples, not just converts.

40. Jesus ministered personally and privately and with this man, we can see a process that He
followed.
• Process.
Let’s spend some time now on the process Jesus used to bring sight to this blind man in Mark
8:23-25. Everything Jesus does is intentional, deliberate and purposeful. This is no accident and
we know there’s not a problem with a lack of power on His part.
STAGE ONE
• “And when He had spit on His eyes…” Aren’t you glad that we don’t have to mimic this
method today? Not sure how that would go over in an outreach event. Spit was thought to have
medicinal properties…but it still feels gross to me. When I was young my mom would often lick
her finger and put it on a cut I had. Maybe this is where she got the idea?
• “And laid His hands on him…” After the warm spit hits his eyes Jesus immediately uses His
hands and touches him. Remember he couldn’t see anything but could feel everything.
• “He asked him, ‘Do you see anything?’” Jesus asks him a question to get him to participate and
to respond.
• “And He looked up and said, ‘I see people, but they look like trees, walking.’” This reminds me
of the scene in Lord of the Rings when the “Ents” (trees) come to life and start walking around!
It’s interesting that the man knew what trees looked like, so maybe he had not been born blind.
Can you imagine what it was like to go from total darkness to bright light and to start seeing
color and movement as unfocused images begin to pulsate through his previously deadened optic
nerves?
The second phase of his healing takes place in Mark 8:25.
STAGE TWO
• “Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again…” This is what his friends begged Jesus to do but
He actually did much more – He took the man by the hand, He led him away, He spit on his
eyes, He laid His hands on him, He asked him a question and then He laid His hands on him
again. This reminds me of the time parents want Jesus to touch their children inMark 10. Jesus
does way more than that in verse 16: “And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying
His hands on them.”
• “And he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” The first thing
he saw was Jesus. The Greek indicates that he saw and continued to see both near and far. The
progression is vivid here – three different Greek words are used – he eyes are opened, his sight
was restored and he saw everything clearly. The word for “clearly” means “brightly, shining,
resplendent.” He could read the big letters on the eye chart and all the small ones, too! He
probably started singing, “I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see!”
Don’t miss that healing the blind was a sign that Jesus was the promised Messiah or Savior. In
other words, people would know that Jesus was the promised one because he fulfilled prophecy.
Check out Isaiah 35:5: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened…” In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus
quotes another passage in Isaiah and tells His listeners that this 700-year old prophecy is being
fulfilled in their hearing: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to
proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and

41. recovering of sight to the blind.” And in Luke 7:20-22, John the Baptist wants to make sure Jesus
is who He says He is: “Are you the One who is to come or should we look for another?” Here’s
what Jesus says: “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their
sight…”
A Two-Step Miracle
Let’s ponder for a few minutes why Jesus may have done this miracle in two stages. Before
listing some possibilities, we know it can’t be because of some lack of power on His part. On top
of that, it’s really OK to not know and just rest in His sweet sovereignty and accept His plans and
purposes even if we don’t fully understand. We should never put God in a box.
Knowing that any explanation is speculation, here are some possibilities.
1. To grow this man’s weak faith. Jesus didn’t just want to restore his sight but to also transform
his heart. As he started to see, his faith increased.
2. To show that Jesus ministers differently with different people. This means you shouldn’t try to
copy someone else and it’s a reminder that we don’t all get better at the same rate or in the same
way.
3. To let us know that Jesus longs to touch us more than once. Some of us can give a sentence or
two about our salvation but we’ve drifted in our discipleship. You might be saved but you’re not
sanctified, forgiven but not fruitful, or even a member and not living on mission. Don’t think
you’re good to go when Jesus wants you to grow.
4. To remind us that God often does a little before He does a lot. Zechariah 4:10 says to “not
despise the day of small things.”
5. To point us to the time we will see Jesus face to face. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we
see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I
have been fully known.”
6. To teach and train the disciples. When a text of Scripture is a bit difficult to understand, it’s
important to consider the context because a text out of context is a pretext for a prooftext. Here’s
what we see when we do that. This passage essentially ends the first part of the Gospel of Mark
where we’ve been focusing on Jesus as servant. The next section begins the presentation of Jesus
as Savior. We’ll pick back up in Mark in January.
In the previous passage Jesus basically told the disciples that they were blind. Look at Mark
8:18: “Having eyes do you not yet see?” and in Mark 8:21 He asks, “Do you not yet
understand?” Then in the passage following this one, we read of Peter’s confession of faith in
verse 29: “You are the Christ.”
Jesus is opening their eyes to the truth of who He is, and it’s a process. They just needed to take
the next step, just like us. What’s your next step?
Here are some more salvation sentences that show a process…
• After a life of really bad choices and tremendous guilt God pretty much kicked me and
said "Hey.... follow me with all your heart and I'll break your chains that keep you in the
hands of the enemy. You are my child and I will love you forever."
• Though I had found all the worldly success, I had found no fulfillment in life, which led
me to searching out God.
• God allowed me to get to the lowest place I needed to be so my hard head would have
no doubts it was Him that saved me from my mess of a life.

42. Let’s summarize. The message of the gospel always remains the same but God uses different
methods to reach different people. Minister to those in misery and then watch the Master show
mercy. That leads to our final point.
3. Be motivated to live on mission.
There’s a positive and a negative command in verse 26. The man is told where to go and where
not to go. The key is to obey, whether we understand it or not. Look at the first part of verse 26:
“And he sent him to his home.” Someone has said, “If you want to change the world, go home
and love your family.”
Shortly after I became a Christian, I read another book that radically transformed my
understanding of evangelism called, The Master’s Plan for Making Disciples by Win and Charles
Arn. Their premise is built on the Greek word oikos, (not the Greek yogurt, which tastes like
sour cream). Oikos is the New Testament word for “household.” In English, “household” means
the nuclear family. In Greek, however, its usage was much broader and included family,
neighbors, co-workers, friends and those with whom we come into regular contact.
Each of us has an oikos made up of family, extended family, friends, neighbors and co-workers
as well. This is our mission field. Studies show that 75-90% of people come to Christ through the
influence of a friend or a family member.
I did a quick breakdown on the salvation sentences posted on Facebook on Thursday – more
responses have come in since so it’s not completely accurate. Almost 30% mention that it was a
time of trouble that led them to Christ. Not quite a third mention the impact of a friend or family
member and over a third came to Christ through the influence of a church service or student
ministry.
On this Labor Day weekend, most of us are thinking about our jobs by taking a day off on
Monday. I wonder what would happen if we started thinking of our work as a platform for
witness and worship?
Here are a few more testimonies that show how God can use us where we work:
• A persistent friend/co-worker kept inviting me to church and I finally caved.
• [An Edgewood member] was my co-worker at a bank. He witnessed to me every day
about a God who loved me and wanted a relationship with me. He asked me one day
where I thought I would go if I died that day. I knew! I asked God to forgive my sins and
live in me that very afternoon!
• Through a special friend at work God brought me back to church, and into a life
[growth] group where through worship music I came to saving faith.
I came across a teaching series by Matt Chandler this past week on RightNow Media called,
“Work as Worship.” I highly recommend it. Let’s watch this brief promo and if you’re interested
you can watch the three-part series for free by opening an account through our website. → Show
promo for Chandler video.
As we wrap up today, check out the last phrase of Mark 8:26: “Do not even enter the village.”
That seems harsh, doesn’t it? What was it about Bethsaida that made Jesus tell the man to stay
away? Lots of miracles were done there but because of their hard hearts Jesus had pronounced a
curse on this village in Matthew 11:21-22: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For
if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented

43. long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the Day of Judgment
for Tyre and Sidon than for you.”
Jesus had rejected them because they wouldn’t receive Him. They tuned Him out so He turned
away. They had been given light but they gorged on the deeds of darkness. As a result the
community was judged but individuals were still invited to respond. It sure feels like America
has been judged, doesn’t it? We’ve turned away from His Word and His Ways. We’ll focus more
on this in two weeks.
But there’s still time for you individually to respond…but don’t delay!
Do you have a salvation sentence? We all start out spiritually blind and have been given a sin
sentence according to Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…” The man was honest when
he couldn’t see clearly and he told Jesus, “I see men as trees walking around.” It’s time for you
to be totally truthful about your condition. Admit that you are a sinner and repent from your sins.
It’s time today to receive Jesus Christ so that you can see! Listen how Romans 6:23 ends: “…but
the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Here’s one more salvation sentence: “At the altar on my knees with a deacon leading me down
the Romans road.” I invite you to come up front and settle your salvation so you too can have a
story to share.
Closing Song: “O Great God”
Mark 8:22-38: “Jesus Asks The Disciples Who He Is, Then After Peter’s Confession Begins To
Tell Them Plainly That He Would Suffer, Die, And Be Raised”
By
Jim Bomkamp
Back Bible Studies Home Page
1. In our last study, we looked at verses 1-21 of chapter 8.
1.1. We looked at Jesus’ miracle of the feeding of the 4,000.
1.2. We discussed not only how great this miracle was, but also what it means in our lives as
believers in Christ. We saw that the disciples had not learned anything from the previous miracle
of the feeding of the 5,000 which we studied in chapter 6 of this gospel. They still did not realize
that the Lord can and will work in a miraculous way for the meeting of people’s needs. We
discussed how that before we become critical of these disciples, we need to take stock of
ourselves and ask ourselves how often we forget the Lord’s miracles? How often do we let the
stresses and pressures of life overtake us rather than simply looking to and trusting Him for His
provision in the midst of the things we go through?
2. In our study today, we are going to look at verses 22-38, and there we will see many things.
2.1. Jesus heals a blind man in a two phase miracle for the first time (the man is not completely
healed by Jesus initially), and we will look at why Jesus may have done this.

44. 2.2. Jesus will next ask the disciples who people say that He is, followed by asking them who
they say that He is. Peter will make his great confession of who Jesus is.
2.3. Jesus will then begin to discuss plainly the fact that He is going to suffer and die and then be
raised again from the dead. Peter will then take Jesus aside and begin to rebuke Him for such a
depressing prophesy, however Jesus will rebuke Peter in the strongest possible way calling him
“Satan,” and telling him to get behind Him.
2.4. Then, Jesus will begin to explain to His disciples the hard and plain truth of what it involves
becoming a disciple of Christ. He will say that one must deny himself and take up his cross and
follow Him. We will discuss what this means.
2.5. I am convinced that at this point in time that Jesus is desperately wanting to finally get some
quality time away from the multitudes so that He can talk with them and reveal to them the
essential truth that they need to know. Up to this point in time, no matter where Jesus and His
disciples have gone people recognize them and flock to Him for various reasons, whether for
their own healing, the healing of a loved one, to hear the wisdom with which He spoke, etc., etc.
Now, in our study finally Jesus will get alone with His disciples for a little while and have that
time with them He has desired. Jesus will head to an area that He has not been before, one in
which He will not be known, Caesarea Philippi.
2.1. Jesus desires to share with His disciples two essential truths. They need to know “who He
really is,” and also “what He really came to do.” This is the same truth that all people need to
learn. In our world today, “a vague faith is in vogue.” Its almost fashionable for those who call
themselves Christians to be very vague in the things that they believe. For many churches, their
leaders are happy just that they people believe “something,” and there is really no attempt to
clarify what it is that people believe. But, this was not the case with Jesus, we see in our study
that He was very concerned that His disciples are very clear about who He was and what He had
come to earth to do.
2.2. Peter will go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in almost a matter of seconds.
We will see in our study, that when Jesus asks who the disciple think that He is, Peter answers
this question dead on: “You are the Christ.” In this statement, Peter declares the most precise
announcement yet about who Jesus is, and for that he is lauded by Jesus because flesh and blood
had not revealed that to Him but rather His Father in heaven. Jesus even changes Peter’s name
because of his declaration and states that upon that rock He will build His church and the gates of
hell will not prevail against it. But, then after Jesus declares immediately afterward that He will
suffer, die, and be raised from the dead, and Jesus rebukes Peter for this statement, Jesus calls
Peter, “Satan,” and then tells him to get behind Him for he is not concerned with the things of
God.
3. VS 8:22-26 - “22 And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and
implored Him to touch him. 23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the
village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see
anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.”
25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began
to see everything clearly. 26 And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the
village.”” - Jesus heals a blind man in Bethsaida
3.1. According to J.D. Jones, this Bethsaida where Jesus came with His disciples at this point is
actually Bethsaida Julius, located on the northeastern corner of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus is just

45. passing through this area now and is on His way to Caesarea Philippi. This Logos software map
of Old Testament times shows the Sea of Galilee up in northern Israel, east of Mt. Carmel:
3.2. Mark alone contains an account of this healing of the bind man.
3.3. Each of Jesus’ healings seem to be handled uniquely by Him. We have discussed that in
each instance that what Jesus did in healing the person He did in order to increase the person’s
faith, knowing what he/she specifically needed. Here, Jesus first led the man by the hand outside
of the village where they would be undistracted by any of the sounds around them (a blind man
typically has incredibly good sense of sound). Then, Jesus spat in the man’s eyes and laid His
hands on him, Yet, the man was not completely healed until after He interrogated him and then
laid His hands upon the man yet again.
3.4. One of the interesting things about this miracle is that up until this time, each of our Lord’s
miracles has been immediate and complete for the recipient. By doing this, Jesus’ glory, might,
and power have been revealed. Yet, here we see that though this healing eventually was
complete, the man was only partially healed at this point in time.
3.5. Most Bible commentators point out that just as each of Jesus’ miracles illustrate also for us a
manner in which men and women are healed from sin, that this miracle illustrates how that when
a person comes to that they don’t initially see things as they are. There is a progressive revelation
of truth that happens in their lives. Initially, they do not really understand what God’s grace is all
about, for instance, or what redemption really involves, or how that they still have indwelling sin
within them after coming to salvation and that salvation through Christ is a continual process,
etc., etc. People do not initially see the true nature of people after coming to Christ in the same
way that this man initially just saw people like trees, not being able to specifically define their
images. Its only as we continue to abide in Christ that we finally begin to see ourselves and
others in their proper light, and truly come to understand the story of redemption.
3.6. It is interesting that Jesus here wants this man with his restored vision to not even go into the
villages to testify of what Christ has done for him, but rather to go straight to his family and
friends in that place where he lives, and be a testimony to them. Those who know this man best
will be ministered to the most by him.

46. 3.7. Note that because the man saw people initially looking as trees that at one point in time he
had been able to see, then some accident or disease had caused him to become blinded.
4. VS 8:27-30 - “27 Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi;
and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” 28
They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.”
29 And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and
said to Him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And He warned them to tell no one about Him.” – Jesus
went to Caesarea Philippi and on the way began to ask them two questions, “Who do people say
that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?”
4.1. Jesus took His disciples about 25 miles north of Bethsaida Julias to the remote area of
Caesarea Philippi now. Harper’s Bible Dictionary has the following entry for ‘Caesarea
Philippi’:
Caesarea Philippi (ses-uh-ree«uh fi-lip´ī), a Gentile frontier town located on the southern slope
of Mt. Hermon at one of the sources of the Jordan River. The site was known in antiquity as a
shrine of the Greek and Roman nature god, Pan. According to the Jewish historian Josephus,
Caesar Augustus gave the city, under the name of Panion, to Herod the Great. When Herod’s son
Philip became tetrarch of the region, he rebuilt the city and renamed it after the emperor and
himself. In or near the city of Caesarea Philippi was the scene of Peter’s great confession (Matt.
16:13-19; Mark 8:27-29)
4.2. It was finally time for Jesus’ disciples to be tested as to whether or not they truly understood
who He was, or not. Was Jesus’ ministry going to be a huge failure and all His work be in vain,
or were they going to able to get what He needed to tell them about who He is and what He came
to do? Everything was going to be based upon their answer to this question by Jesus, and their
subsequent response regarding His mission to die upon the cross for the sins of the world.
4.3. To prepare the disciples to answer who they thought that He was, Jesus first asked them who
‘people say that I am’? The response there was that the people knew that Jesus was a prophet of
God of some sort, definitely a holy man sent of God, and there were many opinions about which
reincarnated Old Testament prophet Jesus might be. The common people knew more of who
Jesus was than those who should have known, the religious experts.
4.4. Finally, Jesus asks them the “ten thousand dollar question.” He asks them, ‘But who do you
say that I am?’

47. 4.5. Peter knew the answer and spoke for the rest of them, as was his habit. He tells Jesus that He
is ‘the Christ’, in other words the Anointed One and Messiah, the One who was the hope of
Israel, He who is prophesied to come to Israel in hundreds of passages found all throughout the
Old testament. In Matthew’s account of this story he tells more of what Peter answered. In Matt.
16:16, Peter says, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.”
4.6. The Bible Exposition Commentary says the following about the importance of what you
believe about Jesus Christ:
If you were to go around asking your friends, “What do people say about me?” they would take
it as an evidence of pride. What difference does it really make what people think or say about us?
We are not that important! But what people believe and say about Jesus Christ is important, for
He is the Son of God and the only Saviour of sinners.
Your confession concerning Jesus Christ is a matter of life or death (John 8:21, 24; 1 John 2:22–
27; 4:1–3). The citizens of Caesarea Philippi would say, “Caesar is lord!” That confession might
identify them as loyal Roman citizens, but it could never save them from their sins and from
eternal hell. The only confession that saves us is “Jesus is Lord!” (1 Cor. 12:1–3) when that
confession comes from a heart that truly believes in Him (Rom. 10:9–10).
4.7. Mark only records Jesus replying to the disciples after Peter’s confession, that they were not
to tell anyone these things. However, Matthew records Jesus’ accolades spoken to Peter:
Matthew 16:17-19, “17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh
and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 “I also say to you that
you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not
overpower it. 19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on
earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed
in heaven.””
4.8. Jesus warned His disciples, now that they know that He is the Messiah the Holy One of
Israel, that they are to tell no one these things. He didn’t want too much publicity about who He
was because He knew He needed to be alone with His disciples and not be constantly tied down
to ministering to the needy multitudes. Plus, the disciples needed to learn much more before they
were ready to proclaim the true nature of Jesus to the multitudes.
5. VS 8:31-33 - “31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and
be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days
rise again. 32 And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to
rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get
behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”” – After
Peter makes his great confession about who Jesus is, Jesus immediately begins to speak of His
passion, that he would suffer many things, be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes,
and killed, but that after three days He would rise again, but then, Peter takes Him aside and
began to rebuke Him for saying these things, but Jesus tells him (Satan) to get behind Him for he
was not setting his mind on God’s things, but man’s
5.1. It was only now that the disciples had come to truly understand who Jesus was, and be
confirmed in the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, that Jesus could begin to ‘plainly’ explain why
He had come to the earth and what His calling now was going to be.
5.2. Prior to this point in time, Jesus had intimated His passion, yet He was not clear enough for
His disciples to be sure exactly what He was saying. The disciples were still believing the

48. popular belief that when the Messiah came that He would immediately be a material king and set
up army and go conquering the nations, beginning first with Rome. The scriptures did tell them
that the Messiah would one day reign, however the disciples did not understand that He first had
to be the savior of men’s sins and conquer death, hell, the grave, and the Devil.
5.3. This very clear news by Jesus of His passion was confusion and disillusioning to the
disciples. They were all disappointed in Jesus and began to lose all hope in Him. When Peter
rebukes Jesus, he again was only speaking the words that all of the disciples were thinking.
5.4. The Bible Exposition Commentary says the following about how the disciples were
confused by this announcement by Jesus: “This announcement stunned the disciples. If He is
indeed the Christ of God, as they had confessed, then why would He be rejected by the religious
leaders? Why would these leaders crucify Him? Did not the Old Testament Scriptures promise
that Messiah would defeat all their enemies and establish a glorious kingdom for Israel? There
was something wrong somewhere and the disciples were confused… Steeped in Jewish
traditional interpretation, they were unable to understand how their Messiah could ever suffer
and die. To be sure, some of the prophets had written about Messiah’s sufferings, but much more
had been written about Messiah’s glory. Some of the rabbis even taught that there would be two
Messiahs, one who would suffer and one who would reign (see 1 Peter 1:10–12). No wonder the
disciples were confused.”
5.5. Notice that this is one of several times in which Jesus taught His disciples that He would one
day rise again from the dead after three days.
5.6. Peter went from the highest of highs when He had made his “Great Confession” of who
Jesus is, but now Peter finds himself hitting the lowest of lows. Jesus calls Peter, ‘Satan’,
because he is acting as an agent of the Devil.
5.7. It is appropriate that Peter would be called ‘Satan’ by Jesus. The last of Jesus’ temptations
by the Devil after His baptism was a temptation to receive all of the kingdoms of the world
without having to go to the cross. At that time it is written in the gospels that the Devil left Jesus
for a time but would return, and here the Devil has returned and he has returned to again tempt
Jesus with the same temptation. Peter is rebuking Jesus about speaking about the suffering of the
cross and telling Him that He can become a king now without going to the cross. Peter is
tempting Jesus as Satan’s ambassador and thus needs to be rebuked by Jesus in the strongest
manner.
5.8. Jesus tells Peter that He is not setting his mind on the things of God because he is not
understanding the things of God, especially the manner of the redemption of lost mankind which
is Jesus’ mission.
5.9. Peter had been the mouthpiece of God when he made his great confession, now he is a
stumbling block to God, and the Bible Exposition Commentary says the following, “Dr. G.
Campbell Morgan said, “The man who loves Jesus, but who shuns God’s method, is a stumbling
block to Him.””
6. VS 8:34 - “34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone
wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” – Jesus
tells the crowd along with His disciples that if anyone wished to come after Him that he must
deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Jesus

49. 6.1. Jesus gives the requirements here for anyone who would want to be His follower and inherit
eternal life through Him. His words were not just for His disciples, not for the disciples of the
early church, these were for all men for all of eternity.
6.2. Jesus states that if anyone would come after Him he must ‘deny himself’, and the Bible
Exposition Commentary defines what that means: “we deny self when we surrender ourselves to
Christ and determine to obey His will. This once-for-all dedication is followed by a daily “dying
to self” as we take up the cross and follow Him. From the human point of view, we are losing
ourselves, but from the divine perspective, we are finding ourselves. When we live for Christ, we
become more like Him, and this brings out our own unique individuality.”
6.3. Not only will Jesus face a cross, He tells His disciples that they too must face a cross. Each
person must ‘take up his cross’ and suffer himself, suffer on behalf of Christ, and suffer the loss
of his own will and desires to do Christ’s calling and bidding.
6.4. In our world today, many churches and church leaders are teaching that a person can be a
Christian without having to die to himself, without yielding to Christ as Lord and Master of his
life, and without doing anything inconvenient on behalf of Christ. But, Jesus says the opposite.
To be saved, each person must take up his cross, that which symbolizes the sentence of death and
suffering. Great blessings will come but only as one finds himself as a servant and ambassador of
Christ.
6.5. Likewise, anyone who would inherit eternal life, he must ‘come after’ Jesus and ‘follow’
Him. Jesus will only save a disciple, and a disciple is one who follows Jesus in His example, and
in his calling and leading.
7. VS 8:35-38 - “35 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world,
and forfeit his soul? 37 “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 “For whoever is
ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also
be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”” – Jesus
reveals to His disciples the wisdom involved in following Him
7.1. Jesus gives His disciples five arguments that show the wisdom for following through with
His admonition about denying himself and taking up his cross daily and following Him:
7.1.1. ‘whoever wishes to save his life will lose it’.
7.1.1.1.If a person decides to try to hold onto his life and do whatever he wants to do, he will in
the end lose his life for eternity, and so, to live for self and selfish reasons for a few short years
upon this earth but then to spend eternity in hell is not a wise decision to make. Its not worth
while.
7.1.2. ‘whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it’.
7.1.2.1.If a person does lose his life to Jesus to do whatever Jesus would have him to do in his
life, then he is promised by Jesus that for all eternity that He will save it, or spend his life in
heaven for all eternity.
7.1.3. ‘what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul’.
7.1.3.1.Jesus tells His disciples that it is foolish to live for the things of this world, even if he
would be able to gain everything in the whole world, and this is because to do so you will forfeit
your soul for all eternity in hell.

50. 7.1.4. ‘what will a man give in exchange for his soul’.
7.1.4.1.There is no kind of a relationship that a person can have with God that does not involve
giving of his entire life or soul. You can’t work out some sort of a deal with God, and this is
because first of all we have nothing with which we could even barter or bargain with God. God
owns everything in the universe, therefore none of us could ever tempt Him or bribe Him with
anything that we have, in exchange for giving our life to Him for salvation.
7.1.5. ‘whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son
of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy
angels’.
7.1.5.1.If a person lives his life ashamed of owning Jesus as his Lord and Savior, then Jesus
promises that He will also be ashamed to own him before the Father. A person must be willing to
confess Jesus to be his/her Lord and Savior if Jesus will be willing to claim his/her life as
redeemed by Him.
8. CONCLUSIONS:
8.1. Do you know who Jesus really is?
8.2. Do you know why He really came?
8.3. Do you recognize the wisdom of committing your life to Christ in the way that Jesus
outlines?
8.4. Have you truly denied yourself and your desires and plans and committed yourself to Jesus
to be your Lord and Savior?
ALAN CARR
Mark 8:23-26
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
Intro: In his book “The Servant Who Rules”, Ray Steadman shares the following illustration.
Jazz pianist George Shearing was blind from birth. The composer of more than three hundred
pieces, including the jazz standard “
Lullaby of Birdland,” Shearing toured continually throughout his long career. He could often be
found in busy downtown areas, navigating crowded sidewalks with his dark glasses and white
cane. On one occasion, he was at a busy intersection at rush hour, waiting for help in crossing the
street. Finally someone tapped him on the shoulder. What Shearing heard next was not an offer
for help but a request. “Excuse me, sir,” a stranger said to Shearing, “
would you mind helping a blind man cross the street?”
Shearing was about to tell the other man that he too was blind. Then he thought, Why not give it
a go? So Shearing said, “Certainly, my friend. Here, take my arm.” The two men set off across

51. the street together, the blind leading the blind. Shearing heard many unnerving sounds as they
crossed the street--tires squealing, horns blaring, the angry voices of cab drivers--but they made
it safely to the far curb. Later Shearing recalled the incident and said, “I'll never do it again, but
I'm glad I did it once. It was the biggest thrill of my life!”
Our text today introduces to us another blind man. He is about to experience a thrill far greater
than crossing a busy intersection with blinded eyes. He is about to experience one of the
strangest miracles in the New Testament.
Jesus and His men return to Bethsaida, v. 22. The last time they were here, Jesus had healed
many of their sick, Mark 6:53-56. Now He has returned and a group of people bring a blind man
to Jesus, begging Him to perform another healing miracle.
Their request is for Jesus to “touch” their friend. These people were Gentiles and they had come
to believe that Christ’s power to heal resided in His touch. They failed to understand that He was
able to heal with a word, or with a thought, if He so desired.
As we watch the Lord bring sight to this blind man, there is more going on here than meets the
eye. Like all of Christ’s other miracles, this one seems to be for the sake of the disciples as much
as it is for this blind fellow. You see, all of the Lord’s miracles are really “parables in action”.
Jesus has been trying to teach His men that He is the Messiah; that He is God in the flesh. They
have failed to get the message! In spite of seeing Him do the amazing and the impossible again
and again, they just don’t get it.
This miracle reveals the way God opens the eyes of the spiritually blind. This miracle teaches
how God is able to take someone who cannot understand spiritual truth and how He works
patiently with them, step by step, to being them to the place of full comprehension.
As this process unfolds, Jesus, at one point, asks this man what he sees, v. 23. As I preach
through these verses, I want to pose the same question to you today. “
What Do You See?” Is your spiritual sight as keen as it should be? Do you have the Lord in
sharp, clear focus in your heart and life today? Do you know Who He is and understand what He
is doing in your life? What Do You See? Let’s examine the steps revealed in our Lord’s healing
of this man’s blindness. As we do, I believe there is a word of hope, help and blessing for our
hearts today. I want to preach on the thought: What Do You See?
I. v. 23a THE PREPARATION
FOR HIS HEALING
· The first thing Jesus does when He hears the request of the people is to take this blind man by
the hand. Jesus touches him as requested, but nothing happens! Or does it?
Nothing visible took place. Nothing took place as far as the crowd in concerned; but something
very profound occurs here.
· Jesus takes this man by the hand and begins to lead him out of town. Just as He did with the
deaf and mute man in Mark 7:31-37, Jesus leads this man to a place away from the crowds to do
His healing work.
Now, get this image in your minds. Jesus walks up to this man and takes him by the hand and
begins to lead him away. They begin their journey in the middle of town, v. 23. I can imagine

52. Jesus leading him around the obstacles that were in his path. I can hear Jesus as He patiently and
kindly leads this poor blind man along one step at a time, all the while holding his hand. Can you
see this in your mind’s eye?
· Think about this, we are a people accustomed to touching one another. Not in inappropriate
ways, but in ways that demonstrate a connection between us. For example, since I have been
here today, I have shaken dozens of hands. It is a simple greeting. It is a common gesture. A
handshake allows us to make a physical connection that is not threatening, aggressive or
uncomfortable. A good firm handshake says, “
Hello, it’s good to see you,” or “Hello, it’s good to make your acquaintance,” and nothing more.
A handshake is something many of us experience on a daily basis. It is just a little physical
connection with our fellow man.
But, holding someone’s hand for a long period of time and be a very intimate experience.
Remember how thrilling it was to hold your girlfriend or boyfriend’s hand when you were
dating? Think about how special it is just to hold the hand of your spouse as you walk from place
to place. There is something intimate about that gesture that communicates far more than a
simple “
Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” Holding someone’s hand says, “I care!”
Just this week, I was at the hospital with Brother Don while the surgeons worked on Sister Ruth.
While we waited in the waiting room, an older woman approached me.
She said, “Are you a preacher?”
I said, “Yes Ma’am, can I be of help to you?”
She began to weep and told me about her loved one who was in a bad way. As she spoke, this
lady grabbed my hand and held on, squeezing it in her own hand.
She asked me to pray for her relative, and I said, “Let’s just pray for them right here.” And that is
what we did.
All the while, she is holding my hand. I did not pull it away from her because she needed that
physical connection. Just for a moment this hurting woman needed to feel like someone cared.
That’s what we see in these verses.
Jesus takes this man by the hand and leads him to the place his miracle will take place! When
that truth sinks in it becomes a real blessing!
· You see, there is a great, spiritual truth buried in this image and I want to share them with you
before we move deeper in our text today.
I see here a clear portrait of how the Lord leads lost, blind sinners and brings them to the place of
salvation. We don’t recognize His touch until our blinded eyes are opened, but throughout our
whole lives, Jesus was working and leading us to bring us to the place of saving faith. Every
event, every circumstance, every tragedy and every blessing was the Lord taking your hand and
mine in His grip, as He brought us to Himself. You can believe what you want to, but you can’t
get to God on your own! In you natural state you are dead, Eph. 2:1. He comes to you, John 6:44.
He rescues the sinner from the dangerous byways of sin, Luke 15:3-5. He leads us to Himself. If
you are saved, can you now look back and remember? Can you see the tender way He brought
you along until your eyes were opened and you saw yourself for what you were and Him as your

53. only hope? Can you remember how He lead you and worked in the events of your life to bring
you to that place of faith and repentance? What a blessing it is!
II. v. 23b-25
THE PROCESS
OF HIS HEALING
· One of the things that makes this miracle so unique is that this is the only time in the Gospel
record where Jesus healed someone in stages. Usually, Jesus either touched them or spoke to
them and they were healed. Here, Jesus uses a two step process to open this man’s blind eyes.
This just reminds us that you can’t out our God in a box. God works with individuals and each
one is important to Him. Jesus raised three people from the dead over the course of His earthly
ministry. Each one was different. He touched the daughter of Jairus. He touched the stretcher on
which men were carrying the body of the widow of Nain’s son. He spoke to Lazarus.
His healing miracles were also different. He healed one leper by touching him. He healed a
group of ten lepers by speaking to them. Sometimes Jesus would go where the sick individual
was, other times; they would bring the sick to Him. Sometimes Jesus went and touched the sick
one, other times; Jesus would heal from a great distance. You just can’t shove God in a box and
say, “That’s how He does it every time.”
Some people have problems right here. They hear someone’s testimony and, let’s say the person
they hear was saved out of deep sin. That redeemed sinner goes into great detail about how God
worked in their life through extraordinary events to bring them to Jesus for salvation. Maybe the
person listening to them got saved in Vacation Bible School when they were a small child.
Sometimes that person might think, “
Well, I didn’t have an experience like that other person, so I must not be saved.” Not so!
Folks, it is not experiences that save souls, it is “grace through faith.” If you had one of those
earthshaking, amazing, awe-inspiring conversions, praise the Lord! If you didn’t, praise the
Lord! Just so you have it settled in your heart that your faith is in Jesus Christ and Him alone. It
is not about the experience, it is about genuine, saving faith.
Jesus tailors His work to the individual! How He worked in my life is not how He will work in
your life. We each receive a personal, individual ministry from the hand of the Lord. You are
special to Him! Praise His name! Let’s watch how Jesus works in this blind man’s life to give
him back his sight.
· The first thing Jesus does is to spit in the man’s eyes. I imagine this man’s eyes to be diseased,
mattered shut and crusted over. Jesus just turns to him and spits in his eyes! To us that sounds
disgusting. If someone were to spit in your eyes, you would be ready for a fight.
In ancient times, people thought differently than we do now. They believed there was healing
power in human saliva. We still believe that to a certain degree today. If you get a small cut on
your finger, what is the first thing most people do? That’s right; they stick it right in their mouth.
Why? Saliva has soothing qualities. Of course, it’s full of deadly germs, but that is another story.
So, Jesus spits in his eyes and immediately touches the man. Jesus was saying to the man, by His
actions, “

54. I am about to do something for these eyes of yours.” I would imagine that someone spitting in
your eye would be a disturbing thing, but the spitting is immediately followed by the Lord’s
tender touch. This man can’t see, but he can feel. The Lord is working in a way that makes no
sense to us, but it was understood by the blind man.
Then, Jesus asks him if he can see anything. When the man opens his eyes and looks around, he
says, “I see men as trees, walking.”
This tells us a few things we would do well to notice. First, it tells us that the man hadn’t always
been blind. He was able to identify the people around his as people. Second, it teaches us that he
healing was far from complete. He could discern light and shapes, but he could not see clearly.
Third, this partial healing does not suggest, as some commentators like to imply, that the healing
powers of Jesus were failing. They actually say that the opposition to His ministry is so great,
and the power of the devil so strong, that Jesus is having a hard time healing this man. Rubbish!
Jesus is using this man’s healing as a living parable! Jesus could have healed him with a thought,
but He chose to do it this way to teach His disciples, and us by extension, a valuable lesson.
Then, Jesus touches him again, and this time, everything becomes crystal clear. His healing is
complete. His eyesight is restored.
· As usual, there is a spiritual application in these events. Let’s not miss what the Lord is trying
to teach us here.
This blind man is a living illustration of the spiritual condition of the disciples. Ever since they
had been walking with the Lord, in a sense, He had been “spitting in their eyes”. He had been
using one shocking, amazing, miraculous event after the other to teach them that He was the
Messiah, the very Son of God.
They had seen Him heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, walk on water, and multiply
bread and fish, along with many other powerful proofs of His identity and deity. But, these
fellows never did get it!
He had “spit in their eyes and touched them”, but they never would fully comprehend just Who
Jesus was until after He died and rose from the dead. Jesus led His disciples from a place of total
spiritual blindness to a place where they could see Him clearly. In this passage, they are just like
the man was in verse 24. They had been like the man in verse 22 when He called them to follow
Him. He wants to lead them and grow them until they become like the man in verse 26.
That is our Lord’s goal for every one of His children! When the Lord first begins to work with
us, we are totally blind in our sinful condition. Jesus comes along and He “spits in our eyes”. He
brings conviction and totally shakes up our world,
John 16:7-11. He uses this conviction to open our spiritual eyes and point us to Jesus, John 6:44.
When we come to Jesus and are saved, we are like the man in this miracle. We see some times,
but we do not see them clearly. Like Paul said in 1 Cor. 13:12,
“…we see through a glass, darkly…”
As we spend time with Him in His Word and in prayer, He develops our spiritual sight. He
causes us to “
…grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ…,” 2 Pet. 3:18. His
goal is to take us like He finds us and make us more like Jesus, Rom. 8:28-29; Eph. 4:13-15.

