Who Is Jesus - 7

Going tonight Christian book report we gave the Bishop physical blindness might slow you down in this life, but spiritual blindness has eternal consequences that I go to the July considers how Jesus provided healing for business and as David introduces today's powerful message is Jesus, thank you for joining us for the weekend edition of Turning Point. We are about to concentrate our study for the next several weeks on the book of Mark, the last part of the book in search of the Savior and today we answer this question. Who is Jesus. He's the one who heals the blind. We learn that for sure. As you know, he's the only one who heals the blind.

No one else does that miracle.

But Jesus in the Bible. He is alone a blind eyes, both spiritually and physically. He is the Savior of the world. He is our Jesus and he is the subject of a discussion as we open our Bibles to the eighth chapter of Mark on the weekend edition story begins in Mark chapter 8 and verse 22 we learn first of all, what Jesus does she remember at the end of the last message the scathing words of our Savior as he screamed out almost to his disciples, he actually asked him nine questions one right after the other two of them were having ears, do you not hear and having eyes you not see these words are interesting because there sandwiched in between two different miracles. One miracle has to do with having ears and being able to hear Jesus heals a deaf man then come these words and then there's another miracle where Jesus heals a blind man having eyes, do you not see the healing of the blind man, having ears do not hear the healing of a deaf man and just as the two feedings of the thousands of people had similarities and contrasts these two miracles. The healing of the deaf man and the healing of the blind man have some interesting comparisons. First of all men suffer from a handicap. They were not born with butter handicap that they got later on in life. Both men are brought to Jesus by their friends. Both men are led away from the crowd before Jesus heals them, and both men are touched by Jesus in the process of their healing and both men are told by Jesus. Don't tell anybody what happened to you very similar miracles. Both of these miracles are a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy said when the Messiah comes the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped in this miracle that were going to study about this blind man were going to notice the incredible uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Some of the things that were to talk about. You May never heard before, but that so interesting to me because there at the core of the gospel. The people who lived in the days of Mark chapter 8 were looking for the Messiah to come. They didn't know how they would know who he was, but if they had read the Old Testament prophets they would've known the Old Testament prophet Isaiah said one of the signs of the coming of the Messiah.

When you want to know who he is.

He will be somebody who does great miracles. He will open the ears of the deaf and take the scales off of the blind and Jesus is been walking around in their midst doing that very thing. He's been doing miracles and easement debating with the Pharisees and teaching the disciples and he is about to do a miracle that will set them aside from everyone else in the world. The unique unequaled power of his healing. Verse 22 says that he came to Bethsaida and they brought a blind man to him. Blindness was a problem in antiquity like it is not today. They didn't have sanitary conditions as we do. There was no real medicine.

There was some ice apps on some occasions we read about that but they did not have the capabilities that we have today. And so there were many blind people in Jesus day, but in the New Testament listen to me carefully. There is no record of anyone healing the blind except for Jesus Christ, his disciples did many other miracles. He empowered them to do miracles. But no one ever heal the blind. But Jesus was like this miracle alone was set aside for the power of the Savior, and he alone was able to do it in the Bible. There are seven men specifically mention who were blind and Jesus healed them beside the man in our text to was healed. In Bethsaida there was Timaeus. And then there were two blind men who were healed in Galilee and another who was demon possessed in both blind and deaf, who Jesus healed and one more Jerusalem following the cleansing of the temple, seven men, Jesus healed from blindness in the New Testament. No doubt there were many more, but these are the seven men who specifically were touched by Jesus, and their blindness was healed. Healing of the blind man was one of the miracles that the Jewish prophet said, would identify the Messiah. It says in Isaiah 29, 18 in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness somewhere along the way, the friends of this particular blind man whose story is told in Mark chapter 8 had heard about Jesus. Maybe they had a friend who had been touched by him.

Maybe somebody their family had been one of the healing ministries of Jesus and this blind man was so helpless he couldn't get to Jesus by himself and his friends got together and I thought well if we can take him to Jesus. Maybe Jesus can heal him of his blindness. In fact there were certain Jesus could heal him, and there were also pretty sure they knew how he would do it.

They had witnessed Jesus with the blind, and they had seen people just come near Jesus and touch up. Perhaps they had seen a woman who touched the hem of his garment, who had a bleeding problem and Jesus healed her immediately. So they came to Jesus certain that Jesus was the answer and they were correct in believing that Jesus could heal their friend but they were incorrect and thinking he would do it with a simple touch.

