I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Mark. Mark chapter
8. Mark chapter 8. My heart was drawn to this passage
of Scripture I was reading. came across this passage and it arrested me. The Lord caused
this passage to be just very interesting to me. And so I want
to try to preach out of it tonight. Mark 8, verse 22. And he cometh to Bethsaida, and
they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And 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 upon him, he asked him if he
saw aught. And he looked up and said, I
see men as trees walking. After that he put his hands again
upon his eyes and made him look up. And he was restored and saw
every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house
saying, neither go into the town nor tell it to any in the town. Let's pray together. Our Father, we come to you this
evening in the precious and holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Lord, we come as needy, helpless
sinners. that you would show mercy to
any is a miracle of grace. Lord, I ask you tonight, help
us, help me, Lord, as I try to preach. May I be honorable unto
you. And Lord, would you bless us
as we hear. Give us understanding, for Christ's
sake. Amen. Bethsaida. Bethsaida was a city that was
located, it was a port city, but it was on the Sea of Galilee. And this city was a city that
was notorious. It was known for its notoriousness. But out of the city of Bethsaida,
three of our Lord's apostles were born in that city, Philip,
Andrew, and Peter. Three of the Lord's apostles
out of a city that was greatly rebuked by our Lord. In Matthew 11.21, our Lord said,
Woe unto thee, Chorazin. Chorazin was a city just northwest. It wasn't right on the Sea of
Galilee, but just northwest, out in the desert from Bethsaida. Woe unto thee, Chorazin. Woe
unto thee, Bethsaida. For if the mighty works which
were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would
have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." I never cease to
be amazed at that statement by our Lord. If I would have sent the gospel
there, which I didn't, But had I sent it, now you listen to
this, I would have granted repentance
to them. Now you talk about mysterious. As I've said before, not only
does our Lord know what will and won't happen, He knows all
the possibilities. If the mighty works that were
done in this city had been done there, which they weren't, they would have repented. He
said that about Sodom and Gomorrah too. And he said not only would they
have repented, those cities would have still been here. Many think that Bethsaida Chorazin
was the place of the feeding of the multitudes when our Lord
took five loaves, two fish, and blessed them and fed 5,000 men
plus the women and children. Oh, the condemnation to those
who have heard the gospel preached. and refuse to believe. Matthew 11.22, the next verse
says, But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable, more endurable. It will be more
to be born with. It will be more tolerable for
Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you. Here's
another one, Neil. I can't understand that. I can't grasp hold. But suffice
it to say, our Lord said it would be. Set forth not only what did
and did not happen, but what could have happened, what He
would have done. More tolerable for those that
never heard the gospel than it will be for you in the day of
judgment. But in the midst of great spiritual
darkness, unbelief, rebellion, the Lord God Almighty, who is
all-powerful, mighty, sovereign, has a people that He is going
to save and elect out of every kindred, every tongue,
and people and nation. There are the redeemed out of
every place that is found on this earth. God has a people. Bethsaida had, I know, it is
recorded that there were three of the Lord's apostles and there
was a blind man. Jericho had Rahab Every nation,
every place, every people. The Lord's people are scattered
throughout all of this world, every age. Well, knowing that,
the Scripture says in verse 22, Mark 8, "...and he cometh to
Bethsaida." He cometh to Bethsaida. He's always been coming there. He cometh. He has ever been coming
to Bethsaida. Here was life Himself that has
come to seek and to save that which was lost, His people, His
elect, His church. And of all the places where it
is recorded that our Lord was, At this particular time, he's
got to be in Bethsaida, just like when he must needs go through
Samaria. There was a woman there that
was going to be drawing some water at 12 o'clock, the sixth
hour. And our Lord was going to meet
her there. Here was an appointment that was ordered according to
God's everlasting covenant of grace, before the foundation
of the world, there was a blind man going to be born. And Almighty
God withheld His sight from him. I don't know how long he had
been blind. It doesn't say. He was blind. May have been born
blind. May have just become blind. I don't know. But he was a blind
man. Oh, what a picture. of every
one of God's sheep, blind. Can't see. They don't see the
glory of God in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. They don't
see their own depravity. They're just blind. Blind. And
the Scripture says, and they may have been apostles. It doesn't say who they were.