55. We are still just like the disciples, aren’t we? The Lord has proven His power and His glory to us
in more ways than we can name, and sometimes we still don’t get it. We have seen Him do the
impossible, the incredible and the astounding time after time and we still doubt. He has “spit in
our eyes” on more than one occasion. May the Lord help us to “be not faithless but believing”,
John 20:27.
· Are you growing in the things of God? Is He leading you along, one step at a time? Are you
making progress in Jesus?
When you are first saved, you are a baby in Jesus. That is why salvation is called the “New
Birth”,
John 3:3, 7. But, we are not supposed to remain babies. We are challenged to grow in the things
of the Lord,
1 Pet. 2:2. He wants us to make spiritual progress! None of us have arrived spiritually, but we
should all be gaining ground in Jesus. When we aren’t, something is terribly wrong!
· There may be someone here today who has never trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. You
are waiting until you can figure this Christianity thing out. Friend, you should not wait to come
to Jesus until you have all the answers. It is very likely that you will never have all the answers.
If He is dealing with your heart; if you sense that He has taken you by the hand and is leading to
you Him; you should surrender to His will and come today. It may be that the Lord has been “
spitting in your eyes” lately. If He has been disturbing your slumber, He is merely trying to call
you to Himself. Come to Him today. Let Him take you where you are and lead you to where He
wants you to be. You don’t have to know everything to be saved; you just have to know Him!
III. v. 26 THE POSTSCRIPT
OF HIS HEALING
· Jesus heals the blind man. He also teaches His disciples a lesson that they probably never really
grasped. This is a powerful miracle with a powerful message. Unfortunately, this miracle ends on
a very sad note.
· Jesus tells the healed man that he is not to return back to Bethsaida, nor is he to tell anyone
there about the miracle.
Now, this isn’t the first time Jesus told someone not to tell others about a miracle. When He did
this it was usually to prevent great crowds from gathering, or to prevent the people from getting
caught up in a frenzy over miracles. This time, I think the Lord’s reasons are different.
Bethsaida is near the place where Jesus fed the five thousand, Luke 9:10-17. They were given
clear evidence that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, but they refused to believe in Him. As a result,
Jesus pronounced a curse on the city of Bethsaida.
Matthew 11:21-22, “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty
works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented
long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.”
The town of Bethsaida had been rejected by the Lord because of their unbelief. They had
rejected the great light they had been given, and they would receive no more light. That is why

56. Jesus took the man out of town to heal him. That is why Jesus told the man not to return to the
town. The town was off limits, but Jesus was still willing to deal with individuals. The
community had been judged, but individuals could still be saved.
· This is a picture of our nation. As a whole, I would say that God has rejected America. As a
nation we have turned away from Him and His Word. We have rejected Him as our God and we
have turned a deaf ear to the call of the Gospel. America has been abandoned by God, Rom.
1:18-28.
However, God will still save, bless and use individuals. If you will hear His voice, you can be
saved from your sins. You can become a child of God. You can miss Hell and you can go to
Heaven. That is His promise, Matt. 11:28. If you will come to Him and ask Him, He will save
you, Rom. 10:9, 13. He will not turn you away, John 6:37.
· He will not call forever,
Gen. 6:3. The time to come is while He is calling you to come to Him. The time to come is right
now, 2 Cor. 6:2. If you refuse, there will come a day when He will call no more. He will abandon
you to your choice and allow you to go off into Hell. Don’t let that happen in your life! Don’t let
your story end like that of Bethsaida! Come to Jesus and be saved while there is time, come
while He is near and calling you to Him, Isa. 55:6.
Conc: So, what do you see? Have the eyes of your soul been opened? Have you seen yourself as
a lost sinner headed to Hell and Jesus Christ as your only hope of salvation? Have you seen the
truth that Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sins of His people and that He rose again from the
dead to provide eternal salvation to all who would believe in Him?
Have you see the truth that you stand in need of a Savior today? Has the Lord revealed your
condition to you? Is He calling you to come to Him? If He is, please do not delay. Come to Jesus
while He calls. Come to Jesus now.
Have you seen where you are in your spiritual growth? Are you growing and learning more
about Him as you do? Are you maturing in Jesus and becoming less like your old self while you
become more like Him?
Has the Lord spoken to your heart today? If He has, please come while He is calling. Please
come to Him today!
The Sermons of Dan Duncan Mark 8:22-30 Mark 8 "Opened Eyes and Peter's
Confession" TRANSCRIPT
[Message]Goodmorning. We're in the gospelof Mark and this morning
we're looking at Mark 8:22-30. And they came to Bethsaida and they

57. brought a blind man to Him and entreatedHim to touch him. Taking the
blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village, and after spitting
on his eyes and laying His hands upon him, He askedhim, "Do you see
anything?" And he lookedup and said, "I see men, for I am seeing them like
trees, walking about." Then againHe laid His hands upon his eyes, and he
lookedintently and was restored, and beganto see everything clearly. He sent
him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village." And Jesus wentout,
along with His disciples, to the villages of CaesareaPhilippi, and on the way
He questioned His disciples, saying to them, "Who do people saythat I am?"
They told Him, saying, "Johnthe Baptist and others sayElijah. Still others,
one of the prophets." And He continued by questioning them, "But who do
you saythat I am?" Peter answeredand said to Him, "Thou art the Christ."
And He warned them to tell no one about Him. Maythe Lord bless this
reading of His Word and bless our time of study in it together. Shall we bow
in a word of prayer? [Prayer] Gracious HeavenlyFather, what a privilege it is
for us to come togetherthis morning to sing hymns of praise to you and your
grace and then to open the scriptures togetherand to study your Word, that
which you have given to us as a greatgift, the revelation of your
- 2 - "OpenedEyes and Peter’s Confession" by Dan Duncan Copyright ©
2014 Believers Chapel, Dallas,Texas. All Rights Reserved.
truth, revelationthat unfolds you and your characterand your powerand
your Will to us and unfolds a true understanding, a true perspective on what
we are as people, the debt that we owe to you for the grace that you have
extended to us in your Son, and we pray that as we study this passage
together, we will be reminded of those truths and that they will have their
proper influence upon us. May this be a time of goodpreparation for the days
to come, the week that's aheadof us, that we would go forth from this place,
be effective witnesses foryou, wellequipped to serve you and serve you
faithfully. It is a greatprivilege, Father, to study together. It is a great
privilege to be able to come togetherand to remember the needs of those who
have askedfor our prayers and we do that this morning. We think of a
variety of people. Pray for Jim Deanand pray that you bless the radiation

58. treatment that he is undergoing for his tumor and pray that you would give
goodeffectto that, that you would arrestthe growth of that tumor and that
you might relieve him of pain and restore him to health. Pray for Kim Ryan
and ask that the operationshe has undergone would continue to progress well,
that she would heal successfully, you would bless her sight. And so many
others, Father, whose names are listed before us who've askedforour prayer
requests. You know them. We pray that you'd bless them and those who
have not soughtour prayers but who are in greatneed who perhaps suffer
somewhatin silence, we pray your blessing upon them. You know them just
as well and you're just as concerned. We pray that you'd give them blessing.
We pray for those who are suffering financially. Provide for them. Pray that
you might provide employment for those who need it and for those who have
it, we pray that you'd stir within us hearts of gratitude and thanksgiving
because, Lord, we recognize that what we have, the goodthings that are ours,
are not ours because we're particularly gifted. If we have a gift, it's because
you have given that to us. If we have the health that enables us to go to work
every day, to have a clearmind and the ability to reason, we have that by your
grace. You
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made us that way. It's so easyfor us to assume that these are what we are by
virtue of who we are, we've somehow raisedourselves up and made ourselves
what we are and that, Father, is a delusion. We are what you've made us. So
we pray, Father, that you'd make us grateful. If we have jobs, it's because
you've given them to us and we thank you for that. We pray, Father, for
those who may be suffering because offamily problems, going through
difficulties there. We'llpray that you would correctthe problem and that you
would encourage those individuals who are struggling with very difficult
issues suchas that and encourage them with the reminder that all of these
things fit into your plan, all of these things are part of your work in changing
us and making us more like your Son. You even use the dark moments of our
life to bring characterinto our lives and to bring understanding into our

59. hearts of your Will and your work, and so bless us in that way. And bless us
all with an interest to know your Word, to study the Scriptures, because this is
where we come to know you. This is where you've revealedyourself to us.
This is where we learn about your Son. And so we pray that you'd bless us
with that desire. Bless ourtime as we study now together, and bless this
church. May our witness be very clear. I pray that you'd build us up in the
faith, make us a strong body of believers. And bless our nation, Father,
particularly bless our leaders whom you have placedover us. Bless them with
wisdom. We pray that they would look to you but even if they don't look to
you, we pray that they would have a sense ofthe greatness oftheir
responsibility and that they would seek wise counselin others, and we pray
that you'd supply them with wise counsel, that this nation would be led in a
proper way. Bless our time now, Father, as we sing our final hymn. We pray
that it would be a goodtime of spiritual preparation, that our hearts would be
brought into close thinking on your thoughts, things that please you. Prepare
our minds for a considerationofthe Scripture
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that we will look at this morning. We pray that all that we do would be done
in a way that is edifying to eachof us, glorifies your name, and exalts the
person and work of your Son. Pray these things in His name. Amen.
[Message]This morning we reachsomething of a milestone in our study
because we come to the midpoint of Mark's gospeland a very significantpoint
with Peter's greatconfessionthat Jesus is the Christ. This isn't the beginning
of Peter's faith nor the first time that the disciples confess that Jesus is the
Christ. In the first chapterof John's gospel, they are following Him as the
Messiah. In fact, in that chapter, Nathanielmakes an equally greatconfession
to the one that Petermakes here. But this is the first time in Mark's gospel
that the confessionis made, and everything in the gospelhas been building
toward this. The Lord's power and miracles showing Him to be Lord over
disease anddemons with His healings and exorcisms, miracles showing Him to
be Lord over nature with the calming of the storm on the sea, Lord over even

60. sin and death with his authority to forgive sin and raise the dead. All of these
have been building toward chapter 8 and reacha crescendo in Peter's
confessionthatJesus is the Christ. It's one of the central themes of this gospel
which began on that very note in chapter 1 and verse 1, the beginning of the
gospelof Jesus Christ. And so as we come to chapter 8, we really come full
circle in our study, and yet while the passageis principally about Jesus and
His identity, it also reveals much about our Lord's disciples and how it was
that they came to confess Him as the Christ. How any man, for that matter,
comes to confess the Lord as that, who comes to have faith in Him and have
spiritual understanding. To see that, I think that we have to see this great
confessionoffaith againstthe disciples' recentfailure of faith. You recallthat
the Lord and His disciples were in a boatheaded for the other side of the Sea
of Galilee. This is what we consideredlastweek in our study, and as they
traveled along, He warned them about the leaven of the
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Pharisees. Well, failing to understand the meaning of His words, they began
worrying about the bread that they had forgotten. They were more concerned
about material needs than they were about spiritual truths, and so he rebukes
them with the words: Having eyes, do you not see? He'd just miraculously
fed a multitude of people with a few loaves and fish. In fact, He'd done that
for the secondtime and they were worried about food. It's as though they
hadn't seenanything that He'd done, as though they were blind to His true
identity. Now, the Lord wasn'tsaying in that question (Having eyes, do you
not see?)that they were as blind as the Phariseeswhom they had just left.
They had a true understanding of the Lord but their understanding was dull.
Their perception was blurred as to who He was. Theyfell far short of
knowing Him like they should have known Him. But then a short time later,
in the passagewe considerthis morning, Petermakes a great confessionof
faith. "Thou art the Christ." So how do we accountfor this amazing change?
How do we accountfor this clearunderstanding that he had? I think the key
is found in the event that lies betweentheir triumph of faith on the one hand

61. and their failure of faith on the other. Mark records a miracle that is not
recordedin any of the other gospels, one that demonstrates the nature of the
Lord in that He has the powerto heal, that demonstrates His divine nature,
demonstrates His compassion, His concern. At the same time, it demonstrates
the nature of faith, the origin of faith, and the spiritual understanding with
the healing of a blind man. Remember, the Lord has just criticized the
disciples as blind, and then shortly after arriving in Bethsaida on the northern
shore of the Sea of Galilee, He is recognizedby the people, and a large group
of people bring a blind man to Him and beg the Lord to heal the man with His
touch. So we move from a criticism of blindness to an actual case ofphysical
blindness. There are few conditions worse than blindness, and blindness was
very much a scourge ofthe East. It was
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due in part to eye disease as wellas to the relentless glare ofthe sun. A very
common expressionin Israelis ha shemesh, the sun, it shines brightly in the
Middle Eastand can be hard on the eyes. The problem was also aggravated
by a lack of hygiene. William Barclaygraphically writes, "It was common to
see a personwith matter-encrusted eyes on which the flies persistently settled.
Naturally, this carried the infection far and wide." And as you read through
the gospels,you can't help but notice that the problem evidently was
widespread. There are many people in the gospels who were blind. Even
today, a common sight on Jaffa Streetor at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem
is one of blind beggars. Well, there were many such people in our Lord's day,
and one was brought to Him in Bethsaida. Now, Bethsaida wasn'tthe Lord's
destination. He was headednorth, but He wasn't put off by this interruption
of His journey, and He graciouslyrespondedto their request, but He does so
in an unusual way. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside
the village. Now, that's unusual because normally He did his miracles
publicly. He did them in the midst of the people, but here, it's done in private.
So it's natural to wonder why He might have done this. And the reasonmay
have to do with Bethsaida's unbelief. This isn't the first time that the Lord

62. has been in that town, it's not the first time He's been in that region. In fact,
He's ministered quite a bit in that area of Galilee and yet without great
response from the people. And earlier, Matthew records in chapter 11 the
Lord's reproachof the cities around that northern part of the Sea of Galilee,
the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, for not repenting and
believing as a result of all the ministry that He'd done in that region. They
had seenmiracles. Theyhad heard His teaching. They had receivedgreat
light but had not responded to it. And when light is rejected, whenthe truth
is not received, the witness is eventually removed. Perhaps the Lord was
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hiding the miracle from the people who had growncallous to such revelation.
It's a dangerous thing to become too familiar with the truth, to become so
familiar with it that we become a little indifferent to the truth of God. Well,
that had happened to this region of Galilee, and that may be the reasonthat
the Lord withdrew His presence, so to speak, from the midst of these people
and hid that revelation of His powerand grace. Orperhaps this is simply
another of the many examples of our Lord's care and concernfor the
afflicted. He certainly gives a greatdeal of attention to this man, and he may
have needed that attention in a way that others didn't. He had been brought
to the Lord by a group of people, which may suggestthat he was uncertain of
the Lord, perhaps doubtful or unbelieving. And so the Lord takes him away
from the crowdto help him feel more at ease, to make a more personal
contactwith him and help him concentrate onthe Lord, concentrate onthe
one who would bless him so that he wouldn't be distractedby the people and
in so doing help this man become more involved with the cure that he was
about to receive. Well, whateverthe reason, the Lord takes the man outside
the village where we read in verse 23 that He does two things. He spits on his
eyes and then in an expressionof compassion, He lays His hands on him. Both
the touch and the use of saliva probably were intended to instill confidence in
the man and to assure him that the Lord was going to healhim. Now, to us
the spitting on his eyes seems a very odd thing to do, but saliva was believed

63. by the ancients to have medicinal value in it. And while that sounds strange to
us, maybe even a bit gross, it's really not so strange when you remember that
the first instinct that we have when we cut our finger or we burn our finger is
to put it in our mouth to ease the pain, and so that may be one of the reasons
why they had this idea that there was medicinal value in the saliva. So the
Lord uses this as a symbol that man would understand, and in so doing He
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was indicating to him that He would heal him, and He was encouraging the
man's confidence and faith. The result was the man was healed – sortof.
The Lord askedhim if he could see anything, and in verse 24 he answered, "I
see men for I am seeing them like trees walking about." So he could see but
not completely. His vision was blurred. Now, the fact that he had some idea
of what trees and men lookedlike indicates that he was not born blind, this
was a blindness that had come later, had come oversome period of time. But
more significantly, it indicates that the miracle was not complete, and that
makes this miracle unique. It's the only case in which our Lord's healing was
not instantaneous. This is the only case in which the cure the Lord would
cause to occur occurredgradually. It occurredin stages. The reasonfor that
is not because the Lord's powerfailed and having tried once, he then had to
try it again. The reasonis probably, as Calvin suggested, to show that He had
full liberty as to His method of proceeding. He was not restricted to any one
way of dealing with a person, and we see that throughout the accountof the
gospels in the waythat He deals with those who are in need. There's no fixed
way that the Lord dealt with people. He deals with them in a variety of ways,
in a way that they needed to be dealt with, and the spiritual condition of this
man may have required a gradual process ofhealing in order to help his faith,
in order to help him be involved in his cure and in so doing to learn from it
and to understand what was taking place in his life. And so with this initial
contact, the man's sight is restored. Forthe first time in a long time, he sees
something that lookedlike trees but he knew they couldn't be trees because
they were moving about. He was seeing men, he concluded, probably seeing

64. the disciples, but he wasn't see them clearly. So things were remarkably
better but there was still something wrong. Well, the Lord wasn't finished.
And we read in verse 25, againHe laid His hands upon his eyes and looked
intently and was restored
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and beganto see everything clearly. So finally, the Lord's work was complete.
It occurredin stages, andin that wayit was unusual, but as one writer pointed
out, all the anomalies, all the unusual features of this miracle indicate that the
church didn't make this up. These things have a ring of truth about them.
They suggestthe reality that this is what took place, and it has instructive
value as well. It has illustrative value in the gradual way in which this miracle
was accomplished. And I think that is by design. It illustrates the way that
faith and spiritual understanding occur. Some people come to faith
immediately when they hear the gospeland others, well, there's a struggle
with the gospelin their life and that doesn't occur, their faith doesn't occur
until many years later. Some hear the gospelfrom their parents as children
and believe early in life; others hear early but they don't believe until late.
Augustine is an example of that. He heard the gospelfrom his mother as a
child but he fought againstit for years until one day as an adult sitting in a
garden in Milan under deep convictionof sin, he heard some children nearby
singing, "Take it and read, take it and read." So he took up his Bible, he
turned to Romans 13:13-14 and he came to faith. Paul's conversioncame
suddenly on the Damascus roadwith the Lord speaking to him out of a
blinding light. One was convertedby children singing a children's song;the
other by Christ in a flash of light. Men come to faith in different ways. Some
dramatic ways, some simple ways. Some come early, some come late. And
with all of us, the understanding that comes from faith is, to one degree or
another, gradual. When a person's spiritual eyes are opened to the truth, they
see the truth, they perceive the truth, but not completely. The truth of the
gospelthat most of us understood when we first believed was probably very
shallow. Certainly it was incomplete. In fact, the subsequent knowledge that

65. people obtain is sometimes so significant that they doubt that their earlier
conversionwas a genuine conversion.
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Perhaps you've heard people talk about that. They came to faith five, ten
years ago but overa period of time, they've come to learn some things and
maybe suddenly things began to click in their thinking and they saw things in
a different perspective altogetherand they advanced in their understanding of
the truth and they began to wonder if I really was a savedman or a saved
woman back a number of years ago. Well, it's probably not a goodidea to
analyze our salvationby the strength of our faith or the amount of our
knowledge. Faiththe size of a mustard seed, small, weak faith is enough, and
that faith will grow by God's grace. Even the greatesttheologianhas small
faith and limited understanding compared to our Lord, comparedto the ideal.
What man today could compare with the apostle Paul in faith and in
knowledge? And yet Paul writes of himself and he writes of all of us, 1
Corinthians 13:12, "Now we see in a mirror dimly." Paul could saythat of
himself, the greatapostle with all of his knowledge, he said, "Forall of that,
for all of the advances that I have made, all that I see, I see dimly." We're not
going to learn it all in this life. In fact, really, as Paul goes onto say, it is not
until we see face-to-face, until we are with our Lord, that we'll have an
understanding of things. And yet even then, we really won't know everything
there is to know because the subject that we study is infinite, it's eternal.
How can you ever come to the end of a knowledge ofGod, who is infinite?
Who is eternal? We'll always be learning, always be growing, and that's
certainly true in our life this side of the grave. But as a person responds in
faith to the revelationthat is given, there is real growth and we should be
encouragedby that. We do developin our faith. We do develop in our
understanding. We grow from faith to faith. We develop from glory to glory,
as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18. To everyone who has shall more be given,
as our Lord says in one of His parables, and he shall have an abundance.
That's an encouragement – it should be, at least, for us to apply

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ourselves to the Scriptures, to study them, because as we do, we grow and we
genuinely grow in our faith and our knowledge. Finally, the process thatthe
miracle followedreminds us that the Lord is never finished with us and He
will complete the work that He has begun in our lives. If we're not satisfied
with our presentstate of maturity or we're not satisfiedwith the levelof
understanding that we have reached – and I don't think we should be because
we never come to the end, we never reachthat final destination, but if we're
not satisfiedwith it, we shouldn't despair. The Lord's not finished. We're still
in the process. As I said, we'll always be in the process,and yet we have the
promise of Philippians 1:6 that He who begana goodwork in us will perfect
us until the day of Christ Jesus. That's a great encouragement. Great
encouragementto persevere because He never casts us off. He's never
finished with us. So with the miracle complete, He sends the man home, and
we read in verse 27 that the Lord and the disciples continued on north to
Caesarea Philippi where the miracle that had occurredin the blind man
would occur in the disciples. The distance between Bethsaida and Caesarea
Philippi is some 25 miles, so they had quite a bit of time to reflect upon the
miracle that they had just witnessed, and they did that. This miracle was not
lost upon them, and I suppose that the unusual nature of the miracle, the fact
that it occurredin stages, must have arrestedtheir attention to some extent
and causedthem to think more deeply upon it and perhaps reflectupon
Scriptures that had direct bearing upon that because in Isaiah35:5-6, Isaiah
prophesized that when Messiahcomes, the eyes of the blind will be open and
the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. The tongue of the dumb will shout for
joy. The Lord had healed a deaf mute back in chapter 7, not too much before
this particular event, and now the healing of the blind man is another
fulfillment of that greatprophecy, indicating that Jesus is the Christ, He's the
one that Isaiahwas looking forward to, the of whom all of the prophets wrote,
and not their eyes were about to be

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opened because as they reflectedon what had happened, the Lord would give
them understanding, introduce knowledge into their hearts, just as He gave
vision to the blind man's eyes. CaesareaPhilippi was outside Galilee, outside
the regionof Herod Antipas and was an interesting setting for the events that
unfold there. The city was locatedatthe source of the Jordan River on the
slopes of Mount Hermon overlooking the northern end of the JordanValley.
It's a beautiful area of Israel. Originally the site had been a center of Baal
worship. Later the Greeks named it Paneas because itwas the place that they
believed that the god Pan had been born and Panwas the godof nature, and
so there was a shrine there. In fact, you canstill see that shrine with the
reminders of the worship of this god Pan there in the side of the mountain.
Later, Herod the Greatbuilt a marble temple there to Augustus Caesar, who
had given to Herod this city, and then Herod Philip rebuilt the city and
renamed it in honor of Tiberius Caesarand himself, giving it the name
Caesarea Philippi. So it was a very Roman city with a very pagan history
where Caesarwas recognizedas lord. This was the place where Jesus chose to
ask his disciples who they thought He was. Butfirst He begins with a leading
question in verse 27 by asking, "Who do people saythat I am?" "What's the
popular opinion about my identity?" The Lord, of course, knew whatthe
people were saying. He wasn'tseeking information, he wasn't really curious
about this, He was asking this question in order to prepare their minds for a
secondquestion. And in verse 28, they answerHim and give a variety of views
that were circulating at the time. Some say John the Baptist and others say
Elijah. Still others, one of the prophets. Eachanswershowing a high regard
for the Lord, a recognitionthat He was an unusual and a goodperson and put
Him in the company of greatmen. Some even describing Him as a
supernatural person. John come back from the dead or the revived Elijah.
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68. But as greatas those men were, they were just men. Men who stoodin the
shadows as forerunners. Men who were looking for the Messiah. Theywere
men who were greatmen, to be sure, men who had served the Lord, men who
were prophets, men who were filled with the Spirit of God – but men who
were fallible. Sinful men. Men in need of a Savior and men who were all
looking for the coming of the Savior. And so the opinions of those ancient
people, they're very much like the opinions that we hear today with modern
people. Who do people today say that Jesus is? I suppose that if we took a
poll of that in the city of Dallas, we'dhear much the same that the disciples
were hearing in their day. People would say, "Well, He's a greatteacher."
Some might say, "Well, Jesus was a prophet." Others would say, "A good
example." Others, "The greatestman of history." Some might even claim
that He was a supernatural person. All of these answers have been given
throughout history, and there are all kinds of Jesusestoday. The Mormon
Jesus, the Jehovah's Witness Jesus, the Muslim Jesus. The classicJesus of
liberalism. But for all of the praise and all of the honor that men give to the
Lord, what they give is honor to a finite creature. That's what the people of
our Lord's day did. They saw Him as just one more in a long line of prophets,
just a man, and really didn't understand Him at all. In fact, to speak of God
Almighty as anyone less than God, for all of the honor one might seek to be
giving to Him, that's really no honor at all. In fact, it's blasphemy. And yet
that's the way the people of Israelwere looking upon Jesus. Now, as I said,
the purpose of His question was not to learn of all of the popular opinions
about Him. He was leading up to a more important question, a more personal
question, and in verse 29 He asks them, "But who do you saythat I am?"
There's greatstress on the "you" in that question. It has the force of, "But
you, who do you say that I am?" The Lord was deeply interestedin these
men. He knew that the nation had failed to understand who He was, but He
wanted to
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69. know how His disciples understood Him. Had they advancedin their thinking
at all from their failure in the boat as they were crossing the sea? And so in
this paganregion, surrounded by reminders of false gods and Gentile myths,
with Israel's failure on their minds, He askedthem, "But what do you think?
Am I just a prophet? Am I some man who has returned from the dead?"
And speaking for all of the disciples, Peteranswers, "No,no. You're more
than that. Far more than that." "Thouart the Christ." Peterrecognized
that He was no forerunner. He was the fulfillment of all of the prophecies. He
was the Messiah. He was the hope of Israel. He was the promised deliverer.
"Thou art the Christ." It's one of the greatthemes of this gospel, one of the
greatthemes of the whole Bible. Jesus is the Christ. He is the Messiah.
That's what Christ means. The word "Christ" is simply the Greek translation
of "Messiah,"whichmeans the anointed one of God. In the Old Testament,
it was used of anyone who was anointed with the holy oil. Priests, kings, they
were anointed, and in being anointed, it signified that they were chosenof
God, consecratedto His service, and endued with His power. They possessed
the Spirit of God, who enabled them to do God's work. But it became a title
of a specific person, the Messiah. And in the 9th chapterof the book of
Daniel, we read the prophecy of Messiahthe Prince. He was the central figure
of Jewishexpectation. He was the king of Israel, the one that they were
looking forward to. In spite of Caesarea Philippi where Caesarwas
recognizedas lord and declareda god and where that seemedto be supported
by everything that surrounded these disciples. All of the glory of Rome that
they saw. In spite of that, Petercould look on Jesus, a homeless Galilean
carpenter, a man evidently of simple appearance and confess, "Thou– Thou
alone – art the Christ." And more than that, he saw God in Him. As
Matthew records, Peternot only said, "Thou art the Christ" but also "the Son
of the living God." And that's the full meaning of that
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title, Christ. He is a divine person, that's the teaching of the prophets. Isaiah,
for example, declaredin chapter7 of his prophecy that a child would be born

70. and his name would be Emmanuel, God with us. Later in chapter9, he says
his name, among the many names that he lists there, will be mighty God. So
here at the centerof Mark is the truth that's fundamental to the Christian
faith, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. He is very God of
very God. He is the secondperson of the Trinity who had entered into human
history to tabernacle among men in order to die in the place of sinners in
order that He might make them His people. Any considerationof Christ that
is less than that, less than a considerationof Him as a divine as well as a
human person, is not Christianity. It's a greatconfessionoffaith, central
confessionoffaith to all of our beliefs. Petermade it. Now, Peterwas not
clearon all of the things that we can see that are bound up in that term at this
point. His confessionwas loadedwith theologythat he had not yet fully
graspedas the events that immediately followedthis will clearlydemonstrate.
But he had graspedthe central truth. He had the seedof knowledge,and that
seed, that knowledge, wouldgrow. And it was no coincidence that Petermade
this greatconfessionin the place where he made it. The Lord had chosen
Caesarea Philippi, with all of its pagan ideas, where Caesarwas recognizedas
lord, as the place where he, where Jesus, would be confessedas true Lord. I
think there's something of an example in that for all of us. That's the calling
of the church today. The calling of the church is not to feed the hungry of the
world. It's not to clothe and shelter the homeless of the world. It's not to be
doing those kinds of things, though those kinds of things are certainly an
outworking of our faith. They're part of our faith. But that's not central to
what we are to be doing as Christians. That's not the greatcalling of the
church. The calling of the church is to do just what Peterdid. It is to
proclaim Jesus as the true Lord againstall of the false lords of this world.
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Against all of the false gods and false ideas of this dark age in which we live,
we are to declare and proclaim Jesus the Christ, the Sonof the living God.
It's a magnificent confessionmade by Peter, a confessionthat all of us are to
make. Confessionthat Petermade in contrastto the one that not very much

71. earlier he had made, along with the other disciples, which showeda very dull
understanding of things, which calleddown upon them the Lord's statement,
"Having eyes but not seeing, they're blind." What an amazing advance of
faith we see here in Peter. But if Peter was feeling goodabout himself, the
Lord quickly put things in perspective because in Matthew's account, his
confessionis followedby the explanation, "Blessedare you, Simon Bar-Jonah,
because fleshand blood did not reveal this to you but my Fatherwho is in
heaven." Mark doesn't record that, but the truth that Matthew records in
the words of our Lord, Mark illustrates in the healing of that blind man. That
miracle of a man receiving sight anticipated the opening of the eyes of the
disciples'understanding. That's a greattheologicaltruth, that God opens
men's spiritually blind eyes, just as He opened man's physically blind eyes.
Now, I saythat's a great truth, but I think the tendency of probably many
today is to ask, "Well, okay, that has theologicalinterestto you, I suppose,
Duncan, you're always talking about those kinds of things, but what practical
interest is that? Where does that bit of doctrine touch my life?" And to that,
I would answerthat all Biblical doctrine touches our lives and this truth that
we're considering here, the sovereignwork of God upon a person's life, that is
particularly significant. What can be more fundamental to our walk with the
Lord than knowing what He has done for us? That's not some pious
platitude, that's not just the right answeror the right response, that is a very
practicaltruth when you considerit. Martin Luther made the point very well
in his book, The Bondage of the Will, stressing the necessityof knowing the
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distinction betweenGod's power and our power, betweenwhat God has done
and what we have done in our salvation and our spiritual life. He writes: "If
I do not know these things, if I do not know the distinction betweenwhat God
has done and what I have done, betweenHis powerand my power," he writes,
"I cannot worship, praise, thank, or serve God because I shall never know
how much I owe to God and how much to myself." If my faith is my work, if
I've done it independent of anything God has done, I don't thank God for

72. that. I don't praise God for the insight I have into the gospeland the factthat
I have believed on it in contrastto all of these others who don't believe. If it's
my work, I take credit for it, but if it's God's work, if He's performed that
work within me, then I praise Him and then I worship Him. Knowledge of
God's power, of God as the source of all spiritual as well as material blessings,
is the basis of genuine worship. With that truth, the truth that God is
sovereignoverall of the things in my life, that He's the source of all good
things in my life, where do we find room for boasting? Forself-confidence?
For conceit? This is a great corrective to spiritual pride. Paul used it very
effectively with the Corinthians. They were a church for whom Paul had
greataffection, a church locatedin a din of iniquity. A port city frequented
by sailors and merchants, Corinth was notorious for its immorality. There
were opportunities there for men to satisfy every passionthat they had, and
that's where Corinth was located. That's where this light of the gospelwent
out, a place notorious for its immorality, and much of that was reflectedin the
history of the people who made up that church. Among their members were
convertedfornicators and idolaters, thieves, adulterers, homosexuals. Paul
lists them all in 1 Corinthians 6, but what a greatchurch that was. Justthink
about it. What a cross-sectionof fallen humanity the church at Corinth
representedand what a testimony to the power of God to save the worst of
sinners. What an example of God's grace.
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2014 Believers Chapel, Dallas,Texas. All Rights Reserved.
The gospelcame to Corinth, God touched their hearts, and they became new
creatures. Paulsays of all of those whom God had calledout of that
immorality, says in chapter 6 and verse 11, "And such were some of you."
And in that statement, we should underline that word "were." You were that
way; you're no longerthat way now. Suchwere some of you, but you were
washed, you were sanctified, you were justified. What an amazing change
had come into the lives of these people. They had become new creatures in
Christ, they had begun to grow in the faith, grow in their understanding of the
Lord, grow in a knowledge ofthe things of God. Unfortunately, with their

73. advance in the faith, pride crept in and so in 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul asks
them the question, "Who regards you as superior and what do you have that
you have not received?" That's the important point of that quote. What do
you have that you have not received? But if you did receive it, why do you
boastas if you had not receivedit? Paul wasn't searching for answers with
the questions that he was asking, he was making a point, and the point that he
was making is they had receivedeverything. There was nothing that they had
not received. Now, that's grace. It's a gift. All that we have is a gift, and
grace is comprehensive. It includes every goodthing that have, from our
health to our faith to our understanding of God's truth. So if you've come to
know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, then you have God to
thank for that. Fleshand blood did not revealthat to you but the Father in
heaven. Left to ourselves, we might have an understanding of the gospel. We
might hear the gospeland we might have said, "Well, I know what you're
saying, saying a lot about sin, and I know what you mean by sin. In fact, I can
even define sin for ya. It's any wont of conformity unto or transgressionof
the law of God. You've made that plain and you believe that sin's a reality
and you think I'm a sinner and because ofthat, that I'm headed for eternal
destruction because God's a holy God and He punishes the sinner. And I
understand that you are telling
- 19 - "OpenedEyes and Peter’ s Confession" by Dan Duncan Copyright ©
2014 Believers Chapel, Dallas,Texas. All Rights Reserved.
me that Jesus is not just a man. Fully man but also God. ThatHe is the
eternal secondpersonof the Trinity who entered into human history, took to
Himself a human nature, and died in the place of sinners, and that if I simply
believe in Him, trust in Him, then I'll be saved. I'll be delivered from that. I
understand your meaning, but I'm sorry, it's just foolishness to me. I can't see
any difference betweenthat and some myth that the Greeks thoughtup about
Apollo or some other strange idea of history. To me, it's just foolishness."
What is it that gave you not simply an understanding of the gospelbut made it
click in your mind to see? "Yes,I not only see that and I see that it's not
foolish. It's true, it's real, and I believe it and I trust in the one that you're

74. telling me about." How do you come to that? You come to it by the work of
God. He's the one that opens the eyes to see the truth of it and to believe in it,
and to understand that is to understand grace, and an understanding of grace
is what disarms pride and fills us with gratitude and enables us to do works of
gratitude. That's the grace ofGod. It has a very, very practicaleffectand
influence upon our lives. It does touch our lives very significantly. Well,
Peterand the other disciples had made a greatadvance in their
understanding. Their eyes had been opened and they showedrealinsight into
the Lord's person and mission. But they still had much to learn. They had
much to learn about the Lord's coming, suffering, about His death, about the
cross, aboutthe cross that they themselves would have to carry. So in verse
30, the Lord warned them to tell no one about Him. They still needed
instruction before they were ready to proclaim the gospel. Theywould learn,
like we all learn, by degrees, by stagesovertime, but they had the essential
truth on which to build: that Jesus is the Christ. Have you come to
understand that? If the Lord were to ask you that question, the question that
He askedthe disciples, "Who do you saythat I am?" how would you answer?
Would you say, "Greatteacher"? "Greatexample"? "The greatestman in
history" or maybe
- 20 - "OpenedEyes and Peter’ s Confession" by Dan Duncan Copyright ©
2014 Believers Chapel, Dallas,Texas. All Rights Reserved.
even "An angel"? There are a number of answers thatmen have given, those
answers and others, answers that seemon the surface to honor Him and
would honor Him greatlyif He were just a man. But only one answersatisfied
our Lord, and that's the answerthat He is the Christ. He is the Messiah. He
is God's chosen, eternalKing, the Son of the living God. Is that your answer?
Then are you following Him? That's what we need to ask ourselves. Ifwe've
come to the realization, the understanding that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
the living God, that he demands our loyalty, demands our allegiance,are we
following Him? Are we living a life of obedience to Him? Is our life an
expressionof gratitude to Him for the sacrifice thatHe's made for us and all
of the grace that He's giving us and all that is ours yet to come? As I say,

