Another Look
This guest article comes to us from Nathaniel Hardt as part of our “Month of Guest Articles” for September 2009.
One look at Jesus will never suffice.
Mark is the only gospel writer to record the healing of the blind man of Bethsaida (8:22-26). It occurs between two events in which the disciples were encouraged to take another look at Jesus. In addition to a miraculous healing, both the writer and the Savior show us that just one look at Jesus will never suffice.
After spitting on the blind man’s eyes and putting his hands upon him, Jesus asked him if he saw anything. He said that he saw “men as trees, walking.” A healing had occurred and his eyes could see; but the neural pathways had not been formed in the brain. He could see the parts but not the whole. He could focus on one part but the rest was a blur. Russell Grigg, in his discussion of relevant clinical case histories,1 concludes that the man “was still mentally blind.” He suffered from a “perceptual incapacity known medically as agnosia” in which “he could not make sense of what he was seeing.”
Eventually, and with enough visual experience the man’s brain would have developed the pathways necessary to make sense of the whole, but Jesus wanted to hurry the process along. He laid His hands on the man again and formed the needed neural pathways in the visual cortex of the brain. The blind man then “saw every man clearly” (8:26).
Like this blind man from Bethsaida, we all see Jesus in part and must look again to see Him clearly. Immediately before this healing, on the boat trip to Bethsaida, Jesus warned the disciples against the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod. Although Jesus had provided two vast multitudes with bread, they assumed He was rebuking them for their failure to bring sufficient bread. They could not see the whole picture: He had twice provided bread and could do so again. He challenged them, “Having eyes, see ye not?” They saw that provision was not the issue (Mt 16:5). He was the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35).
After healing the blind man in Bethsaida, Jesus took the disciples to Caesarea-Philippi. There He asked them, “Who do men say that I am?” Upon first inspection, Jesus does have a lot in common with the prophets from Israel’s past. He reminded some of John the Baptist, others of Elijah, and still others of a writing prophet like Jeremiah (Mt 16:14). Everyone could see His prophetic ministry, but none could grasp the bigger picture. They could not see the uniqueness of Jesus’ role and person. Jesus challenged the disciples to look again. In a moment of revelation, Peter saw clearly that Jesus was not just another prophet brought back from the dead. He declared that Jesus was the anointed of God, the embodiment of the messianic prophecies. The pieces had come together in an epiphany when the Father enlightened the “eyes of Peter’s mind” (see Ep 1:18).
Let us take another look at Jesus today. One look will never suffice.
1 Russell Grigg, Walking trees…:Modern science helps us understand a puzzling miracle Creation 21(4):54–55 September 1999 (All description of the clinical aspects are derived from this article.)
Great concept. We must look again and again because there is so much to see. It would be incorrect to say that the gospel is complicated, but I would say that it is not simple. The big picture is easy to grasp, but the more I look at the person and power of Jesus Christ, the more there is to look at.
Fractals are like this. Simple to describe, beautiful, and infinitely complex. The writer asserted that the world could not contain the volumes describing all that Jesus said and did; perhaps he meant that every time he looked at the life of Jesus there was more to see.
Pardon the pun, but those were some great in-sights. It’s true that many times our own mindsets keep us from seeing. I pray for healing of my mindsets often.
Thanks for being a guest writer on New Free Thinkers.