re-thinking some of the parables ... No.29
BLIND MAN PARABLE
Mark 8: 22-26
The
greatest ‘Fisher-of-men’ ... Jesus ... came to the small
fishing village of Bethsaida (which means ‘House of Fish’)
which was the home of Andrew, Peter, Philip and John. These village
folk obviously knew of Jesus and would have recognized Him and their
reaction was to fetch their blind friend and bring him to Jesus —
they felt for him and wanted him to regain his sight. ‘Please
Lord, touch him that he may see’.
This
blind man probably lived on his own outside the village where he
would be familiar with his little world and therefore his friends had
to go and fetch him and bring him into the village (v.26) so that he
could meet up with Jesus. Jesus didn’t launch into a long
ecclesiastical prayer and the man in need did not have to request a
healing!, Jesus simply took the blind man by the hand and led him out
of the village.
The village represents his local fellowship and what Jesus was about to do, He did not want to do it there as an advertising headline for the Bethsaida Fellowship and also what He was about to do was certainly unorthodox in the extreme! Jesus collected some saliva in His mouth and then spat on the eyes of this blind man. Now bear in mind that the blind man had no inkling as to what was about to happen ... all he knew was that Jesus was leading him. One could call that ‘blind faith’, right? This man hears the spitting action and then feels the wet saliva on his eyes. Before he could come up with any reaction or reasoning or resistance, he then feels the hands of Jesus being laid on his eyes.
Then comes the question, ‘Can you see anything?’
This got his attention even more and he reacted by looking up for no doubt, light was penetrating his darkness.
He answered, ‘I see something moving with the outline of men and they look just like trees walking along the road’.
Jesus then put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. This blind man could now see clearly ... Yes, he saw every man clearly.
Then Jesus commanded him to go to his house and keep quiet about what has just transpired with him. ‘Do not go back into town and do not tell every one you meet what you now see’.
This is a magnificent picture of where each one of has been or where we just might be right now. We have been in darkness regarding all the Kingdom truths that many have been enabled to see. We simply have a desire to have our eyes opened and enjoy a whole new world, a whole new walk. When we first heard the word of the Kingdom of Heaven, it was a bit hazy ... not too much came into focus. There was enough insight given to know that men walk as trees of the Lord planted by Him. With new insights and revelations, please do not go back to previous friends for they will probably try to persuade you that you are no different. Perhaps later when you have got it together. This man who was blind could now see all men clearly ... that’s a lot of men! Was this a picture that he could see that all men are redeemed, are Christ’s?
Once we were blind and could only see traditionally or from the ‘House of fish’ perspective; it was as though we were blind and we stumbled in the darkness of our ignorance! The Greek word for a blind man is tuphlos which means smoky or opaque, blind man ... physically or mentally. So our previous blindness can readily match up with these recorded details. We didn’t get to see all these wonderful truths all at once ... it took stepping stones, as it were. How well do you see? §