75. that's the question that we should be asking ourselves daily and living in light
of that. But if you have not answeredas Peteranswered, if you don't know
who He is, then I urge you to considerthe testimony of Peter. Considerthe
testimony of all of Scripture that lookedforwardto Him throughout the Old
Testament, that looks back upon Him. That central figure of history.
Considerwhat the Scriptures sayand considerit prayerfully. Look to the
Lord. Ask Him to give you understanding with the assurance that those who
seek, find, and to those who ask, it shall be given. Know that God will reveal
His Sonif you seek Him, if you look for Him. And to all who look to Christ,
all who believe in Him as the Son of God who died for sinners, to them He
gives eternal life. If you're here this morning and you don't know Christ as
Savior, may God help you to do that, to look to Christ, who is the Savior, and
in so doing, trust in Him and receive the forgiveness ofsins. Shall we stand
now for the benediction? [Prayer] Gracious HeavenlyFather, we do thank
you for the truth that we are reminded of in this passage as we considerit.
We are reminded that of ourselves, we're blind. We have no ability to
perceive the truth of the gospel. We might understand what the gospel
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2014 Believers Chapel, Dallas,Texas. All Rights Reserved.
says, but we don't see it as anything other than foolishness apartfrom your
grace that opens our eyes to spiritual reality. We thank you for doing that,
thank you for the life that we have and the understanding that we have
through your grace, gracethat is given to us in your Son. Thank you that you
sent Him into the world to die for sinners and that we have life in Him and life
in Him alone. If there be any in this auditorium this morning that do not
know Christ as Savior, we pray that you would move upon their hearts, give
them the realizationof their lostcondition, bring them to faith in Christ. Pray
these things in His name. Amen

76. I SEE MEN LIKE TREES, WALKING
Mark 8:22-26
In his book on The Gospel of Mark, Ray Steadman shares this interesting illustration. He said
that jazz pianist George Shearing was blind from birth, but he composed more than three
hundred pieces. Shearing toured continually throughout his long career. He would often walk
down busy downtown areas and navigate crowded sidewalks with his dark glasses and white
cane.
One day he was standing at a busy intersection at rush hour and was just about to tap someone on
the shoulder and ask them if they would mind helping a blind man cross the street. Instead, at
that very moment, someone tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, Sir,” the stranger
said to him, “would you mind helping a blind man cross the street?”
Shearing said he had a little devilment about him and instead of telling the man that he, too, was
blind, he thought, “Why not?!” So Shearing said, “I'd be glad to. Here, take my arm.” The two
men took off across the street together, the blind leading the blind. Shearing said that he heard
many sounds as they crossed the street together – tires squealing, horns blowing, angry voices –
but they made it safely to the far curb. Later, Shearing said, “I'll never do that again, but I'm glad
I did it once. It was the biggest thrill of my life.”
There are a number of unusual facts about this miracle:
It is recorded only my Mark.
It is the only miracle where Jesus healed someone in stages.
It is the only time Jesus actually spit on anyone.
I have told you before that every miracle is also a parable. Giving that man sight was a miracle,
but it was also a parable. In the Bible, moving from darkness to light is a symbol of conversion.
First Peter 2:9 says, “God has called us out of darkness into His wonderful light.” Let's learn a
couple of important lessons about conversion.
This miracle is actually a double miracle. This blind man was touched by Jesus, but he couldn't
see clearly, so Jesus touched him again. Actually, Jesus touched him three different times, and
these three touches teach us how God wants to deal with each of us. Let's examine each touch.
In Mark 6, 7 and 8, Jesus performed a cluster of miracles that hint rather strongly that our Lord
was disappointed and disheartened with His disciples because they were slow to understand and
perceive the spiritual lessons He was trying to teach them. To help them understand His
disappointment in them, our Lord performs a cluster of miracles similar to a miracle He had
performed before.
In Mark 6:32-44, Jesus again performed two very similar miracles to help His disciples to see
that they were very slow to understand spiritual truths.
In both miracles, friends brought the men to Jesus for Him to heal and Jesus took both men away
from their friends to a private place to heal them. In both cases Jesus used His spit as an aid to
healing. In healing the deaf and mute man, Jesus used His own form of sign language to offer
hope to the man who needed healing.
Because the man could not hear, Jesus put His own fingers in His own ears to show the man that
he was going to heal his ears. Then He spat and touched His own tongue to show the man what

77. He was about to do to heal his tongue. Then He did to the man what He had done to Himself to
demonstrate what the man could expect Jesus to do to him in order to heal him.
Jesus is going to spit in the man's eyes to reveal to the disciples the way God opens eyes of the
spiritually blind eyes and how God is able to take someone who cannot understand spiritual truth
and how He brings them to the place of full comprehension.
Let's examine each of the three touches of Jesus:
The First Touch of Conviction Mark 8:22-23a
Look back at Mark 8:18. It is possible to have eyes and have no vision. It is possible to have eyes
and not see. That is why the friends of this man brought this blind man to Jesus.
Every man who is lost is blind spiritually. That's why Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3, “Unless
you are born again, you cannot SEE (understand) the kingdom of God (the truths of God).” A
lost person is blind to God and to God's ways. He is also blind to his lost condition until God
turns the light on for him to see his lost condition. The Bible says that Satan “has blinded the lost
man's spiritual eyes that he might not see the light of the Gospel of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
But these friends brought this man to Jesus to open his eyes. And look what Jesus did: “He took
the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.”
Now, why did Jesus do that? Remember that they are in Bethsaida, a city of great unbelief. As
you travel to the Holy Land you will notice something unusual. Many of the cities that existed
during the ministry of Jesus are still thriving cities – Tiberius, Cana, Jericho, and Bethlehem are
all large cities. But there are two particular cities that are nothing but a bunch of ruins now.
Those two cities are Capernaum and Bethsaida. Why is that?
The answer is because these were cities of unbelief. Listen to what Jesus said in Luke 10:13,
“Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre
and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” The next verse says the
same thing about Capernaum. These cities rejected Jesus and now they lie in ruins. It's dangerous
for a person or a city to reject Jesus.
Jesus wants to lead the spiritually blind man away from unbelief so He can be alone with him
and turn on the Gospel light so He can show the man some things. What things? The spiritually
blind man needs to see that he is lost without Jesus, and horribly sinful, and headed to Hell
without Jesus. He also needs to see that Jesus totally loves him and desires to forgive him and
has paid his sin debt on the
cross and that Jesus reaches out to him in love and grace and mercy. The sinner needs Jesus and
no one can come to Him unless the Father draws him. That's conviction.
The first thing Jesus did was to take this man by the hand and lead him away from unbelief into a
place where He could deal with him personally. That's the first touch of conviction.
The Second Touch of Conversion Mark 8:23b-24
One moment, this man was living in darkness and the next moment, he was in the light. His eyes
were open, but his vision was still blurry. For each of us who do not have natural 20/20 vision,
you can relate to this state. How do things look when you take off your glasses or remove your
contacts? Some of us can relate to this man.

78. Giving this man sight was a miracle, but it was also a parable. In the Bible, moving from
darkness to light is a symbol of conversion. “God has called us out of darkness into His
wonderful light.” (I Peter 2:9).
This is regeneration or being born again and it happens instantly.
There's a great deal of misunderstanding concerning regeneration or being born again, but to
explain this truth simply, I'm going to draw an imaginary line on the platform. Everyone on this
side of the line is lost without Jesus Christ. We were all here at one time. And when you step
over the line, you move from darkness to light. The Bible calls this passing from death to life.
The word “salvation” refers to the entire work of God in your life. I'm talking about a point of
conversion – the point of regeneration. Being born again is an instantaneous experience.
Hopefully you grow from that point, but there is a point where you move from death to life and
from darkness to light.
Like physical birth, regeneration happens instantly, and it only happens once. And just as you
can't go back and undo your biological birth, you can't undo your spiritual birth.
God uses a variety of methods to lead us from death to life. God is a God of variety. God seldom
saves two people the same way. Some people come to Christ in a dramatic way with tears and
anguish. Others are so full of joy they laugh and rejoice at the point of regeneration. Others just
quietly place their faith in Jesus. God saved the Apostle Paul by shining a bright light from
heaven that knocked him off his feet. There's not another similar conversion experience like this
in the Bible.
We may see someone else's salvation experience and want one just like it, but remember that
God is a God of variety.
Jesus healed three blind men differently. Vance Havner used to say if the three blind men
compared notes, they would have disagreed about the right way to be healed from blindness. One
man said, “I was blind and Jesus touched me once, and I was healed. That's the way Jesus
works.” The second man says, “No. I was blind and Jesus touched me once, and I saw men as
trees walking. Then He spit on my eyes and touched me again. That's the way Jesus works. A
third man would say, “You're both wrong. I was blind and Jesus spit in the dirt and made clay
and put it on my eyes and told me to wash it off in the Pool of Siloam. That's the way Jesus
works.”
Vance Havner said if those three men were here today we'd have three new church
denominations within a week: The One-touched Church, The Mud-in-your-eye Church, and The
Spit-in-the-eye Church.
The first touch is Conviction. The second touch is Conversion.
The Third Touch of Correction Mark 8:25-26
So why did Jesus touch him again? That question is easier to answer in the negative:
• It was not because of any lack in Jesus, as if He didn't have the power to heal him at
once.
• It was not that this man's blindness was a particularly hard case.
• It was not because Jesus tried and failed the first time.
I really think Jesus performed a two-part miracle to teach us a couple of lessons.

79. A. There is so much more to the Christian life than conversion.
The tragedy is there are multitudes of Christians who have stepped over the line from darkness to
light, who have their ticket to heaven punched, but they have never grown in their salvation.
The main reason God saved you and me was not so we could go to heaven when we die. Now
that's one of the benefits. God saved us so we can grow spiritually until we are conformed to the
image of Christ.
B. God wants to continue to touch our lives and to correct our faulty sight until we see things the
way Jesus sees them.
Sometimes we see things the wrong way and Jesus has to correct our spiritual vision. Jack
Eckerd inherited a chain of drugstores from his father and expanded the business until there were
almost 3,000 Eckerd drugstores. Today Echerd's has been bought out by CVS and RiteWay.
Jack Eckerd was a hard-driving businessman and only a nominal Christian until he attended a
men's retreat with his church in Clearwater, Florida. On this retreat, God did a new work in
Jack's life. God touched his heart and Jack started seeing things differently.
On Monday he walked into one of his stores and noticed for the first time they sold adult
magazines with nude pictures. It disturbed him. Being a businessman, he called his CFO and told
him he wanted to get rid of all those magazines from all his stores. He asked his CFO how much
money they would lose. The CFO called him back and said they would be losing $500,000 a
year. Jack said, “I don't care. Get rid of them.”
What happened? He started seeing things differently. He had clear eyes and a full heart.
There's the first touch of Conviction. Do you realize that you need Jesus? There's the second
though of Conversion. Have you been born again? Have you passed from death to life? God isn't
finished with you. There's the third and fourth and tenth and hundredth touch of Correction until
we are made into the image of Christ.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/sermons-on-mark-lowell-johnson
DAVID LEGGE
Now let's turn together in the Scriptures for our reading from Mark's Gospel please, chapter 8.
Mark chapter 8, and beginning to read at verse 10 - Mark 8 verse 10: "And straightway he
entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. And the Pharisees
came forth, and began to question with him", that is, the Lord Jesus of course, "seeking of him a
sign from heaven, tempting", or testing, "him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why
doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto
this generation. And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.
Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than
one loaf. And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of

80. the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no
bread. And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread?
perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye
not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? When I brake the five loaves
among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.
And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And
they said, Seven. And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand? And he cometh to
Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And 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 upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as
trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he
was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go
into the town, nor tell it to any in the town".
The verses we're looking at today are all about blindness...
The title I'm taking for the message this morning is 'Blindness By Degrees'. It will become
apparent why I have chosen that title in a few moments. This, I think, is roundabout the fortieth
study that we have done in the Gospel of Mark - which is incredible. You will remember that last
week we looked at the miracle of the feeding of the 4000, and we spent a bit of time comparing
that with the feeding of the 5000. If you want to know the differences between the two, as well
as the similarities and the message of both, do get last week's study - recordings are available.
But you remember that there was something that the disciples had not learned when the Lord
Jesus fed 5000 Jews on a separate occasion to feeding now 4000 Gentiles. They had failed to
learn, first of all, the identity of the Lord Jesus as the Bread sent down from God, the Bread from
heaven just like the manna of the Old Testament that fed the children of Israel in the wilderness.
Of course, we saw that there was a special identification to the Gentiles of the Lord Jesus Christ
as spiritual Bread who could feed their souls. So they had failed to understand the true identity of
the One who was with them, and that's why they were thinking: 'How are we going to get bread
in the wilderness?' - making the same mistake all over again. The second thing, which leads on
from what I've just said, is that they failed to recognize the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus to
provide for whatever need they might have. It didn't matter that they were in the wilderness and
they had very little bread - this time they had more bread, but still it wasn't sufficient to feed
4000 people - and yet the Lord was in their midst, and that's what they needed to recognize and
they failed to recognize. He could feed as many as needed to be fed.
Now the verses that we're coming to have relation to what we studied last week, because the
verses we're looking at today are all about blindness. First of all we see blind Pharisees in verses
11 to 13, they're not literally blind but spiritually blind. But there is blindness by degrees, there
are different types of blindness in this passage, because the next blindness we find is a blindness
among the disciples. They were blind, not to the same extent as the Pharisees, but they were
blind. Then the third blindness is a literal blindness that is found in this blind man of Bethsaida
that our Lord Jesus heals in quite an unusual manner.
Now, the blindness of the Pharisees was the failure to perceive these great truths. One, the
identity of the Lord Jesus as God's Son come in flesh; and two, His sufficiency to supply any
need, including the need of eternal and universal salvation. Now the Pharisees were the most
blind of all: they had a wilful blindness. It's not that they could not see, they would not see. It
was a blindness that came from a hardness of the heart. The disciples' blindness was a little

81. different, it was an ignorant blindness. They couldn't see it. It came not from a hardness of the
heart, necessarily, but more we could say a dullness of the heart. They just couldn't get it. They
weren't as blind as the Pharisees, but not enough light of the truth of what Christ was wanting to
reveal to them was getting into their heads and into their hearts.
Blindness is a serious condition irrespective of its cause, because in both these cases this
blindness was causing the Pharisees and the disciples to miss the obvious: the identity and
sufficiency of Christ...
Now, blindness is a serious condition irrespective of its cause, because in both these cases this
blindness was causing the Pharisees and the disciples to miss the obvious: the identity and
sufficiency of Christ. But blindness doesn't only cause you to miss things: it puts you in danger
of stumbling - and that's where these folk are just now in this passage. To illustrate that condition
- particularly, I feel, for the disciples - our Lord performed a rather strange, in fact a unique
healing: for initially it was a partial healing, the man was only partially healed. Then the Lord
completely healed this blind man, and it is one of the greatest illustrations in the whole of the
word of God of how even we, so often, are blind: we miss the point, we are slow to learn what
the Lord would have us see clearly.
So let's look at this 'Blindness by Degrees' this morning. First of all the blindness of the Pharisees
in verses 11 to 13. Now the blindness of the Pharisees was exhibited in the fact that they sought a
sign from the Lord Jesus. The Lord is now returning back to a place called 'Dalmanutha' - we're
not exactly sure where it is, it's probably near Magdala where Mary Magdalene came from.
Returning back to the west side of Galilee, the Pharisees are still angry with the Lord Jesus
Christ because of His earlier indictment of their hypocrisy. You maybe can't remember that, it
was chapter 7 - you remember the tirade of our Lord against them: how they honoured God with
their lips, but their heart was far from Him; how they engaged in an external cleanliness of ritual
religion, and yet their hearts were still diseased by sin. So they are still scathing because of our
Lord's word against them, and so they demand a sign - and this sign, they say, must come from
heaven, a sign from heaven.
Now their blindness is incredible, because they have already seen many many signs from the
Saviour that He performed on earth, these miracles - but they were looking a sign from heaven.
They couldn't deny the signs they had seen on earth, and yet they did. It was obvious that
something was special about this Man, and yet remember - turn back with me to chapter 3 and
verse 22 - they attributed His works by the power of God to be from the power of the devil.
Chapter 3 verse 22: 'The scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and
by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils', or demons. So, standing in front of these
religious Pharisees was the greatest sign ever, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord from heaven,
God's Bread from heaven, God's Sign from heaven - and they had no appreciation of Him.
That could be you here this morning: you have no appreciation of Christ, truly. Oh, you
recognize there is something special about Him, but it doesn't make any difference to your life.
These Pharisees have heard His matchless words, they have seen His wonderful miracles, they
encountered an absolutely sinless Man who was God in flesh, and yet their blindness caused
them to ask for a sign from heaven! It's incredible, isn't it?
Let me give you a bit of the background to this request for a sign from heaven. One of the
teachings of the Pharisees at the time of the Lord Jesus was that the Messiah, when He came,
would appear on the pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem. Did you know that? There He would

82. appear to all and proclaim deliverance to Israel, and display light from heaven as a sign of His
Messiahship. That same thought was evidently in the mind of Satan in the wilderness when he
tempted the Lord Jesus Christ, and said that he would take Him up to the pinnacle of the Temple
and give Him the kingdoms of the world. But both the Pharisees in their theology, and the devil
in his diabolical temptation - you must see this - were trying to get the Lord Jesus to do
something spectacular, something stupendous, a sign from heaven. Really what they were asking
the Suffering Servant of Jehovah to do was to take an easy route, rather than the route of the
cross - death, taking our sins upon Himself at Calvary. This was an easy route, of course it was a
false one, but that was what was being set before our Lord by Satan and the Pharisees, who were
being inspired by the evil one.
They have seen His wonderful miracles, they encountered an absolutely sinless Man who was
God in flesh, and yet their blindness caused them to ask for a sign from heaven! It's incredible,
isn't it?
Now it's interesting to note right throughout this portion this morning that our Lord defies
everyone's apparent expectations of how He's going to behave - and that's a good lesson to all of
us. Some of us think we've got God in a box, whether it's a theological or ecclesiastical box - but
He will not be boxed, He will not be labelled, He will not be restricted. You can see this very
evidently in the way our Lord behaves. The way He acts, you could never have anticipated.
In verse 12, instead of giving a sign from heaven, He sighs toward heaven. Look at it: 'He sighed
deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you,
There shall no sign be given unto this generation'. Now there is an unusual word used here to
signify the groaning of the Lord Jesus, it's a sigh deeply in spirit. The actual Greek word means
'a sigh upward from the depths of your being'. So the deepest part of you is sighing to the highest
heaven! It's also difficult to translate here in this verse the sense of what the Lord said: 'No sign
will be given to this generation'. It's a construction of what was a characteristic Hebrew oath that
suggests intense emotion. It's as if He's saying: 'There won't be any more signs to this generation,
you have had your chance!'. Do you get the weight of what He's expressing? No wonder He
sighed, because if you think about it: no other generation - especially a Jewish generation - had
ever had the privileges that these people had: the Lord Jesus ministering in their midst,
performing wondrous acts, speaking mighty words - and yet they're still seeking after another
sign, because they are so blind.
In verse 13, this is a tragic verse, we read: 'He left them, and entering into the ship again departed
to the other side'. He got into the boat and sailed eastward - and what a terrible thing it is to have
Christ turn His back on you and sail away! But that is ultimately what He does to those who
continually refuse His revelation. You could be one of those people here this morning, and you
know who Christ is in a roundabout way, you know and understand a bit about what He has
done, and you've maybe felt Him speaking to you or communicating to you in your own personal
life to commit yourself to Him, and He has given your own signs - but there comes a time when
you won't heed them, when He will give you no more. No more help and understanding! So be
careful if you are a person who is wilfully blind - it's not that you can't see, you won't see! This is
what will happen: your heart will harden, and you'll become like these Pharisees. I read a poem
many years ago, and I've used it often in gospel preaching, but I still am astounded by the
message that it sends forth. Listen to it carefully as I read it all to you, it's by Joseph Addison
Alexander - listen in particular if you're one of these people:

83. 'There is a time, we know not when,
A place, we know not where;
Which marks the destiny of men
To glory or despair.
There is a line, by us unseen;
Which crosses every path,
Which marks the boundary between
God's mercy and His wrath.
To pass that limit is to die,
To die as if by stealth;
It does not dim the beaming eye,
Nor pale the glow of health.
The conscience may be still at ease,
The spirit light and gay
And that which pleases still may please,
And care be thrust away.
But on that forehead God hath set
Indelibly a mark;
Unseen by man, for man as yet,
Is blind and in the dark.
O, where is that mysterious line
That may by men be crossed,
Beyond which God Himself hath sworn,
That he who goes is lost.
An answer from the skies repeats,
'Ye who from God depart,'
Today, O hear His voice! Repent
And harden not your heart'.
Is that you? Now, since Mark was writing to Gentiles he did not include the Lord's words as we
find in the other gospel records of this event, where the Lord Jesus said that the only sign that
would be given to this generation is a sign of Jonah the prophet. What was that sign? That as he
was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so our Lord Jesus would be three days
and three nights in the belly of the earth. He would die on the cross, be buried and rise again - the
greatest sign of all: His death and resurrection, proof that He was who He claimed to be. It wasn't
very long until these religious Pharisees would witness it, but because they had hardened their
hearts, it didn't make a difference! Yet it is the foundation of apostolic preaching in the book of
the Acts: 'Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among
you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye
yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up,
having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it'.
There are some of you here need to hear this message: Christ has died for you, He has risen again
for you - what more do you need? Are you going to harden your heart to Calvary love? What
blindness! Yet some of you here could be guilty of it this very morning!

84. His resurrection after death proves - what more sign do you need here? There are some of you
here need to hear this message: Christ has died for you, He has risen again for you - what more
do you need? Are you going to harden your heart to Calvary love? What blindness! Yet some of
you here could be guilty of it this very morning!
The blind Pharisees, and then we meet the blind disciples. We cross over again from Dalmanutha
over to the east side of Galilee, and the Lord, while they are journeying, takes an opportunity to
teach them something concerning the hardness of the Pharisees and many other Jews. In verse
15: 'He charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the
leaven of Herod'. Now you've got to understand what leaven was. It was yeast, and during the
Passover season in Israel the Jews had to remove all the leaven from their dwellings, Exodus 12
commanded them to do that. Leaven wasn't allowed in any of their offerings, because leaven was
a picture of sin, a picture of evil and wickedness - because like leaven or yeast, though it is small
and hidden, it can spread very very swiftly and soon affects the whole. It's what Paul said in
Galatians: 'A little leaven, leaveneth the whole lump'.
'Beware', the Lord Jesus said, 'of the leaven of the Pharisees' - what was that? It was their
hypocrisy - so religious, yet they couldn't see the most basic spiritual truths about the identity
and sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was their hypocrisy, and it was their legalism - they
thought that by keeping all these rules, that was enough; and yet their hearts remained
unchanged. What was the leaven of Herod? Well, Herod was a worldly King. All his court was,
they followed the way of the Romans - and whether you speak of worldliness in their wealth,
their affluence, their lust for fame, their immoral indulgence, their scepticism, their immorality
of every kind; that really encapsulates all that that word means: worldliness. 'Beware of the
leaven of Herod', but it was also found in the political realm: they had great power. Beware of
worldliness, and beware of politics.
Many of the Lord's disciples are still blind because they're affected by these two types of leaven:
the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod. Those two things are still able to blind
Christ's disciples to spiritual realities. Now the Lord didn't say 'Beware' an awful lot in His
ministry, but when He did it behoves us to pay attention to the disastrous effects of what could
happen to our lives through the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
Well, in verses 14 and 16 discussion ensues among the disciples. You see from verse 14 that
someone had forgotten to take bread - imagine how many people had been fed with bread, and
these guys forget to take some of it for themselves! In verse 16, after the Lord speaks to them
about this leaven, 'They reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread'.
Now I have to be very careful here in what I say, but I can sense in this narrative the holy
frustration of the Lord Jesus starting to build up. They're just not understanding, they're not
getting it. He's speaking to them about the leaven of the Pharisees, the leaven of Herod, and they
think He's still talking about the bread! They're on a completely different level, they're not tuned
into the Lord, they're not getting the message, He's not getting through to them! They're thinking
about food for their body, when He's wanting to feed their soul!
So many Christians are like that today! I'm like it a lot of the time: on a completely different
level, a carnal level, a fleshy level - and the Lord's not getting through! Now remember: He had
multiplied bread now on two occasions, He had fed over 10,000 people including women and
children - and the disciples are still worried about where they're going to get their lunch from!
What blindness! In chapter 6, you remember after the feeding of the 5000 in verse 52, look at it -
Mark records for us that after that miracle, 'they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for

85. their heart was hardened', hardened! They didn't understand it! So the implication here is that
they still, after the feeding of the 4000, didn't understand the identity and the sufficiency of the
Lord Jesus. The message was: you don't need to worry about your lunch when the Lord is in the
boat!
He had multiplied bread now on two occasions, He had fed over 10,000 people including women
and children - and the disciples are still worried about where they're going to get their lunch
from! What blindness!
Ignorant blindness because of the dullness of their hearts. So the Lord - and I'm careful about my
language here, but I'm only going with the passage - He starts to, we would say, drum it into
them, the message that they needed to hear, the lessons that they were missing. Now you can see
it in the literature here, in verse 17, look at it - He effectively discharges what we could say are
nine rounds of explosive questions in an attempt to ignite their mind to understand these lessons.
Now look at them: 'When Jesus', verse 17, 'knew it, he saith unto them' - count the questions -
'Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your
heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not
remember? When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of
fragments took ye up?', verse 20, 'And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets
full of fragments took ye up?', verse 21, 'How is it that ye do not understand?'. Nine times -
boom, boom, boom, boom - you're not getting it! Each question was knocking it into their heads.
Now, I'm not criticising the disciples here - please don't think I'm doing that, because I'm far
worse than they are at getting the Lord's point. It is usually the case that God's people have a
tendency to forget His past blessings when they have a present need. That's why the Psalmist
says in 103: 'Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless
the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits'. Now I don't know about you, but I can
count many an occasion when the Lord meets a need for me - often it can be in a wonderfully
miraculous way - but then, when the next problem comes along, you have a tendency to forget
how the Lord met the previous need, what the Lord did for you in the past and what He can do
for you in the present. We become frightened, we can even begin to complain - but here's the
lesson that the Lord wanted the disciples to get, and we could go into all the theology and
compare Scripture with Scripture, but the main point of it was simply: 'As long as you're with
Me, I'll take care of you!'...but they forgot. It would do us all good to pause occasionally in our
lives, as we run from circumstance to circumstance, to count our blessings. It will surprise us
what the Lord has done. As one hymn writer put it:
'His love in time past
Forbids me to think
He'll leave me at last
In trouble to sink;
Each sweet Ebenezer
I have in review
Confirms His good pleasure
To help me right through'.
But they weren't getting it. The blind Pharisees, the blind disciples, and then thirdly: this blind
man - verses 22 to 26. Now already, if you can remember, in this section Mark has recorded a
miracle that is not found anywhere else in the gospels. You remember the deaf and the dumb
man, and the strange way the Lord healed him: touching his tongue and putting His fingers in the

86. man's ears. Now this miracle is the same in the sense that you don't find it anywhere else in the
gospel records. The Lord takes this man outside of Bethsaida. Now not only is this miracle
similar to the deaf and dumb man who was healed in the fact of the unconventional means that
the Lord used - He spits in this man's eyes, and He touched the tongue of the deaf and dumb man
with spittle with His hand - but it's similar in the sense that, just as the Lord took the deaf and
dumb man out of the crowd, so the Lord takes this man away from the crowd, but He does a bit
more: He takes him actually out of the town, right out of Bethsaida. Now why did He do that?
Now if there is a hardened heart here this morning, you need to hear this: because Bethsaida's
number was up! He had done all the miracles He was going to do there, He had given all the
signs - no more evidence for them!
Bethsaida's number was up! He had done all the miracles He was going to do there, He had given
all the signs - no more evidence for them!
You see if you go back to Matthew chapter 11, He says: 'Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto
thee, Bethsaida!', there's the place, 'for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been
done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say
unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you'. You
see, they had already been judged for the hardness of their hearts, their wilful unbelief - imagine
it! No more signs would be given to them. Verse 26, that is why at the end of this miracle the
Lord tells this man: 'Don't go into the town, or tell any in the town'. What would we be saying?
'Oh, you've got to go and witness to these folk. They can't be too hard for God' - now we don't
know who is hard and who is not, that's why we've to go to everybody and preach to every
creature, but the fact of the matter is: the Lord had drawn a line under these men and women of
Bethsaida, and He could draw the line under you if He hasn't done already. Terrifying, isn't it?
But this miracle is unique for another reason: it's the only healing in the whole of the Bible that
took place in stages - in the New Testament anyway - that took place in stages. Now the question
begs: why? Many commentators and Bible teachers conjecture the reasons why, but before
giving my view to this may I just make a side point on this one? It is simply that the Lord deals
uniquely with all of us - whether it's conversion, it's unique to us; whether it's our Christian
consecration and experience and pilgrimage, it's unique to us. So don't try and copy or duplicate
another's - the Lord is dealing with you, child, and He'll deal with you uniquely. Equally so, the
experiences that we go through in life are unique to ourselves - and boy, does the Lord work in
some strange ways! As William Cowper put it: 'Our God moves in mysterious ways, His
wonders to perform', but he went on to say 'God is His own interpreter, and He will make it
plain'.
God doesn't have to answer to us as to how He does things, and it does seem that this is a very
strange operation the Lord is performing - but there are some strange things that happen to
believers. Peter talked about the strange thing that you think is happening to you, don't count it
strange! Yes, the Lord is behind it, but it often does seem strange to us. You see, if you're in
God's school - now listen - if you're in God's school, you might not always understand the lesson
being taught, but you can always know there is a lesson being taught. He's trying to teach you
something, He's working individually with you.
Now, what is the lesson He's trying to teach here in the healing of this man? Well, I ask you -
before giving you what the whole point of it is - is it not obvious? Verse 18, did He not say to
these disciples as He was crossing over in the boat: 'Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears,
hear ye not?' - that's like a combination of the two miracles we've been talking about: the deaf

87. and the dumb man, and this man who is blind. You see what He's doing, don't you? It's not the
Lord having an energy shortage or something like that, as if He couldn't muster up the divine
strength to do this miracle completely - what nonsense! In fact, if that was the case, do you think
the disciples would have recorded it? They recorded this because He is who He said He was, His
identity and sufficiency are clear - but there's a point He is making here in this partial healing.
He's teaching these dull disciples that their knowledge of Him, His identity and His sufficiency,
was only partial! They weren't getting it!
Child of God is it not the case for all of us that our knowledge of His identity and His sufficiency
in our lives is only partial? It's true, isn't it? Unless there're some perfect people walking about!
Paul said he hadn't apprehended, he hadn't it made, but his great desire was - you remember -
'That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death'. His desire was that he would have a better
understanding to his partial understanding. Do you have that desire?
There's a point He is making here in this partial healing. He's teaching these dull disciples that
their knowledge of Him, His identity and His sufficiency, was only partial! They weren't getting
it!
In verse 24 the man looked up and said: 'I see men as trees, walking'. This man in this partial
healing of our Lord could only dimly see, the way you sort of see through water I suppose. He
could see the figure of the Lord Jesus and His disciples, and his own friends that had brought
him to Christ - but they were just like walking trees. Now this portion doesn't say anything about
the man's faith, it doesn't say that the man came himself, it says his friends brought him - so this
man mightn't have had any faith, but the Lord is performing this and all of a sudden the man's
faith increases. Maybe that's another lesson the Lord was teaching: that as he could see his sight
partially come back, his faith increased - yet he was still immature, there was a lot more he had
to see. We're all like that. You might have faith in Christ, but all of us lack the final touch, don't
we? In verse 25 this man gets it - the Lord Jesus puts His hands again upon his eyes, and made
him look up, and he was restored and saw every man clearly. That last phrase is wonderful: he
saw everything clearly. It uses a very rare word which means 'to see clearly from afar' - do you
know what that means? 2020 vision, a perfect healing!
Now the Lord who did that on the second attempt could have done it on the first attempt, but
there was a lesson being taught. You see, the disciples were only dimly grasping the true purpose
of Christ's mission. It was an enigma to them when He talked about going to the cross, and
dying, and three days later rising again. We're going to see this next week: when Peter confesses
that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and then the Lord talks about going to the cross
and Peter says, 'Be it far from thee, Lord'. They didn't grasp that He had to die for their sins and
rise again - and remember, it wasn't until after His resurrection that the penny dropped! You
remember the two on the road to Emmaus - He opened their understanding that they might
understand the scriptures, 'And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to
suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day', and He charged them that their hearts were so
slow to believe all that the Scriptures had taught.
None of us have a complete knowledge of what the Lord is doing in our lives. Whatever
circumstances you're going through, no one has a complete interpretation of it all - but there is a
sense in which this healing could point us to the fact of what Paul said: 'Now we see through a
glass darkly, but then face-to-face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known'. We're not going to find everything out, and the answer to all our questions, until we see

88. the Lord - and even then we mightn't know all the answers, I don't think we will. However, in
Philippians 1 Paul reassures us that if the Lord has started a work in us, though it might be a
partial work, he was confident of this very thing: 'that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ'.
In our lives the Lord wants to make our understanding of His identity and His sufficiency
clearer. He wants to make our understanding of His sufficiency clearer. Incidentally, think of the
man who is writing this book - Mark. He's recording a unique miracle, who's to say it is not an
example of his own experience? Though it's not of him literally, it is metaphorically. At first his
spiritual vision as a young convert was poor, and his service incomplete - you remember Paul the
apostle sent him back, and Barnabas and Paul fell out over it, but later on we read that Paul sends
for him: 'Send Mark'. He becomes a companion of the apostles, and more than that: he becomes a
biographer of the Servant of the Lord. It's wonderful, isn't it?
I'm calling upon all of you to search your hearts now, not make an empty decision, but search
your heart and if you can meaningfully say it: commit yourself afresh to the Lord to have His
way in your life...
Now listen carefully: nothing can be done for blind, hardhearted Pharisees - nothing. If they
continue to harden their heart, nothing can be done. But if you are a dull-hearted believer in here
today, with only partial understanding - like all of us, in effect - praise God, a miracle can be
done in all of our lives as we see Him more clearly, love Him more dearly, and follow Him more
nearly day by day.
If the Lord has been speaking to you as a person who is unconverted, not yet saved - all you must
do is, just now, confess your need of Christ and believe on Him, ask Him to save you now, and
He will. All of us as believers, we continually need to deny ourselves, take up our cross - and so
I'm calling upon all of you to search your hearts now, not make an empty decision, but search
your heart and if you can meaningfully say it: commit yourself afresh to the Lord to have His
way in your life.
Father, we acknowledge that we are God's workmanship, we are God's poems, God's
masterpieces, we are Your individual works of art and we are in process. Your work with each of
us is unique, but Lord - like this blind man and like the disciples - we must submit to Your touch.
We can visualise the Saviour spitting on this man's eyes, and pushing His calloused carpenter
thumbs into his eye sockets - and sometimes the way you seem to work with us may appear
strange, and even course, but Lord we pray that at the end of it all we will be more like the Lord
Jesus and more effective for Him as You have Your own way with us, Lord. For Christ's sake we
pray, Amen.
Don't miss part 40 of our Studies In Mark: “The Suffering And Then The Glory”
------------------------Back to Top
Transcribed by:
Preach The Word.
April 2008
www.preachtheword.com
This sermon was delivered at The Iron Hall Evangelical Church in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by
Pastor David Legge. It was transcribed from the thirty-ninth recording in his 'Studies In Mark'
series, entitled "Blindness By Degrees" - Transcribed by Preach The Word.

