By: Denny

Mark 8:22-25 (NKJV) Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand an led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees walking.” Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

The account of Jesus healing this particular blind man is only recorded by Mark in his gospel. I’ve often wondered why the man wasn’t healed completely when Jesus touched him the first time, as was the case with others, and He needed to touch him twice. Was Jesus tired from long days of walking and ministering healings and deliverance to the masses that His power had drained a little. Absolutely not! God’s power is never weakened or diminished by any means or circumstances, and neither was Jesus’ ability to instantly heal. In fact, He only needs to speak one word and people are healed, demons flee, and the dead are raised. The very creation itself must obey as when He calmed the sea or made all those fish appear on the right side of Peter’s boat. When they came to arrest Him in the Garden of Gethsemane that night, He didn’t resist them saying, “Do you think that I cannot now pray to my Father and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53) One legion was somewhere around 7,000. When they said they were seeking Jesus of Nazareth, the very words He replied, “I am He”, had such power that they all fell to the ground backwards. (John 18:4-6) It wasn’t the nails that held Him to the cross either. It was the greater purpose that He knew He was accomplishing and fulfilling all that the scriptures foretold, and that He would be the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sin of mankind. When and if Jesus limits His power, it’s because there is always a greater purpose. Think about this: God could’ve delivered His people from Egypt with only one plague had he chosen to do so. With each of the ten plagues His glory and power were being displayed in greater measure, for the benefit of Israel that they would believe, and for the defeat of Pharoah. Also, why wasn’t Naaman healed of his leprosy after the first dip in the Jordan River instead of having to dip seven times as instructed by Elijah? (2 Kings 5:10-14) Likewise, why did God command Joshua to walk around Jericho seven times before the walls came down when He could have just as easily destroyed it like He did Sodom and Gomorrah? (Joshua 6) And why did Elijah have to send his servant to look seven times until the rain cloud appeared and ended the drought which Elijah himself previously spoke into being? (1 Kings 19:43) I think in the above examples God was testing to see if they first would obey and secondly if they would persist until the healing, victory, or answer came. In the case of the blind man, I found it interesting that Jesus touched him then asked him what he saw. His reply was, “ I see men like trees walking.” I suppose for someone who had been blind that would be a good description of what he saw for the first time, as opposed to saying everything was blurry, having previously not known or experienced what clear vision even was. After Jesus touched him the second time, the man saw everything clearly.

In the previous verses of Mark 8:14-16, Jesus and His disciples had yet to reach Bethsaida. While still in the boat Jesus warned them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. They totally missed it thinking He was talking about bread when He was referring to the false doctrines of the self-proclaimed religious elite as well as those of the political arena that would bring mixture and taint the truth. Vs. 17-18 “You do not perceive or understand because your hearts are still hardened. Having eyes, you do not see, and having ears, you do not hear.” In essence they had been with Jesus for some time now and He had no doubt touched their lives. However, they still lacked understanding and needed a second touch so they could see clearly. That second touch came after His resurrection on the day of Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised He would send. Their spiritual eyes were opened, and they understood and saw everything clearly that was written in the scriptures. Perhaps Jesus healing the blind man as He did was to reinforce or demonstrate to His disciples their need also for a second touch.

I said all that as a prelude to make this statement and point: According to a poll by George Barna, president of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, 69% of US adults self-identify as being Christian in their faith. Unbelievably, 58% contend the Holy spirit is not a real living being, and many don’t acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Savior. 57% embrace the concept of Karma while sadly only 6% possess a biblically based world view and look to the Bible for moral guidance, understanding, and absolute truth. Say what! The leaven of false doctrines that Jesus warned about has so infiltrated the “Church” that many professing Christians have rejected the foundational truths of scripture. They base their beliefs more on feelings and experiences and have become like the blind man stumbling about, or having been once touched by Jesus they’re still not seeing clearly. They claim and espouse love and compassion, yet they see people as trees or objects to promote their self-serving Woke ideologies and agendas. As if that weren’t bad enough, they’ve also allowed the leaven of Herod to skew any sense of discernment they may have ever had, by bowing down to the socialistic political idols of the day. Tune in to any news broadcast and you can’t help but conclude that America is on a downward spiral of chaos, corruption, confusion, and moral decline much like that of ancient Rome. It seems like those in this current administration  love to have it so, and they have become the blind leading the blind and the half seeing. America needs restoration. Her only hope is a second touch from Jesus, and it begins with those who ask and seek it. May that be your heart’s desire and earnest prayer.