“Play it again....”

Mark 8:22-26

by Janet Loughry

May 25, 2003

Louie Torecky also known as “Never Happened Before, Louie.” Louie is from Russia. He worked on the facilities staff at La Canada Presbyterian Church when I worked there. When a committee or group or class needed a room set up, Louie made it happen. Many times the set up was the same - week after week. Louie got in the habit of just putting the chairs and tables in the order and then confirming - or not confirming - that it was right. On several occasion - life just happened and the set up was different. When Louie was told of the new set up, his response was always: “Never happened before!” Then we would tell him why the setup needed to be different.

During Jesus’ earthly ministry He performed many miracles - which He calls signs and wonders. For most of these, Jesus normally speaks an authoritative word or makes a pronouncement and it is so. In this particular healing miracle, what Jesus does, never happened before. Jesus does the work of the miracle in stages. In this one time, after Jesus touches the blind man, He asks a clarifying question, “Do you see anything?” He gets a response and then, Jesus “plays it again,” by touching this man a second time.

Now, certainly Jesus knows what He is doing from the very moment He is approached by the folks in Bethsaida. After all, He knew the moment His healing power was used through the faith of the woman who bled; others’ faith healed them or their loved ones, seemingly just by the mention of the need. Here Jesus asks this man, who has been blind since birth, “Do you see anything?”

Who else benefits while listening as the man responds, “I see people, but they look like trees walking”? Perhaps the townspeople who initially approached Jesus as He and His disciples got off the boat are still gathered around. They seemingly have enough faith in Jesus to have brought their friend to Jesus so quickly upon His arrival. But Jesus does not give His healing word yet. These people might follow along as Jesus takes the man by the hand and walks him outside the boundaries of the village. But why didn’t Jesus bring sight to the man right where he was, as He did so many times before? Why not right there in the village of Bethsaida? Well, so glad you asked....

I believe we are told the answer back in Matthew’s gospel. It seems that Jesus and His disciples have visited in or near the village of Bethsaida on other occasions. At those times Jesus also performed signs and wonders. He walked on water off her coast. He also fed the 5000 in this area. Nevertheless, most of the residents of Bethsaida appear to remain unmoved by these wonders. Matthew (11) tells us that Jesus “began to reproach the cities where most of His deeds of power were done, because they did not repent.” Listen to this curse from Jesus:

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! For if the deeds of

power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented

long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you....” And then Jesus continues to go on and curse Capernaum in the same way referencing the evil city of Sodom.

What Jesus is saying is that “If I had gone to these Gentile cities and done these same miracles, they would have repented and would not refuse to respond to my teachings, and to Me. And their faith would be strong to this day. And furthermore, judgment will still be more tolerable for these Gentile pagans than for you.”

Wow! Yet out from this unresponsive town does come some believers. In fact, Bethsaida is the home of Andrew, James, John and Peter - all disciples of Jesus. Perhaps they are the reason Jesus and twelve return many times to this village. And now other believers from within this town are not only the ones who bring this blind man to Jesus, but they also beg Jesus to touch him. And after all that has been done and said, Jesus still has compassion for these believers and for this one they bring. This is when Jesus takes the blind man by the hand and leads him outside the village boundary. He does not want this man to be wrongly touched by this bad neighborhood. Jesus also gives these few believers a second touch and deepens their faith as He touches and asks the blind man, “Can you see anything?”

Jesus does not want to curse. But that will be our fate as well, if we do not listen and respond to Him. What Jesus wants more than anything from the people in Bethsaida is for them to respond to and accept His teachings, to accept Him. That is what Jesus wants today from us. In order for this to happen we must let Jesus take us by the hand and lead us. This is how our trust begins - step-by-step, not always knowing where we are being led by Jesus or how far this journey will take us. Our conscious dependence upon Jesus will grow more and more with each step we take together with Him.

Jesus takes this blind man by the hand and gently guides Him out of the village. This allows them to be more alone. Often it is when we are alone with Jesus that He guides, heals and restores us. Often it is when we are alone with Jesus that we can feel His first touch. And if not that, then His second. When we are alone with Jesus, we, the blind person, see, follow, hear, respond and act because of Jesus. We live in Him because of His power.

How are you at spending time alone with Jesus? For our faith and trust to grow in Jesus we must spend time alone with Him. I know we live in a fast paced society. That is a given! We all have places to go, people to see and things to do. It seems so difficult these days to find time to be alone....with Jesus. Yet I encourage you to do just that. When you can not be outwardly alone, your heart can still be alone, even in a crowd. You can do this by asking Jesus to gather up your heart, and still the all that is around you - at work, at school, at the gym, at the store, here, at a committee meeting, or in worship. He wants to be alone with you. If you want Jesus Christ to give you His highest gifts and to reveal to you His awesome beauty, you must be alone with Him. “He loves to deal with single souls.”

Now, Jesus certainly did not need the two stages to heal this man. While the procedure Jesus uses is not necessary, it is also not unknown to this time period. The ancient world had a curious belief in the healing power of saliva. The belief is not so strange if we remember that the first instinct we have is to put a cut, burned or bruised finger into our mouths to ease the pain. This blind man would have been aware of this, so he would understand this method of curing him. This shows how wise Jesus is. He used then, and uses now, words and methods that can be understood.

