Well, let us turn to God's Word
in the portion that we read in Mark chapter 8. And I'll read
again those last verses, that final paragraph that we read.
Begins at verse 22. So reading from verse 22 to verse
26. And we're told, Christ came 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 a horse. 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. I really want to take for a theme,
for a text, we might say, those words in verse 24, where we read
of the man, how he looked up and said, I see men as trees
walking. Men as trees. walking is the subject matter
then that I want us to consider as we take up this particular
miracle performed by the Lord Jesus. First of all to consider
the miracle itself and then in the second place the meaning
and the significance of the miracle and the manner in which the Lord
restores the sight of this blind man. Miracles of course are great
works, mighty works. We're reminded previously here
in chapter 6 and verse 2 when the Sabbath day was come he began
to teach in the synagogue and many hearing him were astonished
saying from whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom
is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are
wrought by his hands." The miracles in here are spoken of as the
mighty works of God. And the significance of them,
of course, as we're aware, I'm sure, is that they are really
signs. The word that's repeatedly used in John's Gospel concerning
those mighty works, those miracles, is literally the word for a sign.
They point then to the Lord Jesus. They direct us to Him and to
the significance of who He is and all that He is doing during
His ministry here upon the earth. And there are three things that
we might say we're directed to by these mighty works, by these
miracles. And here we are directed first
of all to the compassion of the Lord Jesus. He is one who continually is
moved when he sees the needs of men and women in this fallen
worlds the beginning of the chapter where he performs the miracle
of the feeding of the 4,000 in the second verse he says I have
compassion on the multitude because they have now been with me three
days and have nothing to eat and remember we were considering
on the Lord's Day That's a compassion that Christ showed to the leper. In the opening chapter of this
Gospel of Mark, Christ has compassion upon the leper and touched him
and said, be thou clean. And he was clean. He is continually
then moved by the situation that he confronts in this foreign
world, the great needs of those who are sick and suffering. In fact, in Acts, are we not
reminded of the ministry of Christ as one who goes about doing good. It's a wonderful expression that
we have there in Acts chapter 10 and verse 38. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good
and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with
him." It is Peter here in the house of Cornelius preaching
to the Gentiles. We are witnesses of all things
which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
whom they slew and hanged on a tree. Him God raised up the
third day and showed him open." Peter then bears his testimony
and speaks of the Lord Jesus as that one who does good. He's very much a man and he feels
for his fellow men and women and so we see something of the
reality of the human nature of the Lord Jesus. We have not a
high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
He was tempted in all points like us, we are yet without sin.
He feels for us in all our sinless infirmities. He's spoken of as
that high priest who became us, how he suits us. How he has come
and identified all together with his people for as much then as
the children were partakers of flesh and blood he is likewise
taken part of the same and we again I reminded the bruised
read he shall not break the smoking flags he shall not quench the
tenderness of his ministry and immediately after that statement
is made there in in Matthew 12 20 we read of him ministering
to the physical needs of those who were blind and those who
were dumb, giving sight to the blind and loosening the tongues
of those who were dumb. The compassion of the Lord Jesus
then is something that the miracles indicate. Here is one who isn't
just coming to minister to the spiritual needs of the people,
but there's a wholeness about that ministry that Christ exercises
by performing these great and mighty works. But then the miracles
don't only remind us of his real humanity and his compassion,
but the miracles certainly direct us to the offices of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And later in this chapter, this
8th chapter, we have that incident at Caesarea Philippi when the
Lord asks his disciples, whom do men say that I am? And they
give their answers in verse 28, Some say it's John the Baptist
come to life again. Some say he's Elias, Elijah,
or another of the prophets. And then when the Lord asks whom
say ye that I am. It's Peter who answers and says
thou art the Christ. Thou art the Christ. And the miracles do very much
direct us to that blessed truth that Jesus of Nazareth is that
one who was promised in the Old Testament, the Messiah. the Christ of God. We know how
when John the Baptist was in prison he began to have doubts
concerning the matter. Was Jesus of Nazareth really
that one, the promised one? In Matthew 11 verse 2, when John
had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his
disciples and said unto him, Art thou he that should come
or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto
them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear
and see. And then he mentions all those
great works. The blind received their sight,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in my. All of these miracles then authenticate
him as that one that was promised, the Messiah. And so, not surprisingly,
when he performs certain miracles, this is what the people acknowledge.
