Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” (8:22-26)
As I came to this blind man who begged to touch me, I had mercy on him. In his case, the fact of touching me was not enough for him to get well (compare to Mark 6:56). He needed more help. His faith was still lacking. That is why I had mercy on him and took him by the hand, leading him out of the village so that I could pray peacefully with him. Remember, I did not guess what to do, I always followed what the Father told me or what he showed me. That is the same way I use to lead my disciples still today, but for that you need to learn to develop this sensitivity to my spirit, to the Holy Spirit. You will then be able to practice the good works that the Father has prepared for you.
This time, for this blind man, I needed to spit on his eyes, to lay hands on him. So many were healed just by touching the fringe of my garment, but for him I needed to bring him aside and to take more time with him. In many ways, what I did with this blind man was similar to what I did with my close disciples, with the twelve. The spit on his eyes can remind you of the words I needed to speak to my disciples. They needed to learn who I was, who the Father was. This spit was not enough to heal the blind, I needed to lay my hands on him. In the same way my disciples needed not only to hear my words but also to have personal contact with me, to see me at work, in order to discover the love of the Father in a very practical way.
With all this, it was still not enough for the blind man to see well, he just began to see people looking like trees. My disciples also struggled to see clearly what the Father was doing through me, and to see the people with the Father’s eyes of love. They still saw people as objects, like walking trees in some ways. They needed more help to see clearly. For the blind man, I again laid my hands on his eyes, and this time he could see clearly. For the disciples, this second close contact, that would bring clear sight, would only come after my resurrection, through the light of Easter, as I appeared to them and spoke with them. It is only then that they would understand clearly who I was and what I was calling them to be, as children of the Father.
Finally, I said to the blind man not to go back to the village, but to go to his home, where he really belonged. I also asked my disciples not to go back, to leave behind their past life and to go to their real home, their real identity of children of God, to proclaim the Good News of the kingdom, to become kingdom bearers.
The Father used this healing to announce the journey of my disciples. They did not understand then, but later they did understand. My Father is so practical in the ways he led me in all things, it helped me teach my disciples in very practical ways, giving even hints about what was needed through the ways I healed this blind man.
What I did with my disciples then, I still need to do with my disciples today. Many first have a hard time to see that I am still alive, that I can speak with them and be in contact with them. I am still today the Messiah, the Son of God. As my disciples learn that, I can teach them how to pray and live. I lead them aside as they learn to meditate on the teachings of the Father in the Bible, and more particularly as they learn from the stories of my life in the Gospels.
Through my words, through the accounts of the Bible and as they learn to pray and to listen to me, they begin to discover that I can open their eyes to the realities of the kingdom. In many cases, like for the twelve, people struggle to understand my sacrifice and the role of the cross, they think that prayer is like a magical wand that you shake and all is fine, that suffering disappears when you follow me - but it has never been my teaching, in your world love very often implies an acceptance of suffering.
Through continued contact with me, as you learn to listen and to dialogue with me, I can then open more clearly your eyes to spiritual realities, to the Father’s grace in the midst of human weakness. You then learn how the wonders of the Father’s love flow not only through human strength but even more through human weakness. As you learn the lesson of the cross, as the twelve also had to learn, you learn to die to yourself and to live a holy life by faith in me and through me. As you walk with me on this way of sanctification, your eyes become opened more fully to the grace of the Father, your heart can then be filled with the love of the Holy Spirit. Then, you will no more see people as objects or trees to manipulate and use for your own benefit, but as children of God that the Father loves dearly and to whom He wants you to minister.
Then, you will be invited to leave your old life behind you. You will be able to do what I did, to be yourself a ‘little Christ’ - a Christian - and to minister the grace of the Father to many, opening physical eyes as well as spiritual eyes to our pure and tender love for this needy world. You will then bring the Good News of the kingdom to many, you will be a kingdom bearer.
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