Three Times Touched
Robert Walker
Mark 8:22-25
In a fascinating book titled Space and Sight by Marius von Senden, about the first people in the world to undergo successful cataract surgery---all blind from birth, they suddenly received their sight and then were interviewed about what they saw.
Their stories are strange and moving, and they describe a world we no longer see, the way a newborn or an extraterrestrial might upon seeing it for the first time.
One newly sighted girl was so stunned by the radiance of the world that she kept her eyes shut for two weeks. When she finally opened them she saw only a field of light against which everything seemed to be in motion.
Our Gospel reading is of the famous story of a blind man who is healed by Jesus, whose sight is restored. It takes place in the city of Bethsaida, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee-a city actually named after Caesar Augustus' daughter.
And this is a story that brings to a close the first part of Mark's narrative of the life of Christ-it is right in the middle of the Gospel of Mark.
The Scriptures tell us that "they", perhaps this man's friends or family, brought him to Jesus. It is the concept of being a "Stretcher Bearer." These people had enough faith and action to know that if they could get him to Jesus he could be healed.
The Scriptures say they "begged. The word begged gives us the conception that they had a strong desire for Jesus to touch this man.
Do we believe Jesus can still heal and change the lives of people? We are spiritually blinded by sin, in need of "healing." After the request to touch the blind man, Jesus touches him:-
I. THE SAVIOUR'S ENCOURAGEMENT
This remarkable miracle story is only recorded for us in Mark's Gospel it is not found in the other Synoptic Gospels, Matthew or Luke.
And in the Scriptures, wherever you have an "only"occurrence, it is usually recorded for us for a very special purpose--put there by the author for us to ...
Robert Walker
Mark 8:22-25
In a fascinating book titled Space and Sight by Marius von Senden, about the first people in the world to undergo successful cataract surgery---all blind from birth, they suddenly received their sight and then were interviewed about what they saw.
Their stories are strange and moving, and they describe a world we no longer see, the way a newborn or an extraterrestrial might upon seeing it for the first time.
One newly sighted girl was so stunned by the radiance of the world that she kept her eyes shut for two weeks. When she finally opened them she saw only a field of light against which everything seemed to be in motion.
Our Gospel reading is of the famous story of a blind man who is healed by Jesus, whose sight is restored. It takes place in the city of Bethsaida, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee-a city actually named after Caesar Augustus' daughter.
And this is a story that brings to a close the first part of Mark's narrative of the life of Christ-it is right in the middle of the Gospel of Mark.
The Scriptures tell us that "they", perhaps this man's friends or family, brought him to Jesus. It is the concept of being a "Stretcher Bearer." These people had enough faith and action to know that if they could get him to Jesus he could be healed.
The Scriptures say they "begged. The word begged gives us the conception that they had a strong desire for Jesus to touch this man.
Do we believe Jesus can still heal and change the lives of people? We are spiritually blinded by sin, in need of "healing." After the request to touch the blind man, Jesus touches him:-
I. THE SAVIOUR'S ENCOURAGEMENT
This remarkable miracle story is only recorded for us in Mark's Gospel it is not found in the other Synoptic Gospels, Matthew or Luke.
And in the Scriptures, wherever you have an "only"occurrence, it is usually recorded for us for a very special purpose--put there by the author for us to ...
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