Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Mark chapter 8. Mark chapter 8, page 844 in your pew Bible. Mark chapter 8, we'll read beginning in verse 22.
Mark 8, verse 22. 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 men, but they look like 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.
Thus far the reading of God's word. May he bless it to us.
Well, there's no doubt that we live in a highly visual age, probably the most visual age in human history.
It wasn't always like this. In the ancient world, of course, it wasn't quite as visual as it is today. Maybe an odd cave painting here or there, but it was an oral culture.
And people would sit around the campfire, and they would tell stories. And these stories would be passed down for centuries.
This is where we get the Gilgamesh epic, or Beowulf, or even Homer's stories.
And then, for centuries, this was the way of life. And then we have the invention of the printing press.
And then we become a written culture. Published material becomes affordable, and common people can own books, and literacy rates skyrocket.
And this way of life lasted until just a few years ago, when we became a digital culture.
We don't read books made of paper and ink anymore. We read ones and zeros on a screen.
Most of us walk around with HD cameras in our pocket.
Seeing is believing has never been more true. We must see to believe.
But imagine if you lost your ability to see.
Those of you who may have struggled with visual impairment know how debilitating this condition can be.
All of life has to change to accommodate this condition.
Seeing is no longer believing for those who struggle with their eyesight, for those who walk in darkness.
But even more debilitating than physical blindness is spiritual blindness.
This is our condition apart from the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit.
We're blind to the things of God. We're dead in our trespasses and sin.
We cannot see our triune God as creator, as redeemer, as the maker of all things new.
Apart from Christ, we walk in darkness.
The Word of God speaks quite often about blindness.
In the ancient world, it was much more common than it is today.
Some scholars estimate as many as much as 10% of the population suffered from some level of blindness.
This was mainly due to poor sanitation and the unchecked glare of the sun.
And you can imagine how much Moses wished he would have had a pair of sunglasses.
He's walking around the desert for 40 years.
This condition was a common part of everyday life, though.
But when Scripture speaks of blindness, it often refers to a spiritual condition.
So in Deuteronomy chapter 16, it refers to corrupt judges whose eyes are blinded.
Isaiah 44 mentions idolaters who are blind in their false worship.
We see Jesus repeatedly in the Gospels condemning the scribes and Pharisees for being blind to the ways of God.
For those with physical blindness, there is no hope to be cured.
There is no miracle cream or special pill.
This condition could not be remedied by self-effort.
The same is true for spiritual blindness back then and today.
You cannot work your way out of this condition.
You can only look to the work of another.
The one who can bring us from darkness to light.
And this is why Messiah came.
Only the Messiah can open the eyes of the blind, both physically and spiritually.
It's only through his work that we see the truths of God's word.
The greatness of our sin and misery.
But the offer of forgiveness with God and reconciliation with him.
And we see this in our passage today here in Mark chapter 8.
First we see that the Messiah has come to heal us of physical blindness.
And second, the Messiah has come to heal spiritual blindness.
Because Jesus has healed us of spiritual blindness, we must consistently be reminded of the nature of his work.
So first we see that Jesus has come to heal physical blindness.
We see that the disciples, Jesus' disciples, come to Bethsaida.
They just crossed the Sea of Galilee.
They come to Bethsaida.
And they're introduced to this man born blind.
We see his utter dependence upon others to help him.
He's brought to Jesus.
Some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.
He's unable to come to Christ by his own power.
He cannot reach the Messiah through his own effort.
So his friends lead him to the Savior.
This was no chance encounter that we see in the Gospels where Jesus is walking on the road and someone calls out to him to heal him.
No.
This was a purposeful seeking out of the Savior.
Not only do they bring this man to Christ, but once they're there, they beg Jesus to touch him.
To heal him.
They weren't hired by the blind man at some sort of taxi service.
And they don't just bring him to Jesus and say,
Okay, I hope it goes well.
No.
They bring him to the Savior and they implore him to touch him because they know that he is the one who can make their friend well.
This blind man has pretty good friends who go out of their way to bring him to the Messiah.
Just as a side note for us, this is a picture of prayer.
We cannot bring our friends to the literal feet of Jesus, but we can lift them up to him in prayer.
Beseech him on their behalf.
Well, Jesus exhibits great compassion to this blind man.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village.
This blind man who was brought to Jesus is now led by Jesus.
One who is rejected by society due to his blindness.
Yet Christ humbles himself and touches him, comforting him.
Jesus doesn't have the assumption that the disciples had when they see another blind man in John chapter 9.
They say, Who sinned?
This man or his parents that he was born blind.
