THE SECOND TOUCH
Mark 8:22-26
Morning Meditation 10/9/16
Verses 22-26 say, “And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.”
Two Bethsaidas existed in the time of Christ. One was the home of Philip, Andrew, and Peter, situated on the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum. The other was on the east bank of the upper Jordan about a mile north of the Sea of Galilee.
Mark is the only writer of the four gospels that records this story. Mark records this healing as taking place in two stages. This provides a clue in the spiritual lesson it teaches.
Conversion is not a growth process. It takes place instantly at the point of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ: Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). No man is ever saved that is not brought to the place of repentance, through the preaching of the Word in some form (it may be in printed form, i.e., like a tract), and convicted by the Holy Spirit. But when we trust in the grace of Christ to save, salvation takes place on the spot. The thief on the cross was not saved when the crucifixion began. Matthew records in Matthew 27:44, “The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.” This verse describes both the thieves’ attitudes in the beginning of the crucifixion. In Luke 23:39-43 we discover that one of the thieves changed his mind (this is what repentance is) and rebuked the other thief because he was railing on Jesus and saying, “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” But the repentant thief now says, “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?” Then he adds, “And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss” (vs 40-41). Here we have the thief admitting his own guilt and worthiness of death and speaking of the fear of God and the righteousness of Christ. If that is not repentance, you tell me what it is? Then, and thank God for this statement, Jesus said, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” This man was saved on the spot on the cross, “with one foot in the grave,” with the definite assurance from Jesus that he would be with Him in paradise that very day. Amen and amen! Someone hold my mules!! You can be saved at the last moment.
Initial salvation is not a growth process. One is either converted or unconverted.. But our comprehension of what He does for us when He saves us is a growth process. So there is a good lesson in the second touch.
The blind man in our passage was brought to Jesus. We do not know the details of the story. It could have been that his family or friends had learned about the power of Christ to heal sick and restore sight to the blind. It could have been that they had to overcome a reluctance in this man in the beginning. What would you have thought had you been in his place? The negative post on my battery is a lot bigger than my positive post. It is easier for me to doubt than to believe. Faith is a discipline for me. I have to talk to myself and discipline myself to believe. It is easy for me to imagine that this man may have said, “Listen, we have been on this wild goose chase before. There is no use you dragging me all over the country to these professed healers. You wear me out just to have to come back home blind. If you don’t mind, I’ll just skip this one.” The word “bring” translates “phero” and means, “to move by bearing; move or, to be conveyed or borne, with the suggestion of force or speed.” This is what the blind man’s friends or family were doing. Those who see must sometimes be the eyes and understanding of those who do not see. This is what the soul winner does. He is saved and he knows what Jesus can do for poor blind sinners. And a witnessing experience sometimes has to overcome the reluctance of the spiritually blind to bring him to Jesus.
They “besought” Jesus to heal the blind man. The word “besought” translates “parakaleo” meaning “to call to one’s side, to be a helper, to speak in behalf of another.” This word is a verb and it is the same root word that is used of the Holy Spirit in John 14:16. Jesus says there, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (Parakletos), that he may abide with you forever.” So these men were doing in relation to this blind man what the Holy Spirit does for us as believers.
These men who brought the blind man to Jesus believed that if Jesus “touched” him that it would be enough to restore his sight. The word “touch” translates “haptomai” and means in this case “to come in contact with.” They believe that power resided in Jesus. They were not wrong. Jesus led him out of town away from the crowds to restore his sight. Jesus chose when He would do something in the presence of the crowds. On this occasion we are told that Jesus led him out of the town. Then we are told that Jesus “spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him . . .” Someone has said that the Lord did this to demonstrate unmistakably that the power to heal came from His own Person. This is a good point. The power of the Godhead resides in Jesus: John 17:2 says, “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.” Only the One who originated life can give life. Jesus is the origin of life (John 1:3-4). Therefore, life and health resided in Jesus. To touch Him in faith is all that is necessary to obtain life and all that pertains to that life.
Jesus anointed the blind man’s eyes with spittle and then ask him if “he saw ought.” The man answered, “. . . and said, I see men as trees, walking.” The man is no longer blind. He does not have perfect sight, but, he has sight. When we are saved we do not have perfect sight but we immediately see the forms of truth that pertain to the spiritual life. If someone were to ask us, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for us to give the details of the truth. Jesus didn’t leave it there. “After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.” The word “restored” translates “apokathistemi” and means “to restore to its former state.” It is an aorist passive indicative verb. This means that it happened suddenly at a point of time. The passive voice means that the restoration was not the result of natural healing. Jesus did not just enhance the body’s ability to heal itself.
When Jesus gave the man the second touch, it tells us that he “. . . saw every man clearly.” The word “clearly” translates “telaugos” and means that he could see clearly at a distance. He had the eyes that God had created eyes to be. What a lesson. The Holy Spirit is the One the Father sent to walk by the believer’s side. When, as believers we only see forms of truth, He leads us to Jesus for a new touch. And the result is that we go from vagueness to clearly definable truths. How many times I have struggled over something the Bible was saying. I saw the vague forms of the truth. I have then prayed about it, and Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, would give me “the second touch.” I know you have had that experience also. If you see the form of things only, you may need this second touch. It is available to all who know Him as their personal Saviour.
May God bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