He raises the widow of Nain's son from the dead. And we're
told that there came a fear on all, and they glorified God,
saying that a great prophet is risen among us. Who is this great
prophet? Why, this is that prophet that
was spoken of back in the Old Testament, even to Moses. He was one like unto Moses, and
yet one also greater than Moses. There in Deuteronomy 18.15, Moses
says, The Lord thy God will rise up unto thee a prophet from the
midst of thy brethren, like unto me. Unto him ye shall hearken. And then again, as God's mouthpiece,
verse 18, I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren,
like unto thy. And I will put my words in his
mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command
him. And doesn't the Lord say, My
words are not mine own? But here's the sentiment. He
is that one. That prophet. And isn't that
one of his offices as the Christ? And with what authority he speaks
in his ministry. Never man spake like this man,
they say. At the end of the Sermon on the
Mount, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, the people
were amazed, because he spoke with authority, and not as the
scribes and the Pharisees. But he comes not only in that
office of the Prophet, The fulfillment of the Old Testament prophetic
office is also the fulfillment of the priestly office. He is
not a priest after the order of Aaron, but he is a priest
after the order of Melchizedek. Oh, he is the great priest. And
of course we have his high priestly prayer in the 17th of John. And then after that in chapters
18 and 19 we see him as as a sacrificing priest, where John records him
making that great sin-atoning sacrifice at Calvary. And of
course, it's recorded not only there in John 18 and 19, but
we have all the detail also in the three synoptic Gospels. Oh, he is a prophet. He is a
priest. He is a king. And he says, my
kingdom is not of this world, If my kingdom were of this world,
then should my servants fight, that I should not be livid to
the Jews. But my kingdom is not of hence. His kingdom is a spiritual
kingdom. Or the kingdom of God cometh
not with observation, doesn't come without would show, as the
margin says there in Luke 17. Neither shall they say, Lo here
or lo there. Behold, says Christ, the kingdom
of God is within you. Oh, he has great power then to
establish his kingdom in the hearts and in the souls of men
and women. Who is this one? He is a compassionate
man. He is the Christ of God and also,
of course, the miracles indicate to us something of his deity.
We see him as that one who is truly the son of God, the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. God hath visited his people.
That's what they said at the raising again of the widow of
Nain's son. The great prophet and God hath
visited his people. It was God manifest in the flesh. And how when he cast the demons
out of the mad Gadarean, doesn't that man then recognize that
Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, is actually God. He is the Son
of God. There in Luke 8.39 the Lord says
to that man Show how great things God hath done unto thee. That's
the Lord's instruction. He was a madman there amongst
the tombs. And the Lord cast out a legion
of demons. Show how great things God hath
done unto thee. But then we read, He published
throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto
him. He recognizes Jesus to be that
one who is God. God manifests in the flesh and
so we see him as that one who therefore doesn't only minister
to physical needs but ministers to spiritual needs. He can forgive
sins. And previously here in chapter
2 we read of how the Lord raises up the man who was sick of a
palsy. Remember now his friends carry him on a bed to where Christ
is and they present this sick friend lying on his bed and here
in chapter 2 verse 5 when Jesus saw their faith he said unto
the sick of the palsy son thy sins be forgiven but there were
certain of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their
hearts why doth this man thus speak blasphemies who can forgive
sins but God only And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit
that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them,
Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Where is it easier
to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or
to say, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know
that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins. He
said to the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, Arise, and take
up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately
he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all, insomuch
that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never
saw it on this fashion. Who can forgive sins but God
only? How right those scribes were!
