Bethsaida was a small village on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. Some friends of a blind man brought him to Jesus and requested that He touch him. Instead of granting immediate healing, Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. We see this pattern of God taking people out of the comfort zone in the Old Testament. Spiritual leaders were tested with simple acts of obedience. The people of Israel were commanded to march around Jericho before the walls fell. Naaman was required to bathe in the Jordan River before he would be healed of leprosy. The acts themselves never cause the miracles or earn the grace of God. They were acts that demonstrated their trust in God.
In this case, Jesus asked the blind man to go outside the village. Perhaps Jesus was seeking to build a relationship with the man. Perhaps He was seeking a quiet place to perform a miracle. The bottom line is that Jesus was asking a blind man to leave familiar surroundings, go to an undisclosed location, and place himself totally in Jesus’ care. The willingness to leave our comfort where we would be relying on our own strength is sign of trust in God.
How about us today? Where are our comfort zones? Video games, Social Media, Friends, Anime, TV, Music, etc. Jesus may call you out of your comfort zone for a brief season so that you would develop trust and faith in Him. As long as we stay in our comfort, we would not be able to experience God’s miracle.
The young in Christ must continue to seek vision from God
Jesus spit on the man’s eyes and put His hands on him. We can but wonder what the man thought as Jesus acted. We wonder what the man was thinking when he heard the sound of Jesus spitting in his hands and then rub in his eyes. “Do you see anything” Jesus asked. The man could see something, but the images were not yet clear. He said “They look like trees walking around.” Jesus once again put His hands on the man’s eyes. Then he saw clearly. This man’s sight came in stages. This reminds us not to be impatient when Jesus does not bring about the changes we desire for our lives as quickly and as dramatically as we desire. Note that the blind man continued to seek sight from Jesus until the process was complete.
Although all of us who accept Jesus as Saviour have overcome sin and death, we must continue the treatment. We must continue to seek a deeper relationship with Him through learning about His Words, Listening to His voice, and obeying His commands. We seek Him when we pray to Him. Devotion to God is a powerful way to hear what God has to say to you. When we pray, we often just speak and speak. God desires us to interact with him. An interaction requires two way communication. We need to discipline ourselves in listening to God.
I want you to do this exercise right now. I want you to close your eyes. Imagine you are going to die in three hours, think of the first person you want to spend your remaining time with. Keep imagining your interaction with this person, how much time would you be spent talking and how much time would you be spent listening? I would say a balance is good. If we are to continue to seek after God, we are to be willing to listen.
The mature in Christ must obey God’s voice over his/her own agenda.
Jesus instructed the man not to go through Bethsaida. The passage ends here. We do not know whether the blind man obeyed or not. Why did Jesus made this command? Note that a healing from Jesus came with a command that required a follow up action. The leper was asked to show himself to the priest. The man possessed by demons was told to go home. Many explanations are possible, but the overriding issue is clear. The issue is the lordship of Jesus Christ. If Jesus has the authority to heal, He also has the authority to command. When the Lord is at work in our lies, it is not up to us to call the shots. We must obey His voice over our personal agendas.
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