Eyes Opened
Text: Mark 8:22-30
Core Idea: Jesus desires to open our eyes so that we might see the magnitude of who He really is. He is the promised Messiah, the compassionate King, who came to save us from sin and death and give us life and life to the full. Then let us come to Him with confidence knowing that He is willing and powerful to heal us.
INTRODUCTION
Good afternoon, Lighthouse. It’s really good to see you. Today is a special day as we get to worship together with everyone who’s part of this community. So, I want to welcome first our children. It really is a blessing for us to sing together, pray together, and sit under the Word together. I pray that you’ll grow to love the Lord with all of your hearts. I also want to welcome our Anchor friends (our youth). I’ve said this before, but you don’t know how grateful I am for each one of you. I hope that we get more opportunities to connect and get to know one another. And I would love to have you guys at my place again, and this time, I would love to hear each one of your stories. I pray that God will speak powerfully to you as well so that your eyes will be opened to see how beautiful Jesus is.
Now, I want to remind all of us that we worship together (at least once a month) because worship is not something that only adults do. God calls on all people to worship. So, it’s good to have our children join us. But why do we have to do this together? Let’s be honest – children might feel bored; adults might be distracted. Then why do we do this? Well, there are so many reasons but just to name a few: because it pleases God, because it reminds us that we’re one people united in the Lord, and because it can be a teaching moment for all of us. If our children find themselves bored in worship, then let us teach them the significance of this event. Let us model for them the joy of worship. Let us encourage and help them to engage and participate. Let us pray that God would fill them with the same delight that we experience in Christ. On the other hand, if adults find themselves distracted, then let the children teach us patience and self-forgetfulness. It’s true that the struggle may be real and costly now, but I firmly believe that this is worth it because, in the long run, it will prove itself to be rewarding which is why I’m inviting you to persevere patiently. At the same time, through children, God may be reminding you that this service is not ultimately about you. Then for the sake of love, even if you miss part of the service, help a parent who may be struggling, encourage them, and serve them as we worship together. I really pray that we will all grow and mature as individuals but also as a covenant community simply because we’re choosing to be together. As Psalm 133:1 says, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.” Then with that in mind, let’s turn our Bibles to Mark 8:22-30. And I’m going to invite Adam and Micah to the front – and they’ll read the passage for us.
22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 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?” 24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” 25 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. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.” 27 Jesus and His disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way He asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about Him.
Thank you, Adam and Micah, for reading the passage for us. And children, I hope you enjoyed the video. Last week, we learned that Jesus is a compassionate King who calls us to serve others on behalf of Him. But this is not easy to do because we often focus so much on our inadequacy, which is why Jesus was inviting us to see and remember who He is and His past faithfulness in our lives.
Now, we arrive at a crucial moment in the Gospel of Mark. The first half of the book aimed to answer one question: “Who is Jesus?” All the stories we read and the teachings we studied were meant to tell us who Jesus really is. And so far, only a few have acknowledged Jesus’ true identity – Mark himself (1:1 – when he wrote, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God”); God (1:11 – at Jesus’ baptism, when He said, “You are My Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased.”); and even demons (1:24; 3:11; 5:7 – at different places calling Jesus the Son of God). But for the first time in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ disciples are about to make the same confession – that He really is the promised Messiah. Peter and the disciples were beginning to see what others couldn’t see. Then I want to point out three things from this passage:
PHYSICAL BLINDNESS
SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS
SPIRITUAL SIGHT
1) PHYSICAL BLINDNESS
Before we get to the confession, we’ll actually start with this strange healing story. Verse 22. Mark tells us that when Jesus and the disciples arrived at Bethsaida, they were immediately met by a group of people who “brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.” Now, to better understand how people back then perceived those who were blind, I want to read from John 9:1-2. This is a story about another blind man, but pay attention to what the disciples asked: “As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’” Blindness wasn’t just a physical disability – it was a spiritual curse. People associated blindness with God’s judgment against sin. And just as we’ve seen over and over again with people who had various diseases or disabilities, this man would’ve been considered unclean and unwanted by the community. Now, let’s slow down and see how Jesus responded to this man’s request. Verse 23 – Mark tells us that Jesus “took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.” Imagine this scene with me. Jesus was gently, carefully guiding this man step by step – holding him up when he stumbled, helping him to navigate his way through the crowd, intentionally leading him outside the village so that the healing wouldn’t become just a source of entertainment for people. Isn’t that amazing? Again, Mark shows us how compassionate Jesus is.
Now, Jesus did two things with this man. First, He spat on the blind man’s eyes. We’re not sure why Jesus did this, but we know for sure that it wasn’t because Jesus needed to do this as if there was this magical power in His spit. Then we can speculate that He did this for the blind man – possibly to help him understand what He was about to do. Second, Jesus put His hands on him. We know that Jesus didn’t have to touch this man to heal – but He did it anyway. Why? Because Jesus knew that what he needed wasn’t just physical healing – he needed emotional restoration as well. Remember, people would’ve avoided him because he was considered cursed by God. Then here was a man who was starving for a human touch, love, and connection. So, by healing this way, Jesus was meeting all of his needs.
Up until this point, this seems very similar to other healing stories we read before. But here, Jesus did something that He has never done before – He asked the man a question to see how he was doing, “Do you see anything?” The man responded in verse 24, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” In other words, he was able to see but his vision wasn’t sharp – it was blurry. The healing was incomplete. Then verse 25, “Jesus put His hands on the man’s eyes [again]. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” His healing was finally complete.
What’s going on here? When I get my eyes checked, I do what’s called the refraction assessment which allows the optometrist to determine the prescription that will give me the sharpest, most comfortable vision. The doctor will usually fine-tune this process by going through different lenses. “Is it clear?” “No.” “How about now?” “Oh, better!” “Okay, how about now?” “Even better.” Well, was that what Jesus was doing here – having to fine-tune this healing until it was complete? Absolutely not. Jesus healed this man in two stages not because He was lacking in power, but because He wanted to teach us something.
Then what was He teaching us? Well, this is something that I should’ve shared a long time ago, going through so many healing miracles – but the first thing we learn is that if you or your loved ones are suffering from sickness, chronic pain, or disability, we can and we should come to Jesus and ask for healing. He’s the One who sympathizes with us in our weakness but also has sufficient power to remove our pain and suffering. In other words, He is willing, and He is able. But let’s be honest – not all of us experience this healing power. And I think it’s this reality that often makes us hesitate even to ask God. So, instead of praying for healing, we simply say, “Your will be done in this situation.” Though this is a good prayer to pray, we shouldn’t stop ourselves from coming to Jesus honestly and desperately seeking His healing power.
And here’s something important that you must remember: when we do, He’ll sometimes heal immediately, but sometimes gradually – at times, He will tell us to wait. That was Paul’s experience. He says in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” And I think that’s what was happening in this story – Jesus intentionally healed this man in two stages to demonstrate that Jesus is sovereign over the timing of His work in our lives. As we’ve experienced over and over in our lives, sometimes He’ll delay His work for His glory and our edification. So, don’t be surprised if healing (whether it’s physical, emotional, mental, or relational) sometimes feels incomplete – if it doesn’t happen the way you desired because that doesn’t mean that Jesus isn’t compassionate or powerful. He may be working in different ways that we can’t see at that moment, which is why we need to learn to trust Him in all seasons. Now, this isn’t easy. It may lead you to question Him, “God, why do You let this happen? If You love me and if You’re so powerful, why won’t You just take this from me? Why are You just watching me suffer?” These are questions that I’m not able to answer but I can be sure of this: it’s not because He doesn’t love us. It’s not because He’s indifferent or detached from our condition. In fact, He takes our misery and suffering so seriously that He was willing to take it on Himself – that’s what we see on the cross. Then even in our deepest pain and unbearable suffering, the cross reminds us that He loves us.
Healing can come immediately or gradually, but at times, it may never come – at least on this side of life. I say this because I believe without a doubt that we will be healed completely in the coming Kingdom of God. Erik Raymond writes, “The weakness, pain, and suffering that now plagues you, has an expiration date.” Then brothers and sisters, come to Jesus – there’s no disease, disability, hurt, or heartache that is beyond the power of Jesus to heal. And trust Him knowing that His timing is always perfect.
Jesus healed him in two stages to show us that He’s sovereign over the timing of His work in our lives. But there’s another reason, which leads to my next point.
2) SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS
Something that’s hard to see in English is that there are actually 8 different Greek words related to sight in this story. Why? Because Mark wanted to emphasize the point that this whole story was about seeing. And it was more than enabling the blind man to see physically – Jesus wanted to use this opportunity to open the eyes of the disciples spiritually. Let me explain. We saw a few passages ago that the Pharisees came looking for a sign – but this wasn’t because they were looking for reasons to believe, but because they were looking for an excuse to reject Jesus. In other words, they were there to test Him and trap Him. Knowing this, Jesus walked away from them because what they needed wasn’t sign but sight – they were spiritually blind. But we also saw the disciples in the boat concerned about having only one loaf of bread. Even though Jesus reminded them of what He did (feed the multitude) and who He is (the Bread of life), they were still lost, they didn’t understand – they too were spiritually blind. What does this show us? That everybody is spiritually blind – the disciples of Jesus and the religious leaders; the friends of Jesus and the enemies of Jesus, the insiders and outsiders; the moral and the immoral. Nobody can get it. This blindness has penetrated all of us. Then blinded from what? Seeing the magnitude of who Jesus was. Think with me. The first section of this chapter ended in verse 21 with this question from Jesus, “Do you still not understand?” At the end of the chapter, we see Peter finally getting it – clearly seeing who Jesus was. Then Mark put this healing miracle right in the middle not only to demonstrate His power and compassion but to show His disciples that no matter who you are, you need to be touched by Jesus in order to be healed of your spiritual blindness – in fact, multiple touches may be needed.
What can we take away from this? Three things. First, it reminds us that salvation is by grace alone. Or to put it differently, everything about Christianity is ultimately a gift from God. I love what Pastor David Platt says, “The grace of God is the only way that anyone can behold the beauty of Christ.” Then, brothers and sisters, we must remember that you and I are saved (we can see) only because of His grace for us.
Second, it reminds us that Jesus heals us at a different pace even spiritually. Let me explain. When it comes to conversion, many of us expect or desire a Paul-like conversion where we see a radical change in our lives. If you remember, Paul was extremely hostile against Christians – persecuting and even killing some of them. Then his life was turned upside down when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. In just a few days, he became a completely different person – he was now passionately preaching the gospel wherever he went. Now, we’re drawn to stories like this. We want our stories to sound like this. And by God’s grace, we’ll continue to see this kind of conversion in people’s lives. But we forget that there’s another model for conversion: Peter. We could say that he became a Christian when Jesus called him to be a fisher of men in chapter 1. But the transformation was incredibly slow – he was seeing things little by little. But, no doubt, progress was being made which is why we even see him making this glorious confession in our passage – that Jesus Christ is the long-awaited Messiah. It looked like he finally got it – but almost immediately, in the passage that follows, Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Mk. 8:33). Peter basically had the right understanding of who Jesus was (that He was the Messiah), but he didn’t fully understand what that meant (that He will save through His death). But despite the ups and downs of his journey, we’re encouraged to see that in the end, Peter really understood, and God used him powerfully.
Many of us focus so much on a Paul-like conversion that we experience a lot of self-doubts even though God may be taking us on a long journey like He did with Peter. Many of us struggle because of this lack of clarity in our vision now, this lack of growth in faith – “Why am I not like him or her? Why am I still so angry, so self-centred, so discouraged, so lazy – still struggling with the same sin, same addiction? Why am I not more joyful, humble, generous, or loving? Why don’t I enjoy Bible reading or prayer? Why do I feel like I’m still the same person – why do I feel stuck?” So, you say, “Maybe I’m not a Christian. Maybe I was just going through the motions.” And honestly, that could be true – so, this is a great opportunity to evaluate yourself to see if your faith is genuine. But through this story, Mark is teaching us that it’s okay for us to come to Jesus with our doubts. Think about this man – he wasn’t satisfied with his vision which is why he honestly told Jesus that it didn’t work. He was saying, “Jesus, I want to see more clearly. Heal me again. Work in me again. Touch my eyes again. Minister to me again and again until I can see more clearly.” I pray that we would all have this kind of holy dissatisfaction with where we are in our faith – and that we would honestly tell God as we desperately ask Him for more. Go to Jesus today and tell Him that you don’t see things clearly – but be comforted because God is already at work in your life. With this unrelenting grace, He will continue to teach you, encourage you, guide you, and demonstrate His power and love so that you’ll be able to see more and more.
Third, it reminds us that we must never feel impatient or superior to anybody who doesn’t believe or whose vision is still limited. We should never have the attitude that says to others, “You still don’t get it? Why can’t you just see this?” We must not do that – how dare we do that knowing spiritual sight is ultimately a gift from God? In fact, if we do that, it just proves that we’re still blind – that we are the ones needing another touch from Jesus.
Instead, we should be like the people who brought the blind man to Jesus and begged. Think with me. Mark doesn’t tell us anything about these people – their names, relationship to this blind man, or characters. We don’t know who they are, but we know this for sure: this blind man received sight because they brought him to Jesus. Without them, this blind man may have never found Jesus. These people, who can see Jesus, brought this man, who couldn’t see so that he too can see. In fact, this is not the first time we see this – we saw people bringing the sick to Jesus in Mark 1:32-34; 2:1-5 (with the paralytic); and recently from 7:32 (with the man who was deaf and could hardly talk). Mark is intentionally teaching us something very important – namely that we should bring people to Jesus and beg Jesus on behalf of them. We need to evangelize and intercede. We must go to people where they are and help them to come to Jesus, hear from Jesus, and experience His power and compassion. To put it differently, they will miss an opportunity to encounter Jesus if we don’t bring them to Him. This means that we are where we are for a purpose. We’ve been placed there to take them by the hand and lead them to Christ. But it doesn’t end there – we must pray that Jesus will heal them physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, and especially spiritually. Then think about the people around you – friends, co-workers, parents, spouse, and children. Do you want them to experience forgiveness, liberation, and restoration? Let’s bring them to Jesus. That’s what we’re called to do.