89. JOHN MACARTHUR
Jesus’ Power over Blindness
• Sermons
• Mark 8:22–26
• 41-39
• Aug 29, 2010
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I want you to open your Bible to the eighth chapter of Mark’s gospel. Each of these paragraphs,
each of these sections is unique. They vary in emphases and tone and theology. It’s hard to be
consistent in falling into some kind of a pattern week in and week out because they’re so unique,
these marvelous records of the historical events in the life of our Lord.
Sermons change in form and style from week to week depending on the nature of the text. And I
say that simply to say this week we’re going to be looking at a story of a miracle in verses 22 to
26. And at first reading, you could say we read the story and thank the Lord for the miracle and
pronounce the benediction because it’s simple enough for a child to understand; it really doesn’t
need a lot of explanation and embellishment.
It is a jewel, to be sure, as all the miracles of Jesus are, but it’s the setting in which it’s placed
that gives it significant meaning. And at the risk of being a little bit technical, I want to make
sure you understand not just the story but the significance of the story and how it sits in the
chronology of the life of Christ, in the place of instruction regarding the disciples and how that
applies to us.
So, we’re going to look at three things: the significance of the story will be the final thing we’ll
look at, the story itself, but before we do that we’ll even look at the setting in which the story is

90. told. This may seem a little bit more like a classroom, and that’s okay as well, because we want
you to learn together.
Chapter 8 and verse 22, “And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus
and implored Him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the
village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, ‘Do you see
anything?’
“And he looked up and said, ‘I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.’
“Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began
to see everything clearly. And He sent him to his home, saying, ‘Do not even enter the village.’”
Now, if you’ve been with us in Mark, there are some familiar things there, aren’t there? You
could say, “I perfectly well understand this,” and you would be likely correct. But I want to
enrich the setting and the significance of this if I can.
First of all, we cannot become so familiar with miracles that we overlook the reality of what a
stunning thing a miracle was in that era of human history. Diseases were everywhere. There
really was no knowledge of what caused disease. There were no cures for anything. The first real
cure didn’t appear until the nineteenth century. Whatever you had, you had, and you lived with
it. And the concoctions that were offered for curing diseases were bizarre and humorous if not
pathetic.
The cure for blindness, according to one very trusted source, was rooster blood mixed with
honey smeared on the eyes. Birth defects, and venereal disease, and lack of sanitation, infections,
accidents, diseases - all contributed to people being blind. And a lot of people were blind.
And, in fact, when John the Baptist sent some of his followers to Jesus to see if He was actually
the Messiah, because although John had introduced Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world, it didn’t seem that He was either taking away the sin of the world or
establishing the messianic kingdom, and John wanted to check in and make sure he had the right
person. And so, they said, “Are you really the Christ, or do we look for somebody else? Our
teacher John wants to know.”
And Jesus responded in a most interesting way. He responded by saying, in one statement, “Tell
John the blind receive their sight.” This was a mark of His ministry in a world where no one was
ever cured, really, of anything. Blind people were usually outcasts. They were viewed as having
been cursed by God. That’s why in John 9, the leaders of Israel come to Jesus and they discredit
Him every way they can - you remember the story - even though He had just healed a man born
blind. You remember the story in John 9? And you remember the testimony of the man when
they said, “Who is this Jesus?”
And he said, “I don’t know who He is, but I do know I used to be bind and now I can see.”
And do you remember how they launched the conversation? They said, “Who sinned? This man
or his parents?” John 9:1 and 2. Because if you were blind, according to their theology, you had
been cursed by God. And that would be true of any deformity, any defect, any disease. Their
theology basically lined up with Job’s friends who assumed that because Job was having a lot of
trouble there was a lot of sin present.
And so, they were put out of the synagogue, these kinds of people, and they were alienated from
normal social activity and life. And perhaps only their family and friends would even so much as

91. touch them. They were the untouchables. Pharisees wouldn’t touch them. Sadducees, other
separatists didn’t want to touch them. Rabbis didn’t want to touch them. So, these people are in a
desperate category. You have to understand again that for Jesus to step into that world at that
time, with that massive amount of illness as a part of life and a theology that went along with that
kind of rampant illness that basically said you’re being cursed by God, and just literally
dispatched disease out of the land of Israel and cured everybody that came to Him. There was a
huge statement being made about the compassion of God and the power of Christ. I mean there
would have been nothing like this in the memory of anyone because there had never been
anything like this in the history of the world.
So, we can’t discount, just because it’s another story, the massive impact of the revelation of
Jesus Christ as the One who banished illness from Israel during the years of His ministry. Jesus
did thousands of miracles; this is just one. But it just so happens to have a unique setting and
unique significance.
Let me talk about the setting, if I may, just kind of set up the story. First of all, it has the
uniqueness of being one of two miracles that you find only in Mark. There are many miracles
that Matthew and Luke tell, that Matthew and Luke and John tell that are in more than one
gospel therefore. There are only two in the Gospel of Mark that aren’t anywhere else, and these
two appear – this one and one in chapter 7 where Jesus healed the one who was a deaf mute.
Remember that back in verse 32 of chapter 7? And it’s interesting to read it because of the
parallels. “They brought to Him one who was deaf” - just as they brought the blind man – “they
implored Him to lay His hand on him.” Just as they asked for the blind man, that Jesus would
touch him. And again, “Jesus took him aside from the crowd” – just as He did the blind man,
taking Him out of the village. “He put His fingers into his ears, touched him, spit, touched his
tongue” – just as he touched the blind man’s eyes and put spit on them. And then again, in verse
36, “He gave them orders not to tell anyone” – just as He did with the case of the blind man we
just read.
So, there are some similarities in these two accounts which lead us to believe that this was a
pattern in the way Jesus healed. But this particular story of the blind man and that one I just read
from chapter 7 are the only two that Mark records, and they have these similarities that the other
writers do not record. And so, they give us an idea of the way in which Jesus healed.
Chronologically, the miracle that I just read to you about the blind man in Bethsaida is the last
miracle in Galilee recorded by Mark. It’s the final signature of Jesus. Now, you know we’re at
the end of His ministry chronologically in Galilee. Right? Back in verse 13, it says, “Leaving
them...” He had been on the northwest shore in the main populated area, the Jewish-dominated
area, and He left. After a final conflict, His last Galilean conflict with the Pharisees and
Sadducees, He left. And that’s symbolic, and He essentially left Galilee and went to the northeast
shore, still technically in Galilee, but in the town of Bethsaida, you really were in the tetrarchy of
Philip Herod, the Idumean son of Herod the Great. And he was beholden to Rome, and so there
was Roman influence. And Bethsaida had been renamed Bethsaida-Julia because Herod had
named it Julia in honor of one of Caesar Augustus’ daughters. So, he was attached to Rome.
There was a certain Roman presence, and it was kind of a fringe town as far as Galilee went, not
far even from Decapolis, which was a Gentile area a little to the east and south.
So, He’s moving away from Galilee. After this, He goes 25 miles north into another Gentile area
called Caesarea Philippi, does one miracle there, but that’s not in Galilee, and then circles back
through Galilee one more time for the sole purpose teaching His disciples and has no public

92. ministry and is on His way the other side of the Jordan and then down the backside of the Jordan,
through that Gentile territory, headed to Judea for a final few months in the southern part of
Israel, and then to Jerusalem to die and rise again.
So, chronologically, this is the last miracle of His Galilean ministry. It bears some weight, then,
because it’s the end of all that He had done in Galilee. Geographically, as I said, it’s in the town
of Bethsaida, which though considered to be part of Galilee and certainly Jewish – after all, three
of the apostles were from that town: Peter, Andrew, and Philip – it really is moving away from
the center of Galilee.
Now, you do know, don’t you, that since chapter 7, verse 24, He started a ministry up into Tyre,
Sidon, and then down into Decapolis. He’d been moving through Gentile areas. It was really
over in Galilee and the geography shows that. It’s a sad day for Galilee. And even in this case,
where they bring Him this man – and we don’t know why He was in Bethsaida, but He was there
to teach His disciples; they were with Him when He went there; public ministry was over –
somebody knew He was there, and they brought this man, but there will be no more public
ministry. And so, He takes the man out of the village, isolates Him.
Do you remember that He said, back in verse 12, when they said, “We want a sign from heaven”
– in verse 11 –He said, “Truly no sign will be given this generation, this people, I’m done with
signs; I’ve done enough; you don’t need any more”?
So, even the geography is important as He moves to the fringe and from there He’s gone. There’s
even a literary shift here as well. This miracle really is the beginning of the second act of Mark’s
historical drama. Act one is Jesus’ public ministry with the people. Act two is Jesus’ private
ministry with the disciples. Act three is Jesus’ passion. Okay?
So, we are entering into His private ministry, a final private miracle launches His private time
with the disciples. And from there, He with them goes to Caesarea Philippi and back down
through Galilee, with no public ministry; it’s time for the training of His disciples.
Some writers have said this is such a significant point historically that it could be called the
Continental Divide of the gospel of Mark. Everything before this is leading up to it, and
everything after this falls from it. And the real peak of the Continental Divide is chapter 8, verses
27 to 30, the next passage, the one we’ll look at next week, where Peter says, “You are the
Christ.” That is the pinnacle confession. No human being has said that in Mark yet. Demons
have said it. Demons have said, “We know you’re the Holy One of God.” But that confession
hasn’t come out of the lips of any human being yet. It becomes the pinnacle confession, chapter
8, verses 27 to 30, and that confession indicates the true conversion of the apostles, their
salvation, and then their training is launched in seriousness right on up to the passion of Christ,
which is the third and final act. So, that’s the setting in which this little miracle appears. It brings
the Galilean ministry to an end, and it starts the private ministry of Jesus with His disciples.
Now, let’s look at the story - that’s the setting; look at the story - and it has the feel of an
eyewitness account. That should not surprise us.
You say, “Well, John Mark wouldn’t have been there.”
No, of course not; he wasn’t one of the apostles, nor one of the early disciples of Jesus; he came
later. How does this then become an eyewitness account? Who was John Mark’s mentor? John
was writing his gospel to Romans, in the city of Rome, under the influence and as his source of

93. Peter. Peter was his source. So, Peter, who was from the town of Bethsaida, would have been
familiar with it, became the source of this to Mark. So, it does have eyewitness connections.
Let’s go to verse 22. “They came to Bethsaida” – which means house of fishing. And that, by the
way, was where – near where Jesus fed the 5,000 men, plus women and children. Right?
Recorded back in chapter 6, verses 33 to 34, maybe 20,000 to 25,000 people. He created fish and
break for them. Remember that? That happened near there.
Now, a miracle of feeding 25,000 people would be well-known to the local town. And many of
the people in that local town would have been fed in that meal. They are very, very familiar with
Jesus. Very familiar.
One other thing to note, that place here is called, in verse 23, village – the village. The village.
But Luke 9:10 refers to it as a city, a polis Was it a village, or was it a city? Well, the answer is
that it became a city; it had always been a village. It became a city because Herod Philip wanted
to enhance it, enlarge it, develop it, and he did that. He engaged in some development of
Bethsaida, and that’s when he named it after the daughter of Augustus Caesar, and it developed
into a town. But it had always been a village. And if this is an eyewitness account, and Peter is
the eyewitness, it probably would have been known to him and his family before him as the
village of Bethsaida. A village - its sentimental name, its familiar name. A town – its new
identity. It is not far from Capernaum to the east of Capernaum. The miracles that Jesus did at
Capernaum spread to Nazareth, which was further west than Bethsaida was east.
So, whatever Jesus was doing, wherever He was doing it, the word was all over everywhere. In
fact, the truth of the matter is, Bethsaida had high exposure to Jesus and His miracle power. And
so, Jesus shows up in town.
You say, “Well, wouldn’t He try to keep quiet?”
But remember, this is Peter’s hometown; this is Andrew’s hometown; this is Philip’s hometown,
and hometown boys would see their family, and the word would get out that Jesus is there. And
some local people, then, bring a blind man to Jesus. They know He heals everybody and
everything. And they implored Him to touch Him. And I just want to comment on this. Jesus
healed by touching people, and you have to understand that they were untouchable. The religious
establishment wouldn’t touch people like this, cursed people, ceremonially unclean,
unsynagogued people.
But Jesus just violated that conventional approach, and it’s really a wonderful thing to see this, if
you go back to chapter 1, because it characterized all His healing. Simon’s mother-in-law was
sick with a fever, and they spoke to Jesus about it.
So, “He came to her” - verse 31 – “He raised her up, taking her by the hand.” Down in verse 40,
“A leper comes to Jesus, falls on his knees before Him, and says, ‘If You’re willing, You can
make me clean.’
“Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I’m
willing; be clean.’”
You don’t touch people; you don’t touch lepers for sure. Jesus touched these people.
Chapter 3, verse 10, “He healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed
around Him in order to touch Him.” He became identified as somebody who healed by touch.
And people clamored to get close enough to Him for that touch.

94. When a large crowd was gathered around Him by the lake shore, verse 22 of chapter 5, one of
the synagogue officials named Jairus came up and fell at His feet and told Him about his little
daughter. And he said, “She’s at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her.”
Everybody knew that’s how He healed: He put His hands on you. It was about touch. He touches
you; you touch Him. And in the middle of that crowd, while Jairus is hoping Jesus will leave and
come, a woman appears who has a hemorrhage for 12 years, and she’s heard about Jesus – in
verse 27 – and she’s convinced that if she can just touch Him, she’ll get well verse 28 says. So,
she did, and she got well.
Chapter 6, verse 5, “He could do no miracle there” – in His own hometown because of their
unbelief – “except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” Verse 56 of
chapter 6, “Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in
the marketplaces, imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many
as touched it were being cured.”
There’s something very tender about this, something very compassionate. Jesus doesn’t keep His
distance; He’s not like the leaders of Israel. He touches people, and people touch Him. This is the
touchable Son of God. There’s something tender about that; there’s something compassionate
about that. That’s the heart of God. God is not indifferent; God is not transcendently indifferent.
God is not detached.
I love what it says in Hebrews, that He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. And His
being touched in the heart with compassion showed up in the incarnation with a physical touch.
That’s the personal touch that God wants to render in the life of every person who comes to Him.
He responds. They knew that’s how He healed. He responds, verse 23, “Taking the blind man by
the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands
on him, He asked him, ‘Do you see anything?’” He did what no self-respecting religious leader
would do, took a blind man by the hand. Realizing, of course, that blind people need to be led,
He brought him out of the village for isolation and for privacy.
And then He did what He did with the deaf man in chapter 7 and the blind man in John 9: He spit
on His eyes and laid His hands on him. Why does He do this? I don’t know the answer to that
other than to say this is a symbol of the transfer of the power from Him to the man. The touch,
the saliva coming out of His own mouth, touching the man, symbolized the transfer of power.
It’s not a bogus magic concoction; the power is in Christ. The power is in Christ. It flows from
Him to the eyes, from Him to the ears so that there can be sight and hearing.
Now, this is the one miracle in all the four gospels where Jesus asks the healed person a question.
He asks him a question. “Do you see anything?” This is the only two-stage miracle. That is to
say where Jesus, in two touches, heals a man. One time He put mud on a man’s eyes, and the
man had to go and wash it off, but it wasn’t until he washed it off that he could see. Here the man
sees in two stages. This is the only such miracle. And it’s the only one in which Jesus asks the
man to describe what has happened to him. So, at the end of verse 23, He says, “Do you see
anything?”
“And he looked up” – now, that’s a little misleading, he looked up, because you don’t know
whether he’s healed if you read, “He looked up,” because look up kind of means lift your head to
us. The actual verb anablepsas means – blepō is to see. “He lifted up to see” would be a better
way to translate it. He regained his sight. It is the exact same verb used in chapter 10, verses 51
and 52, to describe the healing of blind Bartimaeus – same verb. And in that case, it’s translated

95. regaining sight. So, what it really is saying is he could see. It’s the same verb used in John 9,
verses 11, 15, and 18 to describe the man born blind that Jesus healed. It’s the word that means
he regained is sight. He saw, compound verb. He looked up in the sense that he lifted up his eyes
and saw. And He says that, “I see men.” In the Greek it says, “I see the men.” The men. He knew
that Jesus was associated with the men, the apostles, the disciples who were with Him, who had
come across with Him in the boat, who were with Him for this period of training, who would go
to Judea with Him and who would become a part of the foundation of the church on the Day of
Pentecost, the apostles. “I see the men.”
And maybe in the conversation, going outside the village, he found out who the men were. “I see
the men. I see them like trees walking around.” What is that trying to say? They’re out of focus,
how about that? Now, if you’re blind, even if you were born blind, you basically know what a
person is like. Right? And you know that there’s a similarity between a tree and a person.
Persons are vertical, and so are trees. And his experience indicated to him that he could see the
men, but they were not distinguishable from the trees, which means there was not a clear focus.
It was indistinct imperfect sight.
Verse 25, “The He laid His hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and was restored, and
began to see everything clearly. Three words are used there; three verbs are used there to
describe what happened to this man after the second touch. He touched His eyes again. This is
the only place in the four gospels where Jesus did a healing in two touches. And every verb that
could – every compound verb that could be used to describe seeing is used in this passage –
about five of them. It’s all about sight from every aspect. And the two words for eyes are used.
“He spit on his eyes” – Mark uses one word. The second time, “He lays His hands on his eyes,”
he uses another word. The first word is ommata, the second is ophthalmous from which you get
ophthalmology. There’s a richness here. Every verb and every word for eye is used. And the
second touch brings a clinical healing in the most magnanimous way when it says, “And he
looked intently,” that’s diablepō, literally to see through, penetrating sight. The fog is gone, to
look through. To see accurately would be another way to understand it.
And then it says was restored, apokathistēmi, which means back to perfect vision. I guess 20/20
is perfect apokathistēmi; at least that’s how we categorize it. So, he instantaneously had 20/20 or
something even more wonderful than that, clearer than that. His eyesight was restored to what it
should be by the Creator Himself.
So, he sees accurately; he sees perfectly. And then there’s another verb, the last one, he began to
see everything clearly. We’ve seen anablepō, diablepō, and here’s emblepō, which means to fix
one’s eyes. That’s just another way to say he could focus his eyes perfectly and see – and the
word is “clearly,” and it actually means far away. His near vision was perfect, and his far vision
was perfect.
You say, “Why are you belaboring this?”
Because I want you to know that every healing Jesus ever did brought the person back to
absolute perfection. No partial healings. Not like the TV healers. This is perfect vision,
penetrating sight, 20/20 vision. He can see near clearly; he can see far off clearly. He has perfect
vision near and far, the power to focus, the power to concentrate, the power to distinguish. He
can see the smallest thing in his hand, and he can see clearly the thing that’s far away. And this
consistent kind of healing, no rehab, no aid: instant, total, complete, perfect vision in two steps.

96. Why the two steps? I don’t read anything there that explains it, do you? I’ll speculate a little later
as to why, maybe, but for now, let’s leave it at that. Verse 26, then, says, “He sent him home. He
said, ‘Don’t even enter the village.’” Go home. That’s the same thing He did with the deaf mute
back in chapter 7 in the Gentile area, but that man didn’t obey, and the people who were there
and saw the miracle didn’t obey, and they spread it everywhere. But this is very private, and we
can assume the man did what he was told. He sent him home. Everybody would know soon
enough, but not until Jesus and His disciples were out of town. Remember now, no more
miracles in Galilee. Don’t even enter the village.
This instruction is given by our Lord many times. Haven’t we seen it many, many times through
the Gospel of Mark? “Don’t tell anyone.” “Don’t tell anyone.” “Don’t tell anyone.” And we’ve
talked about the fact that He doesn’t want to draw crowds that just come for thrills and miracles.
He doesn’t want to escalate the conflict with the Pharisees who really become more and more
dangerous and threatening the more that He does publicly.
But there’s more than that here. Don’t go into the village and don’t tell anyone. There’s
something very special for Bethsaida in that, and we’ll talk about that in a few minutes. But
there’s also another element to this, and I’ve told you this before as well, Jesus did not want to be
known as simply a miracle worker. Right? He even told the disciples, “Don’t say anything,”
because the message isn’t going to be complete until the cross and the resurrection. Right? Until
the cross and the resurrection, there will continue to be these kinds of prohibitions. Well, that’s
the story.
Now finally, what is the significance of it? Saw the setting and the story. What is the significance
of it? Why does Mark – Mark alone – record this miracle? The last one in Galilee. For what
reason?
Well, I told you, this is the launch of the second act, the training of the Twelve. It’s a private
miracle. It’s for them. And there are a number of emphases that come together out of this
miracle. I’m going to see if I can help you to understand that. Number one, it is a demonstration
of His deity. It is a demonstration of His deity. We know that in the next section, verses 27 to 30,
immediately on the heels of this miracle, right after this miracle comes the testimony of Peter on
behalf of the disciples in its fullest account – it’s given in Matthew – “You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God.” They proclaim His deity and His messiahship. And it’s a uniform
affirmation of what they have begun to understand when He walked on water. And they said,
“Truly He’s the Son of God.” And now it all comes together. He is the Son of God; He is the
promised Messiah. “You’re the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That’s the great confession
that is the peak that establishes the Continental Divide in the Gospel of Mark. Nobody has said
that yet. That great confession comes here on the heels of this demonstration that He is God by
virtue of the power displayed in this miracle. It isn’t that they needed another miracle; it simply
is that this is the capstone miracle, the final one of all the thousands of miracles that evidenced
His deity, that led them under the power of God Himself to make this confession. It’s a
demonstration of His deity, as all miracles were.
Secondly, it’s an anticipation of His kingdom. It’s an anticipation of His kingdom. The disciples
were wondering, “What is happening to the kingdom? Look, where is the power? It’s not in our
hands.” They wanted to sit on the right hand and the left hand of Jesus in the kingdom. Where
was this kingdom? Where was the power? Where was the authority? Where was the glory?
Where was the fulfillment of all the promises to Abraham and to David? Where was the
salvation of Israel, the salvation of the nations? What is going on here?” It wasn’t coming to pass

97. the way they had been taught to assume it would when Messiah came. But they were nonetheless
getting a glimpse of the kingdom.
The psalmist put it this way, looking at the power of God to be displayed in the kingdom. “The
Lord” – Psalm 146:8 – “opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord raises up those who are bowed
down; the Lord loves the righteous.” Isaiah prophesied that that kind of sight given to the blind
would mark the kingdom of Messiah when He came. And in Isaiah 29:18, he says “In that day
the deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will
see.”
And again, Isaiah, in chapter 35, describing the millennial kingdom, talks about the fact that
there will come a day, verse 5, “When the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the
deaf will be unstopped. And the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout
for joy. And waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” And on he goes,
“A highway of holiness, a roadway” - and it’ll be called the Highway of Holiness – “it will be for
all those who are clean, and no fools will wander on that road.” This is a preview of the glory of
the kingdom when physical illnesses and diseases are diminished. And if somebody dies at the
age of a hundred, they die a baby. It’s not an Eden world, but it’s a pre-flood world, long life and
blessing. It’s coming back. “I am the King, here’s a preview of kingdom power.” So, you have
here an affirmation of the kingdom as well as a demonstration of deity.
Thirdly, you have a confirmation of judgment. You have a confirmation of judgment. Bethsaida
is not just any town; they have had high exposure to Jesus. And if you will remember this, in the
eleventh chapter of Matthew, “Jesus” - in verse 20 – “began to denounce the cities in which most
of His miracles were done” – the cities in which most of His miracles were done – “because they
didn’t repent.” So, He denounces them; here they are. “‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you,
Bethsaida!’” Bethsaida was a town in which most of His miracles were done.
Then He says this – what is the curse - “‘If the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which
occurred in you, Bethsaida, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment
than for you.’” And then He pronounces the same judgment on Capernaum, His headquarters for
His Galilean ministry. And that is repeated in Luke 10:13, the same thing. Bethsaida - home of
three apostles; scene of many, many, many miracles, including the feeding of the vast multitude;
high exposure to the Lord and His power – is cursed. And what is that curse? That at the great
white throne judgment, in the future, when all the ungodly come to the final tribunal – and they
will; all who have ever lived, all the ungodly will come to the final tribunal of the great white
throne judgment and God will judge them and send them to everlasting hell forever. That
judgment will be rendered individually to people and to places.
Tyre and Sidon? Idolatrous; pagan; Gentile; notoriously wicked; a seaport known for crime, vice,
prostitution, violence, profanity, greed, injustice; doomed by the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 25
and 47 of his prophecy; guilty of selling Jewish slaves according to Amos chapter 1, verse 9.
This was a vile, vile, vile area. Tyre and Sidon were two wicked cities.
On the other hand, there’s Bethsaida, Jewish, proud of its religious heritage, proud of its
religious loyalty, a synagogue town. It’s people who migrated to the temple to worship and
sacrifice. And Jesus says, “Hell will be hotter for the inhabitants of Bethsaida than it will be for
the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon.” Far worse. Far worse judgment falls on them.

98. Our Lord’s leaving Bethsaida. Our Lord’s denying the man the right to go back and tell the town
what had happened to him is to assure the disciples of the seriousness of this curse. Yes, they
need to understand grace; they need to understand compassion and the tenderness of Jesus and
the touch of Jesus. But His disciples need to understand judgment also. And because Bethsaida
did not repent when they had such exposure to Christ, they’ll have a far greater judgment.
What is the point of this miracle? To demonstrate deity, to anticipate the kingdom, to confirm
judgment. There’s a fourth turning point that comes here. Jesus now is leaving this place, and
this is the final exit, and it hasn’t gone well from the standpoint of the disciples. It hasn’t gone
well, and He’s now leaving. Will it get better? No.
The fourth thing I want you to notice is the declaration of death. They know He’s been rejected,
and they need to know what is coming next. So, from here, as He goes, in the final days in that
area, there’s a theme to His teaching. Go down to verse 31, chapter 8, “He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests
and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” He began to teach them about His
death and resurrection, His rejection, His terrible treatment, His execution, and His resurrection.
Chapter 9, verse 31, they’re going through Galilee, that final little private tour – verse 30 –
“Didn’t want anyone to know about it. He was teaching His disciples” – about what? – “telling
them, ‘The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men; they will kill Him; and when He
has been killed, He will rise three days later.’”
Chapter 10, verse 32, “The were on the road to Jerusalem” -by now – “Jesus walks ahead of
them. They’re amazed; they’re fearful. He took the Twelve aside and began to tell them what
was going to happen to Him, saying, ‘Behold, we’re going to Jerusalem; the Son of Man will be
delivered to the chief priests, the scribes; they’ll condemn Him to death and hand Him over to
the Gentiles. They’ll mock Him, spit on Him, scourge Him, kill Him; three days later He will
rise again.’” It’s just one lesson after another about His death and resurrection. The shadow of
the cross now falls on the little group. Time is running out, and Jesus speaks always of His death
and resurrection.
This surfaces a problem, and that is another issue that has to be seen here, and that’s the
elimination of ignorance. Now, the disciples are having a hard time understanding just about
everything. Back in chapter 8 - remember verses 17 and 18? - He’s trying to tell them about the
heresy and the danger of the heresy, or the leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians.
And all they can think about is lunch. And so, they’re fussing around about where the bread is.
And in verse 17, He says, “Don’t you see? Don’t you understand? Do you have a hardened
heart? Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear? Don’t you remember?” This
surfaces the fact that they need an awful lot of help. They need the elimination of their
ignorance.
They’ve got massive pockets of ignorance. “Yes, you’re the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Here we are; we’ve turned our back on the darkness; we’ve turned our back on Judaism; we’re
following You.” But boy, beyond that, they didn’t get much. And in fact, their ignorance
surfaces quickly when Jesus talks about His death.
Look at verse 31 of chapter 8, where I just read you He talks about His being killed. Verse 32,
“He was stating the matter plainly.” This is good. You know, the best thing people can ever say
to me as a preacher is, “That was clear.” Clear is good. Plain is good. It’s easy to be hard to
understand. You – sometimes you hear people speak, and you say, “Boy, he’s over my head.”

99. Look, it’s easy to be hard to understand. All it requires is you don’t know what you’re talking
about. And if you don’t know, nobody else is going to know. Okay? It’s hard to be clear because
you have to understand it yourself. Jesus was clear; there wasn’t anything left out. There was no
necessary misunderstanding here; it wasn’t on the part of the Teacher.
And to show you how hard it was for them to accept this, Peter pulls Him aside and begins to
rebuke Him. That’s pretty bold. “No, Lord.” So, they did hear what He said, and they refused to
accept it. Chapter 9, verse 31, I read, He says it. And other times. And He said this on, I’m sure,
regular – all these verbs are imperfect tense, which means ongoing, repeated. “‘The Son of Man
is going to be delivered into the hands of men, killed; killed and then rising.” Verse 32, “They
didn’t understand this statement, but they were afraid to ask Him.”
Why were they afraid to ask Him? I’ll tell you why. Because the last guy that brought it up got in
some serious trouble, because Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan!” So, that’ll shut your
class up real fast.
I remember, when I was in seminary, a guy asked a question of Dr. Charles Feinberg the first day
of class. Feinberg heard the question and said, “If you don’t have more intelligent questions than
that, don’t take up class time.” Oh, well, I don’t – I don’t think there was another question all
semester.
Nobody’s going to say anything after Peter just got leveled. So, now they don’t even want to deal
with it. In chapter 10, which I also read, the same thing in verse 33 He says, “I’m going to be
delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they’re going to put me to death and hand Me
to the Gentiles in mockery, spit, scourging, killing.”
Listen to this, “James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, ‘Teacher, we
want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.’” It’s like He didn’t say anything. They’ve gone
from getting it to ignoring it to shutting it out. “Let’s talk about where we’re going to be in the
kingdom. Forget that stuff.” I mean that’s so human, isn’t it, when you don’t want to hear it?
First you hear it and you don’t want to hear it. Then you ask a stupid question, and that clams
you up. And then you wind up not even hearing it. They need help, don’t they? They need the
elimination of ignorance. So, what’s going to happen from chapter 8, verse 27, after the great
confession, starting in verse 31, is instruction, instruction, instruction, but it comes so hard to
them. They can understand the part about divorce; they can understand the part about the
kingdom; they can understand a lot of the lessons that Jesus gives, but the one thing they really
have trouble with is He’s going to die. And they don’t get that all the way to His death, do they?
And on the road to Emmaus, Luke 24:45 to 47, they’re walking on the road to Emmaus, and
they’re moaning and groaning because He’s dead, and He shows up and takes them to the Old
Testament and shows them how He had to suffer and die and rise again. And He reveals Himself
to them. So, they were unwilling to let the light of the death of Christ and the resurrection of
Christ shine into their darkened minds even until after the events happened, although I am quite
certain that it was a topic of Jesus’ conversation every day for months and months and months
and months and months.
Even – Mark even ends his gospel – he ends it – the actual Gospel of Mark in the original ends in
16:8, and the last thing that you have in 16:8 is the confusion of these men over His death and
resurrection. Verse 8 ends this way, “They went out and fled from the tomb; trembling and
astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone; they were afraid.” That part of
it they just could not come to grips with: His death and His resurrection.

100. So, from now on, there’s going to be instruction, including His death and resurrection, which
was the hardest part for them to understand, though there were many other lessons that He taught
them. So, this miracle, then, marks a very, very important moment in the chronology of our
Lord’s life.
One other thing I want to say. I think this miracle serves as an illustration of spiritual sight. An
illustration of spiritual sight. This is an irresistible secondary approach to the text. Okay? I’m not
interpreting it; I’m simply going to use it as an illustration. You’ve already had the interpretation
of the text. But one question lingers in the back of my mind. Why this two-stage thing. Why two-
stage miracle. Why not touch the man, put the spit on the man, and he sees? Why two stages?
Could it be – I can’t be dogmatic because the text doesn’t say it, but it could be that this, the only
time you have a two-stage miracle is right at the crux of the point that the disciples saw some
things but didn’t see everything clearly? Why is that there, and only Mark has it, and it’s right
here? They believed. They had turned from the darkness and walked into the light. They came
out of darkness into light, out of death into life. But their ability to see comes in stages. Does
Mark place this here because that’s how our spiritual sight comes – in stages? This is an
unforgettable miracle. Is it also intended to be an unforgettable analogy? Like the man whose
sight came in stages, so the disciples’ spiritual sight comes in stages, gradually, more and more.
At first it’s out of focus. And finally and eventually, after the cross and after the resurrection, it
becomes crystal clear, and they see it perfectly.
One writer says, “Like the blind men, the disciples who have eyes but fail to see, the disciples
have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear, their ability to see both physically and
spiritually,” he says, “is a gift of God, not of human ability. There’s no hint that as his faith grew,
his healing progressed. His healing from failed sight to partial sight to complete sight came
solely from the repeated touch of Jesus.”
Isn’t that how it happens to us? We start with a little bit of sight, a little more, and a little more,
till we come to, one day, full sight. And this is the work of God, through our Lord, on His – on
behalf of His Holy Spirit.
Father, thank You for the illustration of this, but help us to understand, wherever we are on the
journey - from not understanding, to misunderstanding, to perfect understanding - is a path that
You must provide.
Your Word is the Light; Your Word is the path. Your Word expands our vision. Our vision is
imperfect and blurred. Like the disciples, certainly it would be imperfect and blurred if we didn’t
understand the meaning of the cross and the resurrection. No one can see clearly until they’ve
seen perfectly the cross and the resurrection; then everything is clear.
Thank You for bringing us to the full understanding of who You are, the full understanding of
Your life, Your miracles, Your teaching, and then, even more importantly, the full understanding
of the cross and the resurrection in which we understand everything.
And then, Lord, after that, a greater understanding comes to us as we embrace more of the glory
of Your Word, taking us ever deeper and wider into the realm of light. Thank You for Your truth
even this morning, in Christ’s name, amen.

101. A. MACLAREN
THE GRADUAL HEALING OF THE BLIND MAN
‘And Jesus cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to
touch him. 23. And 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 upon Him, He asked him if he saw ought. 24. And he
looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25. After that He put His hands again upon his
eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.’—Mark viii. 22-
25.
This miracle, which is only recorded by the Evangelist Mark, has about it several very peculiar
features. Some of these it shares with one other of our Lord’s miracles, which also is found only
in this Gospel, and which occurred nearly about the same time—that miracle of healing the deaf
and dumb man recorded in the previous chapter. Both of them have these points in common: that
our Lord takes the sufferer apart and works His miracle in privacy; that in both there is an
abundant use of the same singular means—our Lord’s touch and the saliva upon His finger; and
that in both there is the urgent injunction of entire secrecy laid upon the recipient of the benefit.
But this miracle had another peculiarity in which it stands absolutely alone, and that is that the
work is done in stages; that the power which at other times has but to speak and it is done, here
seems to labour, and the cure comes slowly; that in the middle Christ pauses, and, like a
physician trying the experiment of a drug, asks the patient if any effect is produced, and, getting
the answer that some mitigation is realised, repeats the application, and perfect recovery is the
result.
Now, how unlike that is to all the rest of Christ’s miraculous working we do not need to point
out; but the question may arise, What is the meaning, and what the reason, and what the lessons
of this unique and anomalous form of miraculous working? It is to that question that I wish to
turn now; for I think that the answer will open up to us some very precious things in regard to
that great Lord, the revelation of whose heart and character is the inmost and the loftiest meaning
of both His words and His works.
I take these three points of peculiarity to which I have referred: the privacy, the strange and
abundant use of means veiling the miraculous power, and the gradual, slow nature of the cure. I
see in them these three things: Christ isolating the man that He would heal; Christ stooping to the
sense-bound nature by using outward means; and Christ making His power work slowly, to keep
abreast of the man’s slow faith.
I. First, then, here we have Christ isolating the man whom He wanted to heal.
Now, there may have been something about our Lord’s circumstances and purposes at the time
of this miracle which accounted for the great urgency with which at this period He impressed
secrecy upon all around Him. What that was it is not necessary for us to inquire here, but this is
worth noticing, that in obedience to this wish, on His own part, for privacy at the time, He covers
over with a veil His miraculous working, and does it quietly, as one might almost say, in a
corner. He never sought to display His miraculous working; here He absolutely tries to hide it.
That fact of Christ’s taking pains to conceal His miracle carries in it two great truths—first,

102. about the purpose and nature of miracles in general, and second, about His character—as to each
of which a few words may be said.
This fact, of a miracle done in intended secrecy, and shrouded in deep darkness, suggests to us
the true point of view from which to look at the whole subject of miracles.
People say they were meant to be attestations of His divine mission. Yes, no doubt that is true
partially; but that was never the sole nor even the main purpose for which they were wrought;
and when any one asked Jesus Christ to work a miracle for that purpose only, He rebuked the
desire and refused to gratify it. He wrought His miracles, not coldly, in order to witness to His
mission, but every one of them was the token, because it was the outcome, of His own
sympathetic heart brought into contact with human need. And instead of the miracles of Jesus
Christ being cold, logical proofs of His mission, they were all glowing with the earnestness of a
loving sympathy, and came from Him at sight of sorrow as naturally as rays beam out from the
sun.
Then, on the other hand, the same fact carries with it, too, a lesson about His character. Is not He
here doing what He tells us to do; ‘Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth’? He
dares not wrap His talent in a napkin, He would be unfaithful to His mission if He hid His light
under a bushel. All goodness ‘does good by stealth,’ even if it does not ‘blush to find it fame’—
and that universal mark of true benevolence marked His. He had to solve in His human life what
we have to solve, the problem of keeping the narrow path between ostentation of powers and
selfish concealment of faculty; and He solved it thus, ‘leaving us an example that we should
follow in His steps.’
But that is somewhat aside from the main purpose to which I intended to turn in these first
remarks. Christ did not invest the miracle with any of its peculiarities for His own sake only. All
that is singular about it, will, I think, find its best explanation in the condition and character of
the subject, the man on whom it was wrought. What sort of a man was he? Well, the narrative
does not tell us much, but if we use our historical imagination and our eyes we may learn
something about him. First he was a Gentile; the land in which the miracle was wrought was the
half-heathen country on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. In the second place, it was other
people that brought him; he did not come of his own accord. Then again, it is their prayer that is
mentioned, not his—he asked nothing.
You see him standing there hopeless, listless; not believing that this Jewish stranger is going to
do anything for him; with his impassive blind face glowing with no entreaty to reinforce his
companions’ prayers. And suppose he was a man of that sort, with no expectation of anything
from this Rabbi, how was Christ to get at him? It is of no use to speak to him. His eyes are shut,
so cannot see the sympathy beaming in His face. There is one thing possible—to lay hold of Him
by the hand; and the touch, gentle, loving, firm, says this at least: ‘Here is a man that has some
interest in me, and whether He can do anything or not for me, He is going to try something.’
Would not that kindle an expectation in him? And is it not in parable just exactly what Jesus
Christ does for the whole world? Is not that act of His by which He put out His hand and seized
the unbelieving limp hand of the blind man that hung by his side, the very same in principle as
that by which He ‘taketh hold of the seed of Abraham,’ and is made like to His brethren? Are not
the mystery of the Incarnation and the meaning of it wrapped up as in a germ in that little simple
incident, ‘He put out His hand and touched him’?

