Episode Details

Introduction

Have you ever felt like God spit in your eyes? We’re going to read today about a man for whom that was a literal reality - Jesus spit in his eyes - and it was the best thing in the world for him. 

Let’s set the scene: Jesus had fed the four thousand down in the Decapolis, and then traveled by boat back to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Upon arrival, the local Pharisees come down and start interrogating Jesus, and demanding that he provide them with some definitive sign from heaven that he had authority to teach and act in the manner which he did. He flatly refuses their faithless and hypocritical demands, and then he and the disciples get back in the boat. But on the boat ride across to the eastern side of the sea, it becomes clear that the disciples themselves still are quite blind to the reality of who Jesus is. It’s reminiscent of the words spoken to the prophet Isaiah:

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: 

     “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; 

                  keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 

            10       Make the heart of this people dull, 

      and their ears heavy, 

      and blind their eyes; 

                  lest they see with their eyes, 

      and hear with their ears, 

                  and understand with their hearts, 

      and turn and be healed.”  (Is 6:8–10, ESV)

The people of Israel were made hard hearing the word of the Lord through Isaiah. Now the nation of Israel was largely being hardened under the direct voice of Jesus, and even the disciples themselves were blind to who was in their boat. 

Text

22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” (Mark 8:22-26, ESV)

Explanation

The disciples and Jesus come to shore at the city of Bethsaida. Scholars debate exactly where Bethsaida was located, but it was probably either right on the Sea of Galilee, or possibly a city on the Jordan river about a mile in from the Sea. This is the city that Phillip was originally from, as well as Andrew and Peter (John 1:44). If you remember the feeding of the 5,000 from chapter six, that miracle had happened pretty close to here, and then Jesus sent the disciples by boat in this direction before they were blown adrift by the storm.

So this is a city where people are very familiar with Jesus and his miraculous power, which explains why they bring this blind man to him immediately upon landing. And they are begging Jesus, strongly entreating him, asking that he would bring healing. But then Jesus doesn’t heal him immediately. Instead, what Mark tells us is that Jesus takes the man by the hand, and brings him out of the village. 

Throughout Mark’s gospel, though Jesus often does public miracles, we see that he is also frequently pulling people aside and telling them not to make known what he has done. There is a secrecy theme which pulses through the book. Like the deaf man with a speech impediment, whom Jesus pulled aside from the crowd (7:33), Jesus takes this man away - presumably even away from those who had brought him to Jesus in the first place. 

Then Jesus goes back to using spit - Jesus spits in his eyes, and then lays hands on him (v23). If