It just said they. And they bring a blind man unto Him and besought
Him to touch Him. Some people that were concerned
about this blind man that believed that the Lord Jesus Christ was
able. Now whether He would, they didn't
know. The Scripture says they besought Him, they desired Him
to touch Him. Where else? Could this blind
man have any hope? Let's learn from this. I pray
God teach me something right here. If you would see your children,
your spouse, your husband, your wife, your neighbors saved, invite them to come. Now, I'm
going to tell you something. I'm talking to me first. I'm
talking to me first. I know this. The preaching of
the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Listen to our
Lord. Matthew 22.9. There was a supper
that was given. This man's son and those that
were invited had all these excuses. You know the story. But the Lord
says in that story, Matthew 22.9, He told His servants, Go ye therefore
into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the
marriage. Invite them. But by nature, let me tell you
what we are going to say. They won't come. Now you just
stop for just a second. Who invited you? Somebody invited
you. Somebody brought you. You might
have been born here. Somebody brought you here. You
came providentially. Somebody invited you. They won't believe. How do you
know they won't believe? God is going to save His sheep.
Our Lord is sovereign, but He may be pleased to use your mouth
or my mouth as the means of inviting one of His own to come and hear."
That woman that I just spoke of, that woman in Sychar, that
woman at the well, after the Lord told her all things she
said that ever she did, you know what she did? She went back to
the city and she told some men that she was there. She knew
there. She said, I want you to come
hear a man. Come see a man that told me all things. Pray that
God impress upon our hearts. Invite some to come. Invite them
to come. Make it a point. Encourage people
to hear the Gospel. And the Scripture says in verse
23, the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town." I love that. The Lord took him.
The great shepherd of the sheep took that blind man by the hand
and took him out of the town. Giving sight to the blind was
one of the signs of the Messiah. He was going to take this blind
man out. Took him out. Where did he go?
Out of town. Just took him out of town. Oh, provenient grace. The Lord led one. He was still blind. And He led
him out of town. The man didn't know where he
was going. But predestinating grace directed
this man by the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ personally in this
story. For by the grace of God, Almighty
God orders the steps of all that he is going to show mercy to,
Zacchaeus, born short in stature by the grace of God. For I know,
for at least one reason I know of, He couldn't see because the
people were too tall. So what did he do? He climbed
up in a sycamore tree. Exactly where the Lord Jesus
Christ was going to be coming. And the Lord came that way. Provenient
grace. Grace made him short in stature. Now who would ever figure that
out? Somebody said, well, your mom and daddy were short, so
you were short. Old blind Barnabas, born
blind, so that one day, by the grace of God, he would be on
the side of a road in Jericho, and he would hear that the Lord
Jesus Christ was coming by. And the Spirit of God moved on
that man's heart, and by faith, Something he had heard. He had
heard something. Because faith cometh by hearing.
Hearing by the Word of God. By the gospel of God's grace. And he cried out, Jesus, thou
Son of David, have mercy on me. Prevenient grace. This man was
blind. Brought by somebody. They. The Lord led him out of town.
I know two things for sure here. Number one, salvation is a personal
matter between the Lord Jesus Christ and a sinner. Let him out from the eyes of
the town. Let him out of the town. You know, when God is going to
show mercy to somebody, He is going to hem them up. He is going
to be alone with them. Now there may be somebody else
sitting next to you or standing next to you, but when God is
going to speak to one of His own, it is going to be between
the Lord and that sinner, that object of God's mercy. A woman
was taken in adultery in the very act brought to the Lord
Jesus Christ by those religious Jews, and they started dictating
to Him, you know, the rules of engagement. And our Lord, with
His Word, put them in their place. Those who say we are stoner,
what do you say? Now, are you going to disobey
the law and show yourself to be a lawbreaker? Or are you going
to show mercy and then say that the law is not worth obeying?
Now, what's it going to be? We've got you. We've got you. You have no escape. The Lord said, well, the one
that is without sin, let him cast the first stone. They all
began to walk out, convicted in their hearts. The Lord says
that being left alone, the woman standing in the midst of the
Lord Jesus Christ, where are your accusers? There is no man here, Lord. I
know this. Salvation is a personal matter.
Mercy, grace, compassion is of the heart. But the second thing
I know is this. Almighty God is a just God and
a Savior. He is going to show mercy. But
He is a just God too. Now this city, Bethsaida, remember
there have been some mighty works done in that city. But they counted those things
as nothing. And the witness of that miracle, God showing mercy,
the Lord was not going to allow those to see. Those that will
not see, will not see. They will not. And the Scripture
says that the Lord Jesus Christ having taken that man by the
hand, led him out of town, and when he had spit on his eyes."
I looked at the literal of that. It said, spit into his eyes. He spit into his eyes, spit on
his eyes, put his hands upon him, and asked him if he saw
aught. You know, many instances are given of our
Lord, and He was spit on the ground, He made some spittle
on one, He put it on a blind man's eyes, and He told him to
go wash, remember, in the pool of Siloam. One instance, the
Lord spit, put His finger in a man's ear, healed his hearing. The Scripture says that the Lord
spit on this man's eyes. Now there's a lot of things that
we could say about that. I read a lot of commentaries
and I didn't read anything that gave me any kind of satisfaction
or anything that bore witness to my heart where I could say,
you know what, that's it. That's it right there. But let me tell you what in my
heart. Number one, I know this. His
ways are not our ways. I know this. That which is repulsive
to this world coming from Him is precious. I know that that which the world
would look upon and say, I would never bow to any means like that, will not see Him. That which is so intimate, so
loving, and so hated and despised by this world. But I can tell
you for a fact, that which came out of His mouth was precious. because it was His means. What
was the depth of it? What was the fullness of it?
I've read one instance where a man said, with a man being
blind like that, his eyes would be crusty and the Lord would
just spit on them to soften it and kind of move it. Maybe. But I can tell you this, there
was much more being set forth. Our Lord did not turn His face
from being spit upon. He was rejected of men, despised
and hated. Paul the Apostle said in Philippians
3.10, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection,
and listen to this, and the fellowship of His sufferings. being made
conformable unto His death. I know that the Lord Jesus Christ and His
gospel is vulgar to this world. It is foolish to this world. And this world can say, I can
think of a whole lot better ways of being healed. But our Lord
was pleased to heal this man's blind eyes by spitting on his eyes. Someone could say, I just don't understand that. This is a mysterious thing. But
I can tell you this, it's a precious thing. Because He lovingly did
exactly what He did for this man's good and this man's sight. I can tell you another thing
about it. It's a humbling thing. Our Lord is going to bring His
people down and they thank Him for it. They bless and praise
His holy name. This blind man Not only was he
blind, but the Lord used the means of his own spittle. Somebody say, why would he have
to spit on the ground to do that? Why would he have to spit in
this man's eyes? Because he chose to. It's not our place to question.
It's our place to believe. Why would he take one of his
own and take him just like that with a heart attack? And then
have another one and go through two years and just go through
and have her husband watch her lie there and get weaker and
weaker. Why does he do that? Because
he chose to. And he's right. And he's good. and is just, and
is merciful, and is kind. We don't question. Our Lord humbles
His people and lifts them up. The Scripture
says, when He had spit on his eyes, He put His hands on him and comforted him. And then he asked him if he saw anything. Do you see anything? Truly, God has chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise. God has chosen the
weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. Our Lord saw fit to spit on this
man's eyes, put his hands on him, and then ask him, do you
see anything? Now listen to this. And he looked
up and he said, I see men as trees walking. You know what I know for sure?
