Mark 8:22-26 (Teaching)

[0:00] I'm going to teach tonight instead of preach. And I had to wrestle with that quite a bit. Well, turn with me in the New Testament to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 8.

[0:19] ! Keep your Bibles handy because we're going to be doing some bouncing. Amen. Amen. I'll start with a question.

[0:32] And I'm in this boat, and I'm sure you all are too, but I'm going to ask it anyway. How many have ever been so convinced of something and felt like you understood it so well, but just to find out later that you were wrong?

[0:50] Yeah. I have. Amen. And we find the disciples, the 12, in that very boat here. And we're actually going to kind of do a thematic type lesson tonight.

[1:08] It's to do with blindness and sight. And really this theme carries from Mark, chapter 8, through the end of the Gospel of Mark.

[1:20] We're not going to cover all those chapters. There's 16 chapters in Mark. But we're going to cover quite a bit of it tonight. But there's a theme that begins here.

[1:31] And what's really awesome about Mark is referred to as the Gospel of Miracles because there's more miracles referred to or accounted for in Mark than there are in the other synoptic gospels.

[1:46] And certainly in the Gospel of John being a non-synoptic gospel. But it's also referred to as the Gospel of servitude. And that's because of Mark, chapter 10, where Jesus says that he came not to be served but to serve.

[2:01] Or he came not to be ministered unto but to minister. And there are several other pictures of that throughout the Gospel of Mark. So that's two things.

[2:12] But really Mark can be divided into two sections. Mark 1 through Mark chapter 7 deals with who is this Jesus? Who is this man?

[2:23] Who is this man from Galilee? Who is this rabbi? Who is this teacher? And the rest of the Gospel of Mark, the identity of Jesus has been given.

[2:36] He's the Messiah. He's the one. He's the chosen one. He's the anointed one. He's the one sent from God. But the rest of the Gospel of Mark is what do we do with his identity?

[2:47] And really you can divide Mark by those two things. So all that being said, we're going to begin in Mark chapter 8.

[2:58] In verse 22. It says, 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.

[3:12] And when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught. 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.

[3:26] 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.

[3:38] So, here we have a blind man brought to Jesus. And what we see odd here, I brought this up a couple of Sundays ago, the last time that I preached.

[3:50] That there was only one instance in all the Gospel accounts where deliverance, or the miracle, or the healing, or however you want to say it, happened in stages.

[4:02] All the rest of them were instantaneous. The other blind people whose eyes were open, it was instantaneous. The woman with the issue of blood, her fountain was dried up immediately.

[4:13] The man with the withered hand, Jesus Christ said, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did, and it was restored. It was whole. So, all these things happened instantaneously. This is the only two-stage miracle that takes place.

[4:26] And I told you all a couple of Sundays ago that there was a reason for that. And we're going to get into that reason tonight. Why this happened in two stages.

[4:38] The man was brought to Jesus. It says again in verse 22, He cometh to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. So, they bring this blind man to Christ.

[4:50] And they besiege Christ to touch him. Of course, they're wanting to see a miracle. They're wanting to see this blind man healed. They're wanting to see him see again. Verse 23 says, And he took the blind man.

[5:02] Christ takes the blind man by the hand and led him out of town. And when he had spit on his eyes and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw all.

[5:14] Folks, this shows how personal this was. He leads them out of the town first. Where were they at? They were in this town of Bethsaida. Bethsaida, according to Matthew's gospel, had already had judgment pronounced upon him.

[5:30] Bethsaida, Chorazin, and Capernaum had all had judgment pronounced upon them. And here's this man that these people bring to him.

[5:42] We can assume that these people are all of the town of Bethsaida. And they bring him to Jesus. They just kind of throw him at them, beseeching Jesus to touch him so that they can witness this miracle.

[5:53] Well, Christ, according to Matthew's gospel, had already said, you know, you all have had more miracles worked in you. He said this mainly to Capernaum.

[6:04] But he said, you know, if towns of the Old Testament, if people of the Old Testament and to Capernaum, he said, Sodom would have believed. Had they seen the same works that you all have.

[6:16] But really, that judgment went out to Bethsaida. It went out to Chorazin and it went out to Capernaum. He'd already pronounced his judgment. So he takes him out of that town. He takes him out of the middle of unbelief.

[6:28] He takes him by the hand. This is where it gets personal. Jesus grabs this man by the hand. Leads him out of the town. The man can't see. So here's Christ leading him.

[6:40] Leads him out of the town. So he led him out of the town. And when he had spit on his eyes. Now, folks, this shows that Jesus meets us exactly where we are. He met this man where he was physically.

[6:54] He was blind. He didn't wait on the man to regain his sight. He met him physically. He met him culturally. Culturally, this culture, it was very much believed that saliva had a lot of healing properties in it.

