The Touch

Mark 8:²⁵ “Jesus put his hands over the man’s eyes a second time and made him look up. The man opened his eyes wide and he could see everything perfectly. His eyesight was completely restored!” (TPT)

Our anchor text over the next few days is Mark 8:22-26 (please read). I want to encourage you to give focused time to studying this portion of scripture. From today’s anchor text, we see that Jesus gave this man a second touch, his sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I pray that you will see everything clearly. The first thing that stands out from this passage is the fact that the man’s response indicated that he previously could see. How else would he know what men look like? Perhaps he had touched and felt people’s faces, right? Even if he knew what men looked like, how did he know the men looked like trees that were walking? These are very detailed descriptions of someone that must have seen before. So, this man definitely had his sight before now.

The next thing that stands out is, the Bible says in Mark 8:²² “When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him.” (emphasis added). The question for you and I today is who do you need to bring to Jesus? We have people who are spiritually blind, emotionally blind, intellectually blind around us and need Jesus. Which of them are you bringing to Jesus? You and I need to wrestle with this. The flip side is, who needs to bring you to Jesus? Regardless of your level spiritually, there is a higher level with God, and you need someone that will usher you into that level. So, who needs to bring you to Jesus? Think about it. What are the spiritual barriers that you are currently experiencing, and do you have relationships that can bring you to Jesus? You and I need to take time out to wrestle with these two questions.

Mark 8:²³ “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 first thing we see here is, most times, God has to remove us from our circumstances [perhaps our safe zones or comfort zones] in order to build our faith and gain our trust. I heard a true story of a young immigrant who got into the United States from one of the South American countries. On arrival, he was mistaken for a criminal and was arrested and jailed. The young immigrant was in jail for two days before his uncle got to know his whereabouts. But something interesting happened while he was in jail. This immigrant who was coming from poverty, had a room to himself with wall-to-wall carpeting, cable television, constant food, and medical care in jail. When his uncle came to bail him out, he said he wanted to stay in jail. It took a lot of persuasion to get him out. Most times, what we see as enjoyment is really confinement. God has to remove us from those circumstances so that He can take us to where He wants us to be.

Prayer: Father, even as You take me by the hand, heal me, and lead me into Your plan for my life, show me people I must also lead into Your presence, in Jesus Name. Amen!