"A Great Discovery"

9.30am Sunday 3 May 2009

Readings: Mark 8:22-33; 1 Corinthians 3:10-23 TNIV

This morning we continue our journey with Jesus and his disciples following the account that Mark gives us of Jesus' life. There are three sections to the passage we read from Mark. The first is of the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida, the second of Peter's declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, followed by Jesus' prediction of his death.

Bethsaida, which in Hebrew means "house of fishing," was a fishing village on the north east coast of the Sea of Galilee, outside Jewish territory. It is mentioned three times in the Gospels. John informs us that Peter, Andrew and Philip were born there.[1] In Luke's Gospel it was the place where Jesus withdrew with his disciples when they returned from their first mission, which occasion led to the feeding of the five thousand.[2] The third reference is the one we read from Mark this morning, namely as the place where Jesus healed a blind man. The biblical site of Bethsaida remained a mystery for many centuries until in 1938 an American archaeologist, Edward Robinson, discovered a promising mound one and a half kilometres north of Lake Galilee. It is a relatively young site as excavations only began in 1987 but has unearthed some interesting finds. Archaeologists have discovered under an inconspicuous first century fishing village the remains of the powerful Iron Age city of Geshur, the capital of an Aramean kingdom, which is mentioned in the Bible. According to Joshua 13 the territory of the Geshurites was to be part of Israel when the twelve tribes divided the land amongst them.[3] However, it did not become part of Israel until it was conquered by King David. David married Maachah, the daughter of Talmai, the king of Geshur. She was the mother of Absalom, who murdered his half-brother Amnon, and later staged a rebellion against his father. Absalom left a daughter, also called Maachah, who married Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, who ruled Judah after the split of the Israelite kingdom into Judah and northern Israel.

Bethsaida does not appear to be a good place for a fishing village. But modern scientists, who only got a chance to check it out after the Six Day War in 1967, are now certain that the archeological treasures that were found belong to Bethsaida. According to modern research, the lake's shore used to be higher in antiquity, due to an earthquake and landslides. However there is one authority on Lake Galilee who disagrees, he says the lake's water level stands higher now.

As we have seen before in Mark's Gospel with the healing of the paralysed man and the person who was deaf and mute, it is others who bring the person in need to Jesus.[4] These healings are an encouragement to you to be like these friends and be the means by which others may come to the Saviour. There are a number of parallels between this healing and that of the deaf and mute man at the end of the previous chapter. On both occasions those who brought the person in need "begged" Jesus to 'touch' him. Jesus does so on both occasions, and, as he did in the healing of the deaf mute, Jesus uses spittle to effect the healing. On both occasions he takes the person being healed away from the crowd. The difference in the healing of the blind man from all the other healings Jesus performed is that he was not healed immediately. When Jesus asked what he could see, the man replied that the people he saw looked "like trees walking around." And so Jesus places his hands on the man's eyes a second time with the result that the man then "saw everything clearly." As with the healing of the deaf and mute man, Jesus instructs the person healed not to talk to people about it; at least that is the inference from his words, "Don't even go into the village." Jesus motive for healing the man is not to attract a following, but because he had compassion on the person. All a blind person could do in Jesus' day was to beg. They were entirely dependent on others to help them all the time. In restoring this man's sight, Jesus is also restoring his sense of dignity and worth in that he was now able to work to make a living for himself and his family. Now he would be able to look after himself. He now had a different future, a future filled with hope.

This is what God delights to do, to make possible a different reality, a new tomorrow, a change that brings his blessing into a person's life. He wants to do that for you. Whatever your need is, bring it to Jesus, seek his touch upon your life. He makes all things new.[5]

In the second section of this reading we see Jesus and his disciples moving north of Bethsaida to "the villages around Caesarea Philippi." Caesarea Philippi lies just south of Mt Hermon, the highest mountain in Palestine and was obviously built in honour of Caesar. It was called Philip's Caesarea to distinguish it from the Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast where Paul was a prisoner of Felix, and later Festus. What takes place here at Caesarea Philippi is the supreme event in the ministry of Jesus. All that had happened up until this point had been leading to this, and it is from this event that the remaining course of his ministry flowed. It could rightly be described as the watershed of his ministry. At his baptism Jesus, if not before, knew then that he was the Son of God. The voice from heaven confirmed it. However, he did not mention it to anyone, not even his disciples. Instead he patiently allowed his disciples to come to this understanding themselves. By the time they reached Caesarea Philippi they had been with him for possibly three years. They had walked and talked with him, had eaten and travelled in his company, had heard his words of authority spoken to the crowds that had flocked to hear him, and had seen this authority exercised over sickness and disease and over the natural and spiritual realms. Now was the moment of truth. Did the disciples understand who he really was? So as they travel Jesus, like any good teacher, asks them a question, "Who do people say I am?" When sharing about Christ it is always a wise approach to ask a question that gets people thinking and talking about Jesus, a question that is not too personal. Jesus' disciples were aware of what people were saying about him, and replied, "Some say John the Baptist..." We know from Mark that this was what King Herod thought. His rash promise to the daughter of Herodias, his wife, that cornered him into having John beheaded was beginning to plague his conscience. He believed that Jesus was John the Baptist come back to haunt him.[6] "Others say Elijah..." This is what the Jewish Scriptures declared in Malachi as its final statement before the prophetic voice was silent in Israel for four hundred years. "See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes."[7] The Jews believed that Elijah would return to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah. Elijah was popular among the Jewish people, and it was natural for them to associate Jesus with this prophet of fire. "..and still others, one of the prophets." When Moses was instructing the people of Israel as to the Lord's requirements prior to his death, he said, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your own people. You must listen to him. ...I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name."[8] Again it was popular belief that a prophet of the stature of Moses would arise who would speak with the same anointing and authority. His words were to be heeded by the people. Such were the comments the disciples heard from among the crowds that thronged them everywhere they went.

