Time for your Eyesight Test. (Mark 8: 10-26)

 When I was growing up, as a child I believed that when it came to eyesight people, were divided into two categories. Those who were blind and those who can see. It seems that that was a simplistic view and I now understand there are all sorts of spectrums of being partially sighted. But now I also believe that what is true physically, is also true spiritually. I now believe there are those who are blind, and those who can see, and other who are spiritually partially sighted. 

What I would like to do today is give us all a spiritual eye test. It seems to me that a common a that has runs through the passage of scripture we are going to look at today is sight. Soe people, like the Pharisee’s do not see at all. Most of us like the disciples , see but not always clearly. Some other like the blind man in this story will be healed from their blindness in stages. So, what can we learn from todays spiritual sight test, lets begin to read this passage to find out. 

He got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.’ Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

(Mark 8: 10-13)

We are told in these verses that when he got to Dalmanutha the Pharisees come to him and begin to question him, the phrase can also be translated as dispute with him. They had not come with an attitude of listening or learning, but of arguing. They also ask for a, “sign from heaven”. So, what did they mean by that.

Remember up to this point Jesus had given them plenty of signs. He had been healing people everywhere He went, but they attributed those signs and miracles to the devil, they asked for signs from heaven. What does a sign from heaven look like. Perhaps what they had in mind was something like the sort of thing that happened in the Old Testament. Maybe they were looking for God to come down in a pillar of fire. Maybe they were looking for him, to part a sea again or to reign down bread from heaven. The were looking for something sensational.

Verse 12 tells us Jesus just sighed deeply, he just groaned in His spirit because of their total lack of understanding and their unwillingness to see. Their wilful spiritual blindness.

So, he says to them , “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it”.

Then he ups and leaves them and departs for the other side of the lake saying I am not giving you any more signs. In the other Gospel accounts, it adds the small detail of telling us that he will not give them anymore signs except the sing of Jonah. So, he basically says to them no more signs for you guys except the final one coming that I will die and then come back from the dead. These Pharisee’s are blind, they did not understand that Jesus was the Messiah, and they remain wilfully blind.

II Cor 4: tells us

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

(II Cor 4: 3-4)

Some people are just totally spiritually blind. Rather than seeing Jesus as the Son of God they chose to conclude that he was just a man or a magician of some sort That is total spiritual blindness, its looking into the face of God and seeing nothing of God in him. If that is all you see, then you too are in the dark, you too are totally spiritually blind.

Many people today are still confronted with the authentic Jesus, and they still manage to walk away from that encounter thinking he was a good man or some sort of spiritual teacher or Guru. These people are spiritually blind.

OK, that’s the first group that doesn’t see at all, the group that are spiritually blind. But there is another group. Let’s pick up the story.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. ‘Be careful,’ Jesus warned them. ‘Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.’ They discussed this with one another and said, ‘It is because we have no bread.

(Mark 8: 14-16)

Let’s just pause for a second.

Question, what are the disciples talking about? 

Answer their stomachs.

Jesus is talking about the pride and the spiritual state of the Pharisee’s. He likens it to leaven yeast in bread, look out he says put a little of that stuff in and it grows and multiplies. They are still so pre-occupied with their physical needs they are still spiritually blind. So here is what the Lord says about this.

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? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?’ ‘Twelve,’ they replied. ‘And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?’ They answered, ‘Seven.’ He said to them, ‘Do you still not understand?’

(Mark 8: 17-21)

5000 people ,12 of you, and 12 baskets leftover. 4000 people and 7 baskets of leftovers so large you couldn’t even carry them by yourself when they were filled. Wow, they are not really learning anything from the past experiences, are they? How soon they forgot, how soon we all forget.

Have you got eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear? Do you remember the good things that God has done for you in the past, do you absorb the spiritual truths and resources the Lord wants to put into you? Is your heart receptive are you a stone, or a sponge? As the word is preached, as the water of life is poured out. Do you soak it up, or do you fail to absorb it and let it  bounce off you like a hard stone? When the squeeze comes, and you need something back out which would you rather have, a sponge or a hard-hearted stone? It seems sometimes no matter what the Lord has done in our lives we come upon the next crisis, and we forget what he has taught us and we forget what He has done for us. Oh No! We’ve got no bread, they say.

Sometimes we too think we have no bread, forgetting God has given us a cupboard full of flour and yeast and water and salt, I’ve got no bread? If you need bread, then call upon the beadmaker.

The next section sees the Lord doing something he has never done before; this is because he really wants to underscore what He is trying to teach them.

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 spat on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, ‘Do you see anything?’

(Mark 8: 22-23)

The man being healed. 

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

(Mark 8: 24)

This tells us, the Lord is healing him, but he is deliberately not doing it in the way he has done it in every other case. In every other case it was instant, and it was complete, this time it is gradual and partial.

The Lord is trying to teach a spiritual truth here, and that is that some people don’t see spiritual truths initially in clear focus, that group probably includes me by the way. Usually, God word and wisdom need repeating several times to me or hammering home a few times. The Lord for many has to continue his work so that people can see clearly. 

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. Jesus sent him home, saying, ‘Don’t even go into the village.

(Mark 8: 25-26)

This verse just refers to the fact that Jesus has a plan, that meant him going to the cross and because many people appear to have a wrong conception about who He is as Messiah, he says to the blind man, “don’t go telling everyone about this, my time has not yet come”. I’m not ready to disclose that full revelation, I need to teach these disciples because they need to see clearly. Some do not see at all. Some are slow to see the significance. Not’ just about salvation, but about all the spiritual truths that Jesus wishes to teach us.

Some have seen all the teaching of Christ on living a good and moral life, but still don’t trust him as saviour. Some of us have known the Lord for years, but still have to learn the lesson that we need to be build people up by every word that come out of his mouth. Now, none of us are perfect, none of us understand all of god’s spiritual truths all of the time. I have studied the scriptures extensively and seriously for over 40 years now. But there are still areas of the Bible I struggle with intensely. Ideas like Election, and free will. Topics like the second coming entire books like, Revelation and Daniel. None of us are perfect, none of us see all of god’s spiritual truths all of the time. We are all disciples of the Lord and the word, Students, but students led by the Holy Spirit no less. We may need to be assertive about what we believe on occasions. However, we also don’t want to confront people with what we believe in such a way as to drive them away.Perhaps only to find out years later we ourselves now see things differently.

It is the nature of spiritual growth that there is often a gradual perception of spiritual truth in some of the more challenging or difficult areas of God’s word. However, this particular passage is not primarily talking about spiritual blindness being caused by immaturity. It is talking about spiritual blindness being caused by “hardness of Heart”. It is not talking about understanding some passage, or topic, or doctrine. It’s more talking about remembering God’s character and how he can meet our needs in the future evidenced by what he has already done it in the past.

Have you noticed that personal crises are often reoccurring? Have you also noticed a reoccurring problem always seems to get bigger each time in reappears?  However, what we should do is remember that the Lord dealt with this in the past, and He will remain faithful to us in the future. A few days ago, as way of illustration, I suggested that students usually fail exams for one of three reasons. Either because they do not pay attention, or they do not study the textbook, or they fall into bad habits. In most cases the bad habit is usually choosing to focus on the wrong thing. It about being intentional and choosing to focus on the truth God is revealing to you. Then focus on what the word of God plainly teaches about that thing. When we look at something in the wrong way, we will always reach the wrong conclusion.

A young farmer looked at his two cows in a field rubbing noses, and said to the girl he was keen on, look at those two cows rubbing noses in that field, it almost like they are kissing. That makes me think about something we might be doing. The girl said, go ahead, kiss it, it’s your cow. Thy were both looking at the same thing, but they just saw it differently.

Another thing that might stop you recognising spiritual truths is the fact that some people don’t ever listen to begin with. Some people don’t listen and when they do hear they don’t pay attention to what is plainly said. Jesus says in this passage, you have an ear, then hear. You have been given eyes, so see.

Let me tell illustrate this by telling you one aspect of the American Telegraph company operator recruitment process. Back in the day telegraph operators in the US used Morse and when someone went for an interview at. They would sit the recruits in a large office waiting area with the sound of machines tapping in the background. They were told to finalise their application form and wait to be summoned into the office. After a few moments one recruit he stood up and marched straight in. He didn’t wait to be summoned, he just marched straight in. That because he listened and hear that what was being tapped out by the machines in the office. “If you hear and understand this message, come right into the office”. The applicant got the job because he was listening.

I honest believe that most of the important spiritual truths we need to understand are clearly there for us if we just have ears to hear and eyes to see. I want to conclude by asking one simple question. Are you one of those people who try and listen but are slow to get it some time? (Hands up, that me) We’ll if that’s the case this is what I believe this passage tells us to do. 

If you had a problem with your physical sight, what would you do? You would go to the optician, and I imagine you would be even willing to pay something towards getting your vision corrected. You would listen to what the optician said, and then you would act on it. If you needed glasses, you would probably buy a pair of glasses.   You would go visit the expert and you would listen.

Well,’ it’s no different when it is your spiritual sight. Stop what you are doing, go to the expert, and listen to what He says. So, I hope you listened this morning, and if you learned anything then you need to STOP and think about what you learned. Then you need to look where in the world and where in your life you can apply it. Otherwise, you listen but you don’t learn. 

Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?

(Mark 8: 18)

You need to stop and look and listen. That’s my suggestion, you need to pause, sit down, and ponder what you have learned and listen to what God says you need to do about it. Listen to what God says you need to do and discern what action you need to take. You have to stop and focus on what you need to start doing by applying what you have learnt. When you hear something new, I believe you have to pause for a moment to re-focus on how that new truth fits in with the world around you, and the will of God. You have an opportunity to see things differently now, but you will only be able to do that if you stop and re-focus for a while. Our walk with the Lord has to have built into it a pattern of pauses to reflect and to listen to what he says, so that you can re-focus on where you go from there in the light of the new spiritual view. And then move forward again.