Jesus Walking with a Blind Man                                                                                        D - 5

 

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.  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?” 

He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” 

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes.  Then his eyes were opened, his sight restored, and he saw everything clearly.  Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village.”

Mark 8:22-26  (NIV)

 

As you begin to think more about your own life, here's a beautiful story illustrating where so many of us are at in life, what our “normal” thinking might look like, what we expect in our future, what can happen when we meet Jesus, and what kind of new life Jesus has for us!  And the very first step?  A simple willingness to let Jesus Himself show you where you are really at in your life.  As He does this, He will be gentle, encouraging and astound you with pinpoint accuracy!  Your fears will gradually dissipate!

As stated earlier in BUT NOW, our goal in these pages is to help you have a clear understanding of how negative experiences and messages fashion a destructive internal belief system.  Such a system of beliefs will control a person’s responses to life, their perceptions of themselves, others and God.   Rather than take a walk with Jesus, we remain steadfast in our current situation!

What was life like for a blind man living in Bethsaida?  Well, his experience of everyday life in Bethsaida wouldn’t be much different from our own experience of everyday life!  Regardless of all the changes and advances in the last 2,000 years, the basic core human needs and struggles of humanity are the same today as they were then. We cry out as humans to have a positive and loving response to the following questions:

 

Am I safe?

Who do I trust?

Am I loved?

Am I of worth and even deserve to be loved?

Am I capable of asking for, receiving and giving love?

Where do I belong and whom do I belong to?

Am I significant or insignificant?

 

Here are some ideas about this story to understand its importance for us.

This man was blind and a beggar; he had trauma from early life and knew only daily darkness.  His very existence was perceived as unsafe.

He lived in a town, Bethsaida, which Jesus Himself described as hard of heart and unrepentant.  His idea of “normal” was sadness, harshness and hopelessness.

He had to decide whether or not to take a walk to a new, out-of-the-way place, perhaps a place he had never been to before, and with someone he really didn’t know!  Might there be boulders along the way and I will fall?  Or maybe a snake?  How would I find the way back if Jesus leaves me?  He was way out of his comfort zone.

He had so much emotional baggage that his healing took a while.  It happened in stages rather than immediately.  There was a lot of work to do.  Like with many of us.

He had to change his daily life and even relocate himself to a new town.  Much like the changes we are invited to make as well!

The basic core needs (shown above) of safety, worth, effectiveness and belonging are the stabilizing human core beliefs leading to abundant life and the experience of well-being.  The blind man probably had none of these healthy core beliefs about himself. 

Another stage of change is when a person becomes aware, admits and understands that they indeed need to redirect their life, that a change is needed.  The blind man agreed to go on a walk with Jesus; he finally knew something should be done and his life turned around.  Imagine Jesus walking with him, how choices would have become clear.  He would be able with his spirit to now “see” a new possibility for tomorrow and a reason for hope.

Next, he allows Jesus to (of all things) spit on his eyes!  He was at the important phase of change, which showed him accepting the when and how Jesus the Healer would decide to work with him.  He was building up his trust in this man, Jesus, as healer but also as friend.

Next, after receiving his sight, Jesus knew what type of TOTAL healing was necessary.  He knew that if the blind man went back into town, he just might fall into some very harmful habits and patterns.  So Jesus said bluntly: “Don’t go back to your old life!  Leave that village where you were at for so long and enter a brand-new part of your life so you might live free and productively”.  This was the last stage of healing: accepting and maintaining new thought patterns and beliefs!

 

1) In your everyday life do you feel you are valued and worthy of love?  

2) Do you have a sense of a safe place you call home? 

3) Are you aware of your giftedness, purpose and effectiveness, especially in giving and receiving love?  

4) How rooted are you in your own personal Bethsaida? 

5) Did the blind man realize he was walking with The Healer? 

6) Can you see Jesus walking with this man, to a quiet and private space?  Did Jesus hold his hand giving the blind man courage?   What may they have talked about?

7) Finally, think about their conversation as they walked and perhaps held hands!  How did Jesus treat him?  What might they have been talking about? 

8) Has “moving out of town” entered your mind? 

9) How often have you wished for healing?  Can you relate to the feelings this blind man may have had in his everyday life? 

10) Why did “some people” bring a blind man to Jesus; why didn’t the blind man himself ask for healing?  What might his sense of self-worth have been?  

11) Why does it say that the blind man’s friends asked for the “touch” of Jesus, and not specifically for sight?  How often do we ask for a “quick” cure, or easy growth, or settle for coping rather than seeking a complete change in our lives?  

12) What was the blind man’s everyday life like in such a village?  How was his level of hope as opposed to hopelessness?  Was he stuck in a pattern of negative thinking, no expectations that tomorrow would be better than today, and quiet desperation in everyday living?  

13) What might the word “safe” mean to him?  

14) Had the blind man been much of a traveler, do you think?  Or was his physical, mental and emotional world narrowly defined? ' 

15) How about you … feeling trapped with no escape into something better?  What is your vision for his future? 

16) How about you …. feeling pressed down, pessimistic, no change in sight or mind, simply can’t go on like you have been living? 

17) What are your gifts?  How about your purpose in life?  Are you making any difference at home, at work, among friends?  Are you able to receive love freely, and to give love freely? 

18) How has your past blocked you from seeing clearly God’s personal love for you? 

19) And most important, why did Jesus give him so much personal, one-on-one time???  The blind man seemed to be a nobody, so what drove Jesus to give this man a miracle?  In addition to the physical healing, what other kind of healing did Jesus want to give him?