No doubt they're just repeating the common assumption of the day that any debilitating illness was due directly to some person's sin.
No.
Jesus doesn't look at him as someone to be condemned for his sin, but he's one made in God's image.
And today he would be the object of the Savior's love.
Now, of course, the blind man's friends who brought him to Jesus could have led him out of the city.
But Jesus personally takes him by the hand.
No doubt he's talking to him as they walk out of the city.
He's hearing about his life.
Hearing about his story.
This man probably never told about his life to anyone else.
No one asked him how his day was.
No one cared to know him.
He spent his life in the fringes of society.
Yet the creator of the world is giving him his undivided attention.
Christ leads him out of the city and away from the crowds in order to focus his entire attention on him.
You see, at this point in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus begins turning away from the crowds.
He's away from all the multitudes.
He says earlier in Mark chapter 8 that he's not there to perform signs.
He's there to instruct his disciples on the nature of his Messiahship.
He cannot be distracted from his duty by the crowds who want him to perform parlor tricks so they can be amused.
Wow.
The next thing he does seems highly unusual to us.
He spits in this man's eyes.
It seems rather disgusting to our 21st century ears.
But you have to remember, these are the days before hand sanitizer.
They weren't so worried about every germ as we are today.
And saliva was actually believed to be a healing agent in the ancient world.
There are multiple miracles reported involving saliva.
Perhaps the most famous miracle was allegedly performed by the soon-to-be Emperor Vespasian, who is the Roman general who sacked Jerusalem in AD 70.
Allegedly, allegedly, he healed someone of blindness with saliva, adding to his legend on the way to the Roman throne.
Who knows if that was true.
So Jesus could have been using this convention for his own act of healing, as he did previously in Mark chapter 7.
He heals a deaf man using saliva.
Or he simply could have been cleaning dirt from the man's eyes.
You can imagine, first century Palestine, it's very dry, very dusty.
This man who doesn't use his eyes, no doubt.
Dirt would build up.
Things would have to be cleared away before Jesus can open his eyes.
He knows that this man is about to see.
Either way, this act demonstrates the closeness of attention that Jesus gives this man.
This intimate connection that he has with this blind man.
Again, Jesus touches him.
This time, a healing touch.
This man who was regarded as defiled, an outcast of society.
He only would have been touched by others who in some way were defiled themselves.
Yet, Jesus touches him.
Now, this touch of Christ, this healing touch, is a sign of the age to come, breaking into this present evil age.
You remember in the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, the Levitical law.
If you are ceremonially clean, and you touch something that is ceremonially unclean, what happens?
It's instantly, you're unclean.
So if you're riding down the road in your ox cart, there's a dead animal blocking the road.
You get down, you move the dead animal out of the way.
Instantly, you're unclean.
And you must be purified.
The unclean corrupts the clean.
The unholy corrupts the holy.
But now, with Christ's advent, the kingdom of God is at hand, and we get a foretaste of the redemption that is coming.
Now, when the holy touches the unholy, the unholy is transformed.
The unholy becomes holy in Christ.
We see this throughout the Gospels.
You remember the woman with the issue of blood.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, both, all three, recount her story.
For 12 years, she has this condition.
Every day of her life, she was unclean.
Can you imagine?
Her daily toil.
Never once, not knowing a day when she could be clean.
And she comes to Jesus and touches him.
And what happens?
Is he defiled?
No.
Instantly, she is made clean.
The unholy becomes holy when it comes in contact with the Savior.
The same is true for the prostitutes, the tax collectors, and sinners.
When Jesus hangs out with them, is he defiled?
Of course not.
He makes them holy.
They don't corrupt him.
He purifies them.
This concept is absolutely radical.
And it horrified the first century Jews, the scribes and Pharisees,
who were so proud of their adherence to the law and their ceremonial cleanliness.
They would not even come within feet of someone who was unclean.
And they see Jesus touching those who are outcasts and defiled.
And yet, he makes them clean.
He transformed them.
And this concept is only beginning with the advent of Christ, the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The kingdom of God is being extended throughout the earth until one day all will be made clean.
All the unholy will be holy.
All will be transformed.
Because Christ will make all things new.
This is the power of our Savior.
And he touches the blind man and he asks him for the results.
Do you see anything?
And the blind man gives an interesting response.
And he looked up and said, I see men, but they look like trees walking.
He can now see, but only partially.
The healing is not complete.
So Jesus touches him again.
And it seems odd that he would heal in this two-fold manner.
It's the only time in the New Testament that we see this.
And he does it for a very important reason, which we'll see in a minute.
But with this second touch, Mark gives us a three-fold description.
He opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
There's no doubt as to the effectiveness of this second touch.
It is complete and total.
Now, most likely for the same reason that Jesus led him out of the village to avoid the crowds,
he now informs the blind man, do not even enter the village.
Again, Christ is focusing on his disciples.
He's not there to perform signs for the crowds.
He's there to instruct the disciples on the nature of his Messiahship.
Now, with this healing of physical blindness,
Jesus is giving concrete proof that he is indeed the Messiah.
In all of Scripture, only the Messiah opens the eyes of the blind.
Many miracles are performed.
People are even raised from the dead.
But only the Messiah can open the eyes of those who do not see.
After Christ seals that blind man in John chapter 9,
the Pharisees question him, and he responds,
Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone
opened the eyes of a man born blind.
This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah,
that when the Messiah comes, the eyes of the blind shall be opened.
In Matthew chapter 11, John the Baptist is in prison.
And he's about to die, and he needs one last confirmation
that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.
That he is who he says he is.
Perhaps John's expectations of the Messiah's kingdom hasn't come true.
If the kingdom of heaven is at hand as I've been preaching,
why am I in jail?
And he needs to know that Jesus is the one.
So he sends his disciples to Jesus and asks him,
Are you the one who is to come?
Or shall we look to another?
And Jesus does not hesitate.
He says, Go and tell John what you hear and see.
The blind receive their sight.
And he lists other things.
He says, You want proof that I'm the Messiah?
Here's the first proof.
The blind now see.
That's all the proof you need.
Only the Messiah can do this.
Only the Messiah opens the eyes of the blind.
We see here in our passage that the Messiah has come to heal physical blindness
as only he can.
But more importantly, he has come to heal spiritual blindness.
We see this clearly in this passage.
Now what's the blind man's spiritual condition?
We don't know.
Perhaps he believed.
We hope he believed.
But physical healing is not direct proof of spiritual healing.
We know many people in the Gospels who were physically healed by Jesus
and didn't believe in him as Messiah.
But the blind man's lack of spiritual sight is not the most important in this passage.
It's the disciples' spiritual blindness that is the key.
They are the main focus of this narrative, yet they appear nowhere in it.
You see, the main question of the first half of the Gospel of Mark is,
Who is Jesus?
And the disciples repeatedly get this answer wrong.
They don't know what to make of Jesus.
They think he's the Messiah, but he's not really the Messiah that they were looking for.
And so he feeds the 5,000 in chapter 5.
And then in chapter 8, he feeds 4,000.
And he rebukes the Pharisees for demanding a sign.
And as they're crossing the Sea of Galilee after these events,
he's crossing with the disciples and he uses their lack of bread
to warn them of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod.
But the disciples are hung up on the fact that they don't have bread.
They're consumed by the God of their bellies.
And they grumble and complain, just like Israel in the wilderness.
So Jesus rebukes them in verse 18.
Having eyes, do you not see?
Having ears, do you not hear?
And do you not remember?
When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000,
how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?
They said to him, 12.
And the seven for the 4,000?
How many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?
They said to him, seven.
He said to them,
Do you not yet understand?
The answer to that question is no.
They don't understand.
They don't really know who he is or what he came to do.
They don't understand the main theme of the Gospel of Mark,
which is the king and his kingdom.
Who is Jesus and what is his mission?
They're blind to who Jesus is.
And to demonstrate their condition,
Mark basically gives the reader what is a giant sermon illustration.
The disciples are just as seeing impaired as the blind man
when he first comes to Christ.
But there is hope.
Just after this healing comes the centerpiece of Mark's Gospel.
Jesus and the disciples go to Caesarea Philippi.
Jesus asks the questions,
Who do people say that I am?
Disciples tell him.
Some say John the Baptist.
Some say Elijah.
Some say other prophets.
And Jesus asks the most important question that anyone can ask.
Who do you say that I am?
Everyone at some point in life has to answer this question.
Who do you say Jesus is?
Is he a great teacher?
Is he a religious sage who taught us to love one another?
Or is he the Son of God?
If you've never been asked this question before today,
today is the day to answer.
Who do you say Jesus is?
Peter answers,
Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
In Matthew's account,
Jesus tells him,
Flesh and blood didn't reveal this to you,
but the Father who is in heaven.
Just as the blind man's eyes were opened,
so too Peter's eyes are now open to who Jesus is.
He came to this conclusion,
not through careful reasoning and contemplation.
He didn't weigh the evidence and decide in Christ's favor.
No.
He was completely blind in darkness
until the Father opened his eyes
and enabled him to see Jesus as Messiah.
