Seeing and Seeing Clearly

Title: Seeing and Seeing Clearly
Date: 10 Feb 2016
Preacher: Rev. Wong Siow Hwee

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent for this year, a time when we reflect on the suffering and salvation work of Jesus Christ. And so our sermon series on Mark similarly moves into the next phase. From the reading, I hope you can also sense that the story of Jesus has now taken another dramatic turn. In the first phase, in the first 7 and a half chapters, there were lots of signs and wonders with the crowd. That also put Jesus in direct confrontation with the Jewish leaders. But in the next phase, from chapters 8 to 10, Jesus began his journey towards Jerusalem and gradually withdraws away from the crowd. In the bulk of this second phase, it often seems like a private dialogue session between Jesus and his disciples. In this phase, we start with an interesting story about a blind man.

Mark 8: 22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. And the story has an immediate twist. Jesus led him outside the village. Is it because Jesus enjoyed leading blind people all the way out to the countryside? If you have tried something like that, you should know that this is something of a slow walk that could take hours. Why not just heal it right there in the village and be done with it? Is it because the countryside has fresh air good for the eyes? That’s the first clue that this is no ordinary story.

Then, Jesus spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him. And then came the second twist. The man was not fully healed. The man could see, but his vision was blurred. Huh! We might be surprised at Jesus’ inability to heal a sick man fully on the first try. [1] The man could “see people; but they look like trees walking around.” I know it sounds strange, but I feel like telling this man, hey, that’s actually quite common. There’s a lot of people out there who can’t or don’t really see people as people. To them, people are as good as trees walking around. How often do you see people, or a crowd, and actually register them as people? Compare yourself to Jesus, Mark 6: 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Jesus saw people as people in need, in need of his teaching.

Thankfully in the story, the man could tell he wasn’t fully healed when he saw people like trees. Maybe there wasn’t enough saliva on the first attempt and Jesus needed to spit a little more. It’s a long walk to get out of the village and Jesus’ mouth was a little dry. Maybe Jesus could drink some water and spit a little more on the eyes. But instead, in Mark 6: 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. Ah, I see. Sometimes, you just need to rub it in. That’s what my family doctor told me to do with my eczema cream. He said to apply the cream thinly. And then he added, ‘your eczema is serious. You need to really rub it in.’ Sometimes, when the ailment is serious, you need to further rub it in. So the first twist of the story is that the blind man got led out of the village. The second twist is that it took Jesus two tries before the man’s blindness was healed and he could see clearly.

Then came the third twist, 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.” Maybe, this isn’t so much of a twist to us by now, because we are getting quite used to Jesus keeping his identity and miracles a secret in Mark. [2] However, Mark in saying purposely don’t go into the village, and not just keeping it a secret, may be conveying a deeper meaning than meets the eye. There are 3 twists and hence 3 puzzles in the story. I will now attempt to solve all them together.

I believe the key to solving these puzzles is to see that Mark was using this story about the healing of this blind man as an allusion to what was going on between Jesus and his disciples. The blindness of the man is actually a metaphor for spiritual blindness of the disciples. So when Jesus gives sight to the blind, it is a metaphor for their gradual spiritual understanding. How do I know that this allusion from Mark is intentional? This episode of the healing of the blind man comes right after the episode where Jesus scolded his disciples of their spiritual blindness. Let’s read from the preceding passage.
Mark 8: 14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
16 They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? (This is a quote from Jeremiah 5:21)

At this point in time, the disciples were still blind to the identity of Jesus, or at the very least really blur in their vision. They had just witnessed the feeding of the five thousand. But when Jesus spoke about the stubborn disbelief of the Pharisees and Herod, using bread and yeast as an analogy, they thought that Jesus was still concerned about food. These were the guys that received the most private tuition from Jesus. Jesus rebuked them for their blindness. “Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?”

And so the blind man who was led by Jesus out of the village represented the disciples who were called out of their community. Peter and Andrew, James and John, left behind their fishing boats. They followed Jesus despite their initial blindness. Mark did not hide their spiritual blindness from us throughout his gospel to make them look good. But with all the signs and wonders and private tuition, it was like Jesus spitting upon their eyes, they could gradually see a little clearer. But were they fully clear? At this stage, it is about as clear as humans looking like trees. What do I mean?

Mark 8: 27 Jesus asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Peter might have stated Jesus’ identity correctly as the Messiah, that is quite commendable because apart from the unclean spirits, he was the first one to see it, but he merely interpreted the Messiah with human concerns. His blindness had improved from before, but it was still not full clarity. Jesus needed to rub it in. Yes, Jesus was correctly identified as the Messiah. But this is the Messiah who must die and rise again. Jesus needed to rub it in, to enlighten him on the true mission of the Messiah. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus did this 3 times. So this two-stage healing was like the two-stage understanding of Jesus’ true identity. The first stage was to identify Jesus as the Messiah. But that was not full clarity. In this second stage, Jesus revealed that the Messiah must die and rise again. The disciples would take some time to overcome this blindness.

