Do you see?

Mark Study #34 by Michael Spencer

22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" 24 He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." 25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't go into the village."

When I was in high school, I struggled with math. Though I was basically a good student, I lost interest in math and postponed my last required math course to my senior year. I remember sitting in geometry class utterly and completely confused, day after day. My failure to comprehend was my own fault, but I was too proud to ask for help. I muddled through, managing to get enough homework right to avoid flunking, but doing so poorly on anything that actually required an understanding of geometry that my teacher began to treat me as one of those naturally slow students deserving of a pat on the head and a "D" to get me out and on to something else. So I have a lot of sympathy for the disciples. I know what it is to not "get it."

We are now entering a section that is the central portion of the Gospel of Mark. From 8:14-9:32, Mark carefully and creatively structures the announcement that Jesus is the Son of God who will suffer; the Messiah who will be rejected and killed. The disciples discover that the identity of Jesus is realized in two stages: seeing who Jesus is and seeing what that will mean for future events in Jerusalem. The disciples are always behind Jesus in these facts, which is no surprise, but Jesus is surprisingly frustrated at their inability to grasp who he is; but what reader can really blame the disciples! All that they have seen and heard still cannot prepare them for truth. And the truth about Jesus fits into none of our natural inclinations or predispositions. Even when we understand, we still do not understand.

Atheists often say that God is created by people who need to believe there is a benevolent deity up there somewhere. It is fascinating that the disciples are unable to see who Jesus in until the truth is revealed to them by God himself. Christianity actually agrees with the atheist critique. In a world of idolatry we will not deny that the gods of man are the creations of his desire for a manageable deity. But Jesus does not fit into that category. He is always far beyond his disciples mental grasp. Only with the revelation of the Father do they see the glory of the Son.

The conversation between Jesus' and the disciples is- intentionally or not- filled with humor. Mark begins with the observation that the disciples have a familiar problem- they had forgotten to bring bread to eat, but he then says they had one loaf with them in the boat. Some scholars believe this is a highly ironic observation about Jesus as the true bread from heaven. I have been skeptical of such high irony, but I am beginning to be persuaded. Whatever you make of this, the disciples certainly resemble the most absent-minded child in their ability to leave all those extra baskets of food behind! (8:8)

Jesus makes a connection with the incident with the Pharisees in 8:11-12. Leaven is a common Jewish symbol for evil. Scholars disagree on exactly what was the quality of leaven that was considered evil, some saying it is the active nature that permeates, while others say it is the sometimes toxic results of the ancient process of making yeast. Of course, unleavened bread has connections in the Passover meal, where it is the bread of haste. In any event, here the "leaven" of the Pharisees and Herod is the refusal to accept Jesus as Messiah and their demand for a "sign" (8:11) that will prove who Jesus is. This asking for a miracle on the scale of an Elijah or Moses did not show faith; quite the contrary, it shows the refusal to believe. Jesus warns his disciples that these two groups- Herod and the Pharisees- are not natural allies, but share a common disbelief, an infection that has worked its way in their minds and hearts to the points that nothing in Jesus' previous ministry will bring them to believe.

It is interesting how often the Bible speaks to those of us who follow Jesus and warn us about the dangers of unbelief. As part of a denomination that believes strongly in the eternal security of believers, these passages always sound oddly out of place. This is because our definition of faith has been influenced by evangelical revivalism, and any point-in-time, good feeling about Jesus is seen as true faith. The Gospels present faith as a miracle from God that changes a heart, a miracle that is constantly demonstrated in the process of following Jesus as a disciple. That is not the same as walking forward and signing a card!

The disciples completely miss Jesus' intent in verse 15, and instead believe they are being rebuked for failing to bring bread. Jesus does rebuke them in verses 17-21, but it is for their lack of understanding. It is clear that Jesus sees the two feeding miracles as revealing all the disciples need to know to have faith in him. The frustration that we sense in Jesus is real, and we need to reconcile this with our confession that, as the Son of God, Jesus knew what was in the disciples. For me, the emotional and passionate heart of God responds to me in different ways. God's Father heart relates to me in compassion and perfect knowledge, but also in disappointment at what sin has done to me. The Spirit of God can be "grieved." The emotional responses of Jesus, so purposely preserved by Mark, are valuable for those of us who are in a daily relationship to Jesus.

I am especially interested in the language Jesus uses in this rebuke. The disciples do not see or understand. The hearts are hard. Their ears are dull. Their eyes are clouded. They do not remember previous lessons. These are my enemies as I follow Jesus. One commentator noted that the disciples were so caught up in their own worlds that they could not see the basic truth about Jesus. Before we pass judgment on them, can we really say we are different? How often does the truth of the Kingdom penetrate into the self-centered world where I live? How often am I repeatedly oblivious to the presence of God and His truth? Are my prayers premised on my own spiritual condition that keeps me from experiencing the power of Jesus, or am I arrogantly confident that I understand, see, hear and know? Dependence of Jesus grows out of hearing this rebuke fresh over and over again.

The inability of the Pharisees and disciples to see sets the stage for the healing of a blind man a Bethsaida (probably the village outside the main city.) My own interest in the Gospel of Mark can be traced to coming to understand this story on the two levels that Mark has created in it. On one level it is simply another miracle story, distinguished by a couple of odd details: it is the only healing story where Jesus asks a question and it is the only two-stage healing story in the Gospels. Matthew and Luke omit the story, demonstrating it fits the "criteria of embarrassment" of a genuine event in the ministry of Jesus. (It also sets a good example for those of us who believe in the supernatural operation of the spiritual gifts: keep praying!)

The second level is the important level. After Jesus has touched him and asked if he sees, the man's sight is partially restored. He sees people like trees, i.e. in a distorted and out-of-focus form. It only takes a moment to see what Mark is doing. This blind man represents those other blind men, those who have been with Jesus and do not understand. In a few verses, a parallel of this will happen with Peter's confession, an instance where Peter sees Jesus in an incomplete, though true, manner. And a second touch is required for Peter, a touch that clearly reveals who Jesus is

At the second touch, Mark uses another of his favorite literary devices, the three-fold repetition: his eyes were opened, his sight was restored and he sees everything clearly. This kind of emphasis lets us know more is at work here than just the obvious. A second touch is needed. The second touch is a captivating theme. On the level of Christian experience it should be a theme of our pursuit of Jesus: Lord, touch me again and again that I might see more clearly.

Next week, we move to the center of Mark's Gospel and the repetition of this theme in Peter's confession.

Questions
1) Have you ever had an experience where you just didn't understand?
2) How do you suppose the disciples felt about Jesus' rebuke? How do you feel about Jesus rebuking the disciples? How do you relate this to Christian experience?
3) Do we really understand Jesus? Is there a danger in making him simple and familiar?
4) How would you respond to Michael's observation that Christians should agree with the atheist's charge that God is invented by humans desiring him to be up there?
5) What do you think of the suggestion that Jesus was the one loaf in the boat?
6) Replace the image of "leaven" with a more modern illustration.
7) Why are believers so often warned about unbelief if we are saved by just believing one second in time?
8) The disciples were so wrapped up in their own world they repeatedly missed the truth about God and his Kingdom. How do we relate this to our lives now? To your experience as a Christian?
9) Read exactly how Jesus' rebukes the disciples. Which of these do you relate to the most? Why?
10) Michael says the story of the blind man's two stage healing operates on two levels. Can you see it? ;-)
11) What does a second touch from Jesus mean to you?

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