MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron
We’ve looked at the teachings and miracles of Jesus the Messiah, and last week we mentioned that we’d examine more in depth one particular miracle. Each miracle is a demonstration of God’s love and mercy, and reveals God through His Son. Ultimately, the greatest miracle is that Jesus loved us enough to die on the cross and redeem souls; then He was raised from the dead to sit at the right hand of the Father.
One miracle in Mark chapter 8 seems to be a pivot point in understanding Jesus’ ministry. He arrived as a hero. He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness, and John the Baptist announced that Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit is superior (Mark 1:8). He victoriously battled Satan in the wilderness, called a group of followers, and began preaching in Capernaum where He cast out a demon and healed many. In the first seven and a half chapters of Mark, His story is about successes.
Even today, many see Jesus as an answerer of prayers and a giver of blessings.
Though Jesus’ identity as God’s hero was becoming evident, it was an old, limited concept of the Messiah. Some even sought to make Him king, which He carefully avoided. He tried to keep secret His identity, and avoided acclaim on many occasions. A turning point occurs, though, in Mark chapter 8.
Prior to this pivotal miracle, silence was requested from those He healed (Mark 1:44; 5:43; 7:36) but not later (9:14-29; 10:46-52). He earlier had ordered demons and unclean spirits not to disclose who He was (1:25; 3:11-12). Until the right time arrived, He constantly tried to withdraw from the crowds, and sought sanctuary with the Father.
What appears to be a great reversal begins in the middle of Mark chapter 8. We’ve known that Jesus is a deliverer, but what kind of deliverer? The miracle He performed appeared at first "not to work". But could it be that what seems to be weakness is His strength, and points toward a humble death - though a victorious rising later. Perhaps the miracle in Mark 8:22-25 will help "shed light" on the subject.
As Jesus and the disciples came to Bethsaida, people "brought a blind man to Him, and entreated Him to touch him". As we’ve written before, personal touch was a part of the process of getting to know the Savior. "And taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes, and laying His hands upon him, He asked him, ‘Do you see anything?’ And he looked up and said, ‘I see men, for I am seeing them like trees, walking about.’"
Jesus’ use of spit brought about sight, though it was blurred and unclear. The miracle had led the blind man to see - but like Peter’s confession just prior, the faith and the vision were imperfect.
"Then again He laid His hands upon his eyes; and the man looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly." Only by looking intently will we gain clear understanding. And only the disciple who recognizes the Messiah as One who suffers, and dies, will comprehend what it means to be His follower.
After the two-part miracle, and Peter’s confession and reprimand, Jesus’ instruction continued. "He summoned the multitude with His disciples, and said to them, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s shall save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?’" (Mark 8:34-37).
It’s interesting that much of the content of the Gospels focuses on the final days of Jesus’ life, often called the Passion Week. In fact, 23% to 40% of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John revolve around His suffering, death and resurrection. Not until His resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, did the disciples see the full picture and become ready to share effectively.
Our Lord is always honest with us. Immediately after Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ (Mark 8:29), Jesus had spoken plainly. "And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31). Peter, still operating from the old paradigm, objected to this, and he was reprimanded by his Lord.
We can be recipients of the miracle of spiritual life, and experience redemption, but there will be sacrifice as we grow in faith and live as witnesses. Like the blind man who "looked intently", we need to recognize the true Messiah and move to another level of faith.
In the end, Jesus is the hero who rises victorious over sin and death and hell, though in this world we will have tribulation (John 16:33). If we learn to enjoy His presence, and realize that "...the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18), we will experience blessings. The One who works miracles said, "’lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age’" (Matthew 28:20). Even in trials.
