walking trees

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.” (Mark 8:22-26, ESV)

Interestingly enough, this is the only miracle that Jesus performed in parts. The first part was spitting on the blind man's eyes, and then laying hands, the second part was Jesus laying hands again. We'll get back to this later though.

I've slowly realized that the motive behind Jesus' miracles wasn't so much as to do good for the people he performed to, but rather, it was to teach His disciples. This would make sense, because almost every written miracle that Jesus did, He either did it to them (walking on water, calming the storm), referred back to it for them (feeding the four/five thousand people) or the miracle would deal with what Jesus was teaching them (opening eyes and ears of the blind and deaf). The third option is especially heavily implied, when Jesus, in the previous passage about the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, would ask them if they had ears to hear and eyes to see. Healing this blind man occurred RIGHT after He said that to them. And the healing of the deaf man happened not too long before He said that. So Jesus is going to teach His disciples another lesson through this miracle.

It's cool that Jesus took this blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. It's very reminiscent of how God grabs us by the hand, and leads us to places outside of where we are, beyond what we know, so that God may reveal something new and different to us.

Now let's talk about the whole two-step process of this miracle. After the first step of spitting on the eyes (which is gross, and again, invasive) and laying His hands on the blind man's eyes, Jesus asks if he sees anything, to which the blind man says that he sees men, walking like trees.

There's a certain lack of clarity after this first step. This man sees, but not clearly. He's not sure what he sees, really. I'm willing to bed that this man is seeing what he is seeing because this is what Jesus wants him to see first. Remember, Jesus is giving this man His sight, He could make him see whatever He wants. But why the walking trees? Why trees?

Generally speaking, when the Bible talks about trees, it often refers to them as rooted, planted by water and bearing fruit. Trees, by nature, are things that are supposed to hold fast to their roots, firm in the ground and immovable. They are dependant on what the roots are feeding on, and therefore, where the trees are planted matters.

But this man sees trees that are walking. Trees that are NOT rooted, not grounded, and not feeding on things that keep them alive. Even more so, he sees men that are like walking trees.

Could these "men as walking trees" thing refer to someone? Or people in general? I think this "sight" is referring to the disciples. The disciples have been following Jesus around for a while now, watching Him perform miracles right in front of their eyes, but Jesus constantly calls them out on their hard-heartedness and lack of understanding. These men, though they see Jesus and are amazed every time, consistently fail to believe that Jesus is Lord over everything. In a sense, these men aren't rooted in Him. 

And now Jesus goes to the final step, where He lays His hands again, and then this man has his full sight back. Jesus then sends him home, but tells him to not enter the village, to which i wonder... isn't this guys home in the village? I don't know. 

Anyway, perhaps Jesus is trying to remind the disciples of where they are standing. Jesus is reminding them through the miracle that they are not yet rooted in Christ Himself. But it doesn't end there. Jesus eventually heals the man of his sight in full. Again, this is the only miracle that was done in steps.

When you really think about it, this is how God heals us all the time. We always expect giant leaps and bounds in our walk with God, but really, we walk step by step. Our walk with God is a process that God Himself walks us through. We receive His help little by little.

John Calvin himself wrote, regarding this passage, "And so the grace of Christ, which had formerly been poured out suddenly on others, flowed by drops, as it were, on this man."

God's grace, more often than not, flows out by drops. But the wonderful thing about that is that even when we feel just a drop of His grace, we know that it's more than enough for us.

I think that Jesus is not only telling His disciples where they are currently standing, but He's also showing them what He will do for them in the coming chapters. The disciples may not be rooted now, but God will reveal to them where they are blind and deaf, and He will be their roots.

So whether you aren't as grounded or rooted as you should be, or maybe you feel that you are, always remember that where we are now is just the first step. We may not see things clearly now, we may still have blind spots. But through grace, community, and help, those blind spots can be healed. We will receive this bit by bit, drop by drop, little by little. That's why in Psalm 119, it says that the Word is a lamp unto our feet. A lamp unto our feet doesn't show us everything, it just shows the next step.

Receive God's grace amidst our weaknesses, little by little. It is enough either way.

-simon