It is God's prerogative to pardon sins. But Christ is God. and he demonstrates something
of the glory of his deity as he performs a miracle and so
there in chapter 2 we see something more of the significance of Christ's
ministry dealing not only with men's physical needs but also
addressing the needs of their never-dying souls forgiving sins
And is it not the same here in the portion that we're considering
tonight as he gives sight to this blind man? And so in the
second place I want to say something with regards to the meaning,
the spiritual significance, the meaning of the miracle that we
see the Lord performing. 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
now the detail is not insignificant we're not to lose sight of the
circumstances, the situation, the place and all that is being
recorded here in these few verses of Holy Scripture but there are
two things in particular that I want to bring out with regards
to the spiritual significance behind this miracle, the meaning,
as it were, of the miracle. What do we see? First of all,
we see here the danger of rejecting the ministry of the Lord Jesus
Christ. At the beginning of verse 23,
we're told, "...and he took the blind man by the hand and led
him out of the town." Now why? Why does the Lord take him away
from the town of Bethsaida? Well, this is one of those cities
that he upbraided because of their unbelief, back in Matthew. And there in chapter 11 of Matthew,
verse 20, to upbraid the cities wherein
most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not. 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. But I say unto you,
it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of
judgment than for you. He would no more do any mighty
works in Bethsaida. These places where the Lord is
ministering. It was the same also with regards
to Nazareth in some sense. As we see previously here in
Mark 6 verse 4 Jesus says a prophet is not without
honor but in his own country and among his own kin and in
his own house and he could there do no mighty work so that he
laid his hands upon a few sick folk and healed them and he marveled
because of their unbelief and he went round about the villages
teaching Now, there is no deficiency, of course, in the power of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He is never anything less than
God. He is always that One who is
the Almighty, the Creator of all things, the Sustainer of
earth and the heavens. There's no deficiency of His
power. But what we see here is his judgment. What does the Lord say to this
man after he has given him sight? Verse 26, He sent him away to
his house, saying, Neither go into the town, and tell it to
any in the town. Bethsaida is a place under judgment. That's a solemn thing here. Oh,
there is such a thing as judicial blindness. He's healing a man
who was physically blind, giving
him sight. But the place where he's come to, Bethsaida, is a
place where there is an awful judicial blindness that has been
visited upon them. In the game we see it. In other
parts of Scripture, in John, in John chapter 12, and this
is concerning Jerusalem, verse 37, Though he had done so many
miracles before them, yet they believed not on him, that the
saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he
spake, Lord, who hath believed, I report. And to whom hath the
arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe,
because Isaiah said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and
hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes,
nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should
heal them. These things said Isaiah when
he saw His glory, and spake of Him." Of course the reference
here is to the words that we have in Isaiah chapter 6, where the prophet receives his
commission, and he is told that though he goes to preach to Israel,
their eyes have been blinded, their hearts have been hardened.
It's quite remarkable what we have here in John 12, because
here at verse 41 we're told these things said Esaias, or Isaiah,
when he saw his glory. and spoke of Him. In Isaiah 6,
what is it that Isaiah saw? He sees the glory of God. He
sees the throne of God. But here John says that was the
glory of Christ. He is speaking of Christ. Christ
is that One who is God, the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father. There is what we see there, an
awful judicial blindness. We see it again. at the end of
John 9, that chapter where Christ again gives sight, this time
to a man who was born blind. And how the persecuting Pharisees
would put the man out of the synagogue, excommunicate him.
But the Lord finds him and reveals himself to him. He confesses
that he believes that Jesus is the Son of God. But then now
the Lord speaks at the end of that chapter, for judgment, and
might come into this world, that they which see not might see,
and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the
Pharisees which were with him heard these words and said unto
him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If you
were blind, you should have no sin. But now ye say, We see. Therefore your sin remaineth. They had a false assurance. They
thought they saw, they thought they knew. Remember when Paul saw the Pharisees. He thought
he understood the Lord of God. He thought he kept the Lord of
God. He knew nothing. Those Pharisees, they were men
who were blinded, judicially. It's a silent thing, is it not?
