My son had to have a vision test done yesterday and the Dr remarked at his excellent 20/20 vision. He said that he rarely sees anyone anymore with 20/20 vision. I then discussed with Jackson about how as you age your vision declines and how now I have to wear “readers” and glasses for distance when I am driving. I have also noticed at night and in the morning that if I try to read, it is blurry and it takes a few minutes for my eyes to adjust before I see clearly.
Today we read Mark 8, I will focus on verses 22-26 from the New Living Translation.
When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him. Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?” The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.” Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. Jesus sent him away, saying, “Don’t go back to your village on your way home.”
When we think of Jesus performing miracles, we usually think it happened all at once. But, in this miracle, it happened in two stages. Modern medicine has provided us with many studies and advancements. We now know that when previously blind people have their physical sight restored, it takes time then for them to learn to process the images that their eyes can now see. Though their eyes can see, their brains cannot handle the visual input they are now seeing. Now we can read the above passage again and see that the man Jesus healed may have had similar conditions.
Earlier in this chapter in verses 11-21 we see Jesus also addresses spiritual blindness. The disciples were worried about not having enough food to feed the crowd, even though they were with Jesus. They had just experienced Jesus feeding thousands of people by multiplying a few loaves of bread and fish. Yet here they were again among a crowd and worried about not having enough food. Jesus says,
“Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? ‘You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all? When I fed the 5000 with five loaves of bread…Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them. Mark 8:17-21
Through this miracle, Jesus was showing them that it isn’t enough just to see. We must also understand that he is with us and that he is Lord over all things.
Have you ever read scripture and it really didn’t pertain to you or make an impact, but then later heard or read the same scripture and it blew you away? Sometimes, it takes time before we have clarity.
We are much like the disciples in questioning Jesus’ ability to provide for us. Clarity does not always come in an instant. We have spiritual blindness in our own lives that causes us to worry or to forget that we are never far from Jesus’ presence. The disciples had trouble believing and Jesus was with them! Jesus is with us, He makes everything clear to us in His time. We only need to trust and believe.
Give us faith to see Jesus more clearly.