103. Is there not in it, too, a lesson for all you good-hearted Christian men and women, in all your
work? If you want to do anything for your afflicted brethren, there is only one way to do it-to
come down to their level and get hold of their hands, and then there is some chance of doing
them good. We must be content to take the hands of beggars if we are to make the blind to see.
And then, having thus drawn near to the man, and established in his heart some dim expectation
of something coming, He gently led him away out of the little village. I wonder no painter has
ever painted that, instead of repeating ad nauseam two or three scenes out of the Gospels. I
wonder none of them has ever seen what a parable it is—the Christ leading the blind man out
into solitude before He can say to him, ‘Behold!’ How, as they went, step by step, the poor blind
eyes not telling the man where they were going, or how far away he was being taken from his
friends, his conscious dependence upon this stranger would grow! How he would feel more and
more at each step, ‘I am at His mercy; what is He going to do with me?’ And how thus there
would be kindled in his heart some beginnings of an expectation, as well as some surrendering of
himself to Christ’s guidance! These two things, the expectation and the surrender, have in them,
at all events, some faint beginnings and rude germs of the highest faith, to lead up to which is the
purpose of all that Christ here does.
And is not that what He does for us all? Sometimes by sorrows, sometimes by sick-beds,
sometimes by shutting us out from chosen spheres of activity, sometimes by striking down the
dear ones at our sides, and leaving us lonely in the desert-is He not saying to us in a thousand
ways, ‘Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place’? As Israel was led into the wilderness that
God might ‘speak to her heart,’ so often Christ draws us aside, if not by outward providences
such as these, yet by awaking in us the solemn sense of personal responsibility and making us
feel our solitude, that He may lead us to feel His all-sufficient companionship.
Ah! brethren, here is a lesson from all this—if you wish Jesus Christ to give you His highest gifts
and to reveal to you His fairest beauty, you must be alone with Him. He loves to deal with single
souls. Our lives, many of them, can never be outwardly alone. We are jammed up against one
another in such a fashion, and the hurry and pressure of city life is so great with us all, that it is
often impossible for us to secure outward secrecy and solitude. But a man maybe alone in a
crowd; the heart may be gathered up into itself, and there may be a still atmosphere round about
us in the shop and in the market and amongst the busy ways of men, in which we and Christ shall
be alone together. Unless there be, I do not think any of us will see the King in His beauty or the
far-off land. ‘I was left alone, and I saw this great vision,’ is the law for all true beholding.
So, dear brethren, try to feel how awful this earthly life of ours is in its necessary solitude; that
each of us by himself must shape out his own destiny, and make his own character; that every
unit of the swarms upon our streets is a unit that has to face the solemn facts of life for and by
itself; that alone we live, that alone we shall die; that alone we shall have to give account of
ourselves before God, and in the solitude let the hand of your heart feel for His hand that is
stretched out to grasp yours, and listen to Him saying, ‘Lo! I am with you always, even to the
end of the world.’ There was no dreariness in the solitude when it was Christ that ‘took the blind
man by the hand and led him out of the city.’
II. We have Christ stooping to a sense-bound nature by the use of material helps.
No doubt there was something in the man, as I have said, which made it advisable that these
methods should be adopted. If he were the sort of person that I have described, slow of faith, not
much caring about the possibility of cure, and not having much hope that any cure would come

104. to pass—then we can see the fitness of the means adopted: the hand laid upon the eyes, the
finger, possibly moistened with saliva, touching the ball, the pausing to question, the repeated
application. These make a ladder by which his hope and confidence might climb to the
apprehension of the blessing. And that points to a general principle of the divine dealings. God
stoops to a feeble faith, and gives to it outward things by which it may rise to an apprehension of
spiritual realities.
Is not that the meaning of the whole complicated system of Old Testament revelation? Is not that
the meaning of the altars, and priests, and sacrifices, and the old cumbrous apparatus of the
Mosaic law? Was it not all a picture-book in which the infant eyes of the race might see in a
material form deep spiritual realities? Was not that the meaning and explanation of our Lord’s
parabolic teaching? He veils spiritual truth in common things that He may reveal it by common
things—taking fishermen’s boats, their nets, a sower’s basket, a baker’s dough, and many
another homely article, and finding in them the emblems of the loftiest truth.
Is not that the meaning of His own Incarnation? It is of no use to talk to men about God—let
them see Him; no use to preach about principles—give them the facts of His life. Revelation
does not consist in the setting forth of certain propositions about God, but in the exhibition of the
acts of God in a human life.
‘And so the Word had breath, and wrought
With human hands the creed of creeds.’
And still further, may we not say that this is the inmost meaning and purpose of the whole frame
of the material universe? It exists in order that, as a parable and a symbol, it may proclaim the
things that are unseen and eternal. Its depths and heights, its splendours and its energies are all in
order that through them spirits may climb to the apprehension of the ‘King, eternal, immortal,
invisible,’ and the realities of His spiritual kingdom.
So in regard to all the externals of Christianity, forms of worship, ordinances, and so on—all
these, in like manner, are provided in condescension to our weakness, in order that by them we
may be lifted above themselves; for the purpose of the Temple is to prepare for the time and the
place where the seer ‘saw no temple therein.’ They are but the cups that carry the wine, the
flowers whose chalices bear the honey, the ladders by which the soul may climb to God Himself,
the rafts upon which the precious treasure may be floated into our hearts.
If Christ’s touch and Christ’s saliva healed, it was not because of anything in them; but because
He willed it so; and He Himself is the source of all the healing energy. Therefore, let us keep
these externals in their proper place of subordination, and remember that in Him, not in them,
lies the healing power; and that even Christ’s touch may become the object of superstitious
regard, as it was when that poor woman came through the crowd to lay her finger on the hem of
His garment, thinking that she could bear away a surreptitious blessing without the conscious
outgoing of His power. He healed her because there was a spark of faith in her superstition, but
she had to I earn that it was not the hem of the garment but the loving will of Christ that cured, in
order that the dross of superstitious reliance on the outward vehicle might be melted away, and
the pure gold of faith in His love and power might remain.
III. Lastly, we have Christ accommodating the pace of His power to the slowness of the man’s
faith.

105. The whole story, as I have said, is unique, and especially this part of it—‘He put His hands upon
him, and asked him if he saw aught.’ One might have expected an answer with a little more
gratitude in it, with a little more wonder in it, with a little more emotion in it. Instead of these it
is almost surly, or at any rate strangely reticent-a matter-of-fact answer to the question, and there
an end. As our Revised Version reads it better: ‘I see men, for I behold them as trees walking.’
Curiously accurate! A dim glimmer had come into the eye, but there is not yet distinctness of
outline nor sense of magnitude, which must be acquired by practice. The eye has not yet been
educated, and it was only because these blurred figures were in motion that he knew they were
not trees. ‘After that He put His hands upon his eyes and made him look up,’ or, as the Revised
Version has it with a better reading, ‘and he looked steadfastly,’ with an eager straining of the
new faculty to make sure that he had got it, and to test its limits and its perfection. ‘And he was
restored and saw all things clearly.’
Now I take it that the worthiest view of that strangely protracted process, broken up into two
halves by the question that is dropped into the middle, is this, that it was determined by the
man’s faith, and was meant to increase it. He was healed slowly because he believed slowly. His
faith was a condition of his cure, and the measure of it determined the measure of the restoration;
and the rate of the growth of his faith settled the rate of the perfecting of Christ’s work on him.
As a rule, faith in His power to heal was a condition of Christ’s healing, and that mainly because
our Lord would rather make men believing than sound of body. They often wanted only the
outward miracle, but He wanted to make it the means of insinuating a better healing into their
spirits. And so, not that there was any necessary connection between their faith and the exercise
of His miraculous power, but in order that He might bless them with His best gifts, He usually
worked on the principle ‘According to your faith be it unto you.’ And here, as a nurse or a
mother with her child might do, He keeps step with the little steps, and goes slowly because the
man goes slowly.
Now, both the gradual process of illumination and the rate of that process as determined by faith,
are true for us. How dim and partial a glimmer of light comes to many a soul at the outset of the
Christian life! How little a new convert knows about God and self and the starry truths of His
great revelation! Christian progress does not consist in seeing new things, but in seeing the old
things more clearly: the same Christ, the same Cross, only more distinctly and deeply
apprehended, and more closely incorporated into my very being. We do not grow away from
Him, but we grow into knowledge of Him. The first lesson that we get is the last lesson that we
shall learn, and He is the ‘Alpha’ at the beginning, and the ‘Omega’ at the end of that alphabet,
the letters of which make up our knowledge for earth and heaven.
But then let me remind you that just in the measure in which you expect blessing of any kind,
illumination and purifying and help of all sorts from Jesus Christ, just in that measure will you
get it. You can limit the working of Almighty power, and can determine the rate at which it shall
work on you. God fills the water-pots ‘to the brim,’ but not beyond the brim; and if, like the
woman in the Old Testament story, we stop bringing vessels, the oil will stop flowing. It is an
awful thing to think that we have the power, as it were, to turn a stopcock, and so increase or
diminish, or cut off altogether, the supply of God’s mercy and Christ’s healing and cleansing
love in our hearts. You will get as much of God as you want and no more. The measure of your
desire is the measure of your capacity, and the measure of your capacity is the measure of God’s
gift. ‘Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it!’ And if your faith is heavily shod and steps slowly,

106. His power and His grace will step slowly along with it, keeping rank and step. ‘According to
your faith shall it be unto you.’
Ah! dear friends, ‘Ye are not straitened in Me, ye are straitened in yourselves.’ Desire Him to
help and bless you, and He will do it. Expect Him to do it, and He will do it. Go to Him like the
other blind man and say to Him—‘Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me, that I may
receive my sight,’ and He will lay His hand upon you, and at any rate a glimmer will come,
which will grow in the measure of your humble, confident desire, until at last He takes you by
the hand and leads you out of this poor little village of a world and lays His finger for a brief
moment of blindness upon your eyes and asks you if you see aught. Then you will look up, and
the first face that you will behold will be His, whom you saw ‘as through a glass darkly’ with
your dim eyes in this twilight world.
May that be your experience and mine, through His mercy!
DON FORTNER
“He saw every man clearly.”
Text: Mark 8:22-26
Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Subject: The Gradual Healing of the Blind Man
Date: Sunday Morning — October 23, 2005
Tape # Y-79a
Introduction:
I want us to look at Mark 8: 22-26. Four or five
years ago, Bro. Rex Bartley read this passage to
us and made a few brief comments. They struck
me, at the time, as tremendously insightful and
instructive. So I wrote them down, hoping the
Lord might give me a message from this text. I
have no idea how many times I have read these
five verses, rolling over Bro. Rex’s comments
in my mind since that night. Now, I believe, I
have a message from our God for you. May
God the Holy Spirit enable me to deliver it and
enable you to hear it, for the glory of Christ and
the everlasting good of your souls.
Mark 8: 22-26 records one of our Savior’s
miracles that is recorded by none of the other
Evangelists. Mark alone was inspired to tell us
about the healing of this blind man at Bethsaida.

107. None of our Lord’s miracles were accidental or
mere representations of his supernatural power
over physical things. Every miracle performed
by the Master was designed to teach us spiritual,
gospel truths, particularly truths about the
workings of his grace in his elect. On this
occasion, we see a blind man who was healed
gradually, by degrees. This is the only time in
the New Testament that happened. So, we might
properly expect that that is, in itself, highly
significant and instructive.
(Mark 8:22-26) “And he cometh to Bethsaida;
and they bring a blind man unto him, and
besought him to touch him. (23) And 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 upon him, he asked him if he saw
ought. (24) And he looked up, and said, I see
men as trees, walking. (25) After that he put his
hands again upon his eyes, and made him look
up: and he was restored, and saw every man
clearly. (26) And he sent him away to his house,
saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to
any in the town.”
Proposition: The healing of this blind man is a
picture of the way God saves chosen, redeemed
sinners by the almighty power and grace of his
Holy Spirit.
Keep your Bibles open on your laps and follow
the account here given by Mark of this
remarkable event. I pray that as our Lord Jesus
took this poor blind man by the hand he will
take you by his hand and lead you to himself,
giving you light, and grace, and life by his
almighty power.
Brought by Friends
Verse 22. “And he cometh to Bethsaida.” —
Bethsaida was a fishing village, the home of
Andrew, Peter, and Philip (John 1:44). The
Lord Jesus came here on an errand of mercy. In
verse 13, we read that our Savior left the
Pharisees. What solemn words we read there,
“And he left them!” Having left them in
judgment, he came to Bethsaida on an errand of
mercy, seeking one of his lost sheep for whom

108. the “time of love had come,” a poor blind man
who must now receive his sight. — “And they
bring a blind man unto him, and besought him
to touch him.” — Here is a blind man brought
to the Lord Jesus Christ by his friends. Mark
tells us three simple, but very important and
instructive things in this verse.
1. This man was blind.
In that fact, he is representative of all men in
their natural, unregenerate state. Whether
religious or irreligious, educated or uneducated,
all human beings are spiritually blind. This poor
man did not have so much as one faint,
glimmering ray of light until the Lord Jesus
touched him. That is exactly the case all men
naturally. It is not that there is a lack of light,
but a lack of sight.
(Romans 3:11) “There is none that
understandeth, there is none that seeketh after
God.”
(1 Corinthians 2:14) “But the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he
know them, because they are spiritually
discerned.”
This poor soul did not have the least
glimmering of any thing, until he was touched
by Christ. So it is with every man by nature.
You who are without Christ, who alone is Light,
live in darkness. You have no sight. You cannot
see yourself. You cannot see the kingdom of
God, or the things of God. You are blind.
· You are poor, miserable, wretched, and naked.
But you cannot see it, because you are blind.
· The Son of God stands before you. But you
cannot see him, because you are blind.
· God’s salvation is displayed before your eyes.
But you cannot see it, because having eyes, you
see not. You are blind.
2. This poor blind man’s friends brought him
to the Master.
We are not told that this blind man believed
anything or expected anything from the Lord at

109. all. He seems to have come to the place where
the Master was simply because his friends
persuaded him to do so. What a blessed man he
was to have such friends!
· He did not know Christ, but his friends did.
· He did not believe Christ, but his friends did.
· He would never have come to Christ, but his
friends brought him.
3. Having done all that they could do, this
blind man’s friends “besought the Lord Jesus
to touch him.”
They could not heal him, but they knew Christ
could. This blind man, it appears, did not have
sense enough to pray for himself. So his friends
prayed for him.
· Blessed is the man who has such friends!
· Blessed is the man who is such a friend!
Divine Separation
Now, read verse 23. Here, we see our Savior
performing his operation of grace upon this man
in a most unusual way. We have no other
picture like this in all the Word of God. He
performs his work gradually and in private.
Surely this is intended to teach us some things
we need to learn and remember. This is what
the Son of God does for sinners in the saving
operations of his grace, when he turns them
from darkness to light.
(Mark 8:23) “And 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 upon
him, he asked him if he saw ought.”
First, the Mastertook him by the hand. That
was in itself an act of great condescension. But
here is a far greater act of condescension. One
day the Lord Jesus took me by the hand! He
took me in his hand as my Surety in old
eternity. Taking me in his hand, he separated
me from all the rest of the human race by
sovereign election and particular redemption.
Then, at the appointed time of his love, the God
of all grace stooped to take me by the hand in

110. effectual calling. And I am here to tell you
that…
· If he takes you into his hand, he will open
your blind eyes.
· If he takes you by the hand, he will never let
you go.
· If he takes you by the hand, you are perfectly
safe. No man can pluck you out of his hand.
· If he takes you by the hand in time, he took
you in his hand before time began.
When the Lord Jesus takes sinners by the hand,
he “becomes their guide and leader. A better,
and safer guide they cannot have. He brings
them by a way they know not, and leads them in
paths they had not known before; makes
darkness light before them, and crooked things
straight, and does not forsake them.” John Gill
Next, he led him out of the town. As Hosea
allured Gomer and brought her into the
wilderness, that he might speak comfortably to
her, so the Lord Jesus graciously brings the
chosen sinner away to himself alone, that he
might speak comfortably to his beloved in the
time of love.
Illustration: The Adulterous Woman — John 8
He led this poor blind man out of the town
because he was not interested in the town, but in
this one man. He did not want the applause of
the people of Bethsaida, but the heart of this
sinner. The people of Bethsaida, because of
their unbelief, were declared unworthy even to
witness the wondrous works of Christ (Matt.
11:21). So “he took the blind man by the hand,
and led him out of the town.”
When the Son of God saves his people, he calls
them out of the world. He bids us come unto
him without the camp.
· Outside The Camp Of Human Religion.
· Outside The Camp Of Worldly Ambition.
· Outside The Camp Of Sin’s Dominion.
· Outside The Camp Unto Him!

111. Oh, how I pray that he would do that for you
who yet do not know him! Can you imagine
how elated, how thrilled, how excited this
man’s friends were when they saw the Master
stretch out that arm which they knew was the
arm of omnipotence in mercy, love, and grace
to their friend?
A DespisedMeans
Now, watch this. — The next thing our Savior
did, if he had allowed anyone to see it, would
have been looked upon as an utterly
despicable, contemptible, and foolish thing.
— “And when he had spit on his eyes.”
Why did he do that? Many suggest that because
it was a common medical practice (Doctors
believed there was healing, medicinal power in
saliva!) our Lord used the common medical
practice of the day to heal the man, adding to it
his divine power. Needless to say, I do not
agree. The Son of God did not employ
falsehood to perform his work.
But our all-wise Savior did choose (and still
chooses) to use a terribly despicable means to
perform his work of grace upon this poor blind
man. — God has chosen the foolishness of
preaching to save his elect. The spit from the
Savior’s lips represents the eye salve of the
gospel with which the Son of God anoints the
eyes of the blind.
(Revelation 3:18) “I counsel thee to buy of me
gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich;
and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed,
and that the shame of thy nakedness do not
appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that
thou mayest see.”
An Omnipotent Touch
After spitting on the man’s eyes, the Lord Jesus
“put his hands upon him.” The touch of his
hand is the symbol of his omnipotent grace,
without which the means of grace, the
preaching of the gospel, is utterly useless.
A Sovereign Savior
We have before us a picture of our Lord’s

112. sovereignty in the exercise of his grace. God
will not be put in a box. He never limits himself
and cannot be limited by men. He heals some
gradually and others immediately, some with
spit and others without any spit. All saved
sinners trust the same Savior, experience the
same grace, and believe the same gospel. But
we do not all experience grace the same way.
This will come as a shock to some; but God
does not deal us all the same way. In fact, we
are told in the New Testament of at least five
blind men who were healed by our Savior
(Matt. 9:27-30; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43;
John 9:1-7). Three were healed by his mere
word, without his touch. One was healed by the
Savior spitting in his eyes and touching them.
And another was healed by our Savior spitting
on the ground, making cay, and anointing his
eyes with the clay. In all five cases, there were
certain things that were done differently.
Illustration: “Mudite Baptists
and Non-mudite Baptists”
Trees Walking
After he touched the blind man’s eyes, the
Savior asked him if he could see anything, “and
looked up, and said, I see men as trees,
walking” (v. 24).
He could see, but not very clearly. So it is with
us. When the Lord God saves a sinner, he is
immediately translated from darkness to light.
Every saved sinner sees the kingdom of God;
but we do not immediately see everything in the
kingdom of God.
When the Son of God, who came to give light to
this spiritually blind sinner, my experience of
his grace was much like that of the blind man in
our text. — First, the Savior spit in his eyes and
touched them. As a result of the Savior’s
gracious work, when he looked up he saw “men
as trees, walking.” That might not seem like
much to us, but I assure you it was much to this
man who had been blind! His sight was
imperfect and the objects obscure; but he could
see!

113. That is often the way it is with new born babes
in the family of God. They may not see much,
and may not see clearly, but they see. It should
be remembered, and remembered with great
thankfulness, that seeing beats the daylight out
of blindness! If you have any true spiritual
sight, any true spiritual knowledge, you have
great reason to lift your heart in praise to the
Son of God. Though you may not see as clearly
as you wish, if you see “men as trees, walking,”
it is beyond doubt evident that he has given you
eyes to see; and seeing eyes are the result of
him giving you life.
If I see the Lord Jesus Christ as my all-
sufficient and complete Savior, trusting him
alone as my Savior, I am born of God. Seeing is
but another word for faith in the Book of God.
And if I have faith in Christ, I have eternal life
in him. Seeing is the evidence of life. Seeing,
believing on the Son of God, I have a good
report from God himself that I am his (Heb.
11:1-2; 1 John 5:1).
(Hebrews 11:1-2) “Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen. (2) For by it the elders obtained a good
report.”
(1 John 5:1) “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is
the Christ is born of God: and every one that
loveth him that begat loveth him also that is
begotten of him.”
I long to see more of him, and to see him more
plainly; but the sight I now have is the blessed
gift of God to my soul. And the fact that I now
see begets in me a lively hope that he who has
begun his good work of grace in me will
perform it to perfection. Robert Hawker
wrote…
“The way to ascertain the reality of spiritual
life, is not unsimilar to what is done in doubtful
cases in respect to animal life. It is a sure sign
of life if the body feel, though the other
symptoms of health may be suspended. There is
a vast difference between deadness and death. If
a man cannot speak, yet is he conscious of what
others say? If he cannot make signs, yet can he

114. take food? If he cannot take food, doth he
move? If he doth not move, doth he breathe?
Still then there is life. And, in like manner, the
soul that is breathing after Jesus, though he doth
not move, hath life. He is looking up, like this
poor creature, and all he seeth is imperfect. But
Jesus will do by him as by this blind man. —
He will put his hand upon him again, and at
length he will make him to behold every object
clearly.”
When God first saved me, I knew whom I
believed; but I did not know much about him.
· I knew that the Lord Jesus Christ is my God
and Savior; but I didn’t know much about
eternal Sonship and the distinction of persons in
the Holy Trinity.
· I was convinced of my sin; but I didn’t know
the difference between iniquity, transgression,
and sin.
· I was convinced that Christ had brought in
everlasting righteousness for me, and that I had
no righteousness but him; but I knew nothing
about imputation and forensic righteousness.
· I was convinced that judgment was finished by
the judgment of my sin in Christ my Substitute;
but I didn’t know a thing about forensic
justification.
· I knew that it was God who had saved me, that
“Salvation is of the Lord;” but I didn’t know a
thing about the decrees of God.
If you had asked me about lapsarianism, I
would probably have said, “I don’t know
anything about Lapland.” — If someone had
asked me about election, I would most likely
have said, “I’m not old enough to vote.” — This
is what I am saying: I knew my Savior; but I
really knew very little about how he had saved
me. I could say with the blind man our Lord
healed in John 9, “Once I was blind, but now I
see.” Yet, I didn’t see much. All I saw was
“men as trees walking.”
I said all that to say this. — Let us never
“despise the day of small things,” with regard to
ourselves or others. We do not learn everything

115. at once. I didn’t and you didn’t.
But the picture of our Savior’s work does not
end here. He who touched me is the God of…
The Second Touch
(Mark 8:25) “After that he put his hands again
upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he
was restored, and saw every man clearly.”
When the Master touched this man’s eyes a
second time and made him look up, he was
restored and “saw every man clearly.”
(Proverbs 4:18) “But the path of the just is as
the shining light, that shineth more and more
unto the perfect day.”
So it is with us. Our shining light increases, and
shines more and more unto the perfect day. The
fact is, as long as we live in this world, the light
we have is far from perfect, even among those
who see the most and see most clearly. I am
sorry to have to tell you this, but there are some
things you do not yet know, and some things
you know about which you know very little. It
must be, if we are truthful, acknowledged that
we “see through a glass darkly.”
Now, let me remind you of what Rex told us
after reading this passage to us. He said, “When
Christ heals a sinner, restores his sight, and
makes him look up to him, he sees every man
clearly.” Then he named four specific men
spoken of in Holy Scripture, in whom every
man is included, and said, “When a sinner is
taught of God, he sees these four men clearly.”
The First Man
When a sinner is taught of God, he sees the first
man, Adam, clearly.
(1 Corinthians 15:45) “And so it is written, The
first man Adam was made a living soul; the last
Adam was made a quickening spirit.”
(Romans 5:12-14) “Wherefore, as by one man
sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and
so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned: (13) (For until the law sin was in the
world: but sin is not imputed when there is no

116. law. (14) Nevertheless death reigned from
Adam to Moses, even over them that had not
sinned after the similitude of Adam’s
transgression, who is the figure of him that was
to come.”
• A Representative Man
• A Fallen, Sinful Man
• A Spiritually Dead Man
• A Typical Man
The Second Man
The first man, Adam, was made in the image
and likeness of the second Man, the Lord Jesus
Christ.
• The God-man
• The Obedient Servant
• Our Divine Surety
• The Lord Our Righteousness
(1 Corinthians 15:45-49) “And so it is written,
The first man Adam was made a living soul; the
last Adam was made a quickening spirit. (46)
Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but
that which is natural; and afterward that which
is spiritual. (47) The first man is of the earth,
earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
(48) As is the earthy, such are they also that are
earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they
also that are heavenly. (49) And as we have
borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear
the image of the heavenly.”
(Romans 5:15-21) “But not as the offence, so
also is the free gift. For if through the offence of
one many be dead, much more the grace of
God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man,
Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. (16)
And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the
gift: for the judgment was by one to
condemnation, but the free gift is of many
offences unto justification. (17) For if by one
man’s offence death reigned by one; much more
they which receive abundance of grace and of
the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by
one, Jesus Christ.) (18) Therefore as by the

117. offence of one judgment came upon all men to
condemnation; even so by the righteousness of
one the free gift came upon all men unto
justification of life. (19) For as by one man’s
disobedience many were made sinners, so by
the obedience of one shall many be made
righteous. (20) Moreover the law entered, that
the offence might abound. But where sin
abounded, grace did much more abound: (21)
That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so
might grace reign through righteousness unto
eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
(1 Corinthians 1:30-31) “But of him are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us
wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption: (31) That, according as it is
written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the
Lord.”
(Colossians 2:9-10) “For in him dwelleth all the
fulness of the Godhead bodily. (10) And ye are
complete in him, which is the head of all
principality and power:”
Do you see the second Man clearly?
• In His Incarnation
• In His Obedience
• In His Death
• In His Resurrection — “Justified in the
Spirit!”
• In His Exaltation — Upon His Throne!
• At the Father’s Right Hand — Your
Advocate!
The Natural Man
Then, the Scriptures speak of the natural man,
that is man in his lost, ruined condition, without
Christ. All who are taught of God see the
natural man clearly.
(1 Corinthians 2:14) “The natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned.”
• Depraved

118. • Lost
• Condemned
The natural man is dead in trespasses and in
sins, without Christ, an alien from the
commonwealth of Israel, a stranger to the
covenant of promise, having no hope, without
God, in this perishing world.
The New Man
There is another man set before us in the Book
of God. And all who are taught of God see him
clearly, too. The Holy Spirit calls him “the new
man.”
(Ephesians 4:24) “And that ye put on the new
man, which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness.”
(Colossians 3:10) “And have put on the new
man, which is renewed in knowledge after the
image of him that created him:”
This new man is that holy thing in you called,
“Christ in you, the hope of glory,” that which is
“born of God,” “his seed” that remaineth in you,
“the spirit,” “the divine nature.” John tells us,
“he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
· The new man “created in righteousness and
true holiness.”
· The new man, “the spirit,” that is in you is at
war with the old man, the natural man, “the
flesh.”
· The new man delights in the law of God.
(Galatians 5:16-25) “This I say then, Walk in
the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the
flesh. (17) For the flesh lusteth against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these
are contrary the one to the other: so that ye
cannot do the things that ye would. (18) But if
ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
(19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
which are these; Adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness, (20) Idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies, (21) Envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like:

119. of the which I tell you before, as I have also told
you in time past, that they which do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (22) But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23)
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no
law. (24) And they that are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
(25) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in
the Spirit.”
· This new man is a new creature in Christ.
(2 Corinthians 5:17) “Therefore if any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become
new.”
· All who have been born of God are one new
man in Christ, one with him and one in him,
“the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”
(Ephesians 2:13-15) “But now in Christ Jesus
ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh
by the blood of Christ. (14) For he is our peace,
who hath made both one, and hath broken down
the middle wall of partition between us; (15)
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even
the law of commandments contained in
ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one
new man, so making peace.”
(Colossians 3:10-11) “And have put on the new
man, which is renewed in knowledge after the
image of him that created him: (11) Where there
is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor
uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor
free: but Christ is all, and in all.”
We see “every man clearly,” but not perfectly.
But, soon, that will change. Soon, we shall see
face to face and know, as we are known. How
clearly will all things be seen in the new
Jerusalem. There there will be no need of the
light of the sun or the moon of gospel
ordinances; but Christ, the Lamb will be the
everlasting light that City in which the nations
of them that are saved shall walk! There, we
shall see him face to face. Then, and not until
then, will we see all things perfectly.

120. Tell it Not
There is one more thing I want you to see in this
passage. It may seem strange, and it should. In
verse 26 the Lord Jesus Christ, our God who
“delighteth in mercy,” performs an act of
judgment. That, too, is his work; but it is “his
strange work.”
(Mark 8:26) “And he sent him away to his
house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell
it to any in the town.”
Our Savior told this man to go home. And he
specifically commanded him not to go back to
Bethsaida and not to tell anyone in that town
what the God of all grace had done for him.
Why?…
The Lord Jesus had done many wonderful
works among the inhabitants of Bethsaida; but
they did not believe him. Therefore, because
they would not hear him and would not believe
him, he left them to themselves! This is horrible
to consider; but it is his just judgment upon men
who will not receive his Word (Pro. 1:23-33).
• Israel After the Flesh
• The Nations
• Individual Churches — When he takes
away the candlestick, no man can set it
up.
What great wrath our God heaps upon those
who refuse to believe him! He orders his
servants to preach no more to them. He allows
none to tell them of the good news of life and
salvation by him. He even commands his
prophets not to pray for them. And even if they
try to do otherwise, they simply cannot.
As soon as our Lord had healed this man, he
took his disciples and left town (v. 27), but not
until he had healed him.
Application:
1. Let us bring our families and friends to the
Savior, praying that he might touch them
2. Has some caring friend brought you here,
hoping that the Lord God might touch you? Be

121. wise, cry out to him, “Pass me not, O blessed
Savior!”
3. You who have been blessed of God to be in
this place where God has placed his candlestick,
cherish it. Hear his Word and receive it gladly,
and pray that he may be pleased ever to shine
forth the light of the gospel in this place and
from this place into this dark, dark world, using
us to bring light to the blind for the glory of
Christ.
Amen
Question: "Why did Jesus spit for some of His miracles?"
Answer: Near Decapolis, some people brought Jesus a deaf man who could hardly talk. Jesus
healed the man, of course, but in an interesting manner: “Jesus put his fingers into the man’s
ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue” (Mark 7:33). Later, in the town of Bethsaida,
Jesus healed a blind man. Again, the miracle was preceded by spitting: “He . . . spit on the man’s
eyes and put his hands on him” (Mark 8:23). To heal a man born blind, Jesus “spit on the ground,
made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes” (John 9:6).
Certainly, Jesus, the divine Son of God, does not need physical props to work miracles. In many
cases, Jesus merely spoke, and healing followed (e.g., Matthew 15:28; Luke 17:12-14). Yet, in
three cases, Jesus used His spittle in the process of healing.
One possible reason for Jesus’ use of His saliva has to do with the beliefs of His contemporary
culture. Several Roman writers and Jewish rabbis considered saliva to be a valid treatment for
blindness. Since the people of that day had a high view of saliva’s healing properties, Jesus used
spit to communicate His intention to heal. Those being healed would have naturally interpreted
Jesus’ spitting as a sign that they would soon be cured.
The greater need of each of those healed was the need for increased faith. Jesus recognized this
spiritual need and offered a physical action as a means of raising their expectations and focusing
their faith on Himself. Thus, in Mark 8, the man’s spiritual sight was strengthened even as
physical sight was imparted to him.
It is possible that Jesus’ use of mud in John 9 was meant to parallel God’s original creation of
man: “The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7). In other
words, Jesus showed His power as the Creator by imitating the original creation of man: He used
the “dust of the ground” to give the man born blind new sight. The creative power of Jesus’
miracle was not lost on the man who was healed: “Since the world began it has been unheard of

122. that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He
could do nothing” (John 9:32-33, NKJV).
Jesus healed many people in His ministry; in fact, there was no sickness or infirmity that He
could not heal (Matthew 4:23). Significantly, the details of each miracle vary slightly. Jesus
never healed the same way twice. The variety of methods used by the Lord eliminates confidence
in any one technique or modus operandi. Healing is not the product of any talisman, amulet,
spell, or process. Healing comes from the power of God.
When Jesus healed, with or without spit, the response was usually something like this: “This
amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’” (Mark
2:12).
https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-spit.html
Studies in the GospelofMark Text Mark 8:22-33 Topic After Jesus spits in
his eyes, a blind man says he sees men like trees, walking Title "He Can't See
Their Foreheads forthe Trees" Introduction Every year in June, the Tree-
Mendus Fruit Farm in Eau Clair, Michigan, hosts the International Cherry
Pit-Spitting Championship. The current recordis 95 feet 6½ inches. Cricket-
spitting is part of the annual Bug Bowlat Purdue University in Indiana. The
record is 32 feet 5 inches. FranciscoTomas Gomezwonthe 4th International
Date and Olive Pit Spitting Competition in Elche, Spain. He spit the pit 118
inches. The Spanish city hosts what they callthe Golden Lungs competition
next to the Basilica ofSanta Maria, with the world's bestspitters in this
peculiar sport taking part.
of 1 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their Foreheads for the Trees"
Yes, it's considereda sport by enthusiasts. There is even a movement to
bring olive pit spitting to the Olympics. It is being led by The Associationof
the Friends of Olive Trees. Theywere denied by both Beijing and London. As
far as I candetermine, a guy in India holds the world record for spitting spit,
at 86 inches. Jesus was a spitter. There are three spit-tacular miracle
narratives in the Gospels:• In the Gospelof John, a blind man was healed
when Jesus "spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on
the man’s eyes” (John 9:6). • In Mark chapter seven, a deaf man with a speech

123. impediment was healedwhen "Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then
he spit and touched the man’s tongue” (v33). • In our text today, Jesus will
heal a blind man by "spit[ting] on his eyes, and laying His hands on him." The
unusual method of healing, coupledwith the fact that, here in our text, the
healing takes place in stages, clues us that something more is going on than the
miracle of a man receiving his sight. The healing is a kind of parable, for
Jesus'followers, aboutspiritual sight in general. I'll organize my thoughts
around the following two points: #1 Jesus Opens Blind Eyes & Gives You
Progressive Vision, and #2 Satan Blinds Open Eyes & Causes YouVision
Regression.
of 2 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their Foreheads for the Trees"
#1 Jesus Opens Blind Eyes & Gives You Progressive Vision(v22-30)All
through Scripture, physical blindness is a metaphor used to represent the
spiritual inability to see God’s truth. • A man who is physically blind cannot
see God’s visible revelation. He can’t see the trees, and the earth, and the sky.
• A man who is spiritually blind cannot see God’s invisible revelation: Love,
truth, holiness, forgiveness,eternallife, grace, joy, peace, etc. Once we are
saved, we are no longer spiritually blind; we can see. We forget, however,
that we do not see perfectly - not this side of Heaven. Thus the healing of the
blind man in two stages encourages us to follow hard after the Lord to receive
progressivelybetter spiritual sight. Mar 8:22 ThenHe came to Bethsaida;
and they brought a blind man to Him, and beggedHim to touch him. "They"
are never identified. We can't say if "they" were friends, or family, or both.
Maybe they were strangers who, upon seeing Jesus,knew that there was a
blind beggarwho could benefit from His healing touch. (I say "beggar,"even
though the text doesn't mention it, because thatwas the only professionfor
those with handicaps). The best thing, always and in every situation, that we
can do for a personis to somehow bring them to Jesus.
of 3 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their Foreheads for the Trees"
They "beggedHim to touch him." If the blind man was a beggar, these men
now put themselves in his place, begging Jesus. It's a mark of compassion.
They had a preconceivedidea of how Jesus ought to minister to the blind man.

124. So do we, and it cansometimes lead to disappointment. We might bring
someone to Jesus, sayby getting them to a service;but seeminglynothing
happens. Do your part and leave the work in the Lord's capable hands. Mar
8:23 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 askedhim if he
saw anything. It's been suggestedthat Jesus ledthe blind man out of town
because Bethsaida was one ofthree Jewish cities Jesus rebukedfor their
unbelief. You find His words againstthem in the Gospelof Matthew. He said,
for example, "Woe unto thee, Bethsaida!for if the mighty works, whichwere
done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long
ago in sackclothand ashes. ButI say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for
Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you" (Matthew 11).
Bethsaida was under judgment for their unbelief, but even in wrath, God
remembers mercy, and this blind man could be healed. Jesus "spit on his
eyes." Under the Law of Moses,anyone who was spit upon had to wash
themselves and their clothes and were consideredunclean until the evening
(Leviticus 15:8).
of 4 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their Foreheads for the Trees"
It is a greatinsult to spit on someone or to be spit upon. Jesus was spit upon
as a greatinsult before He was crucified. (Matthew 27:30). I have no final
solution to the "why" of Jesus spitting. It certainly wasn't medicinal, as some
suggest. It is fascinating to considerJesus'possible reaction. He was fully
God, but, during His time on the earth, He voluntarily set aside the
independent use of His deity, and was fully dependent upon His Father.
Spitting on this blind man must have seemed weird even to the Lord - but He
obeyed. I will say this about Jesus and spitting: It would take something ugly,
something shameful, for Jesus to be able to save us. He would have to be
ridiculed, beaten, spit upon, then nailed naked on the Cross, in order to save
us. The moment I think Jesus has done something ugly, in spitting on this
man, I am reminded He came to do something far uglier, for me. Christianity
is bloody. The Cross is offensive to nonbelievers, declaring them sinners
deserving of eternal conscious torment. Having spit on the blind man, and
having laid His hands on him, you're expecting him to be healed. Mar 8:24
And he lookedup and said, "I see men like trees, walking."

125. of 5 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their Foreheads for the Trees"
His description immediately reminds you of the Ents in Tolkien's The Lord of
the Rings. Although in that case you'd have to say you saw "trees like men,
walking." As as a side note, we infer from this that the blind man once had
sight, since he knew what "trees" lookedlike, and could distinguish "men"
from them. The "men" were most likely the twelve. The take-awayhere is
that Jesus beganto heal his blindness. Mar 8:25 Then He put His hands on
his eyes againand made him look up. And he was restoredand saw everyone
clearly. Fully restored, probably better than 20-20 vision. But in two stages.
We'll suggestwhy momentarily. First, let's finish the story. Mar 8:26 Then
He sent him awayto his house, saying, "Neithergo into the town, nor tell
anyone in the town." The formerly blind man must not have been from
Bethsaida. Jesusdidn't want him going there, and giving them a testimony,
not just because they had been judged, but so they would not judge the man.
The people in the towns Jesus rebukedwere far gone. They would have torn
down this man, who must have been so excited to have been healed. If you got
savedlater in life, did you get ridiculed by friends and family? Maybe you
handled it alright, or maybe it stumbled you. of 6 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't
See Their Foreheads forthe Trees"
Jesus wantedthis man to geta little grounded before he went up againstthe
scoffers. Why the progressive healing? I suggestedit was a kind of parable,
for Jesus'followers,aboutspiritual sight in general. Salvationcancertainly be
compared to having been blind, then receiving sight. We are, in fact, rescued
out from the kingdom of darkness, andput into the kingdom of light. • In
Acts 26:8 we read, "to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to
light and from the dominion of Satanto God, that they may receive
forgiveness ofsins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified
by faith in Me." • In Ephesians 5:8 we read, "you were formerly darkness, but
now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light." Our final salvation
is secure, by what Jesus has done; but it is not complete, and won't be until we
see Jesus face-to-face. Theologians put it like this: • We are once-for-all
justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Becauseofthe Cross, God
can acceptme just-as-if-I'd never sinned. • We are being sanctified, which
means setapart, day-by-day, as we walk with the Lord. He who beganthis

126. goodwork in us will be faithful to complete it. • We will one day be glorified,
when we shed this body of flesh for our eternal bodies. The apostle Johnput it
this way:
of 7 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their Foreheads for the Trees"
1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed
what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him,
for we shall see Him as He is. Since we are a work in progress, we do not have
perfect spiritual sight. The apostle Paul said, 1Co 13:12 For now we see in a
mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know
just as I also am known. Thus I believe it is accurate to say that Jesus gives us
progressive spiritual vision, until such time as we see Him face-toface. As you
age, you may need corrective lenses to see things accurately. Jesus,as He is
presentedin the Bible, functions as our spiritual corrective lenses. The
apostle Paul also said, 2Co 3:18 But we all... beholding as in a mirror the
glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to
glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. The apostle James calls the Word of
God our "mirror" (James 1:23-25). As we look into God’s mirror, we will be
changedinto the same image of the Lord. Interestingly, God’s mirror is not a
mirror that shows us what we look like as much as it shows us what Jesus
looks like. We want to see Jesus - His attributes, His character - in order to
understand the transformation God is trying to accomplishin us. of 8 16
Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their Foreheads forthe Trees"
Mar 8:27 Now Jesus andHis disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea
Philippi; and on the road He askedHis disciples, saying to them, "Who do
men say that I am?" This is an immediate application of the lessonfrom the
healing. Jesus may as wellhave asked, "Who do the spiritually blind saythat
I am?" We see their blindness in their suggestions:Mar 8:28 So they
answered, "Johnthe Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the
prophets." John was dead; Elijah was a forerunner, not the Messiah;"one of
the prophets" was goodcompany to be in, unless you were God come in the
flesh. You getthe same crazy answers from blind nonbelievers, and the cults,
about who Jesus is. The biblical evidence is clear. Jesus had proven Himself
to be the Messiahpromised to the Jews, the greaterSonof David, Who would

127. establishthe kingdom of Heaven on the earth. Staring at overwhelming
evidence, the people remained willfully blind to His identity. Mar 8:29 He
said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peteransweredand said to
Him, "You are the Christ." "Christ" means anointed one. It is the technical
term used of the promised Messiah. In another GospelJesus explains to Peter
that he receivedthis information by revelation from God. Peterreceived
spiritual sight; he was no longeramong those totally blind.
of 9 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their Foreheads for the Trees"
Mar 8:30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about
Him. Why the gag order? Probably for lots of reasons, but the one we will see
here, in the next set of verses, is that the disciples did not understand this idea
of progressive sight. Although they had declaredthe greattruth about Who
Jesus was, with Peteras their spokesman, they had a lot to learn about His
mission. Theydid not yet "see" Jesus going to the Cross and dying for our
sins. Soon enough, Jesus would give them the Great Commission, to go into
the entire world, preaching the Gospel. But not yet. Any message they
declaredabout Jesus, at this point, would be wrong, since they did not yet see
Him going to the Cross. The thing I want to emphasize, today, regarding our
progressive visionis this: Am I beholding Jesus in the mirror, and really
becoming a little more like Him eachday? That's God's simple plan until I
die or hear the trumpet signal the rapture. #2 SatanBlinds Open Eyes &
Causes You Vision Regression(v31-33)We've come to a pivotal moment in
the GospelofMark. For the first eight chapters, Jesus has been all about
ministering to the multitudes, telling them the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
He's preached, and taught, and performed a vast quantity of miracles. Those
miracles gave sufficient evidence that He was the Messiahpromised in the
JewishScriptures that we callthe Old Testament. of10 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He
Can't See Their Foreheads forthe Trees"
In verse eleven, the Pharisees demandedfrom Him a "signfrom Heaven," to
prove that He was the Messiah. Theywere not sincere. Theirrequest
represents the national rejectionof Jesus as their Messiah, and of the kingdom
He was offering to establish on the earth. From this point forward in the
Gospelof Mark, Jesus will concentrate onHis disciples. He will be getting

128. them ready, not for their positions in the kingdom, but for their persecutions
as they go about preaching the Gospelto establishHis church on the earth as
we await His SecondComing. Instead of Jesus ruling the earth from King
David's throne in Jerusalem, He says this: Mar 8:31 And He began to teach
them that the Sonof Man must suffer many things, and be rejectedby the
elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise
again. Talk about a spoiler alert. Nobodywas ready for that. The death of
Christ on the Cross, and His resurrectionfrom the dead, must always be at
the heart of our preaching and teaching. • Whateverelse we might sayabout
Jesus, we cannotoverlook His victory, on the Cross, overSatanand sin and
death. • We must not overlook the empty tomb, which guarantees us our own
resurrectionfrom the dead to a glorified body fit for eternity in Heaven. I like
that Jesus was so straightforward. I know that may sound silly; of course He
was straightforward. But, so often, when we are presenting hard truths, we
tend to sugarcoatthem a little. of 11 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their
Foreheads forthe Trees"
Jesus didn't say, "Guys, things aren't going to pan-out in Jerusalem, so I'm
going to a better place." No, He used the words "rejected," and"killed." We
should use plain, straightforwardwords, laced with compassion, when
presenting the Gospel. This was lessonnumber one for this new direction in
ministry. It was a very short lesson;class was outearly. Peterdecided to
have a little talk with Jesus. Mar8:32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter
took Him aside and beganto rebuke Him. Peter's eyes had been opened, and
he had declaredthat Jesus was the Christ - the Messiah. Ask yourself:Is this
any way to talk to the Messiah? If you really understood Who Jesus was,
would you be trying to correctHim about God's plan of salvation? It is
definitely a case ofpartial sight. Peter's eyes had been opened - but we would
say that he couldn't see the forrest for the trees, in that he could not perceive
what Jesus was talking about. While we are shaking our heads, and saying
things about Peterlike, "open mouth, insert foot," let me say this. We have a
tendency to repeat his error, and we do, in fact, repeat it, some of us more
than others. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying we don't acknowledgethe
Personand Work of Jesus, especiallyon the Cross. We do. What I am saying
is that we can ignore its implications for our lives. Look at verses thirty-four

129. and thirty-five: of 12 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their Foreheads forthe
Trees"
Mar 8:34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also,
He said to them, "Whoeverdesires to come after Me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, andfollow Me. Mar 8:35 Forwhoeverdesires to save
his life will lose it, but whoeverloses his life for My sake and the gospel's will
save it. These verses,and those that follow to the end of chapter eight, will be
our text next time we meet (Lord willing). For now we can say that anytime
and every time we do not "deny" ourselves and "take up [our] cross and
follow [Jesus]," we are rebuking Him. Anytime, and every time, we "desire to
save our lives," we are rebuking Jesus. Anytime, and every time, I sin, or
disobey God, or disagree with Him, I am rebuking Jesus. Let's say I'm looking
into the mirror of God's Word, beholding the beauty of the Lord. I come
across information that I should not, for example, pursue a divorce from my
spouse unless I have biblical grounds for it. But I say, "Lord, you want me to
be happy, don't you?", and I pursue the divorce. You've just takenthe Lord
aside, to rebuke Him. Maybe I understand from the Word I am not to be
committing sexualsin - which is a broad topic, but includes sex before
marriage, or sex with someone who is not my spouse after marriage, or
pornography, or homosexuality, and the like. But I say, "Lord, my situation
is unique, and, after all, you made me this way," and I go on committing
sexualsin. You are effectively taking the Lord aside and rebuking Him. of 13
16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their Foreheadsfor the Trees"
Those are extreme examples. Anytime, and every time, we resist the Lord, or
refuse to submit to Him, we are rebuking Him. Jesus has one, standard
response:Mar 8:33 But when He had turned around and lookedat His
disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Getbehind Me, Satan! For you are not
mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." Don't think that this
means Peterwas somehow possessedby Satan. He was not. His words would
have reminded Peter of the wilderness temptation, when Satantried to get
Jesus off-task. Jesus finally said, "Awaywith you, Satan" (Matthew 4:10). In
other words, whenever we rebuke Jesus, we are acting like Satan -
independently, by our ownwill, in opposition to the clearlystated will of God.
It's not company we want to keep, or ever be associatedwith. Peterwas not

130. being "mindful of the things of God, but of the things of men." In context,
this meant that Peterwas still expecting Jesus to establishthe kingdom of
Heaven on the earth. Maybe Peterthought Jesus was depressed, andneeded a
pep talk to keepgoing. Maybe he thought all this talk of dying was an
exaggerationof Jesus'discouragement. Forwhateverreason, Peterpromoted
his ownagenda, and his own preconceivedideas about Jesus.
of 14 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their Foreheads forthe Trees"
Peterhad a lot to learn. But learn it he would, as his vision grew
progressivelymore accurate throughout his lifetime - especiallyafterhe
receivedthe Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. He saw through a glass
dimly, but clearlyenough that, at the end of his life, he requested his
martyrdom be accomplishedby being crucified upside down, because he did
not think himself worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. If you are believer, your spiritual eyes have been opened, and
God is working in you to bring you to the place of perfect vision when you see
His face. You can still, however, regress, ratherthan make progress, in your
walk with the Lord. Perhaps another illustration that the Lord used would be
helpful. The church in Laodicea had definitely regressedin their relationship
with Jesus. Partof Jesus'letterto them reads, Rev3:17 ... you say, 'I am
rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' - and do not know that
you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked... Were the Laodiceans
nonbelievers? Maybe;undoubtedly some were. Some ofthe language and
description of them lends itself to their being spiritually dead in their
trespassesandsins. Other language in the letter from Jesus, however, points
to their being saved. Forexample, Jesus says He will discipline them the way
you discipline your own children.
of 15 16 Mark 8:22-31 "He Can't See Their Foreheads forthe Trees"
I have to conclude that at leastsome of them were saved, even though terribly
backslidden;or, as describedin our context today, blinded. The fix for a
believer's blindness is for Jesus to apply an eye salve that only He can make.
He says to the Laodiceans, Rev3:18 I counselyou to... anoint your eyes with
eye salve, that you may see. The One Who offers this spiritual eye salve is the

131. One Who used His spit, twice, to open blind eyes. His eye salve, His ointment,
is applied as we repent and turn back to Him. Having repented, we return to
beholding His beauty, and allow Him to transform us into His image, and not
some image of our own independent, and therefore selfish, thinking. Turn
your eyes upon Jesus.
http://media.calvaryhanford.com/mark/firstserve/19cantseeforeheads.pdf
BLINDED EYES
Mark 8:11-26
I can think of fewer things more tragic than to be blind. To live in a world of
darkness - never be able to read a bookor see a sunset or watch the waves breaking
at the crack of dawn. To never be able to watch a bird in flight or the smile of a
baby or the royal colors of a rose garden.
But perhaps a greater tragedy would be to have the ability to see without actually
seeing. To go through life with one’s eyes tightly shut, refusing to ever open them
and see the world. The Pharisees had adopted that sort of spiritual blindness. They
had witnessed the miracles of Jesus and had heard His teachings and had resolved
to deliberately close their eyes and stop their ears to the evidence that was so
clearly manifested before them.
Unable to deny His supernatural power, they attribute it to Satan. It is with this
spirit that they come to Jesus now.
A. THE BLINDNESS OF UNBELIEF.
The Pharisees cameout and began to arguewithHim,
seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him.
Sighingdeeplyin Hisspirit, He said, "Why does this
generation seek for a sign? TrulyI say to you, no sign
willbegiven to this generation." (Mark 8:11-12).
The Pharisees come andask Jesus to perform a miracle. But this is not a
sincere request. It is made in the midst of an argument. They are
making this requestin order to test Him. IfHe does not perform it, then

132. they will saythat He has demonstrated His inability. If He does perform
it, then they will say that He is receiving His power from Satan.
Jesus refuses to grant a sign. This will mark a turning point in His
ministry. Up to this time, there has been no shortage ofsigns. There
have been an abundance of all sorts of miracles. But that is over. There
will be very few public miracles performed from this time onward. And
none shall be performed in the presence ofthe Pharisees.
B. A CRYPTIC WARNING.
Leavingthem, He again embarked and wentawayto
the other side.
And they had forgotten to take bread, and did nothave
more than one loafin the boat withthem.
And He wasgiving orders to them, saying, "Watchout!
Bewareof the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of
Herod." (Mark 8:13-15).
This warning is unusual in that there were hardly two positions that
were further apart than Herod versus the Pharisees. The Pharisees
representedthe conservative party. They were nationalistic patriots.
They held to the Scriptures. They believed in angels and a literal
resurrection.
Herod Antipas was not even Jewish. His father was an Idumaean. His
mother was a Samaritan. He held his authority from the hated Romans.
But Jesus lumps them both together. What did they have in common?
What could be both the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod?
Leaven always carries with it the idea of INFLUENCE. You take
a little piece of leaven and place it in a lump of dough which you
are going to bake and that little piece influences the entire lump,
causing it to rise.
Both the Phariseesand Herod were parties of influence. They had
both seenand/or heard of Jesus. And they had come to some
conclusions regarding Jesus. Theseconclusions are given to us in
Mark’s account.
• The Pharisees hadgone on record in Mark 3:22 to say
that Jesus performed His miracles by the will and the
powerof Satan. They identified Him as a demon-
possessedman.

133. • Herod had gone on recordin Mark 6:14 to say that
Jesus was nothing more than the reincarnationof
John the Baptist. He did this out of a sense of
superstition and guilt over having murdered John in
the first place.
Both of these parties had made false assumptions about Jesus. And He warns
His disciples againstfollowing in their footsteps. Whenwe getto Mark 8:29
Jesus will ask His disciples as to their own assumption of His identity - "But
who do you say that I am?"
This is one of the most important questions you can ever be asked.
Who is Jesus? It is a life or death question. If you look at Him and
see only a Galilean rabbi or a goodman or a profound teacheror
a miracle-worker, then you have missed Him.
C. THE BLINDNESS OF THE DISCIPLES.
They began to discusswithone another the fact that
they had no bread.
And Jesus, awareof this, said to them, "Why do you
discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet
see or understand?Do you have a hardened heart?
"Havingeyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you
not hear? And do you not remember, 19 when I broke
the fiveloaves for the fivethousand, how manybaskets
full of broken pieces you picked up?"They said to Him,
"Twelve."
"When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how
manylargebasketsfull of broken pieces did you pick
up?" And they said to Him, "Seven."
And He wassaying to them, "Do you not yet
understand?"(Mark 8:16-21).
Instead of hearing and understanding the warning of Jesus, the disciples
focusedupon their lack of bread. Jesus was speaking ofthe spiritual.
They were looking only to the physical. He was speaking ofthe spiritual
leavenwhich characterizedunbelief. They saw only the leavenwhich is
used in a bakery. And this generates a discussionamong the disciples.
The discussionis overthe fact that they have only a single basketof

134. bread. Sevenbaskets had been collectedthe day before. Six had been
left behind.
Jesus asksa rhetorical question. He will ask it twice. "Do you not
yet understand?"Whatis it that they are supposedto be
understanding? What is His point?
It is that they are worried about bread and they have not yet come
to terms with the fact that the Creatorof all bread is in their
midst. They are worried about lunch and they have missed the
fact that the One who holds all things togetherby the word of His
poweris with them and able to provide for them.
He has already done it. They have seenHim do it. They saw Him
feed 5000 people and they picked up 12 baskets of leftovers. They
saw Him feed 4000 people and they pickedup 7 baskets of
leftovers. They have seenso many miracles that it is starting to get
monotonous. Yet with all of this, they have missed the central
point to which these miracles have been pointing.
Jesus asksthe double-barreled question: "Having eyes, do you not see?
And having ears, do you not hear? They have just seenHim heala deaf
man of his deafness. In the next paragraph, He will heal a blind man of
his blindness. Jesus is asking, "Are you also blind and deaf?"
Healing of
deaf man
(7:31-37)
Feeding
4000 bread
and fish
(8:1-10)
Unbelief of
Pharisees &
disciples -
theme of bread
(8:11-21)
Healing of
blind man
(8:22-26)
D. THE MIRACLE OF SIGHT.
And they cameto Bethsaida. And they brought a blind
man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him.
Takingthe blind man bythe hand, He brought him out
of the village;and after spitting on his eyes and laying
His handson him, He asked him, "Do you see
anything?"
And he looked up and said, "I see men, for I see them
liketrees, walking around."

135. Then again Helaid Hishandson his eyes; and he
looked intentlyand wasrestored, and began to see
everything clearly.
And He sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even
enter the village."(Mark 8:22-26).
Up to this point, we have been dealing with spiritual blindness. But now
we are given an accountof a man who was physically blind. The
juxtaposition of these two accounts is no accident. This healing of the
blind man will serve as an illustration of what Jesus must do to heal
spiritual blindness.
This particular healing is unique. It is the only time that we ever see
Jesus healing in stages.
First Stage Second Stage
Jesus:Spits onto the
man’s eyes and lays
hands upon him.
Jesus:Lays His hands
upon the man.
The Man: "I see men,
for I see them liketrees,
walkingaround."
The Man: Beganto see
everything clearly.
After the initial work of Jesus, the man looked up and instead of
darkness, he could actually make out images. They resembled trees. But
there was something wrong with these trees. They were walking. The
man had only a partial restorationof his vision. The miracle was not yet
completed.
Jesus againlaid His hands upon the man. And this time, the man’s
vision was completely restored.
This brings us to a question. Why did this healing happen in stages?
Couldn’t Jesus have healedthe man all at once? Yes, He could have.
But this healing is a parallel to the spiritual work which Jesus is going to
do in the lives of the disciples. And I think that is why the healing is
accomplishedin stages.
You see, your spiritual blindness is not completely removed in a
single instant. It is a gradual removal. When you first begin to see
Jesus for who and what He is, you do not immediately have all
knowledge concerning Him. Such knowledge is gained bit by bit.

136. Here a little, there a little. Line upon line and precept upon
precept.
Have you seenJesus? Have you recognizedHim as the Messiah?The
Christ? That is good. But don’t stop there. There is more to see. Keep
on looking at Jesus. And you will be amazed at how much more you
shall see.
http://www.angelfire.com/nt/theology/mk08-11.html
DON ROBINSON
The Second Touch of Christ
Mark 8:22-26
Read Text
Previously we have considered the various miracles of our Lord during His earthly ministry. One
clear truth is that He did nothing aimlessly, but always had a purpose and reason for His actions.
Whether we fully understand them or not, does not alter the fact that He does have a purpose in
what He does.
This morning's text deals with a miracle that only Mark records for us. In some ways it is similar
with other miracles that Jesus performed, but in other ways it is not. It is the first and only time
that we have recorded where a second touch from the Lord was used to bring about the healing.
I. Some Interesting Thoughts.
A. "They bring a blind man…"
1. People MUST be brought to Jesus.
2. It is the responsibility of believers to bring others to Christ.
3. We should not be satisfied to allow others to remain in blindness...we need to bring
them to the Light of the World.
4. Lost people are blind to their need.
(2 COR 4:4 KJV) IN WHOM THE GOD OF THIS WORLD HATH
BLINDED THE MINDS OF THEM WHICH BELIEVE NOT, LEST THE
LIGHT OF THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF CHRIST, WHO IS THE IMAGE
OF GOD, SHOULD SHINE UNTO THEM.
B. "… and besought Him to touch him."
1. Only the touch of the master's hand can take away that blindness.

137. 2. But there was a problem in their thinking.
3. They had a preconceived idea about how Jesus would heal him.
4. In doing so they were limiting Jesus to work in only the way that they had expected
Him to work.
5. We often make that same mistake.
C. "And he took…"
1. Jesus dealt with him one on one.
2. Jesus touched, but the man was not healed at the moment of one touch.
3. Imagine the scene of Jesus leading this blind man by the hand, until they had left
the city.
4. Why did they leave the city?
a. Perhaps it was to get away from all the distractions.
b. Perhaps it was because of the unbelief and hard-heartedness toward Jesus
that was displayed by this city.
(MAT 11:21 KJV) WOE UNTO THEE, CHORAZIN! WOE UNTO
THEE, BETHSAIDA! FOR IF THE MIGHTY WORKS, WHICH
WERE DONE IN YOU, HAD BEEN DONE IN TYRE AND SIDON,
THEY WOULD HAVE REPENTED LONG AGO IN SACKCLOTH
AND ASHES.
D. "...and when He had spit on his eyes..."
1. Not the same as in John 9:6 where He made clay to anoint the eyes of another blind
man.
2. Actually this is quite unorthodox...He had never done this before.
3. It is even a bit repulsive at first thought.
4. But, it was Jesus...and He did heal the man of his blindness.
E. "...He asked him if he saw aught."
1. Jesus asked him if he could see anything.
2. Why did Jesus ask this question? He knew the answer.
3. When God asks questions such as this it is ususally for the benefit of others.
4. He touched him again and the man saw clearly.
5. Why the second touch?
II. Some possible answers.
A. Salvation is not progressive.
1. Once a person exercises faith in the finished work of Christ for salvation, he is
saved.

138. (JOHN 3:36 KJV) HE THAT BELIEVETH ON THE SON HATH
EVERLASTING LIFE: AND HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT THE SON
SHALL NOTSEE LIFE; BUT THE WRATH OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM.
(JOHN 5:24 KJV) VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU, HE THAT
HEARETH MY WORD, AND BELIEVETH ON HIM THAT SENT ME,
HATH EVERLASTING LIFE, AND SHALL NOT COME INTO
CONDEMNATION; BUT IS PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE.
(ACTS 16:31 KJV) AND THEY SAID, BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED, AND THY HOUSE.
(ROM 10:13 KJV) FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME
OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.
2. The nobleman whose son was healed the moment he believed. (cf Jn. 5:46-53)
3. The thief on the cross. (Luke 23:43)
4. Jesus told Zaccheus, "This day is salvation come to this house…"
B. Only one touch is needed for restoration.
"FOR IF WE WOULD JUDGE OURSELVES, WE SHOULD NOT BE JUDGED."
(1 COR 11:31)
"IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US
OUR SINS, AND TO CLEANSE US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS." (1
JOHN 1:9)
1. Note the example of the prodigal son.
"AND HE AROSE, AND CAME TO HIS FATHER. BUT WHEN HE WAS
YET A GREAT WAY OFF, HIS FATHER SAW HIM, AND HAD
COMPASSION, AND RAN, AND FELL ON HIS NECK, AND KISSED
HIM." (LUKE 15:20)
2. No matter how many steps backward you have taken as a Christian, it is only
one step back to the Lord.
3. If you need to draw closer to the Lord today take the step of repentance and
come home.
C. Sometimes, believers need a second touch to bring them back to clear thinking.
1. The disciples did. (cf. Vs. 18)
2. They had forgotten the teaching of the Lord when He fed the multitudes.
3. These disciples needed to be told over and over (a second touch).
D. Sometimes the sinner needs a second touch to bring them to faith.
1. This man did.
2. He didn't come by himself, but was brought by friends. (maybe he didn't really
believe or understand?)
3. But once he got a glimpse, he believed!

139. 4. Some folks need to hear it again and again and again!
5. Salvation is by grace through faith...and some may need a second touch before they
will exercise faith in Him!
III. The Invitation.
A. Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ?
1. He gently touches our lives and brings conviction to cause us to come to Him.
2. He is not willing that any should perish.
3. Is He dealing with your heart today?
B. Christians, have you given up on that one who never seems to respond? Don't give
up...ask the Lord to touch them again.
Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae
Mark 8
Mark 7 Mark Mark 9
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Verses 23-25
DISCOURSE: 1431
THE BLIND MAN HEALED
Mark 8:23-25. And 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 upon him, he asked him if he saw aught. And he looked
up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and
made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
THIS miracle has many circumstances common to others. On other occasions our Lord
manifested similar condescension and compassion: on other occasions also he both shewed his
abhorrence of ostentation, and his displeasure at the obstinate unbelief of men, by performing his
miracles in private, and forbidding the persons who were cured to make them known. But the
gradual manuer in which he effected this cure is peculiar to this single miracle; we shall therefore
fix our attention more particularly on that, and deduce from it some profitable observations.
I. Persons may be under the hand of Christ, and yet have but very imperfect views of spiritual
things—]
[This man had experienced somewhat of the power and grace of Christ. Yet he could not
distinguish men from trees, except by their motion. Thus are many, of whom there is reason to
hope well, extremely dark and indistinct in their views. They know very little of their own
depravity, or of Christ’s excellency, or of the nature of the spiritual warfare. Thus the Apostles
themselves saw not the necessity of Christ’s death [Note: Matthew 16:22.], or the spiritual nature
of his kingdom [Note: Luke 9:54.]. Even after Christ’s resurrection they could not conceive for
what ends he was risen [Note: Acts 1:6.]. Nor, for several years after the day of Pentecost, did
they understand their entire freedom from the Mosaic law, or the purpose of God to make the
Gentiles partakers of his salvation [Note: Peter needed repeated visions to overcome his
prejudices; nor did any thing but a conviction of God’s particular interposition prevent the whole

142. college of Apostles from censuring Peter for preaching to Cornelius and his friends: Acts 10:28
and Acts 11:17-18.]. We may well expect therefore to find some amongst ourselves, who,
notwithstanding they are dear to Christ, still have “the veil in some measure upon their heart.”]
Nor should this at all appear strange unto us. For,
II. Though our Lord could heal our blindness in an instant, yet he chooses rather to do it by the
repeated use of the same means—
[Our Lord, if it had pleased him, could have healed the man without touching him at all; or have
cured him instantly by the first touch. He needed not, like Elisha, to repeat the use of the same
means, because he had not power in himself to render the first use of them effectual [Note: 2
Kings 4:33-35.]. But he saw fit to repeat the imposition of his hand in order to exercise the faith
and patience of the blind man. Thus could he instantaneously enlighten our minds. He who
commanded light to shine out of darkness, could with the same ease shine into our hearts with
meridian splendour [Note: 2 Corinthians 4:6.]. But this is not his usual mode of proceeding in
any part of his works. He perfected not the creation but in six successive days of labour. The
vegetable, the animal, and the rational creation rise to maturity by degrees. Thus in the new
creation of the soul he gradually informs and renews it. He makes use of his preached Gospel to
open the eyes of the blind. Inadequate as these means are (even as the mere touch of a finger) he
has appointed them for this end. He orders also the means to be continually used, as long as there
remains the smallest imperfection in our sight. And he is pleased to render them conducive to the
end proposed. He “leads us gradually into all truth [Note: John 16:13.],” and enables us at last to
comprehend the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of his unsearchable love [Note:
Ephesians 3:18-19.].]
However imperfect his work in us now is, it must afford us consolation to consider,
III. Wherever he has begun the good work, there is reason to hope that he will carry it on to
perfection—
[Never did our Lord leave one of his miracles imperfectly wrought. In the instance before us he
presently perfected the cure he had begun. Thus may we hope he will do with respect to the
illumination of our minds. If indeed, like Balaam, we be only illuminated, and not really
sanctified by the truth, we may justly expect to perish with a more aggravated condemnation
[Note: Numbers 24:3-4. Hebrews 6:4-6.]: but if we walk according to the light we have, that
light shall surely be increased, and all saving blessings be communicated with it [Note: 1 John
1:7]. Hence the Christian’s path is compared to the sun rising to its meridian height [Note:
Proverbs 4:18.]. We have none of us reason to doubt, but that Christ will thus perfect that which
concerneth us. He has promised to do so [Note: Psalms 138:8.]. On this ground St. Paul
expresses his confidence, that he will complete the good work wherever he has begun it [Note:
Philippians 1:6.].We too may be confident, provided our faith be tempered with a holy fear
[Note: Romans 11:20.]. We may well argue with Manoah’s wife, that he would not have
revealed such things unto us, if he had intended to destroy us [Note: Judges 13:23.]. We may
regard his smaller gifts as an earnest and pledge of greater; and may be assured, that he who has
been the Author of our faith will also be the Finisher of it [Note: Hebrews 12:2.].]
Surely this subject may well teach us,
1. Candour in respect to others—

143. [If a person have not very distinct views of divine truth, we are apt to undervalue him, as though
the “root of the matter were not in him.” But God honoured young Abijah because there was
some good thing in him towards the Lord his God.” And if God does “not despise the day of
small things,” should we? Is our brother “a babe? let us feed him with milk.” Is he “a lamb? let
us carry him in our bosom.” Many “a babe and suckling” in divine knowledge stands higher in
God’s estimation than those who value them selves as wise and prudent.]
2. Jealousy in reference to ourselves—
[If we have ever come to Christ aright, he has so far opened our eyes, that we are made to
possess some spiritual discernment. Let us ask ourselves therefore, ‘What do I see, which flesh
and blood could never have revealed unto me? — — — And am I desirous that my knowledge of
my own heart may be more deep, my views of Christ be more enlarged, and my experience of
the divine life in all its diversified operations be more manifested by its transforming efficacy
upon my soul?’ Dear brethren, we must “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ:” and if, “when for the time that we have been in the school of Christ we
ought to be teachers of others, we need ourselves to be taught what are the first principles of the
oracles of God,” we have reason to fear, that “the scales have never truly fallen from our eyes,”
but that a veil of darkness is yet upon our heart]
3. Thankfulness to God, if he have given us the smallest insight into divine truth—
[I would not disparage worldly knowledge: but the Apostle Paul, who had made attainments in it
beyond most, yet “counted it all but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our
Lord.” Yes indeed, a single ray of spiritual discernment is preferable to the meridian splendour
of human science; since that will transform the soul, which earthly knowledge never can; and
will save the soul, when the wise of this world shall be found to have prosecuted a mere
phantom, and to have wasted their lives in a sad fruitless course of laborious folly. As to human
sciences, they are not within the reach of all: but spiritual knowledge is: for God can open the
eyes of the poor as well as of the rich; yea rather, “the things which he has hid from the wise and
prudent, he reveals to babes,” that his power may be the more seen, and his name be the more
glorified. If then the day have begun to dawn on any of you, rejoice: and beg of God that “your
path may shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day
SEEING AND NOT SEEING, OR MEN AS TREES WALKING NO. 701
A SERMON DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 22, 1866, BYC.
H. SPURGEON,AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,
NEWINGTON.

