“They Look Like Trees” – Jesus Revealed Part V

Sermon Title: “They Look Like Trees”: A Two- Staged Miracle

Good News Statement: Jesus restores our sight

Preached: Sunday, February 05, 2022 at Dogwood Prairie UMC & Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NIV): Mark 8:22-26 Today’s scripture reading comes from the Gospel of Mark chapter eight five verses twenty-two thru twenty-six. In this passage, Mark introduces us to a rather peculiar miracle. In this miracle it takes Jesus two tries to restore the vision of a blind man in Bethsaida…

 

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²² They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. ²³ 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?”

²⁴ He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵ 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. ²⁶ Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

 

Introduction:

If you have blue eyes, then you share a common ancestor with every other blue-eyed person in the world. The first person ever to have blue eyes lived between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. Before then, all people had brown eyes. Your eyes contain 107 million cells which are sensitive to light: 7 million cells help you see color and details, and 100 million cells help you see better in the dark. To have 20/20 vision simply means your vision is “normal.” On average, you blink 17 times per minute, 14,280 times in a 14 hour day, and 5.2 million times a year. You blink less while you are reading and more while you are talking. And lastly, a typical blink lasts 100 to 150 milliseconds. Your eyes are miracles in themselves.[i]

The Gospels contain only one story, Mark 8:22-26, in which Jesus required two tries to complete a miracle—a miracle focused on eyes. Jesus first puts his saliva on a blind man’s eyes, touches him with his hands, and asks, “Can you see anything?” The man replies, “I can see people, but they look like tress, walking.” Jesus attempts the healing again, and this time he is successful. Matthew and Luke, who used Mark as a source, omitted this miracle; and John, who also likely had access to Mark’s writings, wouldn’t come near it. Matthew, Luke, and John likely found this two stage healing miracle to be insufficiently glorious; they did not think Jesus needed a do-over. This miracle almost portrays Jesus as a failure.

Although Matthew, Luke, and John, don’t think Jesus needed a do-over, Mark seems to think otherwise. This miracle points to the realization that Jesus needed a second chance to restore sight to this blind man in Bethsaida: Jesus didn’t get it right the first time. This miracle is a reminder to all of us that Jesus will help us see what we want to see but at the same time he is willing to help us see what he needs us to see: the blind man saw people that looked like trees walking around but then Jesus completely restored this man’s vision so that he would see clearly what Jesus sees. Do you need Jesus to restore your vision?

Body:

From our Scripture, Jesus and his disciples encounter a blind man in the town of Bethsaida. People bring this man to Jesus, begging Jesus to restore this man’s sense of sight. Jesus does, but it takes him two tries. There are a number of unusual facts about this miracle. First, it is only recorded in the Gospel of Mark; second, it is the only time Jesus healed someone in stages; and third, it is the only time Jesus actually spits on anyone. To clarify this last unusual fact about this miracle, in Mark 7:31-37 Jesus healed a deaf man with a speech impediment by putting his fingers into the man’s ears, then spitting on his fingers and touching the man’s tongue. And when Jesus healed the man born blind in John 9, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and then put the mud on the man’s eyes and they were healed. But this text is notable because it is the only time Jesus ever literally spit on anyone. That alone should make you stop and think, “What’s going on here?”

But the real story of this miracle is that it is really two miracles in one, or more accurately, it is a two-stage miracle. After the first stage, the man can see but his vision is very blurry. Only when Jesus touches him a second time can he see clearly. All the Bible commentators remark on this because there is nothing else like it in the gospels. We know that everything Jesus did, he did for a purpose and it usually only took him once to perform any miracle. He never did “random” miracles or simply performed miracles for no reason at all. So there must be some purpose in the two-stage healing of this blind man. Are there things or people making your vision blurry today? Is there something or someone getting in the way of allowing you to see Christ fully? Do you need to have your spiritual eyes examined by Christ? “What’s going on here?”[ii]

First, Jesus doesn’t treat us all the same way. Mark writes, “They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him” (Mark 8:22). We have been to Bethsaida before. It was in Bethsaida, a town in Galilee, that, according to Luke 9:10, Jesus fed the five thousand. Then in Mark 6:45, Jesus had planned to go with his disciples to Bethsaida, but doesn’t get there until chapter eight. So Bethsaida isn’t just some town or place, it is a town or place that Jesus has already performed miracles in.