He couldn't see very plainly. Was that because of the Lord's
inability to heal him? Well, you know better than that. Our Lord, many times in the Scriptures,
healed instantaneously, perfectly. In this instance, this is a very,
very unusual, not unusual in the sense of His inability. I
don't mean that. I mean it's unusual in the way that the Lord
was pleased to do it. We need to learn this. When there's
someone going through something, and we would question a believer,
one of God's people, realize this, it's the Lord. It's what
Eli said. Let him do that which seemeth
right in his sight. He asked him if he saw anything,
and he said, I see men. They're like trees. They're upright. But they are
walking, I see them moving. I know this, the Lord's people,
first of all, are made to be honest. He confessed what he knew and
what he saw. This man was admitting, and this
is what we admit, we see through a glass darkly. You know, it's
a humbling thing to have to admit. I don't see everything perfectly. But I do see. This man saw. He said, I see men as trees walking. But according to our Lord's Word,
he that has begun a good work in his people will perform it
until the day of Jesus Christ. What do you see? I see, Lord, but I see hazily. I see men, they're like trees,
and they're walking. Verse 25 says, After that he
put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up, and
he was restored, and saw every man clearly. Now here is a beautiful picture
of me and you. Now listen. Learn from this. How did the Lord give us sight?
By His ways. By His means. Through His gospel. Directing us, bringing us to
hear the truth. And by a way that this world
would consider repulsive, the preaching of the gospel. That
which came out of His mouth, the Lord was pleased to bless
it, put His hand on it, and blessed it. And Almighty God calls His
people out of darkness, and they see, but they don't see perfectly. The Scripture says the path of
the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto
the perfect day. We come together, and as the
Lord puts His hand upon His people through the preaching of the
gospel, we grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. We saw. But there are times that
a believer, as the Lord teaches them something, and they are
instructed, and they say, you know, I never saw that before.
You will even find yourself wondering, did I ever really know Him then?
The things that the Lord has been pleased to teach me, did
I truly know Him then? Here again, you will go back
and second guess yourself. But God teaches His people and
instructs them. This man, after the Lord put
His hand upon him, made him look up, he was restored and saw everything.
Man clearly. God gives sight. And as we go
and go and go until it's time for the Lord to take us out of
this world, we'll be growing. We'll grow in grace, knowledge
of our Lord. And the Scripture says in verse
26, last verse for this evening, He sent him away to his house,
saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it, to any in the town. Our Lord is sovereign. He's sovereign
in mercy. He showed mercy to that man right
there. He's sovereign in judgment. It was not that the Lord forbid
the man to go to his home. He didn't forbid him to go there.
You go to your home. But don't you go to the town,
and don't you tell it to any of them in the town. If Almighty God withholds the
gospel, a man or woman has no hope. They had seen the mighty works
that the Lord had done, and they refused to believe.
They saw the miracles that the Lord set forth in healing and
feeding, and they would not believe. So they will not believe. God
Almighty hardened Pharaoh's heart, didn't He? The Lord withheld Mercy and grace
according to His good pleasure. Does the potter have the right? The same lump? Make one vessel
under honor, another vessel under dishonor. What if God, willing
to show mercy, endured with much longsuffering? Almighty God is not mocked. Whatsoever
a man sows, he is going to reap. The Lord is going to have mercy
and compassion on whomsoever He will. Hebrews 3.15 says, While
it is said today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your
hearts, as in the provocation for some, when they had heard,
did provoke. Howbeit, not all that came out
of Egypt by Moses entered into the land of Prophets. Not all
of them entered into His rest. Those that would not believe did not believe because they
didn't want to believe. Almighty God saves whomsoever
He will. He showed mercy to a blind man
that couldn't do anything for himself. He was blind. He was blind. He was blind. Unless the Lord Jesus Christ
showed mercy to that man. that man was going to die blind.
The Lord with means that were so precious, so wonderful, so
marvelous, so mysterious, who would have ever thought of healing
a blind man by spitting in his eyes? God forbid that we ever consider
that which He did foolish. The world considers it foolish.
But to the believer, to you that believe, He is precious. And
we say unto Him, Lord, that You would show mercy to me and extend
to me that compassion that in myself I did not deserve. Lord, that You would take the
means that this world considers repulsive and vulgar through
the preaching of a gospel, that which comes out of Your mouth,
that which is from You and You alone. I think about that. Somebody says, well, it was just
spit. Well, it was holy spit. It was holy spit. And that spit
that came from Him was precious in the sight of the Father. He
was His. Lord, have mercy on us. For Christ's
sake, amen.