So, imagine being in a first century church
and we receive our copy of the Gospel of Mark in the post.
You know this is how it took place in the first century.
Paul or one of the gospel writers would write a letter,
they'd write a gospel,
and they would send it by a messenger through the postal route.
And so what would happen is
the church would gather together
and the messenger would bring the letter or the gospel
before the congregation.
They would all be there in one place
and he would read the entire letter.
He'd read the entire gospel in one city.
And incidentally,
if you've never listened to the Gospel of Mark on audio,
check it out.
It's really amazing to hear it aloud.
You can find it on the internet.
It takes about 90 minutes
if you listen all the way through.
And the action comes alive.
This is how it was originally meant to be consumed.
You've heard it.
And the Gospel of Mark is like a comic book.
There's just action taking place one right after the other.
Jesus is doing such amazing things
and this really comes alive when you hear it audio.
And so we would be gathered together
and we'd hear the messenger reading the Gospel.
And we would hear the first chapters of the Gospel of Mark
and the disciples are confused.
They don't know what to make of Jesus.
And then we get to chapter 8
and he tells them,
you have eyes but you don't see.
And we think,
they're not getting it.
What's wrong?
And then we hear the story of the blind man
and we think,
why is this happening now?
And then we hear Peter's confession
and we think,
yes, they get it.
The disciples see.
Finally.
But then the messenger keeps reading
in verse 31 of 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.
And he said this plainly.
And Peter took him aside
and began to rebuke him.
But turning and seeing his disciples,
he rebuked Peter and said,
get behind me, Satan.
For you are not setting your mind
on the things of God
but on the things of man.
It can't be.
They recognize Jesus as Messiah
but not the crucified King.
They take two steps forward
and one step back.
Their eyes are opened by the Father.
But yet they do not have full sight.
They don't see as clearly
as the blind man did.
This is why the blind man
is healed in two stages.
Some critics like to say
that Jesus didn't have enough power
in the first touch
so he had to have another run at it.
He just raised Jairus' daughter
from the dead.
Of course he can open
the blind man's eyes.
No.
The blind man is healed partially
to demonstrate
the partial sight
of the disciples.
They think they see
but it's not clear yet.
The disciples see Jesus
as Messiah
but as the Messiah
they want him to be.
They say,
oh yes,
you're the one
for whom Israel has waited.
You're the one sent from God
and we're happy
to sit on your right hand
and left hand
as you ride into Jerusalem
on a white stallion,
overthrow the Romans,
establish your political kingdom.
We're happy to be part
of a glorious kingdom
with a conquering king.
But they wanted no part
of a suffering Messiah.
One who was rejected
by elders,
the chief priests and scribes.
One who was killed
by the hands of the Romans.
That was unthinkable.
So unthinkable
that Peter has the gall
to rebuke Jesus
for mentioning such things.
The disciples see
but not yet clearly.
They wanted the theology of glory.
He offered the theology
of the cross.
They wanted a golden throne
next to his.
He offered a wooden cross
on his right and his left.
They wanted their lives
to be saved.
He said,
you must lose it all
for my sake.
For what does it profit a man
if he gains the whole world
and loses his own soul?
What does it profit a disciple
if he gains a seat
in the restored kingdom of Israel
if he does not have
the Messiah
to die for his sins?
The disciples see
but not clearly.
They don't see clearly
in chapter 9
when he foretells
his death and resurrection.
A second time
they get confused
in chapter 10.
A third time
he foretells
his death and resurrection.
You remember after this
it's James and John
are jockeying
for the prime seats
in the kingdom.
They won't see clearly
until after the crucifixion,
after the resurrection,
and even after the ascension.
It's not until
the day of Pentecost
when they get
the full picture
of the crucified king.
As Peter stands up
in Acts 2.36
and he says,
Let all of the house
of Israel
know for certain
that God has made him
both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus
whom you crucified.
They finally get it.
The Lord and Christ
is the crucified Jesus.
No longer do they tell people
like the blind man
not to say anything.
No,
they are now eyewitnesses
to his resurrection.
They take the word
of the suffering Messiah
to the ends of the earth
as they are empowered
by the Holy Spirit.
They realize that Christ
has died for their sins,
that he was buried,
that he was raised again
for their justification.
They clearly see
the truths
of who Jesus is
and what he came to do.
Their spiritual eyes
have finally been opened.
Of course,
we are blessed
to stand on this side
of the cross
and the resurrection.
We have the full revelation
of God,
unlike the disciples here
in Mark chapter 8.
We're privy to the end
of the grand history
of redemption.
We've received
the Holy Spirit.
We see how Christ
has sent the gospel
to the ends of the earth.
We know that Satan
is bound
and that the church flourishes
and we await our King
in power and glory.
But so often
we want that power
and glory now.
We want the triumph
of the age to come today.
We don't want to suffer
as the church militants.
We want victory
and success in our lives.
We forget that we live
in this present evil age
and we demand
all the benefits
of the age to come
in this life.
Like the disciples,
we want the theology
of glory
and not the theology
of the cross.
The theology of the cross
is what Martin Luther
called the suffering
of Christians
for the cause of Christ.
Just as Simon the Cyrene
bore the cross of Jesus
on the way to Calvary
so too we are called
to suffer
to carry the cross.
To suffer for his sake.
Now this doesn't
earn us any merit
with God.
It just reminds us
of the suffering
of Christ
and the fallenness
of this world.
The theology of the cross
is contrasted
with the theology of glory
which seeks to avoid
the cross of Christ.
It wants all the benefits
of the age to come
in the here and now.
We wonder why
we should have to suffer
for Christ now.
We want to skip
the suffering
and get to the good part.
Let's get to the end
where we get all
the good stuff
and fast forward
through this suffering.
We want perfect
peace and contentment.
That's what the disciples
wanted.
And so often
it's what we want.
In the 16th century
there was a pastor
named Friedrich Myconius
who wrote
The History of the Reformation
1517-1542.
And he writes
of the indulgence
controversy
in 1517 and 18.
If you've seen
the Luther movie
you remember
it's a very good movie
by the way.
You remember
the indulgences
where Tetzel
comes rolling into town
and he's selling indulgences
which are pieces of paper
that can buy you time
off of purgatory
for you
or your loved ones.
And it's at this time
during the indulgence
controversy
that Luther is preaching
in a tiny
broken down chapel
at the Wittenberg
monastery
and Myconius notes
that this chapel
actually resembled
artists' rendition
of the stable
in Bethlehem
where Christ is born.
And Luther's battling
Rome
for selling indulgences
and Rome
is using the money
to build
St. Peter's Basilica
in Rome
which is the height
of wealth
and opulence
and grandeur.
No place like it
in the world.
And Myconius notes
in this poor
miserable
wretched chapel.
God let His dear
Holy Gospel
and the dear
child Jesus
be born again
in these last times.
That's the theology
of the cross.
But our memories
are so short
and we know
that Christ
has made us
a new creation
and He's granted
a citizenship
in the heavenly kingdom
but we want
that kingdom now
and so we grumble
and we complain
and we grow cynical
and we wonder
why we hear bad news
from the doctor
and we wonder
why we suffer
financial hardship.
But the good news
is
that even though
we're forgetful
and we set our minds
on the things of men
and not the things of God
our Savior is patient
with us
just as He was
with the disciples
no matter how many times
He had to explain
to the disciples
the nature
of His kingdom
and who He was
as Messiah
not once
does He lose
His temper.
He doesn't fire
His disciples
and hire new ones.
No.
Our Savior
knows our weaknesses
and He knows
that our memories
are short
and He's always
long-suffering with us
despite our
daily return
to partial sight
and our focus
on ourselves.
But we have
even better news
than the disciples
originally had.
We have the Holy Spirit
who's there to help us.
Jesus tells His disciples
it's better that I go away
because I will send
a comforter to you.
We have this advocate
who dwells within us
to convict us
of our short-sightedness
remind us of the Gospel.
He's there to strengthen us
to sanctify us
even when we don't feel like it
even when life is a struggle
the Holy Spirit
is there for us.
He is the one
as Chuck preached this morning
our roots go deep
into the Word of God.
Who brings our roots
down there?
The Holy Spirit.
He is bringing us
to Christ.
He's reminding us
of all the promises
that we have
in Him.
So we must not allow
our eyes that see
go back to partial sight.
The Messiah has come
to heal us
of spiritual blindness
as only He can
and this is why
we must consistently
be reminded
of who Jesus is
and the nature
of His kingdom.
We must look forward
to the day
when He returns
in power and glory
for it is then
that we will experience
the kingdom of God
in its fullness
and we shall be like Him
for we shall see Him
just as He is.
Let's bow together
in prayer.
Our merciful God
who is pleased
to condescend
and to speak to us
through Your Word
grant us the grace
that we may not be
mere hearers of Your Word
but doers also.
Give us the grace
of Your Holy Spirit
that we may believe
what has been promised
to us.
May we bring glory
and honor to Your name
in all that we do
as You conform us
to the image of Your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord.
All of this Father
we ask in the name of Christ.
Amen.