The Roman historian, Tacitus records a story of the Roman emperor Vespian. It seems Vespian was persistently urged by a person whose sight was failing to “moisten his cheeks and eyes with his spittle.” But, Jesus does not hesitate. He does not need continued urging. He is not using this individual for ulterior motives. But for the glory of God. Perhaps the man is the one who needs urging. Perhaps his faith is not as strong as his friends who first approach Jesus on his behalf. Since he has been blind since birth, perhaps the man needs his sight gradually to come to him. If he had been suddenly given back his sight in the crowd - there would have been the sudden flash of many people and things as well as dazzling colors and light. Perhaps he would have been completely bewildered / confused. Perhaps he would have pushed away from Jesus. This shows the great consideration on Jesus’ part.

It is like the consideration of a parent with a youngster; a nurse or other care giver with an oldster. Jesus shows the same consideration with us. Haven’t you and I at times, been slow to faith. There have been times when we have had a low level of care for our personal cure. Have there not been times we have not had much hope. Jesus does not spoon feed and hope we digest. It is at these times that Jesus gently guides. He walks alongside. He touches. He asks, “Can you see anything?”

So this healing is not unilateral. Jesus involves the man. He asks for feedback. He wants to hear from this man. He wants to bring awareness to him right away. This shows the sensitivity of Jesus. Jesus is aware of further need. He does not hesitate to help us come to that same awareness.

As I said, this miracle is unique. It is the only miracle which “happened gradually.” He gave a second touch to this man. And what about us today. We sometimes need Jesus to touch us a second time. No one sees all God’s truth all at once. No one is a full-grown Christian as soon as the decision is made for Christ. The Apostle Paul tells us in I Corinthians 13, verses 9 onward:

“For we know in part....but when the perfect comes, the partial will be

done away. When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as child, reason

as a child; when I became an adult, I did away with childish things. For now we

see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face; now I know in part, but

then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known....”

I have a friend who with her husband has raised their children from birth to know Jesus and know what it is to walk with Him.....just like many of you have done and do now. I was present when their youngest of three spoke in their church for something like our Youth or Laity Sunday. Jason’s testimony or message went something like this: “I was fortunate to grow up in a Christian home. I received a steady dose of church from early on. I received Jesus as my Savior when I was almost 7, then on an Easter Sunday I was baptized when I was 7. I know some people think seven is too young to be baptized. I think for some it might be. But I can vividly remember my experience of conviction, my awareness that I needed to accept Jesus. I can still remember the talks with my parents about this. I will never forget my public commitment, my baptism and the changes that took place in my life after that experience. I have never doubted my salvation experience. I can honestly say that “I gave all I knew of myself to all I knew of God.” I didn’t know much about myself at 7 years old, and I didn’t know much about God. But I made the very best decision I could possibly make with the knowledge and understanding that I did have.

“As I grew older - into a teenager, I had learned a lot more about myself and lot more about God. During those years I felt the need to update or re-fresh that decision. As I was entering adulthood I felt I needed an adult commitment. I made a very significant re-dedication of my life to Christ at that time.” (Adapted from the true story by my friend Jason Heller and sermon by Dr. Mickey Anders.)

Jason had a second touch by Jesus. Maybe the early joy of your conversion has dimmed. What of the spiritual routine into which you have settled? How are your relationships with other people fairing? When was the last time you were alone with Jesus Christ, your Savior? When was the last time you put your hand in His and let Him guide you?

Back in the 1960's, Keith Miller wrote a book entitled A Second Touch. He writes about a young pastor, recently ordained who had read Keith’s earlier book, The Taste of New Wine and now had read this current book three times. This young pastor and his wife apparently were both on the telephone one evening asking Keith Miller: What is the meaning of this crazy Christian life...? What’s it really all about? What happens when a person makes a conscious attempt to commit his entire life to the living God, lives a few joyous productive years in his Church - maybe even becomes an ordained minister - and then wakes up one day and finds that the well has gone dry. ‘Faith’ becomes only a word again. What kind of a Way is there for people like us - people who have been baptized and confirmed, have practiced the Christian disciplines, and have said all the right formulas after accepting Christ as Savior and Lord? And yet, if we dare to be honest, we are fed up with our church talking, with the continual religious noise, and with the nervous, seemingly ‘manufactured’ involvement of our Christian brothers (and sisters- my addition). But still, beneath all our frustration and rebellion, we want deeply to be God’s people” (Keith Miller, A Second Touch, Pillar Books, New York, 1967, p20-21).

This reminds me of the fact that many of us here today probably have a favorite song. It probably did not become our favorite the very first time we heard it. We played it again, and again. Each time we hear the song we hear a new part to it, our thoughts revisit certain times, places and relationships. We are touched in perhaps the same way or a different and deeper way at each hearing. We play it again. The church needs to keep playing it. Jesus wants to and needs to play it again.

Keith Miller concluded that lots of Christians get that way and are in need of a second touch. Maybe you need a second touch in your personal commitment. Perhaps you would like Jesus to play it again for you. He will you know.

When Jesus had finished with His second touch, the man’s full sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. Jesus had healed this man perfectly. I know you know it was not the saliva or really even the touch that healed. But the power - Jesus’ power - Him willing it to be so. We will get our 20/20 spiritual vision when we come into His presence. That is the only time we will be really ready and able to see Him. However, we each need God’s power through Jesus Christ in our lives here and now.

Have you ever had that first touch from the hand of Jesus? Are you in need of His second touch today? Open your life to Jesus, and let Him give you the touch - His power - that will change your life forever.