The first thing you want to mark down in your mental notebook for this message today is simply this lesson Jesus is the only one who ever heal blindness in the New Testament the only one God not only has unequaled power and healing, but he chose an unusual place of healing. Notice what it says in verse 22 that he came to Bethsaida and they brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him and he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of town, said it was a Very Famous Pl. in Jesus day was the home of Andrew Peter and Philip located on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee.

It was the place where Jesus had performed some of his greatest miracles is the place where he fed 5000 men, plus all those others might've been as many as 20,000 people that happen just right outside of Bethsaida. This was a very blessed city. Bethsaida was for the miracles of Jesus, but it was also a cursed city because the Bible tells us that the Lord had pronounced future judgment on this city because of their stubborn unbelief. Matthew has the record of it in Matthew 11 then Jesus began to rebuke the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done because they did not repent. Listen Walter you courtesan Walter you, Bethsaida. For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you and Jesus did no more mighty miracles in the cities this city was so cursed by the Lord that he took the blind man out of the city to heal him of his blindness and then told him to go back in there and tell them what I've done.

Notice verse 26 and he sent him away to his house saying neither go into the town nor tell anyone in the town, Jesus would perform no more miracles in Bethsaida and he refused for a witness to be given to the city but notice those blessing was withdrawn from the city, he would still show his love and mercy to an individual in that city and he took him outside of the city to heal him and said don't even go back in and tell them I don't always mighty miracles for the city and they haven't repented.

There's going to be no more witness in the city so there was unequaled power Jesus the only one to heal very unusual city working heal this man. But here's the most unique thing of all, a unique procedure of his healing, listen to me carefully.

Of all the miracles that Jesus ever did recorded in the Scripture. This is the only miracle that he did not do instantaneously but gradually are you hearing me every time Jesus touched anybody up to this point. He would touch them immediate even if he wasn't with them, he would heal them at a distance and they would immediately be healed.

But in this situation there is a strange and unique procedure that is followed.

Notice what happens. Mark 823 and he took the blind man by the hand leading out of town and when he had spit on his eyes and put his hands on him.

He asked him if he saw anything and he looked up and said I see men like trees, walking.

In other words, I can see but my vision is blurred the method by which this man was healed is repulsive in our culture today. We would never think of doing anything quite like was done, then the Bible says Jesus spit on this man's eyes and put his hands on his eyeballs. Jesus had to somehow connect with this man who couldn't see him. He wanted to take this man into the world of thought and the only way he could do. It was with this touch, so he touched him.

The Scripture says, and he spit upon his eyes and hope and faith were surging in this man's heart.

After the first touch. The Bible says the blind man could see, but his site was blurry. He sees men like trees, walking Jesus do with all things well this doesn't sound like this is so great. I mean it's great that he fixed them a little bit, but it almost sounds like he couldn't get it done in one shot took two attempts to pull it off, you know that's not possible with the Lord, the creator of the universe doesn't need to attempts to fix the blind eyes of one man.

Let's just face that that's not what's going on.

Jesus didn't take two attempts to heal this man, because two attempts were needed to do it. He did it for a very specific reason. Now I wish I could tell you I knew exactly what that reason is what he has and explain that to us in the story, but I have some thoughts about it.

I thought I would just share with you two or three of them why Jesus would do such a thing. I think he may have been the first of all as a reinforcement for the blind man remember this blind man didn't come to Jesus on his own faith he came to Jesus because some friends brought him have any faith in himself. He came because his friends believed in Jesus's friends thought Jesus could help him. Perhaps Jesus did this gradually or slowly so that he can help build up the faith in this man so his faith could catch up with the miracle that was about to happen.

Perhaps that's a reason.

Suppose he may have done this is a reinforcement for the blind man.

I really believe I'm onto something here. I think he did it as a rebuke to his disciples listen Jesus had just spent 36,000 people from two small lunches and the disciples have not been able to make the connection to Jesus is. So he chides them with these words, he says, eyes, and you do not see the process of opening the blind eyes of the disciples was being illustrated by the process of opening the eyes of the blind man, perhaps through the partial sight of the blind man. The disciples will see themselves one man is written that this man's healing exemplifies the situation of the disciples whom roll through the same stages from not understanding to misunderstanding to complete understanding.

They were seeing Jesus, the disciples were, but he was a shadowy figure in their mind was blurry. They didn't know for sure who he was. Was he a good man a good teacher was a God who was see they didn't know their vision was as blurred as the vision of this blind man so Jesus uses this miracle to ask Beau's the failure of the disciples to see until this moment. They have seen Jesus as shapeless and out of focus.

That's about to change.

