This account of the healing of the blind man
took place in Bethsaida. He was brought to Jesus by some well-meaning friends. A
person without sight is pitiful. The sightless condition makes it difficult for
this victim to move freely. At least this blind man here had friends who cared
about his condition and were willing to take Him to the Lord. So they brought him
to Christ, implying that they believed Jesus could heal the friend. They came imploring
Him to touch their blind friend. Notice that they actually figured out how the
Lord should do it, to touch him.
Unlike another blind man by the name of
Bartimaeus recorded in Mark 10:46, this man was passive and did not seem very
enthusiastic. In fact his friends were more enthusiastic than him. This could
account for why Jesus led him aside and out of the village, possibly to build rapport
with him to encourage him to put his total trust in the Lord. More importantly,
the Lord saw in this man a soul needing a restoring touch and not an instrument
to be used to promote His ministry.
What’s interesting in this account is also
the way Jesus healed him and the progressive nature of the healing. Jesus first
spat on the blind man’s eyes, then He laid His hands on them and asked, “Do you
see anything?” He could see people but only
as trees walking. Up to this point his healing was partial. Then the Lord touched
him a second time by laying His hand on the pair of blind eyes again. This man,
with eyesight now restored, looked intensely and saw everything clearly. He discovered
that he had a 20/20 vision and saw the people as the Lord saw them. We are puzzled
as to why the Lord sent him home and did not want him to return to the village.
Probably, He did not want people to come running after Him just for the sensational
stuff. This also tells us that the Lord was
more concerned for the man than for what mileage He could gain out of his
healing.
More than the healing, this story underscores
that we need a second touch from the Lord. The whole idea here is that the Lord
does not want us to see people only as things. When this blind man first saw,
he saw people only as objects, moving about. He saw men as trees. How often people
are taken to be objects to be manipulated for the ministry. The Lord wants us
to see people as those whom He loves and died for. He wants us to see beyond
the superficial veneer of human life. People do have a far deeper need beneath
the outward surface. Everyone needs Jesus.
We also need to know that when the Lord first
touched us, we already could see, but usually not as He sees them. From this account,
we can tell that the Lord wants us to see people as He sees them. If we care to
admit, we will realize that to see people as the Lord sees them, we would
require a second touch from Him. Let’s come to Him for a brand new touch today!
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