Blind Men as Bookends
I. Two stories that are SIMILAR and DIFFERENT. (8:22-26; 10:46-52)
A. A blind man BROUGHT to JESUS. (8:22-25)
1. Led OUTSIDE the VILLAGE. (8:23,26)
2. A TWO-STEP healing. (8:23-25)
B. A blind man CALLED by JESUS. (10:46-52)
1. What APPEARS to be an UNNECESSARY question. (10:51)
2. An IMMEDIATE healing creates a FOLLOWER. (10:52)
Today we are doing something a little strange. We are looking at two stories in Mark that are two chapters apart. Why skip over so much and focus in on these two stories that are kind of similar? Because I think Mark is doing something here in the way he is arranging the stories of Jesus. He’s using these stories as bookends to make a point.
1. Kid’s Question: What would it feel like to be blind? If you were blind and Jesus healed you how would you react?
2. What things do you notice about the similarities and differences between these two stories? What do you think about the idea that Mark is using them to help us “see better”?
II. The BEFORE, the BETWEEN, and the AFTER. (Mark 1-11)
A. Before: The STRUGGLE to SEE. (8:14-21)
B. Between: DEFINING MESSIAH. (8:27-38; 9:30-37; 10:32-45)
C. After: REVEALING the MESSIAH. (11:1-11)
D. Repentance/rethinking is both POINT and PROCESS. (Mk. 1:15; 2 Tim. 2:25; Lk. 24:45)
If they are bookends then we should look at what lies between them. And that’s going to point us toward what has come before and what comes immediately afterward. We need to realize that the call is to read Scripture as a whole and to see how certain passages interact with others. When we do that we see that Mark is only doing what he has been doing throughout the whole book.
3. When have you had a time that you struggled to see what God might be doing? Did clarity come later? How did you respond while you waited?
4. What does “Messiah” mean to you? What expectations do you have of Jesus in regards to what He does/allows or where He leads you?
5. In what ways can you see your spiritual journey as both point and process? What were the “points” and what are you learning in the “process”?
III. Some THOUGHTS on seeing CLEARLY . (2 Cor. 4:18)
A. Jesus is PATIENT with our BLINDNESS. (8:23-25; 10:51-52; Is. 42:1-3; Mt. 26:56)
B. The TRUTH often takes TIME (for EVERYONE). (Jn. 13:7; Jn. 16:13)
C. START with who JESUS really is. (10:47-48; Jn 17:3)
D. Be honest about our NEED and our DESIRES. (10:47-48,51; Ps. 37:4)
Mark doesn’t seem to make judgments about the slowness of the disciples to see what is happening right before their eyes. But he does use these stories to show us the ultimate goal is for Jesus to open our eyes to who He is, what He is doing, and how He is doing it. It would be good for us to see that in our lives today as well.
6. Is it your normal tendency to see God/Jesus as patient with us? Why or why not? Is there a danger in this?
7. What is a truth that you have learned over time? What makes it hard to do that…or to let others do that?
8. How can you begin to apply the truth of Ps. 37:4 this week? What questions do you have about that verse?