144. “And he came to Bethsaida;and they bring a blind man unto him, and
besoughthim to touch him. And 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
upon him, he askedhim if he saw aught. And he lookedup, and said, I see
men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands againupon his eyes, and
made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.” Mark
8:22-25.
OUR Savior very frequently healed the sick by a touch, for He intended to
impress upon us the truth that the infirmities of fallen humanity can only be
removed by contactwith His own blessedhumanity. He had, however, other
lessons to teach, and therefore He adopted other methods of actionin healing
the sick. Moreover, itwas wise for other reasons to manifest variety in His
methods. Had our Lord castall His miracles in one mold men would have
attachedundue importance to the manner by which He wrought, and would
have superstitiously thought more of it than of the divine powerby which the
miracle was accomplished. Accordingly, our Masterpresents us with great
variety in the form of the miracles. Though they are always fraught with the
same goodness,and display the same wisdom and the same power, yet He is
careful to make eachone distinct from its fellow that we may behold the
manifest goodness ofGod, and may not imagine that the divine Savior is so
short of methods as to need to repeat Himself. It is the besetting sin of our
carnalnatures to stayin what is seenand to forgetthe unseen, hence the Lord
Jesus changes the outward modus operandi or manner of working, in order
that it may be clearthat He is not bound to any method of healing, and that
the outward operationis nothing in itself. He would have us understand that if
He chose to heal by the touch, He could also heal with a word, and if He cured
with a word, He could dispense even with the word and work by His mere
will, that a glance of His eye was as efficacious as a touch of His hand, and
that even without being visibly present, His invisible presence couldwork the
miracle while yet He was at a distance. In the present case our Savior
deviated from His accustomedpractice, notmerely in the method of healing
but also in the characterof the cure. In most of the Savior’s miracles the
person healedwas restoredat once. We read of the deaf and dumb man that

145. not only was his mouth opened, but what was more remarkable for one who
never had heard a sound before, he spoke plainly, receiving the gift of
language as wellas the power to make articulate sounds. In other cases the
fever left the patient at once, the leprosy was completely healedon the spot,
and the issue of blood was stayed, but here “the beloved physician” went more
leisurely to work, and only bestoweda part of the blessing at first, halting by
the way, and making His patient considerhow much was given, and how
much withheld, and then by a secondoperationperfecting the good work.
Perhaps our Lord’s action in this case was directednot only by the desire to
make eachmiracle distinct, lestmen should think that like a magician He had
but one mode of operating, but it may have been suggestedby the particular
form of the disease, andthe spiritual infirmity of which it is a type. Jesus
would scarcelyhave healed some sicknessesby degrees, it seemedneedful to
deal a decisive blow and end them. The casting out of a devil, for instance,
must be accomplishedentirely or else it is not accomplishedatall, and a leper
is a leper still if but a spot remains. It is possible, however, to heal
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blindness by degrees, to give some little glimmer at first and then afterwards
to pour upon the eyeballs the full light of day. Perhaps it may even be needful
in some cases to make the cure gradual, that the optic nerve may grow
accustomedto the light. As the eye is the emblem of the understanding, it is
very possible, nay, it is usual, to heal the human understanding by degrees.
The will must be changedat once, the affections must be turned instantly,
most of the powers of human nature must experience a distinct and complete
change, but the understanding may be enlightened by a long course of
illumination. The heart of stone cannot be gradually softened, but must
instantaneouslybe made into a heart of flesh, but this is not necessarywith the
understanding. The reasoning faculties may be gradually brought into proper
balance and order. The soul may receive at first but a slight perception of the

146. truth, and there it may restwith comparative safety, afterwards it may come
to apprehend more clearly the mind of the Spirit, and in that degree of light it
may abide without serious peril, although not without loss, it may be
describedas seeing, but not seeing afaroff, and then the ultimate restoration
of the understanding may be reservedto maturer experience. Probably the
spiritual sight will never be, in absolute perfectness,bestowedupon us till we
enter into the light for which the spiritual state is intended, namely, the glory
of that place where they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord
God gives them light. The miracle before us portrays the progressive healing
of a darkened understanding. The miracle cannotbe used as a picture of the
restorationof a willful sinner from the error of his way, or the turning of the
debauched and depraved from the filthiness of their lives, it is a picture of the
darkenedsoul gradually illuminated by the Holy Ghost, and brought by Jesus
Christ into the clearlight of His kingdom. This morning, feeling that there
are many half-enlightened souls present, I shall, by the Holy Spirit’s
assistance, picture the case, then we shall notice the means of cure, thirdly, we
shall stop awhile and considerthe hopeful stage, andthen conclude by a short
notice of the completion of the cure. I. First, we have TO PICTURE THE
CASE. It is one of a wonderfully common class nowadays, verycommon
certainly among the new additions to this congregation, forvery many are
coming to us who have been for the previous part of their lives spiritually
blind, having been mere formal churchgoers, orstiff outside religionists
among dissenters. Observe carefullythe case in hand. It is a personwith a
darkenedunderstanding. It is not a man who might be pictured by a person
possessedwith the devil. A man possessedwith the devil raves, rages, is
dangerous to society, must be bound with chains, watchedand guarded, for he
will rend himself and injure others, but this blind person is perfectly
harmless. He has no desire to injure others, and is not likely to be violent
towards himself. He is sober, steady, honest, kind, and his spiritual malady
may excite our pity but not our fear. If these unenlightened persons associate
with the Lord’s people they do not rave and rage againstthe saints, but
respectthem and love their company. They are not haters of the cross of
Christ, they are in their poor blind way even lovers of it. They are not
persecutors, revilers or scoffers, nordo they run desperatelyin the way of
wickedness, onthe contrary, although they cannotsee the things of God, yet

147. they feel their wayin the paths of morality in a very admirable manner, so
that in some respects they might even be examples to those who can see.
Furthermore, the case before us is not one of a person polluted with a
contagious disease,foul and loathsome like leprosy. The leper must be put
away, there must be a place reservedfor him, for he contaminates allthose
with whom he comes in contact. Not so with this blind man who comes to the
Savior. He is blind, but he does not make others blind. If he is in association
with other blind persons, he does not increase their blindness, nor if he be
brought into connectionwith those who cansee does he injure their sight in
any way, they, perhaps, might even derive some benefit from associationwith
him, for they are led to be thankful for the eyesightwhich they possesswhen
they mark the darkness in which he is so sorrowfully enveloped. It is not,
therefore, the case ofa personof a libidinous life or of a foul conversation, not
at all the case ofa man who would deprave your children, who would lead
your son or your daughter into sin.
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The unenlightened people of whom we speak are beloved in our families, and
very properly so, for they spread no injurious doctrines, and setno ill
examples, and even when they talk of spiritual things they make us pity them
because they know so little, and grateful to God to think that He has opened
our eyes to see the wondrous things of His Word. They are neither raving
haters of God nor yet foul livers, so as to do mischief to their race, nay, these
people are not even incapable in any respectexceptthe one organof the
mind’s eye, it is the understanding which is darkened, but in all other senses,
these people whom I am now picturing are hopeful if not healthy. They are
not altogetherdeaf, they hear the Gospelwith considerable pleasure and
earnestheed. It is true they do not clearly understand it, it is very much the
letter which they receive, and but in a very small degree the spirit, still, at the
same time, they do hear, and they are in the way of getting a greaterblessing,

148. for “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” And
moreover, after a certain sort, they are not dumb either, for they do pray in a
manner. It is true that their prayer is scarcelyspiritual, but yet it has a kind
of earnestness aboutit not to be despised. They have been to a place of
worship from their youth up, and never neglectedthe outward forms of
religion. Alas for them, they are still blind! But they are anxious to hear and
to pray, and we trust will yet be able to do both, they are therefore not
absolutely deaf or dumb. Nor, moreover, do they seemto be incapable in
other respects. The hand is not withered, as in the case of one whom Christ
met within the Synagogue. Neitherare they boweddown by grievous
depressionof spirit, as that daughter of Abraham who had been boweddown
for many years. They are both cheerful and diligent in the ways of the Lord. If
the cause ofGod wants assistancethey are ready to assistit, and though by
reasonof the loss of their spiritual eyes they cannot enter into the full
enjoyment of divine things, yet they are among the most forward people we
know to help on any goodcause, notbecause they thoroughly comprehend the
spirit of it nor can enter therein, for by reasonof their natural blindness they
are still aliens thereto, but still there is wrought in them something which is
very lovely and very hopeful, for they are anxious as much as lies in them to
help the cause of Christ. In connectionwith all Christian congregations we
have a knot of people of this kind, and in connectionwith some Christian
churches the most even of the members are very little better, they have not
receivedmore than enough instruction to enable them to know their right
hand from their left in spiritual matters. Forlack of doctrinal teaching they
are left in the dark, and because there is not held up before them the form of
sound words, they remain in semi-blindness, unable to enjoy the fair prospects
which cheer the eyes of the enlightened believer. II. We have now to see OUR
LORD’S METHOD OF CURE. Every part of the miracle is suggestive. The
first thing to be observedis a friendly intervention—his friends brought the
blind man to Jesus. How many there are who do not rightly understand the
fundamental doctrine of the Gospelof Christ, and need the help of believers!
They have an affectionfor religion in the abstract, but they do not fully know
what they must do to be saved. The greattruth of substitution, which is the
cardinal point in the Gospel, they have not yet apprehended. They scarcely
know what it is to come to rest wholly upon the Lord Jesus, becauseofthe

149. satisfactionwhichHe has offered to almighty justice. They have a sort of faith,
but they have such slenderknowledge that their faith brings them little or no
benefit. Such people might often be blessedif more advanced Christians
would try to bring them to a clearerknowledge ofthe Savior. Why can you
not bring such souls under the sound of that ministry which has been
instructive to yourself? Why can you not lay that Book in their way which was
the means of opening your eyes? Why canyou not bring before their minds
that text of Scripture, that passageofGod’s Word, which first illuminated
you? Would it not be a most hopeful work for us to engage in, to look for
those who are not hostile to the Gospel, but simply ignorant of it, who have a
zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, andwho, if they once could be
furnished with the light, would then have found the one thing needful? Surely,
if we look afterthe degraded, the debased, and the depraved, who defile our
festering courts and alleys, we ought with equal eagernessto seek outthese
hopeful ones who
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sit under the sound of preaching which is not Gospelpreaching, or who hear
the true Word, but perceive it not. Brethren and Sisters, you would do well if
you prayed for these, and if, moreover, you sought out the excellentyoung
men and the amiable young women, and endeavoredto answerthe question of
their tender consciences, “Ohthat we knew where we might find Him!” It
might be, in God’s hand, the first step to their receiving spiritual eyesightif
you would care for these children of mist and of the night. When the blind
man was brought to the Savior, he first receivedcontactwith Jesus, forJesus
took him by the hand. It is a happy day for a soulwhen it comes into personal
contactwith the Lord Jesus. Brethren, when we are in our state of unbelief,
we sit in the house of God, and Christ seems to us to be at a distance, we hear
of Him, but it is as of one who has departed to ivory palaces, andwho is not
now among us, and even if He passes by we feel as if He did not come near to

150. us, and so we sit and sigh, and long to feel His shadow fall upon us, or to touch
as it were the hem of His garment, but when the soul really begins to close
with Jesus, whenHe becomes the object of devout attention, when we feel that
there is something to be graspedand realized about Him after all, that He is
no distant and impalpable shade, but a veritable existence, andan existence
having influence over us, then it is that He takes us by the hand. I know some
of you have felt this. It has frequently happened on the Sabbath that you felt
that you must pray, you felt that the sermon was made for you, you thought
someone had told the preacher about you, the truth came so closelyhome—
the very details of the preacher’s speechfit the condition of your mind, that
was our blessedLord, I think, taking you by the hand. The service was to you
no mere wordtalk and word-hearing, but a mysterious hand touched you,
your feelings were impressed, and your heart was conscious ofpeculiar
emotions originating from the presence ofthe Savior. Of course Jesus does not
come into any physical contactwith us, it is a mental, spiritual contact, the
mind of the Lord Jesus lays its hand upon the mind of sinners, and by the
Holy Spirit gently influences the soul for holiness and truth. Mark the next
act, for it is peculiar. The Savior led the man to a solitary position, for He took
him out of the town. I have noticed that when persons convertedwho have
been rather spiritually blind than willfully wicked, who have not been so
much hostile as they have been ignorant, one of the first signs of their
becoming Christians is the getting into retirement, and feeling their individual
responsibility. Brethren, I have always hope of the man who begins to think of
himself as he stands alone before God, for there are tens of thousands in
England who considerthemselves to be parts of a nation of Christians and
born members of a church, and thus never considerthemselves as personally
responsible to God. They saythe confessionof sin, but it is always with the
whole congregation. Theychant the Te Deum, but it is not personal but choral
praise. But when a man is led, even while in the congregation, to feelas if he
were alone, when he grasps the idea that true religion is of the individual and
not of the community, and that confessionofsin is more fitting from his lips
than from any other man, there is a gracious work commenced! There is hope
of the blindest understanding when the mind begins to meditate upon its own
condition and examines its own prospects. It is a sure sign that the Lord is
dealing well with you if He has takenyou out of the town, if you are forgetting

151. all others, and thinking just now of yourself. Call it not selfishness,it is only
such a selfishness as the highestlaw of our nature commands. Every man
when he is drowning must think of himself, and if it is a justifiable selfishness
to seek to preserve one’s own life, much more is it to labor to escape from
eternal ruin. When your own salvationis accomplishedyou shall have no
more need to think of self, but you shall care for the souls of others, but now
the highestwisdom is to think of yourself in your standing towards God, and
to look to the Saviorthat you yourself may have eternal life. “He took him by
the hand, and led him out of the town.” The next was a very strange act, He
brought him under ordained but despicable means, He spit on his eyes. The
Savior frequently used the saliva of His mouth as a means of cure, it has been
said, because it was recommendedby ancient physicians, but I cannot think
that their opinion could have had much weight with our wonder-working
Lord. It seems to me that the use of spittle connectedthe
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opening of the eye with the Savior’s mouth, that is to say, it connectedin type
the illuminating of the understanding with the truth which Christ utters. Of
course spiritual eyesightcomes by means of spiritual truth, and the eye of the
understanding is opened by the doctrine which Christ speaks.Yet it seems to
me that the associationwhichwe naturally put with spit is that of disgust and
that this was intentionally employed by the Savior for that very end. It was
nothing but spittle, though it was spit from the Savior’s mouth. And so, mark
you, friend, it is very possible that God will bless you by that very truth which
you once despised, and it will not be a wonder if He should even bless you
through that very man againstwhom you spoke the most bitterly. It has often
pleasedGod to awardto His ministering servants a gracious kind of
vengeance, many and many times those who were the hottest and most furious
againstGod’s own servants have receivedthe best blessings from the hands of
those men whom they most despised. You call it “spittle,” nothing but that

152. shall open your eyes. You say, “The Gospelis a very common-place thing,” it
is by such common places that you shall have life. You have sneeringly
declaredthat such a man speaks the truth in a coarseand vulgar style. You
shall one day bless that vulgarity, and be glad enough to receive even after a
coarse fashionthe truth as his Masterbids him speak it. I think that many of
us had to notice this in our conversion, that the Lord chastisedour pride by
saying to us, “Those poorpeople of whom you thought so harshly shall be
made a blessing to you, and My servant againstwhom you were most filled
with prejudice shall be the man to bring you into perfect peace.” Itstrikes me
that more than that a greatdeal, but all that, is in the thought of the Savior’s
spitting on his eyes. No powders of the merchant you perceive, no myrrh and
frankincense, no costly drugs, but just a common spittle on the lips, and so if
you would see, my hearer, the deep things of God, it shall not be by the
philosophers, nor by the profound thinkers of the day, but he that said unto
you, “Trust Christ and live,” teaches youbetter philosophy than the
philosophers, and he who tells you that in Him, in the Lord Jesus, dwells all
the treasures ofwisdom and of knowledge, tells you in that simple statement
more than you could learn though Socratesand Plato should rise from the
dead, and you could sit a scholarat their feet. Jesus Christ will open your
eyes, and it shall be by this ignoble means the spittle of His mouth. You will
further perceive that when He had spit on his eyes it is added He put His
hands upon him. Did He do that in the form of heavenly benediction? Did He,
by the laying on of His hands bestow upon the man His blessing, and bid
virtue stream from His own personinto the blind man? I think so. So,
brethren, it is not the spittle, it is not the leading of the man out of the crowd
after all, it is not the ministry, it is not the preaching of the Word, it is not the
hearer’s thoughtfulness that shall earn spiritual blessings, it is the benediction
of Him who died for sinners, which confers all upon us. This man is exalted
on high to give repentance and remissionof sin. He who was despisedand
rejectedof men, it is through Him and through Him only that priceless boon,
such as sight to the blind, shall be given to the sons of men. We must use the
means, and neither despise them nor trust them. We must getalone, for
retirement is a greatblessing, but we must look up after all to the Lord and
giver of every goodgift, or else the spittle had need to be wiped awayin
disgust, and the being alone shall only make the blind man lose his way the

153. more effectually, and wander in the deeperdarkness with less of sympathy
and help. This sketchis the photograph of some here. I believe there are
persons here who from their youth up have attended places ofworship
without the slightestperception of spiritual life, and would have continued to
do so had not the Lord been pleasedto make use of friends, happy cheerful
Christian friends, who said, “Come now, I think I cantell you something
which you do not know.” These friends by prayer and teaching brought you
into contactwith Jesus. Jesus touchedyou, influenced your mind, made you
thoughtful, made you see that there was more in religion than just the mere
external, made you feelthat going to church or going to chapel was not
everything, nay, was not anything at all, unless you learned the secret, the real
secretof everlasting life. It has been through all this that you have begun to
feel that there is powerin that Gospelwhich once you despised, and that
which you sneeredat, as
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Methodism and rant, is now to you the Gospelof your salvation. Let us thank
God for this, for it is by such means that eyes are opened. III. We have now
come to the third point, and we will pause a moment at A HOPEFUL STAGE.
The Saviorhad given the man’s eyeballs the powerto see, but He had not
removed completely the film which kept out the light. Hear the man. Jesus
says to him, “Canyou see anything?” He looks up, and the first joyful word is,
“I see!” What a blessing!“I see!” Some of you, dear friends, can say that—
“‘whereas I was once blind, now I see.’Yes, Lord, it is not total darkness now.
I do not see as much as I should, nor as much as I hope I shall, but I do see.
There are many, many things I knew nothing of, which I do know something
about now. The devil himself cannotmake me doubt that I do see. I know I do.
I used to be quite satisfiedwith the outward form, if I got through the hymns
and prayers, and so on, I felt satisfied, but now, though I feelI cannot see as I
want to see, I can see as much as that. If I cannot see light, there is certainly

154. darkness visible. If I cannotsee salvation, I cansee my own ruin. I do see my
own needs and necessities, ifI see nothing more, I do see these.” Now,if a man
can see anything, it matters not what, he certainly has sight. Whether it is a
beautiful object or an ugly thing that he sees does notmatter, the mere seeing
of anything is proof positive that there is sight in his eyes. So the spiritual
perception of anything is proof positive that you have spiritual life, whether
that perception makes you mourn, or whether it makes you rejoice, whetherit
makes you broken-hearted, or binds up your heart, if you do see it, you must
have the powerof sight, that is clearenough, is it not? But hear the man
again. He says, “I see men.” That is better still. Of course the poor fellow had
once been able to see, or else he would not have knownthe shape of a man. “I
see men,” says he. Ay, and there are some here who have enough sight to be
able to distinguish betweenone thing and another, so as to know this from
that. Though you were as blind as bats once, nobody could make you believe
that baptismal regenerationwas the same thing as the regenerationof the
Word of God, you can see the difference betweenthese two things at any rate.
One would think anybody might, but a great many cannot. You can see the
difference betweenmere formal and external worship and spiritual worship—
you cansee that. You can see enoughto know that there is a Savior, that you
need a Savior, that the wayof salvationis by faith in Christ, that the salvation
which Jesus gives really saves us from sinning, and brings those who receive it
safe to eternal glory. Thus it is clearthat you cansee something, and you
know within a little while what that something is. Listen, however, to the
blind man, for here comes in the word that spoils it to a greatextent—“I see
men as trees, walking.” He could not tell whether they were men or trees,
exceptthat they were walking, and he knew that trees did not walk, and
therefore they could not be trees. Objects were a confusedblot before his eyes.
He knew from their motion that they must be men, but he could not tell
exactly by sight whether they were men or trees. Many precious souls are
waiting at this hopeful but uncomfortable stage. Theycan see. BlessGodfor
that! They will never be thoroughly blind again. Forif they can see the Man
Jesus, and the tree on which He died, they make but one object of them if they
please, for Christ and His cross are one. Eyes which cannot clearlysee Jesus
may yet dimly see Him, and even a dim sight will save the soul. Observe that
this man’s sight was very indistinct—a man or a tree—he could not tell. So is

155. it with the first sight that is given to many spiritually blind persons. They
cannot distinguish betweendoctrine and doctrine. The work of the Spirit and
the work of the Saviorthey frequently confuse in their minds. They possess
justification and they possesssanctification, but it is probable they could not
tell you which was which. They have receivedimparted righteousness ofheart,
and they have also receivedthe imputed righteousness ofChrist, but between
the imparted righteousness andthe imputed righteousness theycan scarcely
distinguish, they have them both, but they do not know which is which—at
leastnot so as to be able to write down the definitions, or tell them to their
fellow men. They can see, but they cannotsee as they should see. They see men
as trees walking.
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Their sight, in addition to being indistinct, is very exaggerating.A man is not
as big as a tree, but they magnify the human stature into the towering timber.
And so, half-enlightened people exaggerate doctrines. If they receive the
doctrine of electionthey cannot be content to go as far as Scripture goes—
they make a tree of the man by dragging in reprobation. If they get a hold of
the precept, baptism, or whateverit may be, they exaggerateits proportions,
and make it a sort of all-in-all. Some get one crotchetand some get another,
and it is all through mistaking a man for a tree. It is a greatmercy that they
see doctrine at all and precept at all, but it would be a greatermercy if they
could see it as it is, and not as it now appears to them. This exaggeration
generallyleads to alarm, for if I see a man walking up to me who is as tall as a
tree, I am naturally afraid that he will fall on me, and I get out of the way.
Many persons are afraid of God’s doctrines because they are as high as trees
they think. They are none too high. God has made them of the right stature,
but their blindness exaggeratesthem, and makes them more terrible and high
than they might be. They are afraid to read books upon certain truths, and
they fight shy of all men who preach them only because theycannot see those

156. doctrines in the right light, but are alarmed with their own confusedvision of
it. In connectionwith this exaggerationandthis fear, there is to such people
an utter loss of the enjoyment which comes from being able to perceive beauty
and loveliness. The noblestpart of a man is after all his countenance. We like
to catchthe features of our friend, that gentle eye, that tender expression, that
winning look, that radiant smile, that expressive glow of benevolence upon his
face, that towering forehead, we like to see all, but this poor man could see
none of these, for he could scarce tella man from a tree, could not discover
those softerlines of the greatmaster artist which make true beauty. He could
only say, “It is a man,” but whether a black man, black as night or fair as the
morning, he did not know and could not tell, and whether sour and morose, or
kind and gentle, he could not distinguish. So it is with these persons who have
obtained some spiritual sight. They cannot see the details of the doctrines.
You know, brethren, it is the details in which lies the beauty. If I trust Jesus as
my SaviorI shall be saved, but the enjoyment of faith comes from knowing
Him in His person, in His offices, in His work, in His present, and past, and
future. We perceive His true beauty, by studying Him, and observing Him
carefully, and with holy watchfulness. So it is with the doctrines, the mere
whole of the doctrine, in the gross is blessed, but it is when we come to take
the doctrine to pieces that we gainthe purest enjoyment. “Yes,” says the
clown, as he looks ata fine painting, such, for instance, as Paul Potter’s
famous Bull at The Hague, “it’s a rare picture certainly,” and then he goes
away. But the artist sits down and studies its details. There is to him a beauty
in every touch and shade which he understands and appreciates. Many
believers have light enough to know the faith in its bare outline, but they have
not observedthe filling up, and the minutiae wherein the sweetestcomfortwill
always be found by the spiritually educatedchild of God. They can see, but
they “see men as trees, walking.” Although I know that the most of you, my
brethren, have traveled far beyond this stage, yetI know there are hundreds
of God’s people who are still lingering there, and hence it is, when Satangets
the upper hand, that sects, andparties, and theories arise. If a number of
people with good eyes meettogetherand look at an object, they will very
nearly agree in the descriptionof what they see, but if you selectan equal
number of men with eyes so weak that they can scarcelytella man from a
tree, they will make no end of confusion, and likely enough fall to quarrelling.

157. “It is a man,” cries one, “he walks.”“Itis a tree,” cries the second, “it is too
tall to be a man.” When half-blind men grow willful and despise their
teachers, andwill not learn as the Holy Spirit ordains to teach, they set up
their ignorance for knowledge, andperhaps lead other half-enlightened ones
into the ditch with them. Even where a holy modesty prevents this
mischievous result, this half-sight is still to be lamented, for it leaves men in
sorrow when they might rejoice, and lets them mourn overtruth which if
understood would fill their mouths with song all the day long.
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Many are troubled about election, now if there be a doctrine in this Book
which ought to make believers sing all day, and all night too, it is just the
doctrine of electing love and distinguishing grace. Some people are frightened
over this and some overthat, whereas if they understood the truth, instead of
flying from it as from an enemy, they would run into its arms. IV. Having
given this sketchof the man in this transition state, we close by noting the
ULTIMATE COMPLETENESSOF THE CURE. Brethren, be gratefulfor
any sort of light. Without the grace ofGod we could not have a ray of it. One
ray of light is more than we deserve. If we were shut up in the blackness of
darkness forever, how could we complain? Do we not deserve, since we shut
our eyes againstGod, to be doomed to perpetual darkness? Be thankful then
for the leastgleamof light, but do not so prize what you have as not to wish
for more. That man is sadly blind still who does not care to see more. It is a
bad sign of unhealthiness when we have no desire to grow. When we are
satisfiedthat we know all the truth, and cannot be taught any more, it is
probable that we need to begin at the beginning. One of the first lessons in the
schoolof wisdom is to know that we are naturally fools, and that man is
growing wise who is growing conscious ofhis own deficiency and ignorance.
But when the Lord Jesus Christbrings a man to see a little, and to desire to
see more, He does not leave him till He has led him into all the truth. We find

158. that the Savior, to complete the cure, touched His patient again. A renewalof
your contactwith the Savior must be the means of your perfection, as it was
your first means of enlightenment. Being close to Christ, in intimate
acquaintance with His blessedperson, in sole dependence upon His merit,
study you His character, desire to commune with Him for yourself, and to see
Him with your own eyes by faith and not with the eyes of another—this shall
be the means of giving you clearerlight. The divine touch does it all. I
suppose that when the man’s eyes were fully opened, the first personHe saw
was Jesus, forhe had been taken awayfrom the crowd, and could only see
men at a distance. Blessedvision, to drink in the sight of that face, to perceive
the beauties of that matchless loverof our souls. Oh the joy! One might be
content to be blind foreverif He were not to be seen, but when He is seen, oh
the heavenly delight of being rescuedfrom the blindness which concealedHim
from our eyes!Believer, above all things, pray that you may know Him, and
understand Him. With all your gettings, getan understanding of Him. Count
doctrine precious, only because it is a throne on which He sits. Think much of
the precept, but make it not to be a legalstone to hide Him in the sepulcher,
think only of it as it is illustrated and set forth in His life, and even your own
experience, care little for it if it does not point as with a finger to Christ.
Considerthat you only grow when you grow up in Him. “Grow in grace,” says
the apostle, but he adds, “and in the knowledge ofour Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.” “Grow up,” says he, but what does he add? “Grow up into Him in all
things, which is the head, even Christ Jesus.” Ask to see, but put the prayer in
this form—“Sir, we would see Jesus.” Prayfor sight, but let it be a sight of the
King in His beauty, that you may one day see the land that is very far off. You
are nearing clearness ofvision when you can see Jesus only, you are coming
out of cloud-land into the brightness of day, when, instead of seeing men as
trees, you behold the Savior. Then you may let the men and the trees take care
of themselves. We read that our Lord bade His patient “Look up.” If we
would see we must not look below us, no light springs from this dusky earth. If
we would see, we must not look within us, it is a dark, black cavern, full of
everything that is evil. We must look up. Every goodgift and every perfect gift
comes from above, and we must look up for it. Meditating upon Jesus and
resting upon Him, we must look up to our God. Our soul must considerher
Lord’s perfection, and not dream of her own. She must muse upon His

159. greatness,and not on any fanciedgreatness ofher own. We must look up—not
on our fellow servants, or upon the externals of worship, but up to God
Himself. We must look, and as we look up we shall find the light.
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We are told that at last “the man could see every man clearly.” Yes, when the
greatPhysician sends the patient home, you may restassuredthat his cure is
fully wrought. It was well with him in the superlative degree. He saw, he saw
every man, he saw every man clearly. May this be the happy lot of many a
half-enlightened one here present! Be not satisfied, my dear friends, with
being saved, desire to know how you are saved, why you are saved, the
method by which you are saved. It is a rock on which you stand, I know, but
think upon the questions—how you were put on that rock, by whose love you
came there and why that love was seton you. I would to God that all the
members of this church were not only in Christ Jesus, but understood Him,
and knew by the assurance ofthe understanding whereunto they have
attained. Be you always ready to give a reasonfor the hope that is in you with
meekness andfear. Rememberthere are many grave distinctions in Scripture
which will save you a world of trouble if you will know and remember them.
Try to understand the difference betweenthe old nature and the new. Never
expectthe old nature to improve into the new, for it never will. The old nature
can never do anything but sin, and the new nature never can sin. They are two
distinct principles, never confuse them. Do not see men as trees walking. Do
not confuse sanctificationand justification. Recollectthat the moment you
trust in Christ you are justified as completely as you will be in heaven, but
sanctificationis a gradual work, which is carried on from day to day by God
the Holy Spirit. Distinguish betweenthe greattruth that salvation is all of
God, and the greatlie that men are not to be blamed if they are lost. Be well
assuredthat salvationis of the Lord, but do not lay damnation at God’s door.
Be not ashamedif men call you a Calvinist, but hate with all your heart

160. Antinomianism. On the other hand, while you believe human responsibility,
never run into the error of supposing that man ever turns to God of his own
free will. There is a narrow line betweenthe two errors, and ask for grace to
see it. Ask for grace neither to fall into the whirlpool nor to be dashed against
the rock, neither to be a slave of this systemnor that. Never sayof one text of
Scripture, “Be still, I cannot endure you,” nor yet of another, “I believe you,
and you alone.” Seekto love the whole Word of God, to get an insight into
every truth revealed, and as you have God’s Word given you not as so many
discordant looks but as a whole, so seek to grasp the truth as it is in Jesus in
all its compactnessand unity. I would urge you, if you have gotsight which
enables you to see at all, to fall on your knees and cry unto the greatSight-
giver, “O Master, still go on, take every film away, remove every cataract, and
if it should be painful to have my prejudices cut awayor burnt out of my eyes,
yet do it, Lord, until I can see in the clear light of the Holy Ghost, and shall be
fit to enter into the gates ofthe holy city, where they see You face to face.”
The Bible records that Jesus used spit for healing in three different occasions: “Jesus put his
fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue” (Mark 7:33).
Jesus’ Use of Spittle in Mark 8:22-26
March 1, 2015 by Kenneth Yates in Journal Articles
Kenneth Yates
Editor
I. INTRODUCTION
Recently, I read a thesis done in 1999 on Jesus’ use of spittle in the healing of the blind man in
Mark 8:22-26. The author of the thesis is Sarah Bourgeois and it was completed at Dallas
Theological Seminary.1
This healing in Mark is interesting for a couple of reasons. One is that this is the only place
where Jesus heals a person in a two-stage process.2 The first part of the miracle took place “out
of the town” (Mark 8:22). After Jesus “had spit [ptusas, temporal participle] on [or, into] his eyes
and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything” (Mark 8:23). The man answers that

161. he can only see in an incomplete manner: “I see men like trees, walking” (Mark 8:24). The Lord
then lays His hands on him again and then he is completely healed of his blindness.
This account is also interesting because it is only one of three times in which Jesus uses spittle in
a healing. The other two are Mark 7:31-37 and John 9:6. Not only is the use of spittle rare in
such healings, this account in Mark 8 is the only time the Lord is specifically said to spit into a
person’s face/eyes.3
These facts raise a number of questions. Why did Jesus use spittle in this miracle? How might a
first-century observer view such a thing? Why did Jesus heal the man in stages? In this article, I
will summarize the conclusions of Bourgeois’s thesis in these areas. Even though she did not
address the application of her findings from a Free Grace perspective, her conclusions, if
accurate, do have a bearing on issues such as a proper understanding of the Gospel and
discipleship. In the last half of this article, I will discuss these applications.
II. THE USE OF SPITTLE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
Bourgeois devotes a chapter to how spittle was viewed by the ancient world.4 She discusses the
topic from a variety of sources, including Persian, Greek, and Jewish writers that date from the
sixth century BC through NT times. Some of these sources indicate that spitting in public was
considered impolite and beneath the dignity of somebody in leadership. Spitting in somebody’s
face was a sign of utter rejection.5
Among the Greeks, spitting was seen as a means to ward off evil spirits or appease the gods. It
was a superstitious practice. It could help in the healing of certain diseases since the gods could
be won over by this action. The act of spitting to bring good luck could involve spitting into
one’s “bosom.”6
Non-Jewish sources speak of the fact that spittle had certain healing qualities. The Roman writer
Pliny the Elder, writing in the first century, says that spittle can help heal certain skin diseases.
Two other second-century writers agree.7
Pliny also lists other ailments that spittle can help cure. These include epilepsy, neck pain, and
numbness in the limb. However, the spit is not applied to the area affected. In the case of neck
pain, the spittle should be applied to the knees. For a numb limb, it should be spit into the bosom
or placed on the eyelid. Also, spitting on the ground can increase the potency of any healing
remedy.8
Of particular interest is the healing of certain eye conditions with spittle. Pliny also says that
spittle can help in this area. Saliva, if applied to the eyes in the morning, can act as an eye
ointment. As Bourgeois points out, however, Pliny does not say how the spittle is applied to the
eyes or even whose spittle it is. In other places, Pliny intimates that spittle is more effective if it
comes from somebody who is fasting. By fasting he means the spittle comes from somebody
before he has eaten that day. It is important to note, however, that this is not a parallel with the
healing in Mark 8. In Pliny’s account, the spittle must be placed in the eyes over a long period of
time. In addition, it does not heal. It only provides relief.9
The first-century Roman historian Tacitus records a well-known incident of spittle healing a
blind man. A citizen living in Egypt asked the visiting Roman emperor Vespasian if the emperor
would apply spittle to the blind man’s cheek and eyes to cure his blindness. No doubt this was
due to the fact that the emperor was seen as in some sense divine. The emperor asked his
physicians if such a cure would be possible. The physicians said it was possible since the man

162. was not completely blind. Tacitus says the emperor granted the man’s request and that the
healing took place. However, this example is not a good parallel with Mark 8. The emperor does
not spit in the man’s eye. There are also elements of magic involved in it.10
Bourgeois also points out that this account of Vespasian argues against the view that the use of
spittle to heal was considered normal in the first century. Vespasian at first considers the man’s
request as being ridiculous.11 This was not the norm, but a supernatural, magical event.
III. SPITTLE IN JEWISH SOURCES
Bourgeios has a fairly lengthy discussion on how Jewish sources, such as the OT and
Apocrypha, treat spittle.12 An important point to notice is that at the time of Christ, there is no
evidence that the Jews saw spittle as having healing properties. It is only in later writings, such
as the Talmud, that one finds instances of using spittle to heal.
At the time of Jesus, accepted Jewish writings such as the OT see spittle as something that is
offensive. Spitting at somebody was seen as an offensive act. If a man did not marry his dead
brother’s childless widow, she was to spit in his face (Deut 29:5). Spitting in somebody face was
a great disgrace (Num 12:14; Job 17:6; 30:10; Isa 50:6).
The first-century Jewish historian Josephus tells us that one religious group, the Essenes, were
careful not to spit when others were around. At Qumran, there was a thirty-day punishment
meted out if somebody in the assembly spit in the presence of others.13
In other writings, spittle was seen as a metaphor for something that had little value.14 In
Leviticus, to be spit upon by certain people made one unclean. These included those who had a
discharge. The person spat upon had to wash their clothes and bathe themselves.15 Later Jewish
writings interpreted this to include menstruating women. It is important to notice that spittle in
and of itself was not unclean. It depended upon from whom the spittle came.
What is significant about the first-century Jewish sources is that Jesus is the only person who
uses spittle in a healing process. The other references concern uncleanness or giving offense.
Spitting on somebody was a sign of disrespect and a sign of disgrace.
For Bourgeois, the critical element of the Jewish sources is that at the time of Jesus, the Jews did
not see spittle as a means to heal.16 She takes issue with Lane’s comment that the use of spittle
and the laying on of hands to heal was a common occurrence in Jewish literature.17 The use of
spit in the eyes is not found until later Jewish writings, where it is used to heal eye scabs.
However, even in these later instances, the saliva is placed in the eyes and one does not spit in
the eyes of the person in need of healing.
IV. MARK 8 AND THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM
As Bourgeois points out, this account of Jesus’ healing by using spittle is sometimes used in the
Synoptic debate.18 Some who believe that Mark was written first argue that Jesus’ action of
spitting in the man’s face was seen as offensive. The account (as well as the account in Mark
7:33-36) is not found in Luke and Matthew supposedly because Luke and Matthew wrote later
and took the offensive accounts out. They wanted to make their Gospels less offensive for the
readers, and therefore clean up Mark’s rough edges. Thus, the use of spittle in Mark 8 argues that
Mark was written first.