Jesus then narrows in on what he really wants to know. What do his disciples think? What conclusion have they come to after having been with him so long? He asks, "Who do you say I am?" This is the paramount question in life. There is no other question as important as this. It is one we must all answer at some point or other. Your eternal destiny rests upon it. This is why the Scriptures are so necessary and helpful. They "make you wise for salvation."[9] It is a question that all the Gospels address. Mark's primary purpose in writing his Gospel is that people might know who Jesus is. The Bible tells us that God has given his Son "the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow before him in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."[10] Speaking for most, if not all the others, Peter says to Jesus, "You are the Messiah." John's Gospel puts Peter's confession in a different way. When many of Jesus' disciples were turning back because they could not accept some of the things he said, Jesus turned to the twelve and asked them, "You do not want to leave me to, do you?" To which Peter replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God."[11] For Peter the moment of truth had dawned. This simple fisherman was the first of Jesus' followers to acknowledge his true identity. The three years with Jesus had led to this conviction. Jesus was none other than the One every Jewish person was waiting for with eager expectation. He was God's Son.

What about you? Who do you say Jesus is? Do you see him as a great teacher, or a wonderful example of how life is to be lived? He certainly was both of those. Or can you answer as Peter did, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Holy Son of God, the One who has "the words of eternal life?" The Gospels were written to help you come to that decision; to recognise that God has come amongst us in the person of his Son to reconcile us to himself through Jesus' death on the cross, not counting our sins against us, but offering us forgiveness and new life when we turn from our sinful ways and put our trust in him. It is believing as it is written at the beginning of the Book of Hebrews, "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he also made the universe."[12] The Creator of the universe came in the person of his Son to share our human life and to bring us back to himself, the One by whom and for whom we were created. This is why the question Jesus asked of Peter is so critical, and why your answer to so crucial. This understanding of who Jesus is, the One through whom we are reconciled to God, is the foundation upon which the Christian faith is built, as we read in 1 Corinthians.

After Peter had made this confession, Jesus warns his disciples to keep this knowledge to themselves. They were not to make it known publicly. The time was not right for that. Both the disciples and the people's expectations of the Messiah were very different from what God had purposed. At least now that the disciples had some understanding of who he was, Jesus could begin to enlighten them as to how the Messiah would bring about a new order of reality. From this point onwards he patiently prepared them for what lay ahead; that instead of his being a victorious king who would free them from the dominion of Rome, his Messiahship needed to be interpreted through the 'suffering servant' spoken of in Isaiah 53. Mark says, "He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this..."[13] There is a finality in Jesus' use of the word 'must.' A sense of divine necessity is caught up in his use of this word. Jesus was clearly and patiently putting before the disciples God's agenda for his Messiah. From this point onwards in the Gospel story we see Jesus taking every opportunity to repeat again and again that he would die and rise again.[14] We can tell from Peter's response here in Mark 8 when he took Jesus "aside and began to rebuke him," that it was going to take some time for them to get the message. In point of fact, it was only after his resurrection that the disciples began to understand. From our vantage point centuries after the event it is difficult to appreciate the radical change of mindset it required. What happened was the very opposite of what most Jews expected. Jesus' response to Peter shows the source of his misunderstanding. He is acting as Satan's mouthpiece and so Jesus strongly rebukes him. "Get behind me, Satan! ... You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns."[15] They are on completely different wavelengths. They are not on the same page. They are not reading from the same script. And this is a lesson we must all take to heart. You and I are in constant danger of trying to impose our ideas on Jesus, to fit him into our mold, instead of letting him control our hopes and destiny. It means that as a follower of Christ you must develop a kingdom mindset, a perspective that sees things from God's viewpoint, and this is only possible when you allow the Spirit of God to be your teacher. God's purposes are so much greater and all-encompassing than ours that, like Peter and the disciples, we struggle to grasp it. This is why as Jesus encourages in the Sermon on the Mount we must to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness."[16] Give God's concerns and priorities paramount importance in your life. You need also to recognise the source of these misconceptions. Satan wants to keep you ignorant of God's redemptive plan, lest you believe and are set free from his power and control. Satan also wants to keep you ignorant of God's provision through his Spirit to enable you to live a victorious Christian life. He is vehemently opposed to all God does, and will seek to put whatever obstacles he can in the way of your understanding of God's provision for you in Jesus Christ.

To sum up, the healing of the blind man is symbolic of the dawning of a new understanding in the disciples. Just as with this blind man, the disciples restoration of sight proceeded in stages. They had caught a glimpse of what God was about in recognising Jesus to be the Messiah. But their understanding was blurred. They needed further help to see clearly what God was doing, and this came after Jesus' resurrection. This passage helps us in discerning God's purpose When Jesus touches your life it enables you to have a clear picture of life's purpose and meaning. We are completely in the dark before we meet Jesus. We go blindly on, not seeing the bigger picture of how it all fits into his plan. But when he opens your eyes to the truth, you see Jesus for who he is. You see yourself as God sees you, a sinner set free by his amazing grace. You see the glorious outcome of a life lived in obedience to him. Nothing can match what God has planned and prepared for those who love him. He invites you and I to be and have a part in it all.

Prayer

Lord, open our eyes to see clearly your purpose for creation and where we fit into your plan. Give us the wisdom to know what may be said, and when, and to whom. Save us both from the timidity which will not speak and from unwisely blurting out what must be communicated with care.