Lesson 95

LESSON 95 MARK 8: 22-26

22And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. 23And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. 24And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. 26And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

Bethsaida was the hometown of Peter, Andrew and Phillip (John1:45). It was a town that had seen many miracles and amazing healings, but the people of the town did not humble themselves before God and receive the truth. . They did not accept Jesus as the Messiah, even though they had seen firsthand most of His mighty works.

Matt 11:20-22 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: ... woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. How sad that Bethsaida did not repent for their wrong attitude.

When repentance comes, faith can follow. Mt 21:31-32 Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 32For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

Some people brought a blind man who lived outside the town (v 26) to Jesus. Where were all the others who need healing? Did the local gossip turn them against Jesus? Were they more comfortable to remain in their sick condition than to come to the Healer? That seems improbable, but this blind man was the only one that was brought to Jesus in Bethsaida. (vs 23)

Jesus took the blind man by the hand to guide him out of the town. Did you know the Lord holds your hand? Isa 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Jesus left Bethsaida--but they had left Him before this. The city had failed to repent and they had rejected Jesus as Messiah. The town's time for receiving signs as to Jesus being the Messiah was finished, as later is Jerusalem's. Lk 19:41-44 And when he was come near, he beheld the city(Jerusalem), and wept over it, 42Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Their time for getting to see miracles and receive the goodness of God through Jesus was over. (Rom 2:4-5 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 5But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6Who will render to every man according to his deeds...) The goodness that a person experiences, whether he is saved or unsaved, is a part of God's way of bringing him to repentance over sin. If a person's heart is tender toward the Lord, he will recognize how good God has been to him, and repent of his wrongdoing.

If he doesn't repent from the repeated goodness of God, then the disobedient is sent correction, with the intention that sorrow may bring him to repentance. 2Cor 7:8-10 I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. 9Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation(deliverance) not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

If the person will still not repent and humble himself before the Lord, then rebuke comes. If that doesn't work, an even more severe consequence is administered to the disobedient, (Heb 12:5-14), with the intention of bringing the person to repentance, thereby drawing the person back into fellowship and blessing.

Jesus led the blind man out of the town. Instead of commanding one of the disciples to do this, Jesus takes the position as friend/servant to this blind man. This shows the humility of Jesus and His compassion for this man. Think what the blind man must have felt, to know the Healer and Prophet of Israel was leading him. Ask the Lord to show you how to be more compassionate.

Even though Jesus is touching the man, the blind man was still blind at this point. Touch is not the crucial part in the healing. What is?

Why didn't Jesus perform the miracle inside the town of Bethsaida? When you're going to do a work of faith, don't surround yourself with doubters or unbelievers. Surround yourself with others who believe as you do. One time, a group of ministers was planning a large, week-long camp meeting in a rural area. Their well was not big enough to supply the needs for the projected attendance, so the leaders had another well drilled. They hit a good supply of water and were able to begin the meeting, but soon a rock got sucked into the pipe, 276 feet down and the water supply stopped. Two days of hard work to clear the pipe had not helped. The well-digging company was going to have to be called back to take up the pipe, clear it and re-sink it, which would cost a tremendous amount. The main speaker of the meeting was told the problem and asked to pray for God to remove the rock. The speaker told everyone to form a circle around the clogged well, so they could agree and be united in prayer. "If there is anyone in this circle who doesn't believe that God is going to get that rock out of there, GET OUT OF THE CIRCLE." 95% left. Only seven remained. The speaker prayed, "God, this is Your money. You can spend it to have the pipe taken up and put down again, or You can use it to win souls to Jesus Christ by merely getting the rock out. So I thank You for getting the rock out right now in the name of Jesus."

One of the pastors left the circle, went over to the pump and turned it on. You could hear a glug, glug and in a couple of seconds, water came pouring out. Unbelief is the biggest boulder standing in the way of getting a miracle --or any other answer to prayer.