Lesson 96

LESSON 96 MARK 8:23-25

The manner of the miracle: " 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..."In the traditions of the Jewish rabbis, spittle was considered medicinal. Even in our medicine today, there is scientific evidence to support this. In fact, saliva is one of the world's oldest ointments for both eye and skin conditions. Many physicians in the ancient world extolled the value of saliva for the healing of lichens, warts, spots, boils and tumors.  Scientists from the Netherlands have published reports confirming that saliva is indeed a healing agent. Saliva contains a chemical that aids in the speedy healing of wounds. It is called histatin. (Perhaps this may explain why animals lick their wounds instinctively.) And even though the mouth is full of bacteria, wounds heal much more quickly there, than those in other locations. Saliva has also been discovered to contain many proteins with antibodies that work against infection

Why did Jesus use spit as a medicinal salve and apply it to the blind man's eyes (v 25 "again")? The Holy Spirit told Him to do it. Jesus acting as Man always followed the leadership of His God (Jn 20:17). Sometimes God's way of doing things is different from what we would think to do. Remember the story of the fall of the city of Jericho (Joshua 6)? Joshua and his army marched around the city for a week, as God directed, and the walls "came tumblin' down." It didn't make sense in the natural, but it worked, because the children of Israel obeyed the Word of the LORD. There are many similar examples in the Old Testament like the parting of the Red Sea,(Exodus 14). Obedience to what the Lord has said to you is a key to victory in our lives.

V 24 "and he looked up..." See how precise the Word of God is! Most blind people look down. This man had to open his eyes and look up to see. Had he kept his eyes closed, he would have seen nothing. As Christians, we need to get in the habit of opening our spiritual eyes and looking up. When things get confused, look up. When something happens that makes you uneasy, look up. "Our help comes from the LORD."(Psalm 121:1) "In the morning I will direct my prayer unto Thee and look up" (Psalm 5:3) . "We look at the things not seen...which are eternal" (2 Cor 4:18). "Seek those things which are above...set your affections on things above..." (Col 3:1-2)

"I see men as trees walking." The blind man could see men and distinguish them from trees by their motions, but it was obvious the man needed a little more help.

Did Jesus fail to heal this man at first or was this healing a two-step process, as seen in the healings accounted in Mk 7:31-37 and John 9:1-41? (If you want to study more, compare these three healings, looking for similarities and differences.)

Jesus never failed in anything He did, because He always followed what the Holy Spirit told Him to do. So here, Jesus is directed to do two things, anoint the blind man's eyes and touch him twice. God always has a good reason for what He tells us to do.

If we go back to verse 18 (Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?), which comes between the two healings previously mentioned, we see that Jesus has questioned the disciples as to why they don't understand what should have been obvious by that point. He's trying to show them why they are not seeing clearly. They need a second touch, like the blind man. They need to concentrate on what He is revealing to them, rather than thinking in natural terms. If they don't receive all that Jesus has told them and shown them, they, like the blind man, will have a distorted vision of the kingdom of God.

Like the disciples, sometimes we see clearly what God is doing and other times our spiritual understanding is clouded by our previous doubts, fears or unbelief. Ask the Lord to reveal and clear up any and all areas where there is a lack of understanding in you.