The Questions Jesus Asked About Vision

Continuing our series on The Questions Jesus Asked, today we look at Jesus’s healing of a blind man. We must allow Jesus to examine our lives and open our hearts to His truth, which will lead to a transformative change in how we perceive ourselves, others, and God’s work in the world.

Watch the full Sunday service and message by Pastor Dennis Jacobson below.

SERMON TEXT

Mark 8:22-25 (ESV)

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.

SERMON NOTES

• Jesus took the blind man out of the village, away from the crowd.
• Jesus asked the man, “Do you see anything?“.
  • • The healing was a gradual enlightenment, described as a two-step process.
• Jesus’s Compassion and How We Should See People
  • • Jesus “saw” the multitudes, which was more than just physical sight; it meant He took notice of them. 
    • True compassion means our “hearts will be open to all that God wants us to do” and broken by “the things that break the heart of God”. This requires asking God to fill us with compassion for those who do not know Him.
    • Jesus viewed the crowds not as “chaff to be blown away” but as a “great harvest to be gathered”.
• Receiving Jesus’s Touch
  • • The man’s friends demonstrated how to intercede for others
    • Jesus’s actions were personal and merciful
    • The need for a “second touch” suggests that many in the church may be “half enlightened” or “half committed,” having received a partial experience but needing one more touch from Jesus to see clearly and fully.
    • The blind man’s honesty about his condition allowed him to receive the full help he needed. 

Do you need Jesus’ touch for the first time? Do you need a “second touch?”