Then, some people brought this blind man to Jesus. “Some people” reminds me of the people who helped carry the paralyzed man to Jesus and then lowered him through a hole in the roof. Just like in the story of the paralyzed man, we don’t know who these people are: they could be his children, his family members, friends, servants, slaves, neighbors, or members of the synagogue. We don’t know who they are but yet they saw something in Jesus that this blind man needed. So they brought him to Jesus and begged Jesus to touch him. These people didn’t politely ask Jesus to heal this man; rather they begged, pleaded, and urged Jesus to do something. In Greek, the word for beg is parakaleo and is also translated to mean “please, request, and pray.” These people are requesting and praying and pleading and urging Jesus to heal this blind man whom the possibly don’t know: for by their faith, this blind man was saved.

So, Jesus does what he hasn’t done so far: he lays his hands upon this man and begins to heal him. This is the first encounter of Mark recording that Jesus physically touched someone to heal them. Remember, Jesus doesn’t heal you the same way he heals your neighbor. Jesus is not limited by anything or anyone, yet he does not treat us all the same. He heals one with a touch, another with a word, another with a glance, and yet another at a great distance. He touches one and never sees the other, and yet both are healed.[iii]

The truth is, he might do for you exactly what he’s done for someone else, or he might do more or he might do less or he might do something entirely different. He’s God. He can deal with us the way He wants. Our God is infinitely creative in the way he deals with us as He brings us to spiritual healing, as He helps us see what He needs us to see. The physical touch of Jesus allows power to flow from him to us, just as it flowed from the him to bleeding woman and to the “sleeping” daughter of Jairus. We need the physical touch of Jesus to be made whole and this touch is different for each and every one of us.

Second, Jesus deals with us according to our need. We see it clearly in this story. He dealt with this poor blind man privately by taking him outside the village in order to heal him. Mark states, “He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village” (Mark 8:23). In some translations, this verse states that Jesus grasps or seizes the man’s hand: Jesus has power over this man and is leading this man by force. Jesus touches the man, and the man can feel it. Biblical Scholar and author Amy-Jill Levine asks, when reflecting on this text, “Did the blind man feel pulled? Did he resist?” The man must have had trust, or faith, to allow Jesus to pull him away because he doesn’t refuse: he allows Jesus to take him by the hand and be taken outside the village.[iv] The blind man reminds us, that when Jesus pulls us to go somewhere or to do something we must not fight back but go where he is leading us—even if we can’t see the outcome.

Then  Mark writes, “When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, ‘Do you see anything?’” (Mark 8:23). Remember, this is the only time that Jesus spits directly on someone. In Mark 7, Jesus spits on his own fingers before touching the tongue of the deaf man; and in John 9, Jesus spits on the ground and makes mud with the saliva before placing the mud on the blind man’s eyes. Jesus is caring for this blind man in ways that are unique to this man’s needs. As a side note, many people in the first-century Mediterranean world believed that the spit, or saliva, of particular people had power. Furthermore, before Jesus is crucified, Mark reports, when talking about the Roman soldiers, “They struck his head with reed, spat upon him, and knelt down…” (Mark 15:19). In one seen, spit shows hatred; in another, it suggests healing. Jesus heals us based upon our needs; based on the power that we need to be made whole.

Not only does Jesus spit in the man’s eyes, he also places his hands on him. Again, Mark displays this concern for touch. If we think about those famous words written by Bill Gaither, then we know how life-changing a simple touch from Christ can be: “He touched me, oh He touched me, And oh the joy that floods my soul. Something happened and now I know, He touched me and made me whole.” Jesus knows what is needed to heal and to make us whole. We may not see it right away, but as time passes the reason will become clearer and more precise. We have to have faith in his touch and allow him to lead us to healing places.

