[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_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.”
Matthew 8:22-26
Among the many curious encounters Jesus had among humanity, this is one of the more peculiar. There are a variety of questions that this passage demands. Such as; Why did Jesus have to perform the miracle twice to be effective? Why did the Messiah have to spit and place dirt on the man’s eyes when He could simply speak the healing words to rid the man of his blindness? Also, why did he take him outside of town and tell him to go home and not back into the village?
Among these oddities is the question this post will focus on most closely. Why was the man’s vision not clear the first time? Certainly Jesus’ power was not in question, so was it a failure of faith or was it possibly a gift? What if seeing things blurry was a gift to the man in order to understand full healing? What if this man’s example serves to show us that partial healing is not what God desires? He wants to make us whole.
Where is your vision unclear? What aspects of your knowledge, personality, character and sanctification does God desire to bring clarity, but you have grown content with blurred lines and shadows? Chances are, these blurred lines meet at the crossroads of relationships.
Ironically, what the man sees are people like trees. Often, it is in the context of relationships that things get blurry. We hurt and are hurt by people. We are misunderstood and do not understand. We make assumptions and they about us. We overly trust and still distrust them. We fear them and they us. We get angry and so on. Most importantly, we fail to communicate effectively with each other and hinder otherwise healthy relationships. We are blinded in some manner in relationships, therefore they are out of focus and unclear.
It takes genuine humility to admit the need to return to the Savior for clarity. This man had faith and trust in Jesus to heal him. Something however required a second touch to open his eyes fully. It is a bit speculative, but there is a reason this is written. Jesus makes no mistakes, therefore there is a reason the encounter went this way. Some have speculated it had to do with his faith. Rather, what if the fuzziness was not a lack of faith but a gift to allow this man to fully appreciate and desire full healing? His world had been pitch black now it was fuzzy. Though mildly better, it was not complete and therefore not as useful. He apparently understood full sight. If he was born blind he would likely not have known how to describe a tree. The man seemed to know he needed more. He wanted full healing from Jesus not just some healing.
How often do we settle for partial rather than full healing? We get “just enough Jesus” to satiate the initial need. We slowly cease to hunger to gain insight to what we need or where our blindspots are in life and relationships. This is yet another reason we all (leaders included) need the community of faith known as the church. Jesus asks us to come to Him and bring our fuzzy, unclear vision. Through His Word, His people, and the work of the Holy Spirit, He shows us more clearly where our blindspots are and how we can be healed. Once the man knew he was not seeing clearly, he wanted more vision. What do you really want from Jesus? Do you want full healing or just enough Jesus to get by?
Here are a few questions to consider:
- Where are things in life, work and relationships fuzzy for you?
- Where are you struggling to see people and circumstances they way Jesus sees them?
- How do you need the body of Christ, God’s word and the Holy Spirit to help you see more clearly?
- How willing are you to humble yourself to relentlessly seek to gain the clarity Christ has for you?
- Who are you willing to ask humbly where your blind spots are at home, work, and in your spiritual life?
- Who do you need to go to and humbly but lovingly confront a blindspot that will help them be more like Christ?
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]