Finally, I think Jesus may have done this is a reminder to us. Listen to me. God is not limited to instantaneous miracles. How many of you know that God can do miracles anyway. He wants to do them. He can do miracles that we might describe as gradual and God doesn't live in time God lives in eternity. Time is outside of God's experience a gradual miracle to God is no different than an instantaneous one at present-day followers of Christ we not try to put God in a box. Do not try to say what God did it this way for him. That's what you must have to do it for everybody.

Is that what we do. It's almost like God is saying to us the word of God and Jesus is teaching us in this miracle that he can do what he does anyway. He choose to do it and he is a God of great variety.

One day, stood outside of Lazarus to lease income for use Lasser's name if he had no bunch of money, come forth. He said Lazarus come for an Lazarus came out of the tomb alive. He put his fingers in the ear of a mute and touched his tongue and he was healed he told blind Barbados just goes way he was healed in the process healed the centurion son at a distance.

He never even saw him. He just said all your sons healed a woman was cleansed by just touching the hem of his garment. He took a young lady by the hand and raised her about her sickness and death, and he said a boy who was born blind to wash in the pool silo on and he received his sight. Don't ever try to figure out God, you are not up to it and neither am I God does his work in strange and mysterious ways, but his work he does so and brings us to the second touching verse 25 we read and then he put his hands on his eyes again and made him look up and he was restored and saw everyone clearly now the Greek language uses a rare word to describe what he saw. It says now after the start. She looked up and he could see everything clearly from afar, have you here can see everything clearly from afar 2020 vision. This man had immediately he was made whole. That's what Jesus does.

He is the unique son of God.

The only one who can heal the blind.

He's not conditioned by any one place.

You can do it any way he likes Jesus is the miracle working son of God in the disciples know this not yet and that brings us to who Jesus is. In Mark 827 to 30. The Bible tells us that Jesus finishes this blind man's miracle and then his disciples leave Bethsaida and wiggle 20 some miles to the north to a city called Caesarea Philippi, trying to tell you all the background about Caesarea Philippi, except that it was a city that was the home for the worship of bail was in wicked pagan city. It's almost like Jesus is taking his disciples into the bowels of hell to solicit from a confession of their faith, and on the way to Caesarea Philippi, he decides to bore in on his disciples and find out where they are and to draw them out. He asks them to questions. The first question is about the public opinion concerning Jesus ministry, he says, and I Jesus and his disciples went out to the town of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road. He asked his disciples, saying to them who do men say that I am and they answered John the Baptist. Some say Elijah and others.

One of the prophet Jesus asks two questions to the disciples in the ass them in a particular order is obviously a lot easier to discuss what others think that it is to admit what you think.

So we asked them first of all, what are other people saying about me who do others think I am.

And they came back with a pretty stock answer for that particular time. This was circulating around the time of Jesus that Jesus was either John the Baptist brought back to life or Elijah from the Old Testament, reincarnated, or he was one of the prophets, and so they said, will the people out there are saying, Lord, that your baby John the Baptist come back or Elijah or one of the prophets, Matthew even as the prophet Jeremiah to this list.

The rumors about Jesus had centered in these three people because the man on the street did not know who Jesus was. They were aware of his mighty works. They were convinced that somebody who did these things must've been somebody came back from the dead. What they didn't know who Jesus was, like so many today. The disciples were willing to admit that Jesus was an extraordinary man, but not that he was a divine man. That's where the people were they believed he did great works.

They had seen them. They couldn't deny it.

Michael card hits the nail on the head when he said no one friend or enemy can deny that Jesus teachings are sound is miracles are good. His power is great, but the blur of half site is to see Jesus as extraordinarily human but not distinctively divine, identifying him with the preaching of John the Baptist or the social reform of Elijah or the teaching of one of the prophets. Jesus is more than a common man, but he still less than God, you know that's where a lot of folks are in our culture today. A good man but on the same level as Lincoln and Kennedy is Jesus Christ.

Just as the people said that he's Elijah John the Baptist. One of the prophets, but not anything more than that in the course. Throughout history there have been many who have understood Jesus that way. Napoleon once wrote these words.

I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man between him and every other person in the world. There's no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and myself found in empires. But what foundation did we rest the creation of our genius upon force. Jesus Christ founded in part upon love and at this hour. Millions of men would die for him. He was a great man, Hg Wells, who was a pagan historian, said I am in a story and I am not a believer but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is here revocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all of history is good I am glad you see that it's just not enough. It's not enough to have a man who is respected by everyone who maybe is a cut above others, maybe even on the same level with Kennedy and Lincoln and John the Baptist in Elijah and the prophets, all of that may be commendable, but it is totally inadequate and not the right answer. So Jesus asked the second question that I love the way this is in the text. You could read this. In the Greek language.

Jesus is done listening to this question. He goes and you do what you think who I am. I am not surprised that Peter spoke for the disciples. Peter usually open his mouth and put his Bigfoot right in it and most of the time saying things wrong, but this time he was right was Peter said Jesus you are the Christ increase costs. You are the Christ. Some people think Peter gave Jesus a second name to me.

Christ is the second name of Jesus. He is not Jesus Christ like I am David Paul, Christ is not his name. It's his title. Chris Doss means the anointed one, Messiah, the one everyone has been looking for what Peter said was Jesus you are the Messiah, the anointed one year, the Christ. Matthew tells us that in this moment Jesus pronounced the blessing on Peter, but Peter's opinion about Jesus was. You are the Christ, what a moment for our Lord. Everything you read about in the whole book of Mark, has been leading up to this moment. The Stoneman blindness lack of perception lack of understanding of his disciples had to have been very heavy on Jesus part.

Finally, Jesus asked the question, who am I and Peter says you're the Christ. One writer said it's one of the heavens opened and the earth hear the angels singing holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty even more wonder that the mention of Jesus name did not bow every knee on earth and loosen every tongue in heaven confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father was Peter all the way home with his understanding of who Christ was known he wouldn't be until after the resurrection, but the blindness is going away from his eyes and he's beginning to see who Jesus really is no. If you stop for a moment and put these two stories together. What you see is incredible. Who is Jesus. He's the one who alone can heal the blind eyes, not only physically but spiritually.

Do you know the Bible says, before we find Christ we are men and women without Christ to have blind minds and blind hearts and Jesus like he was the only one who could heal the physical eyes of those who are blind is the only one who can heal the spiritual blindness of our eyes. He alone is the one who can save us.

There is no other. And Jesus said I am not one of the ways I am the truth, not truth. Among other truths. I the way the truth and the life and know comes to the father except through me. I'm the only one who can heal your spiritual blindness. Don't go anywhere else.

Don't waste your life trying to find help from someone else. Jesus is the only way for there is one God and one between the man Christ Jesus is the only mediator between God and man do we get that did the disciples got it. Not completely, and the arts finish learning but Peter seems to be on the threshold of capturing this truth that if Jesus is anything at all, he must be the Messiah, the son of the living God here to tell you today, men and women that we really have no other choice.

The common man today very good people. People like some of you perhaps believe in Jesus this way that he was a good teacher. Among other teachers that we should pay attention to the things he is said but that's it. No more, but you do not have that option. CS Lewis put it this way, a man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was and is the son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us and he did not intend to, and what CS Lewis is saying is this Jesus said if you have seen me, you seen the father. Jesus said I am the father are one.

Jesus said, before Abraham was, I am Jesus claimed to be the son of God and a good man a good teacher doesn't make claims like that if they're not true. If Jesus is not the Lord of heaven and the son of God isn't anything.

If Jesus is not only claim to be. We are still in our sins. For a man was just a good man cannot forgive the sins of the world. He had to be the son of God.

He had to be God the son coming down in the body and in his infinite infinite power going to the cross and because of who he was dying on the cross he could pay the penalty for all of our sin.

He truly is the only one to whom we can go for the blindness of our souls and hearts is eminently qualified to be the Savior of the world because he is the living son of God. And when he finished, the Bible says he rose from the grave with victory over the death and he went back to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father in heaven, making intercession for us. Bible says he sat down when he got to heaven, not because he was tired, but because he was done. Salvation was completed. So if you've been wondering about Jesus maybe wonder why were so altogether excited about him.

What we want to share them everywhere why he seems to be the theme of our music and up are preaching in all that we do.

I want to tell you, he's not because he's the only one there is no one else to whom we may go there is no one else to whom you may go if you want the blindness of your heart and your mind to be healed. You must come to Jesus. He is the only way you will ever find healing for your soul and I commend them to you. I want to tell you what he's done for me. I want you to see what is done for so many others. Jesus is the one the only one we hope you enjoyed today's Turning Point, weekend edition with Dr. David Jeremiah. You can hear this and other programs and get more information about their ministry by downloading the free Turning Point mobile and smart phone or tablet or by visiting our website@davidjeremiah.org/radio that Jeremiah.I will G/radio. You can also view Turning Point television, afraid to hear channel 72 on Sunday mornings at night and I CCTV Sundays at 6 AM and Friday afternoons at one. We want you to join us again next weekend is Dr. David Jeremiah. She is another powerful message from God's word right here on Turning Point, weekend edition taking time to listen to string teasing all