Subject Seventy-seven

THE BLIND MAN RECEIVES SIGHT

Scripture: Mark 8:22-26; 10:46-52
Put the two blind men in chapters 8 and 10 together.

1. Man’s loss of sight
   1. In both Bethsaida and Jericho, Jesus met blind men. This proves that there are blind ones everywhere.
   2. Men are born blind because they do not know the meaning of human living, and they are not clear about God and the things of God. So spiritually speaking, man is blind. Stress the point of spiritual blindness.
2. Jesus came into the midst of men
   1. These two portions record that Jesus came to the places of the blind men. This proves that where the blind men are, there Jesus comes. Bethsaida means the house of fishing. It was a place of fish. This means that Bethsaida is close to the seashore. The seashore is a place of sins. Jericho was a cursed city. This means that wherever the blind men are is a cursed place. From the meaning of these two places, it can be seen that man is born blind because man has sinned and is under a curse.
   2. Jesus comes to the place where we are, the cursed place. Today the gospel is being preached to this place, which means that Jesus is coming to this place. Jesus comes to the sinful and cursed place.
3. Come to Jesus
   1. Some who came to Jesus were brought by others. The blind man of Bethsaida was brought to Jesus by others. This means that the one who came to Jesus was brought in by his relatives and friends. He needed others to bring him in because he could not see the way. Maybe some among you have been brought in by your relatives and friends.
   2. Some heard of His fame and came by themselves; they heard the name of Jesus of Nazareth and came. The blind man of Jericho heard the name of Jesus of Nazareth and came by himself. Some among you came by yourselves, because you had heard the gospel before.
   3. Whether you are brought in by others or you come by yourself, the principle is the same. You need to touch Jesus.
4. The Lord’s saving way
   1. The blind man of Bethsaida was brought out of the village by the Lord. This means that he was brought out of the sinful environment. The village was the place where the sinful ones were concentrated. Maybe the movie theater, the dancing hall, or the gambling table is your village. You are living in the village of sins. Now that you have come to the Lord, the first step the Lord takes is to lead you out of the village. You cannot stay in the movie theater, or the Lord will not save you.
   2. Jesus spit on his eyes. The spittle came out of the mouth of the Lord, which signifies: (1) the word of the Lord, and (2) the Spirit of the Lord. On the evening of the Lord’s resurrection, the Lord breathed upon the disciples, and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” To recover your eyesight, you must receive the words of the Lord, which are the Lord’s life and Spirit. The Lord’s life and His Spirit are all in the Lord’s words. When the words of the Lord get into you, your eyes are opened, and you can see again.
   3. The Lord laid hands on the blind man of Bethsaida. The laying on of hands means uniting as one. This means that the Lord comes to you and becomes one with you. The Lord must come into you and be mingled as one with you before your eyesight can be recovered.
   4. When the Lord laid hands on the blind man of Bethsaida the first time, the blind man’s eyes were half-opened. He could see, but things were not too clear, so he beheld men as trees. So the Lord laid His hands on him the second time. This is to give more room to the Lord and to have a further union with the Lord. Hence his vision became clear.
   5. The Lord commanded him to go home, but not to go back into the village. This village is your movie theater, dancing hall, or the gambling table, etc. If you go back there, you will be blind again.
      These five points are related to the blind man of Bethsaida, concerning the aspect of sin. He was blind because of his sin, so when his sight was recovered, it was necessary for him to leave Bethsaida, the place of sins.
   6. The way the Lord healed the blind man of Jericho was by calling him. When the blind man of Jericho heard the name of Jesus and came, he did not expect the Lord to know him, neither did he know that the Lord would save him. He considered himself a pitiful blind man and thought the Lord would never notice him or care for him. Yet unexpectedly the Lord Jesus came and called him cordially. Jericho was a cursed place. Man under a curse thought that he had been forsaken by God; yet the Lord came. This demonstrates that God does not forsake the cursed ones.
   7. When the blind man of Jericho heard the calling of the Lord, he cast away his garment. This garment was a garment of begging, which means that the work of the cursed ones cannot make men alive; man must rely on someone’s mercy. Now that this one has come to Jesus and has heard Jesus’ calling, he no longer needs his own torn garment. So he casts away the garment of Jericho—the effort of man to achieve righteousness— which was cursed. The blind man of Bethsaida had to go out of the village, out of the place of sin and evil doings. The blind man of Jericho had to cast away his garment, cast away his tattered behavior.
   8. The one who casts away his garment is the one who gives up his own work. As soon as he cast away his garment and asked the Lord, he was healed. In this respect there is no need for the laying on of hands. Simply by giving up his own work and asking the Lord for sight, he proved his faith. Hence the Lord said, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.”
5. After being saved
   1. After the blind man of Bethsaida was saved, he no longer went back to the village, the place of sins.
   2. After the blind man of Jericho was saved, he followed Jesus.
   3. Once man’s spiritual eyes have been opened, right away he knows that he is in a sinful place, that the former living was sinful, and therefore he would not go back any more. Meanwhile, he also sees that only Jesus can be his guide, so he follows Jesus.