The Village

Mark 8:^23-25 “…Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?” “…Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.” Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again…”

In today’s anchor scripture, we see that there is actually a process to healing. Jesus met the man in a village and led him out of the village. I guess that the people who brought the man to Jesus followed because Jesus did not tell them not to, and they probably wanted to see what was going to happen. People can argue, “Why did Jesus have to lead him out of the village?” That is a conversation for another day. After leading him out of the village, Jesus spat on the man’s eyes. It is very interesting because the man was blind, but he was not deaf.  If you spit on the eyes of someone who can see, the person will not be able to see anymore because you have complicated the situation. Then to spit on the eyes of someone who can’t see… Jesus?

The truth is that God’s ways are not our ways, and the process He takes us through sometimes does not make sense to us. I have heard people talk very big and flamboyantly as though they have God in their pocket. And I laugh because they are either ridiculously ignorant or hypocritical. God sometimes takes us through paths and does things that we don’t understand. Jesus spat on the man’s eyes, then He touched them and asked him, “Can you see anything now?” The man said, “Yes, but I see men as trees”. People could argue that, could Jesus, the All-powerful Living God, not just heal him once? Why did He have to come for a second touch? Sometimes, there is a process to healing.

And when Jesus had healed the man, He told him to avoid the village He led him out of. That in itself communicates many things on different levels. Bible scholars argue that this meant that Jesus did not want him to publicize the healing. But in this instance, that was not the case because Jesus told him to go home. This suggests that the man was not from that village. Mark 8:²⁶ “Jesus sent him away, saying, “Don’t go back into the village on your way home.” If it was about not publicizing the healing or spreading His fame, Jesus is always clear to the people He heals. He would say, “Don’t tell anybody”. There are different arguments about what Jesus meant, but if you understand spiritual domains and how things work, then you will get it.

Sometimes, there are certain battles that God wants to shield you from. So, God will lead you away from certain “villages”. It is interesting that the Bible uses the word “village”, because the phrase “village people” carries huge significance to Nigerians.

Prayer: Father, I ask for the grace to trust You in every process, whether I understand it or not, and I ask that You take me out of every village I should not be in, in Jesus Name. Amen!