Third, we don’t get better at the same rate or in the same way. After spitting and touching, Jesus asks this man, “Do you see anything?” (Mark 8:23). We can imagine the scene: Jesus, his hands on the man’s shoulders, looking intently into his eyes, almost pleading…do you see anything yet? Jesus doesn’t know if the healing will work. He has never restored sight to a blind man before. Does he have doubt? Is he hopeful? Is the human aspect of Christ taking over the divineness of Christ? Jesus is just like us: we doubt, we are unsure at times, we think something is going to work and it doesn’t, we make guesses, approximations, and estimates that are not even close to the real thing, and sometimes we don’t believe in ourselves. Maybe because of this particular miracle Jesus later states in Mark 9:23, “All things are possible for one who believes.” Did Jesus believe in himself? If he did, then why did he ask the man, “Do you see anything?”

Sometimes in life, we need more time to figure things out. We need more time to overcome our doubts, to build our self-confidence back up, to find the strength to keep moving forward, to believe in ourselves, and to have Jesus ask us, “Do you see anything?” Even when life gets blurry, we still have hope to one day see clearly. It may take some time and it may take more than one try, but with Jesus in our life we can be healed. My healing is different than your healing. But over time, Jesus will heal you and he will heal me.

Fourth, our own spiritual perception is often clouded and imperfect.  The blind man looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around” (Mark 8:24). He didn’t quote the words to Louis Armstrong’s song, What A Wonderful World, “I see trees of green, Red roses too, I see them bloom for me and you.” No, he said, “I see people that look like trees.” The man was able to distinguish what he saw from what he should see. He knew there was something not quite right about what he saw. He’s doing the best he can: he’s squinting, blinking rapidly, and trying to focus. He is able to make out something, but his vision is still blurry. This moment in the text reminds some of us of our own vision impairments. Weakening of the eyes creeps up on a number of people: we start holding the book farther away from our face or we move the pages up to the tip of our nose, glasses start creeping father down, lenses keep getting thicker, and the list goes on. Over time our vision begins to weaken and things get blurry.

Sometimes in life, our spiritual sight gets blurry as well. We lose focus on what God is calling us to do, things get blurry. We can’t see what Jesus needs us to see because we lose focus, things get blurry. We over look things and miss things that God has placed before us, things get blurry. And we allow our own wants and desires to distract us from fully answering Jesus’ question, “Do you see anything,” things get blurry. Our vision might not become clear overnight, it might take a few tries to get it perfect, but we must do what we can to make sure that what we see is  what Jesus needs us to see for the benefit of God’s kingdom and our church.

Lastly, this man was saved by his honesty. Mark writes, “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. Jesus sent him home, saying, ‘Don’t even go into the village’” (Mark 8:24-26).  He didn’t lie to Jesus. That’s a crucial insight. He could have said, “Lord, I see all things clearly.” If he had said that, he would never have gotten better. His honesty gave him the sight he did not have.

How hard it is to be honest with God? How difficult is it to admit our weaknesses? We must come to the Lord just as we are; and when we do, he takes us as we are, but he never leaves us that way. That’s why the invitation of Jesus is always very personal. Cast yourself upon the Lord and he will not turn you away, he will help you see again. Are you blind? Come to him. Is your vision blurry? Come to him. Do you see men as trees walking? Come to him. Come to him and you will not be disappointed. Because of the blind man’s honesty, and because of Jesus’ willingness to not give up, the blind man’s sight was restored and he began to see what Jesus needed him to see. I wonder what life would be like if we were always honest with God and we allowed God to correct our vision so that we could see not only today but tomorrow.

Conclusion:

I bet, as the now not blind man walked away, he was singing the words to Jimmy Cliff’s song, I Can See Clearly Now: “I can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It’s gonna be a bright (bright), Bright (bright) sunshiny day. Oh, yes I can make it now, the pain is gone. All of the bad feelings have disappeared. Here is that rainbow I’ve been praying for. It’s gonna be a bright (bright) Bright (bright) sunshiny day.”

During your life, you will struggle to see what Jesus needs you to see. You may even ask Jesus, “Why couldn’t you get it right the first time?” You may even want to give up after only seeing people that look like trees. But don’t give up. Jesus will continue to work in your life until you begin to see clearly, until you begin to see what he sees. Be honest with him, and let him change your life. Let him touch your shoulder, hold your hand, lead you to sacred places, and let him wipe away the mud from your eyes. Don’t be afraid to tell Jesus what you see because he might respond by giving you what you need to see. Can you see anything? Are you ready to see clearly? Are ready you to see what Jesus sees?

 

Communion Transition:

            While gathered around the table with his disciples in an Upper Room in Jerusalem, through the bread and wine, Jesus opened the eyes of those gathered and those yet to come. By breaking the bread and lifting the cup and giving thanks to God, the Father, Jesus provided us with an image of salvation and forgiveness that helps us become whole, that helps us see the way, the truth, and the life, and grants us with a meaning of love that wipes away every tear. From this meal, we begin to see what Jesus needs us to see.

Benediction:

The two-stage miracle of Jesus restoring sight to the blind man is not a miracle about failure: it is a miracle that give us the ability to choose. Do we want to only see what we want to see or do we want to see what Jesus needs us to see? When things are blurry, don’t give up. May God bless you with His vision. Go, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit as you seek to see what Jesus needs you to see. And all God’s people said, “Amen.” Amen. Amen.

 

 

 

[i] www.telegraph.co.uk – www.sciencedaily.com –  www.health.howstuffworks.com –  www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

If you wore glasses which flipped images upside down, your brain would correct your vision. Although you would see things upside down for a few days, your brain would eventually adapt, and make sure that you see everything the right way.

[ii] I. Why did he heal this man in stages?

It was not because of any lack in Jesus, as if he didn’t have the power to heal him all at once. It was not because this man’s blindness was a particularly hard case. It was not because Jesus tried and failed the first time. Jesus healed this man in stages to prove that even when we see,  we don’t necessarily see what Jesus needs us to see. At first this man simply sees people that look like trees walking around: this man can see. But then, Jesus puts his hands on the man’s eyes again (Mark 8:25) and the man sees clearly: he sees what Jesus needs him to see—the face of God, the hands of healing, the eyes of love and truth. This miracle happened in stages because it is in stages that we begin to see what Jesus needs us to see: we see the lost, the hungry, the hurting, the sorrow, and we see the love and grace that can save someone’s life. We don’t see these things all at once, instead we see them in stages. Jesus needs us to see what he sees.

1. What do we learn from the immediate context?

If you go back to the beginning of Mark 8, you have the miracle of the feeding of the 4000 (Mark 8:1-10). Immediately afterwards the Pharisees came to argue with him (Mark 8:11-12). After Jesus and the disciples got into a boat, he warned them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees (Mark 8:15). Leaven is another word for the yeast necessary for baking bread, but in this case it refers to the false teaching of the Pharisees. But the disciples thought he was talking about literal bread. Jesus then rebuked the disciples by saying, “Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?” (Mark 8:18). The disciples, like the blind man, have a blurred vision. They don’t see what Jesus sees and because of this, they can’t see the truth—they can’t see beyond their own wants and desires. The disciples, although can see, are blind: they have eyes, but do not see and they have ears but do not hear and they have a mind but do not remember.

The disciples remind me of my nieces and nephews when they get in trouble. Their parents usually blurt out with exasperation, “Didn’t you hear what I said? Have you forgotten everything I told you?” The answer of course is yes and no. Yes, they heard it but no, they didn’t remember it. My nieces and nephews, like the disciples and us included, have been given the gift to see and hear and remember the teachings of Jesus, but are we taking time to see and hear and remember clearly what Jesus is telling us. Sometimes, it takes us more than once to figure things out. “Yes, we heard you Jesus, but we need more help. We need clarification.”

Although the disciples have seen Jesus’ miraculous works and heard his powerful teachings and witnessed new life, they still can’t see what Jesus needs them to see.

[iii] One night we fish and catch nothing. The next day our nets are filled to breaking. I may be in prison one night and an angel may come to set me free. Or God may send an earthquake to deliver me. Or I may die in prison as many Christians have over the years. A loved one with a dread disease may be spared by God for several years, only to die from that disease eventually. One day I may sense God’s Spirit working powerfully in my life. Another day I may plod through the doldrums. So it goes for all of God’s children.

[iv] We see this same act by God when God takes Israel by the hand. Jeremiah 31:32 states, “by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt” and in Isaiah 42:6-7, “I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as…a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”