Mark 8:1-26
Dear RTB’ers,
Today will be my last post for a while. I am having shoulder replacement surgery tomorrow morning and will be out of action for a while. I’ll be in a sling for about a month and then a few more months of recuperation and rehab. John S. has said that he will probably continue to post something in my absence, but that’s up to him. We have a few more days in Mark, then we move to Deuteronomy. A good time for me to take some time off…!! 😊!
Today’s reading has four thousand fed, Pharisee challenges, the disciples’ “unbelief”, and Jesus healing a blind man. This healing of a blind man is one of those six items that appears only in Mark’s gospel. Although Jesus healed the blind on other occasions, this healing occurred at Bethsaida and was accomplished in two stages. There are a couple of curious items in this incident. Why did Jesus take the man out of the village, away from the crowds? (v. 23) Why did the man not see perfectly after Jesus had first anointed his eyes with His spit? (v. 24) Why did Jesus lay His hands on the man’s eyes a second time? (v. 25) Why did Jesus tell the man to go straight home and not even enter the village? (v. 26) And why was this incident reported only in Mark’s gospel? It has enough unique features that I’m surprised at it not being reported elsewhere. The bottom line for this incident, setting aside all the “curious” items: Then Jesus laid His hands on his eyes again; …and he saw everything clearly. (v. 25) How many times has Jesus spoken to us before we could see “everything clearly”? Or, how many more times are needed?
Blessings!
See also: