Tag Archives: miracle

Gospel of Mark

Blind Man at Bethsaida: Mark 8:22-26

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Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” 24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

16th October 2024: Horsham

Medical experts would love to be able to deliver immediate relief to their patients. In reality, it rarely happens like that, and there are circumstances where, to avoid complications, significant changes need to be managed over a period of time.

In these verses I see  Jesus serving in the style of a caring doctor, completely focused on and responding to the needs of the individual  patient. The restoration of sight after a lengthy period of profound blindness is a big deal – it takes time to adapt – it will be a shock to the system. Before healing him, the man is taken by the hand and gently led to a quiet place, away from public gaze to help him cope with the healing process. At the touch of Jesus, his sight is partially restored. Perhaps there is a pause while the man explores partial vision, before Jesus touches him a second time and completely restores his sight.

The power and authority of Jesus is, in this case, applied with compassion and gentleness, in a gradual way which perfectly meets the needs of the individual. It makes sense that Jesus says to him, ‘Don’t even go into the village.’ For some time, probably for years, he has been unable to work or look after himself, reduced almost certainly to begging. He needs some time alone to adjust to this life changing healing.

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So, what are we learning here?

Here we see Jesus meeting someone at his point of need. There are other examples where Christ simply speaks healing over someone and it is done (Mark 2:3-12). Sometimes, Christ is in a completely different place from the patient, yet the miracle is immediate and complete (Luke 7:1-10). Sometimes, such as the healing of Jairus’ daughter, there is a physical touch (Mark 5:35-43). For the woman with a hemorrhage, it was enough to simply touch in faith the corner of Jesus cloak (Mark 5:25-34).

In this passage, we’re learning that whilst we all long to see immediacy of healing, the healing of Christ may come gradually or in  stages.

Every healing in Scripture is unique. Every one of Jesus’ healings is perfectly tailored to the needs of the individual.

‘It is well to remember, in reading passages of this kind, that the Lord is not tied to the use of any one means.’
JC Ryle: Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Mark, p119

Whether offering healing, reconciliation or conversion, the Lord does it in his own way. Your experience will be different from mine. Every experience is unique, but all have this in common. Whether or not it looks or feels like it, it will always be the right experience for that  individual.

‘God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform.’ 

William Cowper, 1774

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Gospel of Mark

Pharisees demand a sign: Mark 8:11-13

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The Pharisees demand a sign

11 The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” 13 Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

Mark 8:11-13

8th October 2024: Paphos, Cyprus

These few verses come hot on the heels of the feeding of the 4000 at the beginning of Chapter 8. ,This was surely one of the greatest signs of the power, authority and compassion of Jesus.

After that miracle, Jesus has dismissed the crowd, and then crossed the Lake, coming ashore at Dalmanutha, a short distance south of his home town of Capernaum. Almost before he has got out of the boat, Jesus is confronted by some Pharisees. If we read the companion verses in Matthews Gospel (Matthew 16:1-4), we read that these Pharisees were in the company of Sadducees. The beliefs of these two groups of deeply religious people were very different from one another. There is a lesson here, that those who are opposed to Christ will often join forces with others, setting aside their differences to attack him and those who follow him.

There was a contemporary religious view that miracles were real, but came in two forms. Miracles were either achieved by the deceiving power of the devil, or by the power of God. There are lots of examples, even in Scripture, of ‘magicians’ performing miracles (a good example would be Exodus 8, where Pharaoh’s magicians replicate some of Moses miracles (Exodus 8:5-8). These were regarded as being performed in the power of Satan. An example of a miraculous sign from God (there are lots of these too), would be 2 Kings 20:9-11 , which records the sun briefly moving backwards to affirm a promise of God. These are huge, powerful signs which were beyond the scope of the most highly skilled magician. These were truly signs from heaven.

The Jewish leaders are looking for a powerful and undisputable sign of such magnitude that the weather is impacted, or perhaps fire falls from heaven before them.

In Matthew 12:24, the Jews accused Jesus of drawing his power from the devil. ‘It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.’ They are, in effect, acknowledging that Christ has performed miracles, but they are suggesting that none of them demonstrate the power of God. Jesus is being attacked here. The claim is that these miracles demonstrate that Jesus is drawing on the power of Satan. They will not believe otherwise unless they personally witness what they regard as a ‘proper’ miracle. If you can do that kind of miracle – we’ll believe.

These are deeply religious people. They believe that they are right. They have heard, perhaps even witnessed – the miracles of Jesus, but they demand more. Give us more, bigger and better, and then perhaps we’ll believe. Their attack is venomous. They mean business. They are deeply self righteous people.

At their demand, Jesus sighs. The word is unusual in Scripture and means a deep, emotional, heartfelt sigh. A sigh, perhaps, of exasperation. ‘What is it,’ says Jesus, ‘with this generation, that they think they need a sign.‘ These people know Scripture. They know about Jesus and the many signs which have already been given. They even know how to read the signs of the weather {Matthew 16:1-4). They know that the people are excited by talk of miracles of healing, deliverance, and the feeding huge crowds of people. The Pharisees and Sadducees may not have seen everything they want to see, but they have seen much more than they need to see.

The signs are all around them. Will Jesus give them another sign? A greater, bigger, better sign? His answer is simple. No.

With his disciples, Jesus gets back in the boat and moves on.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

 

Gospel of Mark

Feeding the 4000: Mark 8:1-10

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Feeding the 4000

8 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
4 His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”
5 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied.
6 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. 7 They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 8 The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 9 About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, 10 he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

Mark 8:1-10

2nd October 2024: Paphos, Cyprus

There are those who read this passage of Scripture and assume that this is some kind of duplicate of the more familiar ‘Feeding of the 5000’. Of course, there are some similarities, but these two passages are not the same – they don’t describe the same incident. There are some distinct differences.  The location of each incident is specific but different. The nature of each location is very different (Bethsaida is a predominantly Jewish area, Dalmanutha is not). The number of people involved is very different. There are significant technical differences in the language (including the type of bread, the type of baskets used, and so on), and of course this incident includes 7 loaves rather than 5. Both stories are faithfully reproduced, using the same details and language, in the Gospel of Matthew and Mark. We shouldn’t doubt that Mark has faithfully recorded information about a second extraordinary miracle where thousands of people are fed and satisfied. 

The story speaks for itself. I’m not going to analyse it, but I want you to notice this. These people are hungry, but they are not in immediate peril. They are at risk of being in peril, and Jesus says ‘I have compassion on these people.’  Our tendency to turn to Him for help when we are in dire straits. This story tells you that Jesus has compassion on you before you even know you are in need.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121

Also notice that faced with the need for an extraordinary miracle, Jesus works with those closest to him, encouraging them to put into his hands the little they have, and allow him to use their gift and their hands to achieve something which seemed utterly impossible. So many people around us are in need, or at risk of being in need. Christ has compassion on them and he calls us to do so too.

“The closer we are to Jesus, the more likely it is that he will call us to share in his work of compassion, healing and feeding, bringing his kingdom-work to an ever wider circle.“ NT Wright p100

“He still lives who had compassion on the hungry crowd in the wilderness and supplied their need. How much more, may we suppose, will He supply the need of those who trust Him” Ryle, p115

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At the core of this story is the compassion and power of Christ contrasted against the lack of faith of the disciples. His response to the question ‘How can we possibly feed all these people?” Is “what do you have with you?” Seven loaves and a few fish were never going to feed more than a handful of people, except, that is, in the hands of the Messiah. As followers of Jesus, we need to hear that question. “What do you have with you?” However little or inadequate it looks in your hands, make it available to Jesus, then step back and see what he might use it for his kingdom. The task might look vast and your resources scarce, but never forget, “Nothing is impossible for God. “

17 “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

Jeremiah 32:17

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Gospel of Mark

Calming the Storm: Mark 4:35-41

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Calming the Storm

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Mark 4:35-41

Horsham, 28th May 2024

There is so much I want to say about this story.

It appears in very similar form in both Matthew (Matthew 8:23-27) and Luke (Luke 8:22-25).

We have already seen several dramatic miracles performed by Christ, all of them directed at individuals. A man has been cleansed of a spirit. A paralytic, a leper and many others have been rescued from sickness. Here we have an extraordinary account which demonstrates Christ’s power over the very forces of nature.

I want you to see the journey across the lake as symbolic of our own journey through life. We have times of calm, and we have times of unexpected and sometimes dramatic challenge. For followers of Jesus, he is present in both. In Matthew’s version, he emphasises that it is Jesus who gets into the boat first (Matthew 8:23). In our journey through life, Jesus goes before us.

In this post, I want to focus on  the three rebukes.  The Disciples, one of them at least, rebukes Jesus for being asleep during the height of the storm. Jesus rebukes the storm, which immediately becomes calm. Jesus then rebukes the disciples for their lack of faith.

I’ve been in a storm at sea, although always on a boat many times bigger than the disciples were using. It can be a very scary place. No wonder these guys, even the experienced fishermen, were frightened. The waves are crashing over the boat. The boat is filling with water. They’re losing the battle to survive. Yet somehow in the middle of this, Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat. I can hear the panic in the voice… ‘Teacher! Don’t you care if we’re going to drown…’   This is the rebuke that says, ‘don’t you care that we’re sinking! Get up and start bailing out!’.  The first rebuke.

Jesus gets up. His response comes to us in English sounding pretty gentle. ‘Peace! Be Still!’. Yet the phrase used is the same as when Jesus rebuked the demon in Mark 1:25.  It’s a strong rebuke. In a word, it means ‘STOP!’. The wind drops. That’s a miracle. An even greater miracle is the calming of the sea. When the wind stops blowing, it can take hours for the energy in the waves to dissipate.  Not here. One word from Jesus and in an instant, the wind stops and it’s completely calm. The second rebuke.

The Disciples are somewhere between absolute relief and sheer terror. Jesus turns to them. “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The third rebuke.

Let’s touch base again with our own journey through life. Scripture says Jesus goes before us. He is always with us. During the calm times, we can easily forget he’s there. We get out of practice of relying on Jesus. We get out of practice of telling him about our lives. As if he’s asleep in the back of the boat.

That becomes an issue when we hit the challenge. Our default is to try to deal with the problem ourselves. Only when we run out of options, when our boat is overwhelmed and sinking, do we remember he’s there.  Then we shout.  ‘Don’t you care that I’ve got this exam…’ ‘Don’t you care that I’m broke and I’ve got this bill to pay..’ ‘Don’t you care that someone I love is sick..’ ‘Jesus! Don’t you care?’ The First Rebuke.

Of course, we’re great at telling him what he needs to do. We’ve been dealing with the problem – we know what we need him to do.  We’re sinking – bail us out! But this is the Christ who is capable of doing much more than we would have thought or believed (Ephesians 3:20). This is the Christ of supreme power. This is the God who sees the big picture and delivers what we really need. This is the God who helps us to confront the challenge in His strength, although his solution is not always what we expect. This is the God who rebukes the wind and calms the raging storm. The second rebuke.

This the Jesus who looks  our own suggested solutions and sees far beyond them. He looks at the constraints of our perspective and smiles. Learn to trust me! Practice depending on me! Think bigger! ‘Where is your faith!’ I, the Son of God, am here with you. “Why are you afraid?” The third rebuke.

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

There really is so much I want to say about this story.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK