WHAT ARE MIRACLES
We all know it. Miracles are miracles only when they defy the laws of science. Miracles alter the established order of nature. They’re tangible proof of the presence of the Divine.
Miracles are solely God’s credentials. If humans performed them, they’ll only be called magic.
We think miracles are once-in-a-lifetime oddities.
Think along the lines of the Old Testament account of the sun and moon staying motionless in the middle of the sky. The world stopped spinning. The sun didn’t set until Israel defeated the Amorites in battle (Joshua 10:12-14).
That was a never-repeated event in the whole of recorded history. Never seen up to this day. A miracle.
We think miracles are miracles if they’re accelerated. They come as rapid-fire answers to complicated problems.
Think along the lines of water turning into wine at the Cana wedding. The miracle bypassed the entire winemaking process—from the stomping of grapes in stone wine presses, to storing in earthen vats, to fermentation and aging.
And yet, the resulting taste surpassed the flavor of perfectly matured wine. The Cana story was considered a miracle because even with advanced technologies and equipment, nothing in winemaking can be that instantaneous.
We think miracles are ripped off the pages fairy tales. We have to suspend disbelief in order to accept the fantastical undertones as fact.
Think of the donkey who suddenly acquired a human voice and complained after Balaam struck it three times. That’s not from Aesop’s fables. It’s a miracle straight from the pages of the Bible (Numbers 22:28-30).
All miracles are counter-intuitive. They challenge what we know is true. Often, we question their credibility because all miracles are out of sync with common human experience.
And yet, to the believer, miracles are as logical as the millions of facts proven by science or recorded in history.
Because for us, nothing is too incredible for the God of the impossible.
MARK 8:22-25
Jesus Heals the Blind Man
When they arrived at Bethsaida,
some people brought a blind man to Jesus,
and they begged him to touch the man and heal him.
Jesus took the blind man by the hand
and led him out of the village.
Then, spitting on the man’s eyes,
he laid his hands on him and asked,
“Can you see anything now?”
The man looked around.
“Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly.
They look like trees walking around.”
Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again,
and his eyes were opened.
His sight was completely restored,
and he could see everything clearly.
(Mark 8:22-25, New Living Translation)
Most miracles in the Bible show quick results. God steps in and leaves bystanders in awe of the evidence. Jesus forgives sins and the paralytic jumps up and walks home healed. Jesus orders Jairus’ daughter to get up and the child returns from the dead.
But there’s this one miracle where Jesus heals a blind man and the answer isn’t immediate.
No, Jesus’ power didn’t fail. No, the problem wasn’t too complex and out of His league. No, Jesus didn’t judge the blind man as unworthy of His empathy.
Jesus did help.
But healing trickled in phases.
The man had to wait.
Jesus set the miracle in motion. Even before the appointed time came for Healer and Healed to meet in Bethsaida, the phenomenon already began.
The blind man was nameless to us, yet Jesus carved his name on His palm. Jesus knew the exact time the blind man would plead for Him and when blindness would give way to a vision of His face.
Spiritual growth was in the offing. Blessing was on the agenda. Angels in heaven had lyres and harps prepped—their celebratory songs already blending harmonies with the wind.
But no such tune had yet reached the people on the ground. As things were, the blind man still had to play into God’s waiting game. He had no idea that favor was an arm’s distance away, that light would finally come to dispel his darkness.
The story of the blind man in Bethsaida is special in many levels. It is a gospel account that can only be found in the book of Mark. Try as you might, you won’t find direct cross references elsewhere in the Bible.
It is also one of only three instances where Jesus delivered the cure through saliva, and the only record of Jesus spitting directly on someone’s face.
Most fascinating of all is that the Bethsaida miracle is the only story of restoration where healing was incomplete at the outset. Of all the miracles in the Bible, this was the only time when Jesus worked His transformative power in two steps.
The repetition wasn’t a cosmic glitch.
It was a crucial part of the lesson.
MARK 8:23
Jesus Led Him Out
In Mark 8:22, the story started with some people begging Jesus to heal a blind man. In response, Jesus took him by the hand.
Such simple touch should have served the purpose. If it was within Jesus’ will to heal at the moment, a split second was more than enough to discharge His divine power. In the same way that the bleeding woman in Mark 5:25-34 needed only to graze Jesus’ cloak to get well, Jesus could have restored sight without further prologue.
But what did Jesus do?
He took the blind man on a journey outside the village. He led him out.
You may argue that Jesus just wanted to get away from the crowd since He recently finished feeding 4,000 people with the miraculous multiplication of seven loaves. That could be partly true.
But I believe God always digs deeper than what’s obvious to human logic. There must be more to the call than just dodging the mob.
He is a personal God. His love and pursuit of man is always intimate, even when it means setting him aside or hiding him away.
And so it shouldn’t come as a surprise. When the distraught blind man begged for reprieve, Jesus led him out on a pilgrimage instead.
The blind man might not have bargained for it. He probably didn’t see it coming (no pun intended). He desired the comfort of sight. Instead, he got pulled into a retreat … and shortly after, received a shower of shameful spit.
What does this mean for you?
Friend, if you didn’t know this yet, let me be the one to break the news …
The moment God touches your life, get ready to hit the road, shoulder to shoulder with Him.
Get ready to go the distance. Get ready for both the joy and pain of the adventure.
God’s itinerary may not be what you expect. Setting you aside on a wilderness retreat may be the last thing you want. But trust that the journey is for your healing and wholeness.
HEALING BY SPIT
Jesus resorts to many unorthodox ways to drive across a point. He associates with outcasts. He speaks in metaphors and hard-to-crack parables. He weeps before raising the dead. He walks on water and commands the weather.
And He uses spittle.
We use saliva to digest food. He uses it to mix mud.
Since Old Testament times, spitting at people was a sign of mockery. Even today, no one says, “Go ahead. Spit on me.” Even sneezing your fluids out by accident is offensive.
Superstitious Greeks attached healing powers to spit. But for Jews, spitting on a person’s face was no less scornful than a real slap.
Job attested to the shame of it when he said, “And now they mock me with vulgar songs! They taunt me! They despise me and won’t come near me, except to spit in my face.” (Job 30:9-10, NLT)
Even Jesus, after being flogged and crowned with thorns, experienced the humiliation. Roman soldiers “bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.” (Matthew 27:29-30, NKJV)
Knowing full well the infamy of spitting on people, why did Jesus do it on the blind man’s eyes? I wonder what the first-century witnesses whispered among themselves as they observed the forbidden.
I don’t have a scholarly mind that’s sharp enough to wield a theological answer. But allow me to express my two-cent’s insight.
God can use what the world considers repulsive and turn it into a channel of blessing.
Go ahead … read that last line again.
Yes, God can easily switch your shame to honor and your disgrace to favor. He can turn your misery into a seedbed of grace.
He considers as gem what the world pegs as worthless. The Genesis Creator who transformed nothing into something has the same divine power to bring forth healing from spit.
So friend, take this as encouragement. You who’ve been spat on, cheer up.
Whatever mess touched your life, He can use as a catalyst for victory. What the world considers wretched, God can choose as a springboard to hope. He can use failure to lead you to purposeful greatness.
So don’t run away from what contaminates your life. That metaphorical spittle may be your road to recovery.
That bad break can be the gateway to your breakthrough.
That chronic disease can goad you to faith.
The financial collapse which humbled you may be the last test before God elevates you.
Yes, my friend. Only in the hands of a wise God can all these parallel forms of spittle work together for your good.
MARK 8:23
Can You See Anything Now?
Then, spitting on the man’s eyes,
he laid his hands on him and asked,
“Can you see anything now?”
The man looked around.
“Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly.
They look like trees walking around.”
(Mark 8:23-24, New Living Translation)
“Can you see anything now?”
What a polite question. Jesus didn’t have to ask what He already knew the answer to. But He asked anyway … not for His benefit but for the blind man’s.
It may not be too obvious, but the man’s response revealed much.
“I see people … they look like trees …”
I’d venture a guess this man wasn’t blind from birth. Even if he created associations by smell or discovered basic features of trees and people by using his sense of touch, he wouldn’t have known what a tree looked like the second his blindness lifted.
It was more likely the man lost his sight through time. Somewhere along life’s travails, his vision blurred out.
Friend, herein lies a profound theological statement.
We too lose our sight along the way—not once, but repeatedly.
We too are blind men in need of a vision.
We go about our days, relying on our own merits. We act independently of God, as if the world would ground to a halt if we didn’t bring our skills to the table.
We lose track of our higher purpose. We stray among the crowd and get disoriented by the noise. We forget to pump energy back to our systems through the stillness of prayer.
In many ways, we’re people who exchanged the vision of eternity for the prestige and grandeur of temporary things. And God is asking—
“Can you see anything now?”
It’s a question meant to immobilize you for a second.
He calls you to pause and reflect. It’s time to re-examine your vision. Are you looking at people? Or are you looking at walking trees?
Are you in step with God’s 20-20? Or are you rampaging through daily life, relying solely on your blurry faculties?
Today, God is asking you, my friend. Can you see Him? Can you see His plans for you? Can you see your larger purpose? Can you see the dream taking shape?
Can. You. See.
He’s asking because He finds you hitting and missing. Bumping and bruising. Falling and despairing.
He sees you crying in frustration when things aren’t working. You’re in the dark, but you’re not even aware of your blindness.
MIRACLES IN STAGES
Here’s your good news.
You who pleaded for His touch … be glad. No … be excited! You’re at the advent of restoration.
Healing may be overdue. Help may seem delayed. Waiting may be tiresome. But one thing’s certain.
Miracles are afoot. Yours may be miracles in a two-step or hundred-step stages.
It doesn’t matter. They’re still miracles blowing in your direction.
So while you’re in the interim season—somewhere between blurry and focused vision— remember … He isn’t finished yet.
If you’re wondering when God will reset your life, if you’re toying with the idea He already abandoned you, be still. Calm down. Cease striving.
God is busy promoting your cause. And His job can’t be completed overnight because you’re not ready for what comes next.
So keep the confidence level up though nothing has changed for you. Your Healer is a God of order and wholeness.
He never leaves things half done.
Let’s face it. Life’s tough. We come undone more times in a day than we care to admit. When your battle isn’t over but you want the pain to ease up, sit quietly with the Lord. Find rest as you read these DEVOTIONALS.
For more
BIBLE STUDIES, check out these posts:
A Study on Perseverance In Spite of Failures
(Luke 5:1-8)
When You Feel Too Small for a Problem Too Huge
(2 Samuel 23:8-12)
Didoy, I’m so thrilled the Holy Spirit did His work and spoke to your heart through this piece. He always comes at the right time and gives you what you need when you need it. Thanks for reading. Your comment encouraged me too. God bless you!
Wow Jen! This particular chapter on miracles is in itself a miracle. You made me stop a full 10 minutes in my day to read, search scripture, to marvel and to pray! Thank you so much for “spitting in my eyes.”
didoy mameta