MARK 8:22-25

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

TO PONDER

Today’s Bible text can raise many questions for us, such as: Why did Jesus’s first touching of the blind man’s eyes not restore full sight? What was the purpose of the two‑stage miracle? What do we understand by the man seeing people as trees walking around? Had he always been blind – so that he had never seen either trees or people, or had he been born with sight and then become blind later in life? Why did the people who brought the blind man to Jesus only ask for Jesus to touch the blind man, rather than asking for healing of his sight?

Mark doesn’t answer any of these questions, just states the facts. But I wanted answers. So I spent a lot of time searching on the internet for sermons and commentaries that would answer my questions. And, I didn’t find any answers.

We believe the Bible is inspired by God, so what God wants us to know He made sure was included in what was written in the bible. So I really have to accept that God wasn’t going to answer any of these specific questions (and I did pray that He would give me answers to share with you).

So, what lessons do we learn? One is that God treats us as individuals, addressing our individual needs. Since Jesus performed this miracle away from the crowds, the main people impacted were the blind man and his friends, So we can assume that the method of the miracle (spit and touch) and the two stages were meaningful to this group of people.

Another lesson is that our path to a relationship with Jesus is also unique to us. The method God used to reveal Himself to me is very unlikely the way He revealed Himself to you.

And, I think the main lesson is that God always responds when we come to Him or bring our friends to Him and He will deal with the issues that He knows best need to be dealt with. And there will always be further issues to be dealt with by our loving Heavenly Father. Our transformation into the person God wants us to be is an ongoing process, not a one‑off event.

PRAYER: Loving Heavenly Father, Thank You that You know us inside out and You know what things in our lives need to be dealt with. And thank You for Your Holy Spirit working in my life to bring about these changes. Thank You too that I can bring my friends and family to You for You to touch their lives too. Amen.

Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping