Last week I was reading through the Gospel of Mark and came across two stories about two blind men and they struck me a certain way as I was considering some challenges that I’m facing right now. Maybe you are facing some challenges too. If so, keep reading. First, the scriptures, then some thoughts.
(Mk 8:22–25)
And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him.
23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”
24 And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.”
25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.
Fast forward two chapters to a second story about another blind man meeting Jesus.
(Mk 10:46–52)
46 Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.
47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.”
50 Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus.
51 And answering him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!”
52 And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.
If I could boil down both of these stories to one sentence, I would tell you that a key truth they communicate is this:
Honesty and desire can predicate your healing and freedom.
Let’s look at the first story first. Jesus comes into town, and some people bring this blind man to Jesus and implore Jesus to touch him, to heal him. So, Jesus does just that. He lays his hands on him and asks him if he can see anything. Right here is a crucial moment! The man has just been touched by Jesus who has a reputation at this point for performing great miracles. In fact, this interaction takes place immediately after Jesus had taken seven loaves of bread and a few small fish and fed over 4000 people! Immediately after that, Jesus comes across this blind man in Bethsaida. And then, inexplicably, when Jesus touches him, he isn’t fully healed. Of course, Jesus already knows the answer to the question when he asks if the man can see. So why did he ask, why did he not heal the man all the way the first time?
Many people speculate the various reasons, and as with anything Jesus does, I’m sure there are many. Other valid reasons notwithstanding, I’m convinced one of the reasons for this exchange is that in this man’s situation, his honesty predicated his healing. As I prayed and pondered that moment, I began to wonder- what would have happened if the man lied? Wouldn’t you be tempted to? I think I would. Can you imagine the courage and bravery it took to tell Jesus… “I’m not healed yet.” “Hey Jesus, what you did there, wasn’t actually good enough.” Can you imagine what must have been running through his mind in that split second between when Jesus asked the question and when he answered? What would everyone think? Would Jesus turn on him? Would he rebuke him? The possibilities are endless. Had the man lied or concealed the whole truth, what would have happened next? Perhaps he would have walked away, believing he was the one person Jesus couldn’t heal. Or maybe he would have joined in with those who sought to defame Jesus by telling everyone that Jesus was a fraud and pointing no further than his own failed healing as his proof, his truth, his experience. As I said, the possibilities are endless.
So, I imagine in this fraction of a moment where endless possibilities exist, the man had something that caused him to answer the way he did, and I think it was this question. He heard the question Jesus asked, but then I have to believe he asked himself another question. “Do I really want healing or not?” He could have said, “yes… yes Jesus I can see,” and left it at that. He could have actually been honest while still not being truthful. He could have told part of the truth, but instead, he decided to tell Jesus the whole truth. “Jesus, I see men, but they look like trees.” At that moment, as he expressed honestly what he saw, Jesus moved in to touch him again. And this time… he is completely healed!
Now quickly for the second story. It’s less complex, but there’s still an important and related truth for us to see. (And many other great truths I don’t have time to cover. The Bible is full of so many riches of wisdom, truth, and insight!). The man was blind, and he knew that Jesus could heal him. Perhaps he heard the story already of the first man we discussed, or maybe he heard one of the many other stories about the miracles of Jesus. He had heard, believed, and had faith. But even with him, there was still a question from Jesus that he had to answer. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asks the man. “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” the man replied. Again, here the man is forced into a moment where what he says to Jesus is connected to what happens next. Jesus didn’t just walk up and heal him. Jesus asked him what he wanted, what he really wanted. Perhaps, at that moment, the man could have thought of many other things he wanted. As important as it is, surely his sight wasn’t his only need. The list of things he could have asked for is endless, but he is so in touch with what is broken, he asks Jesus to heal that thing, and Jesus does. Immediately he regains his sight.
When we face a challenge in our own lives, like these two blind men, we are faced with questions. Maybe our challenges are physical, maybe they are emotional, perhaps they are mental or relational. When we see something out of alignment, or a blind spot in ourselves, in our brother or sister, or in both of us- what do we want? Do we want Jesus to touch us? Do we want to be healed? What if being honest is hard? What if being honest takes more courage than we think we have? What if being honest could bring scrutiny on us? What if being honest makes it hard on someone else? What if, what if, what if. But what if we are honest? What if we decide that healing is what we want more than comfort? What if we decide we will not stop and we will not stop Jesus from working until the healing comes? We have to ask, we have to answer the hard questions and we have to give Jesus a chance to finish the job in healing what’s broken in us. And when Jesus asks us, “what do you want me to do for you?” we should be honest with him and put forth the brokenness, the blind eyes, the withered hands, or maybe our withered hearts.
My encouragement to you today is the same thing the Holy Spirit is encouraging in me. Be honest about what’s broken. Bring those broken, damaged, dysfunctional or nonfunctional places in your life to Jesus. And even if Jesus touches you once, don’t presume that’s as good as it can get. Keep coming back to him; keep being honest with him until your healing is realized. You are not the healer. I am not the healer. But our healing may very well be predicated on our honesty. So whatever the situation, and whoever it involves, bring it to Jesus. Be honest with him and others involved, and whether it takes one touch, two touches, or exponentially more, don’t lie, don’t walk away too soon. Stay in there with Jesus until the healing is complete. In his arms and in his care is the safest place you could ever be, no matter how unsafe everything around you may feel.
Nathan Brown