Remember that there is a third twist to the story? In the case of the blind man, once you truly see Jesus, then you can no longer return to the village. You will be transformed. If you see Jesus clearly, then there is now the way of Jesus. And the way of Jesus, is also the way of the disciples. After talking about his own suffering, Jesus said in Mark 6, 34 “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. The life of discipleship is a life just like Jesus. This is what it means to see Jesus clearly. I’m afraid I have no choice but to rub it in. This is because there will be many obstacles to faith. Remember the parable of the sower? There will be many hindrances, whether from the environment or from our own inner struggles, that make it extremely hard to accept the full gospel. For the most part, Mark showed us that the disciples also couldn’t see clearly. We all wish for the signs and wonders without the sacrifice. That is the temptation. But that is not the way of Jesus. That is not the way of a Son of God. What about you? Have you thought about your way?

Many of us have experienced the glory of God. Maybe it is a moment of deep worship. Maybe the moment of your conversion. Maybe a moment of enlightenment during a sermon. You begin to see God for who he is. Just like the moment at the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Mark 9: 2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. You would think that that was true clarity. Wow, the glory of God. I can see! I have no doubt that that is true, just as Peter would go on to use that as a witness in his ministry (2 Peter 1:16-18). However, I would argue that that’s true clarity, but not full clarity. A great experience, even one of great glory of signs and wonders, cannot become the only basis of your faith. Peter in the very next line would go on to utter rubbish. Mark tells us: 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

The voice from heaven reminds us: 7 “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” What are they supposed to listen to? The voice is a reminder. Don’t be too quick to conclude. Don’t just yearn after the glorious side of the Messiah. You are only seeing with half clarity. Listen! What are they supposed to listen to? So as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus again told them about his death and rising from the dead. But they were still blur and not listening. They could not comprehend the suffering. Instead they asked about Elijah. They were still fixated on the glory. The Jews were waiting for the Day of the Lord where God would destroy all their enemies. In Malachi 4: 5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.” They wanted the glory. But Jesus told them, Elijah had already come. But Elijah suffered and died. There is no glory without sacrifice. Jesus was referring to John the Baptist. John the Baptist was the Elijah who came. But the glory was only temporal. He was later beheaded for his preaching to King Herod. The yeast of King Herod was his stubbornness to repent. And just like Elijah in the form of John the Baptist, the Son of Man in the form of Jesus must also suffer and die.

And then I told you, the way of Jesus is also the way of the disciples. Below the mountain, we get a glimpse of the disciples’ ministry. This time they faced a powerful deaf and mute spirit they could not overcome. The faith of the people was weak. Some even attacked the disciples with fierce opposition. Sounds familiar? It is like the story of every mission work, and the struggle of most churches. The disciples had never encountered such difficulties. They wanted to know why they couldn’t succeed. 29 Jesus replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” What does he mean? Prayer would be the very first thing the disciples tried. So I believe Jesus was not talking about any special formula for exorcism, whether how much faith or how much prayer. Jesus was simply describing the disciples’ ministry. Your work is to just pray. And Mark was again using this as an allusion to the disciples’ future ministry. The way of Jesus, will also be the way of the disciples. The Messiah must go to the cross, and the disciples must also take up their cross and follow him. And in their own journey, they would face difficulties. You may know some of these when you read books like Acts or Revelations. And the church may waver in their faith. Like the desperate father they cry out, 24 “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” There will be confrontations and oppositions from enemies with stubborn hearts. But what can you do? There is a powerful deaf and mute spirit. DEAF and MUTE! There is no listening. And there is no speaking. Sometimes the mission field is like this. Sometimes even the church congregation. They cannot listen. And they refuse to speak. What can you do? “This kind can come out only by prayer.” You cannot give up. Your work is to pray.

And this is my prayer. That we do not just see the glory. That is not the way. The way of Jesus includes the obedience and sacrifice. As followers of Christ, let us see clearly, and follow Jesus all the way.

[1] But this is not the first time Mark mentioned Jesus’ failure. Try to recall that back in Jesus’ hometown, Mark 6: 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. We were then informed that 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.
[2] In the first century, to get a copy of Mark, you need to get a copyist to duplicate a copy by hand. From some of the early copies of Mark, it is apparent that some of the copyists had problems when they came to this line. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.” They felt that this line don’t really make sense. How can you send him home and not let him go back into the village? His home is in the village. So they change it to 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go and tell anyone in the village.” In a way, I feel their interpretation is logical, Jesus is essentially telling him to keep this miracle a secret.