Such blindness. There is an awful famine that
can come upon a people when God takes away his words. There in Amos 8.11, I will send
a famine in the land, not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water,
but a famine of the hearing of the words of God. That's a judgment,
a famine of the hearing of God's words. So what a privilege it
is if we're those who hear God's words, but to whom much is given,
of course. of him shall much also be required. But we see the danger. There's
a danger of rejecting God's Word. Lest that Word then be taken
away from us. And the second thing, as we draw
to a conclusion and then come to prayer, the second thing here
is we see that there is a certain variety in the Lord's dealings. there are degrees we might say
what does he say as the Lord ministers to him in verse 23
he took the blind man by the hand led him out of the town
when he had spit on his eyes and put his hands upon him he
asked him if he saw the Lord and he looked up and said I see
men as trees walking I see men as trees walking now there is
no deficiency in the power of the Lord Jesus Christ he does
give him full sight verse 25 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 that could have happened
immediately as soon as the Lord put his hands upon the man he
could have restored his sight but the Lord works by degrees There are different stages here
in the restoring of the sight of this man. Now is there not
some spiritual lesson then that we can learn? Is there not some
significance in this? When the Lord begins with us,
does he not also begin with us by degrees? What does the sinner
feel? Maybe he feels something of his
blindness. He doesn't see things clearly in the Word of God. back
in Isaiah 59 in verse 10 we have these words we grope for the
wall like the blind and we grope as if we had no eyes we stumble
at noonday as in the night we are in desolate places as dead
men when the Lord begins with us he deals with us by degrees some of us can recognize that
when the Lord first began with us we weren't in a situation
where we were being taught the truth of God's word we were ignorant
of many things and it was subsequent to that beginning when the Lord
first converted us It was subsequent to that that we began to see
the great truth of the sovereign grace of God. And when our eyes
are open to that it is like some sort of second blessing we might
say. Some new discovery. This is how
the Lord deals with us. His dealings are so varied with
his people. There's certainly a sameness.
We have to recognize that there's a sameness in the experiences
of all those who are converted. But whilst there's a sameness,
there's also a great variety. And I think it's well illustrated
when we consider the foliage on the trees. If we see an oak
tree and we pick up the leaf, we know that leaf has come from
an oak tree because it's an oak leaf. But we never find two oak
leaves that are identical one to the other. There's always
some variety and so there is in all the Lord's dealings. He
is sovereign. And we have to recognize that.
And we can't talk out for others how the Lord must deal with them.
We have to recognize God as one who is absolutely sovereign. But ultimately by degrees he
brings his people to himself precept must be upon precept,
precept upon precept line upon line, line upon line here a little,
there a little all there is in that variety that is being taught
us here in the experience of this blind man but all that the Lord would bring
us to that that we might see clearly that our eye might be
single that we might seek only the honor and the glory of God
and seek that in the salvation of many souls that we might live
our lives in such a manner that we're continually commending
God our Savior in all we do in all that we say. Well the Lord
be pleased to bless his word to us. Now before we do pray
let us sing our second hymn of praise
the hymn is 747 the tune is Anne's 89 the title God's various dealings
with his children how hard and rugged is the way to some poor
pilgrim's feet in all they do or think or say they opposition
meet others again more smoothly go secured from hurt and harms
their Savior leads them gently through, or bears them in His
arms. 747, June 89. How hard and rugged is the way
to some good pilgrim's feet. In all they do or think or say,
they opposition me. Afres aquellos utrios, Secure
tronics and hosts, Lest I, in each enchanted tree, Oppress
their many sons. Faith and repentance all must
find, But yet we daily see, They differ in their time and kind,
Generation and degree. While the repentant lay bleeding,
But when their sins forgiven, The clear apostles they receive,
And walk with joy to heaven. Their covenants And they're compelled to fight
They feel their latter stages worst And travel much by night
But the air-conflict, short or long, is calm that wheresoever faith is from,
repentance is sung to.