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    • #5: When a King and a Prophet Agreed in Prayer, part one
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12-10-2017,  #2:    JESUS IS THE ONE WHO CAN CAUSE US
TO SEE ALL THINGS CLEARLY
(Mark 8:22-26)

In the Summer of A. D. 29, Jesus had been ministering in Israel for nearly three years. One day he comes to the city of Bethsaida, which means “house of compassion”. Some men bring a blind man to him, earnestly asking him to touch him. Bethsaida was one of those cities where many of Jesus’ miracles were done (Matthew 11:20-21).  It was near Bethsaida that Jesus fed more than 5,000 people by multiplying bread and fish (Luke 9:10-17).  But although Jesus worked many powerful acts of compassion in Bethsaida, still most of the people there did not repent.  After all the miracles they saw, they failed to heed the word of God spoken through Jesus (Matthew 11:20-24).  They were given a high level of spiritual light.  They would be judged accordingly. So Jesus takes the man by the hand and leads him out of the city - out of such an atmosphere of unreceptivity to God’s word.
 
With the Spirit of Elohim, the Eternal Creator upon him, Jesus spits on the man’s eyes and lays hands on him and asks him, “What do you see?” (Mark 8:23c)  The man’s sight begins to come back and he looks up and answers, “I see men, but they look like trees walking.”  Jesus places his hands on the man’s eyes again. Jesus knows that the man needs another touch. Suddenly the man’s sight is totally restored and he can see all things clearly!  The New International Version reads, ". . . his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly" (Mark 8:25b).

Old Testament Promise Fulfilled:
“Behold, I will bring it health and healing;
I will heal them and reveal to them
the abundance of peace and truth”
(Jeremiah 33:6, NKJV).
 
Jesus commands the man, “Do not go back into the village as you go home” (Mark 8:26b).  It would not help the man to talk with people who would drain his faith. He needs to go home and reflect on what Jesus did for him.
 
Comments:  Some people have said that Jesus prayed twice for this man. But the Bible doesn’t say that. This passage says that Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes twice (Mark 8:23-25). The first time Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes, the man began to see, but men looked to him like trees walking. The second time Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes, the man’s eyesight was totally restored and he could see all things clearly.
 
Jesus’ miracles were done for more than one purpose. First of all, Jesus worked them because of his love and compassion for people and because he wanted to meet their needs.Second, his miracles bore witness that he was who he said he was and that his message was true. But also, often his miracles conveyed spiritual truth. I believe that a truth that this miracle teaches is that at times Jesus touches us mightily by His Spirit and we see something we haven’t seen before. We may get excited about it, but we don’t yet see it well enough to share or teach it to someone else. But as we continue to seek Him, Jesus touches us again and we see more clearly what He was trying to show us. We know and discern “in part”, but our knowledge and discernment can grow. Sometimes we need “another touch” from Jesus. And we know who to go to for help to see things as they actually are.  We can go to Jesus who can cause us to see all things clearly.  I invite you pray this prayer for yourself as I pray it for myself: “Heavenly Father, I pray that You will help me to see the things I need to see, and to see them more clearly, Jesus’ Name.  Jesus, I receive You as the One who enables me to see all things clearly.”
 

Note: much of this devotional is from The Life of Jesus Foretold, pages 149-150.
© COPYRIGHT 2021 by Stephen Long. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Polycarp and the Second Century Church
    • The Life of Jesus Foretold
    • Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love
    • 300 Things I Like About Who I am in Jesus
  • Reviews
    • Reviews of Polycarp and the 2nd century church
    • Reviews of The Life of Jesus Foretold
  • Devotionals & Articles
    • Life of Jesus Devotionals >
      • #1 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #2 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #3 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #4 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #5: Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #6 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #7: Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #8 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #9 LIfe of Jesus Devotional
      • #10 Life of Jesus devotional
      • # 11 Life of Jesus devotional
    • 2nd group - Life of Jesus Devotionals >
      • #12 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #13 Life of Jesus devotional
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    • 3rd group - Life of Jesus Devotionals >
      • #20 Life of Jesus Devotional
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      • #22 Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #23 Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #24 Life of Jesus devotional
      • # 25 Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #26 Life of Jesus Devotional
    • Church History Articles >
      • 8-1-16 The Second Century Church, part one
      • 8-15-16 Second Century Church, part two
      • 9-1-16 The Second Century Church, part three
      • 9-15-16 The Second Century Church, part four
      • 10-1-16 The Second Century Church part five
      • 10-15-16 The Second Century Church, part six
    • More Church History Articles >
      • 11-1-2016, The Second Century Church, part seven
      • 11-15-2016 The Second Century Church, part 8
      • 12-1-2016 The Second Century Church, part 9
      • 12-15-2016, The Second Century Church, part 10
      • 1-15-2017, The Second Century Church, part 11
  • Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love
    • #1: The Love of God, from I John
    • #2: God's Love - Isaiah 58
    • #3: The Greatness of Jesus
    • #4: Our Sufficiency is in Christ
    • #5: The Importance of Our Words
    • #6: The Greatness of Jesus #2
    • #7 The Wisdom of God
    • #8 Faith and Prayer (from the teaching of Jesus)
    • #9 Faith and Prayer (from Romans)
    • #10 Faith and Prayer (from Hebrews)
    • # 11: God Gives us Hope
    • # 12: Mercy and Compassion
    • #13: The Lord is our Refuge
    • #14 Jesus is our Righteousness
    • #15 The Peace of God
    • #16 The Joy of the Lord
  • More Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love
    • #17 Victory Over All the Power of the Evil One
    • #18: The Wisdom of God (from the teaching of Jesus)
    • #19 The Spirit of Truth
    • #20 The Love of God (from I Corinthians 13)
    • #21: The Love of God (from I Corinthians 13, part two)
    • #22: The Spirit of Truth, part two
    • #23: Victory Over All the Power of the Evil One, part 2
    • #24: The Whole Armor of God, part 1
    • #25: The Whole Armor of God, part 2
    • #26: Victory over all the power of the evil one, part 3
    • #27: Faith and Prayer, part 4
    • #28: Our God Gives us Hope, part two
    • #29: Victory over Fear
    • # 30 Freedom through Jesus Christ
  • Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love, third group
    • #31: Seeking the Lord
  • Declarations of Faith
    • Declaration Proclaiming Forgiveness
    • Create Blessings!
  • Poems
    • #1 Poem Describing Heaven
    • Poem #2, A Great Battle at the End of Time
    • #3 Poem, the trials of Job
    • #4 Poem, God's Love from Romans
    • Poem #5: Receiving God's Rest
  • Miscellaneous Articles
    • # 1: "And the plague was stopped"
    • #2 "Let the Sun of Righteousness Arise!"
    • #3: The Pulling Down of Dagon
    • #4 The Pulling Down of Dagon, Part Two
    • #5: When a King and a Prophet Agreed in Prayer, part one
    • # 6: When a King and a Prophet agreed in prayer, part 2
    • #7: A Wall of Fire for our Nation