Mark 8:22 – 25, A Blind Man Healed at Bethsaida
The gospel of Mark documents the most miracles performed by Jesus than any other gospel (Matthew, Luke, John). The healing of the blind man at Bethsaida is unique in some key ways, and just five simple verses tell a powerful story about the journey of faith and how it isn’t found in the familiar:
22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 23 So 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 on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”
25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.
Faith Comes by Hearing
In verse 22, we read that Jesus arrived in Bethsaida, and this blind man is presented to Him for a healing touch. The blind man likely never met Jesus before, nor directly witnessed any of his miracles. Jesus was as unfamiliar to this man as anyone could be. But we can safely assume he heard about Jesus and His miracles in order to take a chance and be healed by Him.
While we might call it “taking a chance,” this is in fact an act of faith. It’s clear from the text this man’s faith was ignited by hearing about Jesus and presumably what Jesus could do for him. His ears were open to hear about the hope and possibility that could only be found in the unfamiliar person named Jesus. Upon hearing, he responded (acted in faith) to seek Jesus. This is why the Word says, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 NKJV)
Walk by Faith, Not by Sight
Then in verse 23a, this unfamiliar man named Jesus honors the blind man’s act of faith and takes him on a walk. In this we see the sweetness and personal, one-on-one nature of Jesus as He takes the man by the hand, leads him out of town, and away from the crowd. I can’t help but wonder what the blind man was thinking as Jesus did this. He left everything and everyone behind – all that was familiar – to walk with Jesus in these moments.
This was yet another act of faith by the blind man. Remember that Jesus is unfamiliar to him. The blind man doesn’t know Jesus, he doesn’t know where Jesus is taking him, and he doesn’t even really know if Jesus will heal him. Yet, he continues to walk with Jesus – quite literally – in blind trust. He is walking by faith with Jesus, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV)
Now, we know Jesus knew everything going through this man’s head. I am sure he was experiencing a wide array of emotions – excitement, anticipation, fear, doubt, confusion. I suspect Jesus reassured him as they took every step, hand-in-hand, even if solely through the peace that can only be found in His very presence. This undoubtedly continued to build the man’s faith and trust as they journeyed further into unfamiliar territory. Jesus is moving with the man from faith to faith. (Romans 1:17)
Faith for the Impossible
In verses 23b through 25, we read of Jesus’ miracle healing. The man’s sight was restored, first partially and then fully. I believe this is the only miracle documented in scripture where Jesus healed someone in stages, which is significant. Again, I wonder what the man was thinking when He was partially healed. Did he think that was the best it was going to get for him? Did he think he was going to have to settle? Or, was his blind trust immediately converted to undeniable faith because of that partial breakthrough?
I believe it’s the latter. Something shifted for the blind man. There was a transaction of sorts that took place, a surrender within him. The blind man not only encountered Jesus, but now He experienced Jesus personally. Because of this profound experience, the blind man went from a place of possibility to a place of possible, as in “everything I heard about Jesus is real!” It is in the place of possible that all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). This is faith, friends!
Faith and the Unfamiliar
So, what are we to take from this? I believe it is simply this. That faith isn’t found in the familiar. Rather, it is found in the unfamiliar:
The unfamiliar person of Jesus
Jesus can be unfamiliar to us for many reasons:
- Perhaps like the blind man, we have never heard of Jesus.
- Perhaps we have heard of Him, but we reject Him or cherry pick what we want to believe about Him.
- Perhaps because of religion, we keep Him at a safe and healthy distance, allowing him only so much access to us.
- Perhaps we are born again, but we don’t pursue intimacy with Him in order to know Him, understand His character, and His will for our lives.
Whatever the reason, I know Jesus wants to move us from unfamiliarity to familiarity through a personal and intimate relationship, and He will meet us right where we are today. That choice of faith rests with us, whether it is a choice we make for the first time or the 100th time. He promises that when we seek Him, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13), just like the blind man did, and He who promises is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).
The unfamiliar places Jesus calls us to
Jesus drew the blind man away from everyone and everything comfortable and familiar. Faith isn’t built in places of comfort. This is because what’s comfortable makes us complacent. We accept what is rather than acting on what could be. We don’t see possibilities in comfort; we instead see problems. We don’t have vision in comfort; we instead see ourselves as victims of circumstance. We are blind!
Just like the blind man, though, as we begin to walk with Jesus into the unfamiliar, He will start to change how and what we see. He will heal our unbelief. He will heal our spiritual blindness and give us spiritual sight.
The unfamiliar process Jesus takes us through
Just like the blind man walking with Jesus, growing in faith (and gaining our spiritual sight) is a process, and it happens one step at a time. As we continue to pursue, as we continue to trust, we will see how faithful Jesus is to us, and we can’t help but respond in kind with the measure of faith He has given us.
I won’t pretend the process is easy or comfortable. It’s not. It’s unfamiliar and uncomfortable and our flesh will fight it every step of the way. The opposite of faith is flesh, and the greatest opponent to our faith is our flesh. But we have to remember that Jesus is always there, taking every step with us into the unfamiliar, taking us from faith to faith, glory to glory.
Selah.
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