163. Farmer, however, argues that Jesus’ actions are not offensive. Farmer believes that Matthew was
the first Gospel written. What Jesus does in Mark 8 by spitting in the man’s eyes is not offensive,
but the normal way of healing in that day.19
However, the issue might have nothing to do with the Synoptic problem. The use of spittle by
Jesus in Mark 8 could very well be offensive and yet have nothing to do with which Gospel was
written first. Mark may have had a particular purpose in including this offensive detail. In that
case, Matthew and Luke did not have the same purpose and therefore did not include it.
V. JESUS’ USE OF THE SPITTLE
As stated above, particularly in Jewish writings, spittle was not used for healing purposes. In
none of the ancient literature do we find a parallel with Jesus’ healing here in Mark 8. It also
needs to be noted that the text itself suggests that the spittle was not what healed the man. Jesus
spit once, but laid hands on the man twice. It seems that the spittle was not to be seen as what
healed the man, but the touch of the Lord. It was only after the laying on of the Lord’s hands the
second time did the healing take place. What is also interesting is that Jesus does not explain the
use of spittle to the man or the disciples. The context must determine the meaning of the spittle.
Carson suggests that the use of spittle by Jesus here is a theological statement. Spittle was
considered a contaminant and Jesus uses it as a source of blessing. Only in the hands of an
important person could such a thing be possible. It is similar to Jesus’ touching of a leper. Such
contact did not pollute Jesus, but instead caused healing.20
The problem with this view is that, as discussed above, spittle in and of itself was not considered
a contaminant. Jesus was not considered a person with a discharge who produced unclean spittle.
Keener points out that spittle was considered disgusting. This seems to find more support in the
view of spittle in the first-century sources.21
Bourgeois states that the more important question to ask is: How did the people who witnessed
Jesus spitting in the man’s eye interpret such an event? As mentioned above, there are examples
in the OT of spitting in somebody’s face. It was always a sign of public disgrace. In addition,
spitting in the presence of others was considered disgusting in Jewish sources as well.22
Jesus’ spitting into the face/eyes of this man would have been seen as both disgraceful and
disgusting. The answer to why Jesus did this is found in the larger context. Bourgeois is one of
many that see this healing of the blind man in light of the rest of the book of Mark. Her findings
support the fact that the healing is a picture of the disciples.23
Many have noted that this healing of the blind man is an illustration of the disciples. The two-
stage healing is a parable of the disciples in Mark. They are “blind” about Jesus. They only have
a partial understanding of the One in whom they have believed. They will also go through a two-
stage “healing” in their understanding of Him.24
Even though Peter and the disciples do not have a clear picture of the kind of Messiah Jesus
would be, and what His mission involved, they were still believers in Him. They knew He was
the Messiah. John makes it clear that they believed He was the Messiah early in His ministry
(John 1:41-50). They already had eternal life, as the purpose of the Gospel of John states (John
20:30-31). Peter confirms that faith in Mark 8. Mark’s point here in Mark 8 was not that the
disciples were not eternally saved. It was also not the case that Jesus was keeping His
Messiahship a secret. They “saw” who Jesus was and they believed that. However, they needed
to see something shocking and disgraceful about the One in Whom they had already believed.

164. VI. JESUS’ “DISGRACEFUL” TEACHING
Bourgeois’s thesis does an outstanding job of pointing out that the spitting in this man’s face is
best understood as a disgraceful and disgusting act. It also contributes to the idea that this is a
picture of the disciples’ understanding of Jesus.
After the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida, Jesus begins His journey to Jerusalem. In
Jerusalem, He will be rejected by the nation of Israel and crucified. The journey to Jerusalem in
Mark 8:27–1:1 is known as the discipleship section of Mark. In this section, Jesus teaches His
disciples what awaits Him in Jerusalem and what it means to follow Him.
It is clear in this section that the disciples do not understand that Jesus is going to be crucified.
Three times in this section Jesus tells them this is what is going to happen (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34).
Each time He does so the disciples show that they do not understand.
The disciples think that when Jesus gets to Jerusalem He is going to reign. Part of their
misunderstanding is that they think that when they get to Jerusalem Jesus will dole out positions
of authority (10:37). For the disciples, following Jesus means glory, power, honor and riches.
The first time Jesus tells the disciples that He will be crucified in Jerusalem is in Mark 8:31.
Mark tells us that the Lord “began” to tell them this. It is very instructive that He tells them
immediately after Peter, speaking for the group of disciples, confesses that Jesus is the Christ
(8:29).
Immediately before this confession is the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida. The man is
healed in stages. It is unacceptable to suggest that Jesus was unable to heal the man completely
the first time because of the difficulty of the healing. As God, Jesus did not need two attempts to
complete the healing.
It is also unacceptable to suggest that Jesus could not heal the man completely the first time
because of the man’s lack of faith. Throughout Jesus’ ministry the Lord healed large numbers of
people. Certainly some of them had doubts, but it was never a problem in the healing process.
Bourgeois’s thesis certainly helps in understanding that in the first century spittle was not seen as
having healing properties. This was not the purpose of the spittle. We are probably also on the
wrong path to see the spittle as entering into the world of the blind man. The purpose of the
spittle was not so the blind man could feel what was going on.
We should certainly reject the idea that the spittle was used in some superstitious or magical
way. Jesus was not doing something so that the people would interpret it as appeasing the gods.
Instead, these events picture the disciples. When Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, he
reflects the “sight” of the disciples. With Peter’s confession they show that they “see” this truth
about Jesus. As stated above, they were believers in Him and had eternal life. There is no
Messianic secret.
However, they needed to see something else. In this sense, their sight is only partial. They are
like the blind man when Jesus placed His hands on him the first time.
They need to have “sight” about something else. They will only see this later. Only then will
they see what they need to see, and see clearly. It concerns the mission of Jesus. They will come
to this sight in stages.

165. What they do not see clearly is what Jesus teaches them in this section. It is that He is going to
suffer and die. When Jesus first tells the disciples this, Peter rebukes Him (8:32).
When Jesus says He is going to be rejected and die, it is a shocking statement. For Peter and the
other disciples, it is a disgraceful thing to suggest that the Christ would meet this kind of fate.
Such a death was disgraceful in the extreme, reserved for the worst of criminals. That is not what
the disciples thought awaited Him in Jerusalem.
If Bourgeois’s thesis is correct that in first-century Israel Jesus’ spitting in the eyes/face of the
man would have been considered shocking and disgraceful by the disciples, it would be a great
illustration of what Jesus immediately tells them. Spitting in the face of somebody was like a
slap in the face. Jesus’ statement that He would be killed in Jerusalem was also like a slap in the
face. They had just said He was the Christ. The idea that the long awaited Messiah would
become a curse by crucifixion was disgraceful.
These things would explain this unique healing by the Lord. It is the only time Jesus spits into
somebody’s face and the only healing done in stages. Both the spittle and two-stage healing fit
the context of Mark as well as gives the reader a graphic illustration of the disciples.
But this shocking revelation by the Lord does not only concern Himself. It has a direct
application to the disciples. If they want to follow Christ, they can expect the same experience of
suffering and hardship. This would also be shocking.
VII. A CALL TO FOLLOW CHRIST
After telling the disciples that He is going to suffer and die, the Lord then gives them the
opportunity of following Him (8:34-38). Since He is going to the cross in the supreme act of self-
denial, He tells them that if they follow Him they must also take up their crosses and deny
themselves. Like Him, they must give up their lives.
In other words, the shocking, disgraceful revelation of the Lord about His immediate future
applied to them. These men, who thought they were soon to be powerful and rich and obtain
positions of glory and honor, were told that if they follow Him the same disgraceful fate awaited
them. Such a prospect concerning themselves would also have been shocking.
Mark wants the reader to see that the shocking and disgraceful aspects concerning the actions of
the healing of the blind man of Bethsaida were also related to the costs of following Christ. The
disciples did not see clearly what following Him involved. When Christ tells them what will
happen to Him, He is in the process of healing their “blindness” about what it means to follow
Him.
For readers of the JOTGES, this brings up an extremely important point. How does discipleship,
or following Christ, relate to the gospel? Jesus places a great price on following Him. The costs
are high and the demands shocking. But must one pay this price in order to have eternal life?
VIII. THE MEANING OF DISCIPLESHIP
In Mark 8, Jesus not only makes a startling statement about what awaits Him in Jerusalem, He
also makes a startling statement about what it means to follow Him (Mark 8:34-38). It is a
serious mistake to equate following Jesus with becoming a believer. When one believes in Jesus
for eternal life they receive it as a free gift. The NT makes this clear in such passages as Jesus’
conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 and the woman at the well in John 4, as well as His

166. words to Martha in John 11:25-26. Paul says the same thing in Eph 2:8-9. However, following
Jesus, as He makes clear in this passage, is very costly.
Many, however, do not make this distinction.25 They say that all believers are disciples of Jesus.
All of them follow Him. All of them pay that price. MacArthur clearly states this. With passages
such as Mark 8:34-38 in mind he states that eternal salvation is only for those who forsake
everything. He further states that this discipleship is part of saving faith.26
This understanding of discipleship is usually just assumed, if not explicitly stated. Marshall, in
discussing discipleship, equates it with an initial coming to Jesus that involves obedience.27 In
relation to Mark 8:34, Lane states that following Christ is a commitment that all Christians have
and distinguishes them from those who do not recognize who Jesus is.28 However, the disciples
knew who Jesus was.
Toussaint is a little ambiguous about whether being a disciple is equivalent to being a believer.
In discussing the parallel passage in Matthew, where Jesus calls His disciples to follow Him,
Toussaint says that the “disciples must endure suffering, and when the Son of Man comes in His
glory, they will be rewarded.” However, he does not say what the reward involves, whether it is
simply entering the Kingdom or being rewarded in it.29
It is difficult to determine Bourgeois’s view of discipleship. It is not the point of her thesis and
she is certainly limited by space. She correctly points out that the disciples do not understand
exactly what kind of Messiah Jesus will be. They do not understand that He will suffer and die.
Such a misunderstanding makes discipleship impossible (italics mine).30 However, she does not
say whether in her view the disciples are believers, and thus have eternal life, even though they
have this misunderstanding.
If one is to understand the meaning of Jesus spitting into the eyes of the blind man, he or she
must understand the difference between being a believer and being a follower of Jesus.
Bourgeois makes a strong case for concluding that Jesus’ actions in healing the blind man would
have been seen as disagreeable and disgraceful in the first century. It also strongly appears that it
is a picture of the disagreeable statement He makes about following Him. His future is a
disgraceful one. But it is also clear that Jesus says that those who follow Him face the same fate.
This would have been shocking and disagreeable to the disciples. But the same is true for
anybody who follows Christ. The costs are great. They are shocking. They can involve giving up
one’s family and even life itself.
But we cannot equate that with believing in Him for eternal life. The costs for believing in Him
are nothing. There is nothing shocking about that. There is nothing that results in disgrace by
believing in Him. That future is one of eternal life in the Kingdom.
Peter was already a believer when he rebuked the Lord when He told him that He was going to
die. That was not the question. The question now was whether Peter and the others would join in
the suffering and disgraceful path the Savior was going to travel.
IX. CONCLUSION
Bourgeois makes an important contribution to the meaning of the whole discipleship section of
Mark. When Jesus spit into the eyes of the blind man at Bethsaida such actions would have stood
out. It was not the normal practice of Jews in the first century to spit in the eyes of a blind person
to heal such blindness. There is not a single parallel in any extant writings of healing this way.

167. Only in later Jewish writings is saliva applied to sick body parts to help in some way. Even in
these later cases, the sick person had saliva applied and was not spit upon. It is interesting that of
the three times Jesus uses spittle in a healing, this is the only time He actually spits into the face
of the person.
Howard agrees with this assessment. Even though many commentators point to the example of
Vespasian, accounts in Pliny, and a few other instances, they are not parallel. These examples are
different and include such things as magic, evil spirits, and the saliva of snakes.31
Instead, the action of the Lord was shocking. The spittle is not to be seen as something that heals.
It was a disgraceful act. The Lord was about to give the disciples shocking news. He was to die a
disgraceful death. In the first century, death on a cross was the height of disgrace.
Like the healing of the blind man, the disciples did not see these things clearly. What Jesus says
is repulsive to them. They would come to this understanding only later, even though they already
saw that Jesus was the Messiah.
The Lord was calling the Twelve to follow Him on the path of disgrace. They were challenged to
take up their own crosses. The costs involved in such a decision were extremely high. The idea
that such a cost was involved in following the King was shocking. Following the Messiah was
thought to bring honor and glory in this world.
It is of utmost importance, however, not to conclude that one must pay those costs in order to be
spiritually saved. There is a difference between being a believer and being a disciple. Eternal life
is a free gift through faith alone. When most Christians come to faith, they are like the Twelve.
They believe in Jesus as the Christ. In Him one receives eternal life. It is only later that they
understand the high costs of discipleship. Their eyes are first opened to who Jesus is. He is the
one who gives eternal life to anybody who believes in Him for it. Later, if they are properly
taught, their eyes are open to the costs of discipleship. They, like Peter and the others, are like
the blind man at Bethsaida.
Such costs are, at first sight, shocking. But as Free Grace theology has rightly noted, they have
nothing to do with the reception of eternal life as a free gift. Indeed, the Lord Himself tells us in
the discipleship section of Mark that those believers (who already have eternal life) who pay
these costs will be rewarded in the Kingdom for taking up their cross and following Him (Mark
8:35; 9:35; 10:43-44). Such a believer will be great in the Kingdom. The shocking news the
disciples received after the shocking actions of the Lord in the healing of the blind man
contained demands of high costs for the believer in Jesus Christ. But such costs are worth the
price. Once one sees these things clearly, the proper decision becomes obvious.
____________________
1 Sarah L. Bourgeois, “Mark 8:22-26: Jesus and the Use of Spittle in a Two-Stage Healing”
(Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1999).
2 The healing of the blind man in John 9 is not a two-stage healing. Jesus applied mud to the
man’s eyes and he was not healed until he washed it off. However, the healing was completed all
at once, and not in stages.
3 In the John 9 passage, Jesus spits on the ground. In the Mark 7 passage it does not say where
Jesus spit. However, the most natural understanding is that He spit on His finger and then
touched the man’s tongue with the spittle. In this way, Jesus applied His spit to the man’s tongue.

168. See Adelo Y. Collins, Mark: A Commentary, Hermeneia (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2007), 370
and William Hendrikson, The Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: Butler & Tanner, 1975), 303.
4 Bourgeois, “Mark 8:22-26,” 8-33.
5 Xenophon, Cyropaedia 8.1-42; Sophocles, Antigone 1230, as cited by Ibid.,” 9-12.
6 Pliny, Natural History 28.7.35-36; Lucian, The Ship or the Wishes 15, as cited by Ibid., 15-18.
7 Pliny, Natural History 18.2.8-9; 28.6.30-31; Galen, On the Natural Faculties 3.7.163; Celsus,
De Medicina 5.28.18, as cited by Ibid.
8 Pliny, Natural History, 28.7.35-38.
9 Ibid.; Bourgeois, “Mark 8:22-26,” 14-18, 38.
10 Tacitus, Histories 4.81.
11 Bourgeois, “Mark 8:22-26,” 40.
12 Ibid., 20-32.
13 Josephus, J.W. 2.147; 1QS 7.13, as cited by Ibid., 30.
14 4 Ezra 6:36; Sirach 26:22.
15 See, for example, Lev 15:8.
16 Bourgeois, “Mark 8:22-26,” 31.
17 William Lane, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974), 285.
18 Bourgeois, “Mark 8:22-26 ,” 45.
19 William R. Farmer, The Synoptic Problem: A Critical Analysis (New York, NY:Macmillan,
1964), 166-67.
20 D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991), 364.
21 Craig Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament Edition (Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993), 156; Bourgeois, “Mark 8:22-26,” 57.
22 Ibid., 58.
23 Ibid., 59.
24 Elliott S. Johnson, “Mark VIII.22-26: The Blind Man from Bethsaida,” NTS 25 (1978-79),
383; Ernest Best, Mark: The Gospel as Story (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1983), 67-68; M.
Eugene Boring, Mark: A Commentary (Louisville, KY: Westminster, 2006), 233; R. Alan
Culpepper, Mark, Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2007),
283; D. Edmund Hiebert, Mark: A Portrait of the Servant (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1974),
200-201; Collins, Mark, 394; C. S. Mann, Mark, AB, vol. 27 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday,
1986), 336; Joel Marcus, Mark 8–16, The Anchor Yale Bible, vol. 27a (New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 2009), 597-600; Robert A. Guelich, Mark 1–8:26, WBC, vol. 34a (Nashville,
TN: Thomas Nelson, 1989), 379; John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of
Mark (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2005), 258. Guelich notes that this is a common
understanding of the healing, even though he does not accept it because he sees the miracle as
occurring where it does in Mark simply due to the author’s redactional activity. Hiebert says it is
clear that Jesus is using the miracle as an illustration because He purposefully heals the man in
stages. He shows that this is on purpose when He asks the man if he sees anything. Jesus had

169. never asked a question like that before. Donahue and Harrington say it is not only an illustration
for the disciples, but the reader as well.
25 I remember when I first heard teaching on this passage in Mark 8. I was in seminary and the
professor rightly pointed out that the healing of the blind man was a picture of the disciples.
However, it was not made clear whether the disciples needed to receive eternal life or if the Lord
was teaching those who were already believers (and thus already had eternal life) what He would
demand of the believer who followed Him.
26 John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 78,
135. In this issue of JOTGES, Jerry Pattillo gives a Biblical interpretation of Mark 8:34-38 in his
article on the “salvation of the soul.”
27 I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC (Grand
Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978), 275, 592.
28 Lane, Mark, 307.
29 Stanley D. Toussaint, Behold the King: A Study of Matthew (Portland, OR: Multnomah Press,
1980), 208.
30 Bourgeois, “Mark 8:22-26 ,” 59.
31 J. K. Howard, “Men as Trees, Walking: Mark 8.22-26,” Scottish Journal of Theology 37
(1984): 165, n6.
Why did Jesus use spit to heal people?
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The Bible records that Jesus used spit for healing in three different occasions:
“Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue” (Mark
7:33). In Bethsaida, “He . . . spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him” (Mark 8:23). And

170. on a different occasion, “He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed
the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”
(which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing” (John 9:6, 7).
Jesus healed every disease and sickness among the people” (Matthew 4:23) for He spoke and it
came to pass (Psalm 33:9). But He used spit for specific reasons and to meet specific needs
which varied from one person to another. He reached people where they are in their spiritual
ignorance.
It was believed, in those days, that spit had healing qualities. And ancient literary works provide
many examples of the use of spit by physicians and supernatural healers who thought it possible
to transfer healing from their bodies to the sick through their spit (for example, Talmud Baba
Bathra 126b, Soncino ed., p. 526).
Jesus wanted to inspire the sick with faith for in the Jewish mind physical disease or affliction
was seen as a judgment from God. The sick believed that they didn’t have the favor of heaven.
This thinking led them to lose their hope in healing. So, Jesus used spit to show them first His
desire and intent to bless them that they may have hope.
Although there was no hypothetical healing quality in spit, using spit was only an action that
would strengthen the faith of the sick and allow them to take hold on God’s power to receive
their desired blessing. For without faith no one can receive healing (Hebrews 11:6).
And in the case of the blind man (John 9), Jesus also mixed spit with clay to inspire the man with
His ability to create just as God created man from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7). As a result,
the man’s faith was strengthened and he received his sight. And later on, the man declared his
faith in Jesus to the religious leaders saying, “Since the world began it has been unheard of that
anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do
nothing” (John 9:32-33).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
Jesus Uses Spit To Heal
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“As (Jesus) went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who
sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents
sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As
long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can
work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ After saying this, he spit on the
ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash
in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home
seeing.” John 9:1-7
In His miracles, Jesus usually just touched a person with His hands. For this man who was born
blind, Jesus uses His spit and mud applied to the man’s eyes in order to restore the man’s sight. It

171. is interesting that the man has been in darkness from birth. He has never seen the light of day.
Jesus “saw” the man’s darkness and said, “As long as it is day (light), we must do the works of
Him Who sent me. Night (darkness) is coming…While I am in the world, I am the light of the
world….man came home seeing (in the light).” The contrasts in this narrative bounce between
darkness and light and this miracle of darkness to light is one of the times Jesus proclaims
Himself “the light of the world.”(John 8:12)
But what about the spit and the mud combination Jesus put on the man’s eyes?
ancient Chinese believed that saliva and blood were “brothers.” One could extrapolate from this:
man was created from the earth under his feet and then he fell into sin and Jesus’ blood saves us
from our sins. The people at that time believed “sin” was the reason he was born blind.
Interesting thesis, but— just interesting. In imitation of this miracle, some Irish rural people still
use a combination of spittle and clay for eye problems.
Jesus uses His saliva two other times in the New Testament. In Mark 7:31-35: “Then Jesus left
the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of
the Decapolis.https://earlychurchhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/GalaileeJudea-
Map.gifhttps://earlychurchhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/GalaileeJudea-Map.gifThere
some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to
place his hand on him. After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into
the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a
deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were
opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. Jesus commanded them not to
tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were
overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the
deaf hear and the mute speak.’”
https://earlychurchhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Christ-Healing-
DeafDumb.pnghttps://earlychurchhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Christ-Healing-
DeafDumb.pngChrist Healing a Deaf and Dumb Man—Domenico Maggiotto (1713—1794)
In this miracle the man is totally deaf either before or after his birth and thus he could barely talk.
One has to hear in order to speak. Jesus puts His fingers into the man’s ears so he could hear.
Then He spit into His hand and touched the man’s tongue with His spit.The deaf and mute man
could hear and speak. The Man called the Logos (the Word in Greek)) in John 1:1 brought words
into that man’s life. And the man could hear The Word.
The third time Jesus used His spittle to cure a blind man is in Mark 8:22:-25:
https://earlychurchhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Jesus-Healing-Blind-
content/uploads/2019/04/Jesus-Healing-Blind-Man-2.jpg“They came to Bethsaida, and some
people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand
and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him,
Jesus asked, ‘Do you see anything?’ He looked up and said, ‘I see people; they look like trees
walking around.’ Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened,
his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.”
The blind man’s friends asked Jesus “to touch” the blind one. So “He took the blind man by the
hand and lead him outside the village.” He touched him. When they were alone, He spit into the
man’s eyes and touched him again. The blindman saw but he did not see clearly. So Jesus

172. “touched” him again, “put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was
restored and he saw everything clearly.””
Some see this miracle as in two parts. The first part Jesus’ spit does restore some sight. But when
he again touches the man’s eyes, he sees completely. “The “Touch of the Master’s Hand.”
In all these miracles saliva is a form of the Greek verb ptuó, “to spit.” (Maybe that is why we say
“Ptoo” when someone spits?) It must be said that in Jesus’ time, He is the only one in his small
world Who KNEW the healing value of Saliva. The Old Testament saw spittle as an insult, a bad
thing.
17:6 “God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit.”
Job 30:10 “They detest me and keep their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.”
Isaiah 50:6
“I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not
hide my face from mocking and spitting.”
Later the Talmud recognized saliva as a healer.
The Roman naturalist and writer Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) who was contemporary with Jesus
has a whole chapter in his Natural History on the many, often ridiculous and fanciful,
diseases/injuries that can be cured by “fasting saliva” (meaning saliva in the morning before
breakfast). He mentions in 28.7: “lichens and leprous spots may be remedied by early morning
application of fasting spittle….eyes may be cured by early morning fasting spittle.” So the
student of Nature Pliny did at least know the healing properties of saliva.
Thousand of years later in our day microbiologists have turned their attention and experiments to
the half gallon of our saliva generated each day. (We don’t swallow our saliva when we are
asleep—hence “fasting saliva.”)
under a merismo microscopy
They have found histatins in our spit. Histatins, a protein, are a group of histidine-rich cationic
peptides which are antibacterial and antifungal and are found only in humans and primates.
They, also, found neutrophils with their abundance of white blood cells which are the micro cells
that protect our body against infectious diseases and foreign invaders. And they found laminim
in our saliva!
Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia talks about laminim: : “a
glycoprotein component of connective tissue basement membrane that promotes cell adhesion”
Miriam Webster Dictionary
https://earlychurchhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Praise..org/wp-
content/uploads/2019/04/Praise.pngIf one believes that Jesus was the Son of God, it is not
enigmatic He knew the healing powers of saliva two thousand years ago.
“I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Thy works, and that
my soul knoweth right well.” King David Psalm 139:14 KJV—Article by Sandra Sweeny Silver

173. Why did Jesus spit on people?
BACK TO
BLOG FEED
by Stephen M. Miller
March 14, 2014
J e s u s h e a l s b l i n d m a n
HERE’S MUD IN YOUR EYE. It seems odd of Jesus – if not rude – to mix up a tiny paste of
mud from his own spit and smear it on the eyes of a blind man. But a Roman science book
written in the same century Jesus lived says physicians used spit and mud as a treatment for eye
disease. Art by Andrey Mironov.
FOR SOMEONE WHO COULD STOP THE WIND with the word, it sure seems odd that
Jesus needed to use a spit and mud poultice to heal blind people.
When Mother Nature dipped her blender into the Sea of Galilee, whipping up quite the storm,
Jesus pulled the plug with just a few words: “Silence! Be still!” (Mark 4:39).
And when something pulled the plug on Lazarus, leaving him no more able to suck air than my
old Hoover (rest in peace), Jesus fired him right back up with just a few more words: “Lazarus,
come out!” (John 11:43).
So when Jesus came across a man born blind, why resort to this odd treatment:
“He [Jesus] spit on the ground. He made some mud and smeared it on the man’s eyes. Then he
said, ‘Go and wash off the mud in Siloam Pool,’” (John 9:6-7).
Here’s the Friday Fun Fact.
Doctors used spit and mud in Roman times to treat various diseases.
The treatments show up in a collection of 37 science books called Natural History, written by a
Roman science writer named Pliny (A.D. 23-79).
Here are two of those ancient Roman treatments for eye problems:

174. • “To cure inflammation of the eyes, wash the eyes each morning with spit from your
overnight fast.”
• “To protect your eyes from developing eye diseases….Each time you wash dust off your
feet, touch your eyes three times with the muddy water.”
My son-in-law, Dr. Jonathan Eck, who is an optometrist at Vision Professionals of Leawood
(yeah, a family promo), tells me that saliva does contain some antibacterial and antiviral
properties.
But he is quick to add that it’s probably not a great idea to lick our wounds or rub spit in our
eyes. He says we have safer and more effective options than the Romans had.
Bible experts trying to explain why Jesus bothered with this technique usually say he was trying
to help build the man’s faith for what was about to happen by applying medical methods popular
at the time.
But it’s just a guess. Bible writers don’t often answer the “why” questions – perhaps because
they don’t know why.
For a little more background on this topic, see my earlier post: Jesus used a Roman Rx for
blindness. Or for lots of info about how Jesus’ miracles sometimes tracked with Roman medical
practices, buy my book: Understanding Jesus: A Guide to His Life and Times.
Why Did Jesus Put Spit in his Eyes? There is
beauty in the details.
Erik Raymond | December 14, 2010
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/profile/erik-raymond/
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The passage is familiar. Maybe too familiar.
And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had
spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” (Mar
8.23)

175. One of the great tragedies of our Christian experience is familiarity with Jesus. We read these
miracle accounts and fill in the punch line before we even consider the magnitude piled up in the
specifics.
In this incident we know of course that the miracle of restoring the blind man’s sight
demonstrates that Jesus is Son of God (Mark 1.1). He has divine power because he is God. But
further still, he is the one who gives sight to the blind. And why are they blind in the first place?
It is because of the curse of sin. Therefore, Jesus is the great restorer of humanity. He is the one
who rescues from sin, Satan, and death. He is the one who means to make his blessings flow, ‘far
as the curse is found’ as we like to sing this time of year.
But think with me about these familiar details. Jesus takes his spit and rubs it on the blind man’s
eyes. This is a bit odd, don’t you think? Jesus takes spit from his own mouth and applies it to the
one who is so severely afflicted by the venom of sin’s curse.
This would not be the last time that fluid from within Jesus would become symbolic for healing
of those afflicted by the curse. In due time this same powerfully compassionate Jesus would
punctuate his ministry at the end of his death march to Golgotha. There he would suffer the
wrath of men as he anticipates the wrath of God. He would soon be slain like a lamb on the altar
of the cross. He would stain that wood with crimson as he dies for sinners.
Surely you see the connection now. Jesus would take his own blood and shed it for us. He would
apply his blood to us. He would cleanse us, heal us, restore us, make us new. This blood of
Christ is sin atoning, enemy reconciling, sight giving, blood. Christ would shed and apply this
blood for us that we might, like this blind man, see. He means for us to see.
And thanks be to God we see. All who have been graciously, sovereignly, compassionately
touched by the Savior and received the healing blood of his cross, we can see. Yes we all, like
this guy from Bethsaida, have some blurriness of sight (Mk. 8.24). But, don’t look away
discouraged. See the Savior touch again. See him dip his finger in the great ocean of his blood
and reapply. We are seeing better. We are loving more. This is due to the Savior’s powerful and
gracious compassion. (Mk. 8.25).
Why Did Jesus Spit?
l "l "l "l "Three times in the Bible, Jesus spit to heal people.
In Mark 7:32-35, a deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to Jesus. Jesus put His
finger in the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue, then looked up to Heaven and groaned,
and said to him, "Ephatha!" (that is, "Be opened!") And immediately the man’s ears were
opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.
In Mark 8:22-25, in Bethsaida, a blind man was brought to Jesus. Jesus took the blind man
outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes, He laid hands on him and asked, "Do you see
anything?" Looking up the man replied, "I see people looking like trees and walking." Then
Jesus laid hands on his eyes a second time and the man saw clearly, his sight was restored and he

176. could see everything distinctly.
In John 9:1-7, Jesus meets up with a blind man who was blind from birth. Jesus spat on the
ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on the man’s eyes, and said to him,
"Go wash in the Pool of Siloam" (which means sent). So he went and washed, and came back
able to see.
Did you ever wonder why, in all these three healings, why Jesus spit? Why did He not just heal
these three people, as He did all the others, without spittle?
One reason, I believe, is that in the days of Jesus, the Jewish people believed spittle from the first
born of every family, had a great healing power. I believe Jesus, in going with that Jewish
tradition, used His spittle in these three healings to testify to everybody that He was the first born
of God the Father, and the only begotten Son of God.
To go further in this - you notice the Bethsaida blind man was not born blind, but became blind
later in life. Otherwise how would he know what trees looked like, or people looking like trees
walking. Jesus put spittle on this man’s eyes to heal him. But the blind man in John 9 was born
blind. This probably means he had no eyeballs at all, just empty sockets. Since God, as written in
Genesis 2:7 "formed man out of the clay of the ground---", Jesus spat on the ground and made
clay with His own saliva. He then formed and created two eyeballs out of this clay, the same way
God formed and created Adam.
One other thing: Jesus took the blind man in Bethsaida, outside the village to heal him. Why take
him outside Bethsaida? Could it tie in with what Jesus states in Matthew 11:20-22 "Woe to you,
Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been
done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to
you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you."
Bethsaida, Chorazin and also Capernaum were cursed by Jesus because the people did not repent
after all the miracles He had done there. I believe Jesus felt compassion for this blind man, but
because of the way the people reacted to Jesus in the town itself, He had to take the blind man
outside the city limits to heal him.
Hopefully this comment will help us understand why Jesus used spittle in some healings, why
clay was used in one, and why the blind man was taken out of the town of Bethsaida for his
healing.
By George Konig
September 5, 2004
www.georgekonig.org

177. Why the Healings with Mud and Spit?
10/19/2016
P i c t u r e
Three accounts in the New Testament tell us how, on different occasions, Jesus healed
individuals in what seem to be very strange ways.
In the first case, near Decapolis Jesus healed a man who was deaf and near-mute by putting his
fingers into the man’s ears, then spitting and touching the man’s tongue (Mark 7:31-37). Later, in
Bethsaida, he healed a blind man by spitting on the man’s eyes and putting his hands on him
(Mark 8:22-26). On another occasion, in Jerusalem Jesus healed a man born blind by spitting on
the ground, making mud with the saliva, and putting it on the man’s eyes (John 9:6).
Numerous suggestions have been made to explain why Jesus utilized such strange actions in the
course of these healings. Perhaps the most common explanation is that he was “recreating” the
person’s hearing or sight using mud as a symbol of the original creation of man from the “dust of
the earth” (Genesis 2:7). This might account for the possible reference to creation made by those
who witnessed the miracle recorded in John: “Never since the world began has it been heard that
anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind” (John 9:32 ESV). But this may be no more than an
expression (Acts 3:21, etc.), and the idea does not explain the use of saliva alone in the two
accounts that do not mention mud.
Another explanation is that just as he rejected human religious traditions in other cases, Jesus
used mud in direct contradiction of Jewish traditions that prohibited healing on the Sabbath by
mixing mud with spittle. This idea is based on the fact that the Mishnah specifically states “To
heal a blind man on the Sabbath it is prohibited to inject wine in his eyes. It is also prohibited to
make mud with spittle and smear it on his eyes” (Shabbat 108:20), but apart from the fact that,
again, only one of the three recorded miracles involved making mud, the Mishnah dates to after
the time of Jesus. It is even possible that the prohibition against healing with mud and spittle
came about as a result of Christ’s miracle.
A better understanding of these miracles is gained by considering the evidence we find in the
Book of John. It is important to remember that John’s Gospel does not simply follow the pattern
of the other three Gospels which were written much earlier. Instead, John – who doubtless had
seen the other Gospels – went to lengths to supplement their accounts with additional
information that he remembered, but which the other Gospels did not include.
Keeping this in mind, it is important to note the context of John’s account. In John chapter 8 the
apostle carefully records an extended argument between Jesus and the Jews who opposed him.
Throughout this account we see that Jesus repeatedly stressed his Sonship and relationship with

178. the Father: “Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,”
Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also”( John 8:19), “They did not
understand that he was telling them about his Father” (John 8:27, etc.). At one point in this
chapter the Jews even made a thinly veiled accusation against Jesus “…We are not illegitimate
children…” (John 8:41), and Jesus’ response was to stress, once again, his true Sonship: “… If
God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on
my own; God sent me … My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me”
(John 8:42, 54).
Now, getting back to the mud and spit miracles, we should note that saliva was widely believed
to have healing properties in the ancient world. For example, the classical writers Celsus, Galen,
and Pliny all mention its medicinal properties – especially the saliva of distinguished persons –
and it is even said that the Emperor Vespasian was urged to spit in the eyes of a blind man in
order to heal him. So it is perhaps not surprising that the Jews of the First Century seem to have
had a tradition that the saliva of a legitimate, firstborn heir could have healing properties against
several infirmities – including blindness (Talmud, Bava Batra 126b).
So given the widespread beliefs in its medicinal properties, it is possible that Jesus used saliva in
some of his healings as a physical sign that he was healing the person involved. But the
background of Jesus’ legitimacy and Sonship found throughout John chapter 8 suggests that it
was this issue that was the specific context for the healing in John 9 – and perhaps the other,
related situations. By using saliva in these healings, Jesus demonstrated not only his ability to
perform miracles, but also that he was indeed a legitimate and firstborn son – the Firstborn Son
of God.