3) SPIRITUAL SIGHT
We just talked about how all of us are spiritually blind, and that we all need Jesus’ touch to see. Then who is Jesus? Verse 27. Jesus asked the disciples a question: “Who do people say I am?” The disciples responded in verse 28, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” Now, it’s interesting to note that their assessment of Jesus was generally positive. Even when they didn’t know who He was, something about Jesus drew people in. But we must realize that the crux of the question Jesus asked wasn’t “do people believe Me, accept Me, like Me?” but “who do they think I am? Who is the Jesus they believe in?” The truth is that their understanding was gravely incomplete – they were seeing something, but they weren’t seeing Him clearly. And this is no different today. This is what Pastor David Platt wrote in his book, Radical: “We American Christians have a way of taking the Jesus of the Bible and twisting Him into a version of Jesus that we are more comfortable with. A nice middle-class American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who for that matter wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings comfort and prosperity to us as we live out our Christian spin on the American Dream.” Friends, do you know who Jesus really is? If you really want to see Jesus for who He is, you must go to the Word because it’ll show that He came not to give us fleeting pleasures but lasting joy and life. To see Christ as anything other than that is to actually reject and dishonor Christ no matter how positive you may think of Him.
Verse 29. Here, Jesus shifted the question to His disciples, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” Now, if you’re not yet a Christian, I get that you may have a lot of questions, objections, or doubts about Christianity, which is why I’m so thankful that you’re here – I hope that we’ll have a chance to talk about those things. But even before we get there, I want to invite you, challenge you to wrestle with this question first: “Who do you say I am?” In other words, before you labor to answer all these difficult theological questions, get to know Jesus first because Christianity is fundamentally about a person. To be a Christian is to enter into a relationship with Christ. Then I firmly believe that God has brought you here today to open your eyes to see who Jesus really is. To see that though you have sinned against God, though you deserve eternal judgment from a holy God, God loves you so much that He has sent His Son Jesus to take your place – to live the life you could not live and die the death you deserved, paying the penalty of your sin on a cross. But three days later, He rose from the grave so that if you would just look and trust in Jesus Christ, you can be forgiven of all your sin and be restored to your relationship with God for all eternity. Friends, it really is not an accident that you’re here. It’s God’s grace that drew you to be here – to hear this truth today. Then I desperately pray that God will open your hearts and eyes right now to see who Jesus really is.
Now, if you’re a Christian, I also invite you to honestly and seriously wrestle with the same question. Jesus is asking you, “But what about you? Who do you say I am? Do you truly see who I am?” In verse 29, Peter says, “You are the Messiah!” This was incredible knowing that no one else knew who Jesus really was – the crowd didn’t know, those who received healing and liberation didn’t know, the religious leaders definitely didn’t know, and the political leaders of the day didn’t know but here was this former fisherman who understood it. But even then, he didn’t fully understand what he said – he didn’t know the kind of Messiah Jesus was going to be. In other words, he was seeing but not seeing. Then what about you? Do you really know Jesus? Are you growing in your understanding of who Jesus is in your faith journey? And more importantly, is your life reflective of your knowledge of Him? In other words, if you consider Him your Lord, is He really the Lord of your life – your marriage, children, love life, money, career, time? Brothers and sisters, I invite you to seek Christ – and make everything about Him. Give Him the honor that He deserves.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, Jesus desires to open our eyes so that we might see the magnitude of who He really is. He is the promised Messiah, the compassionate King, who came to save us from sin and death and give us life and life to the full. Then like the blind man, like the disciples, let us come to Him with confidence knowing that He is willing and powerful to heal us – and with this newly given sight, let us bring others to Him so that they too may see how wonderful our Lord is.
Discussion questions
Jesus healed the blind man in two stages to demonstrate that Jesus is sovereign over the timing of His work in our lives. In what ways have we come to expect God to answer us immediately? In what ways in your own life have you found sanctification to be more gradual than immediate?
How can we be sure that we are seeing Jesus clearly? What are some reasons our spiritual vision can sometimes be more like the blind man who saw people as trees walking? What can we do about it?
Who do people believe Jesus to be today? Who do you say He is? What does that mean in your life?