[7:09] And that is true to an extent. But so he met him culturally and he met him spiritually. And this is how personal Christ, how he meets with every one of us.

[7:22] How he met with you when he saved you. It's how he met with me when he saved me. He didn't save me from your sins. He saved me from my own sin. And he saved me from the wrath of God just as he saved you from the wrath of God.

[7:37] But you may have committed sins that I haven't. And I may have committed sins that you didn't. He saves us all equally. The blood washes away all sins regardless of how heinous the human mind might think that they are.

[7:51] Sin is sin is sin in the eyes of God. A lie is just as heinous as murder in the eyes of God. But Christ meets every one of us where we are.

[8:05] Maybe you were this. Maybe you were that. I know what I was and I know what God saved me from. And that's where he met me. He didn't wait on me to clean up my act. Just like he didn't wait on this blind man to regain his sight.

[8:18] He didn't wait on me to get better. He didn't wait on me to get to church. He didn't wait on me to finally stoop down in prayer or anything along those lines. He met me where I was.

[8:30] He convicted my heart by means of the Holy Spirit. He saved my soul and regenerated me by means of the Holy Spirit. But he met me where I was physically.

[8:41] He met me where I was spiritually lost. And he met me where I was culturally lost within a culture that hates God. And he met every one of us in the same way.

[8:54] And by the same means. And put his hands upon him. And he asked him if he saw. Jesus actually asks this man. Do you see anything? After he done laid his hands on him.

[9:06] After he done touched him. He says, do you see anything? Anything at all? And what does the man say? It says, and he looked up and said, I see men as trees walking. Most Mark is using a method of storytelling here.

[9:25] To teach theology. It's precisely what he is doing. The man looked around. He said, I see men. But I see them as trees.

[9:37] I see them as walking. He says, I'm not blind anymore. He saw something. He wasn't blind. But he lacked clarity. He could see the shapes.

[9:50] And the movement of the shapes. But he lacked detail. He said, I see men as trees walking. And folks, this is where a lot of people sit. Throughout their entire Christian walk.

[10:02] Is they see men as trees walking. With no real clarity. As to exactly whom Jesus is. And folks, unfortunately. That's where most of us are even now.

[10:14] None of us see him perfectly. I don't. And you don't. Billy Graham never saw him that way. Nor the greatest preachers that have ever walked this planet. Have never seen Jesus 100% clearly.

[10:26] Even Paul to the Corinthian church said, Now we see through a glass dimly. Right. And it will only be in the after now. That we see Christ clearly.

[10:39] But. Just how much detail are we missing about Christ? How much detail are we missing about him? He says, and he looked up and said, I see men as trees walking.

[10:53] The very next verse. After that, he put his hands again upon his eyes. And made him look up. And he was restored. And saw every man clearly.

[11:04] And this makes me praise God. That he doesn't leave us. Partially blind. He doesn't leave us. In that state.

[11:14] He didn't shame this man. Nor did he abandon this man. Because he only had partial sight. And this is not an illustration of a lack of power of Jesus Christ.

[11:27] Christ could have healed him instantly. But he's doing this for a reason. And that reason is in the pre-context to what we're reading here. And the post-context to what we're reading here.

[11:39] Which we'll get to both of those things here momentarily. But the first time Christ touched him. He said, I see men as trees walking. I see something.

[11:51] I see something. But I need another touch. And again it says, And after that he put his hands again upon his eyes. And made him look up. And he was restored.

[12:01] And saw every man clearly. Christ touched again. Christ healed him. Folks, you know what this tells me? The more repeated encounters with Christ.

[12:15] That you and I have. The better our spiritual vision is going to be. The more repeated encounters we have with him. The more clarity that we will have as to whom he is.

[12:29] And if we understand whom he is. We're going to understand that much better. What he has done. And what he is doing. And what he will do on into the future.

[12:39] We will have a whole lot better understanding of who Christ is. So I invite you to have those repeated encounters with Christ.

[12:50] Don't say, well I got saved. I'm good to go now. No. You want to walk as closely with Christ as possible. You want to encounter him as often as possible.

[13:01] And how do you most encounter Christ? Through his word. Through his word. He said, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments.

[13:12] How are you going to know what his commandments are if you don't read the book? If you don't see and read for yourself what they are. And how can you express that love to Christ?

[13:23] That you have for him. Without knowing these things. Without knowing his word. Without understanding what he has done. Verse 26. And he sent him away to his house.

[13:34] Saying, neither go into the town nor tell it to any in the town. Now this tells me the man was not a resident of Bethsaida. The man that he just healed.

[13:45] Because it says he sent him away to his house. But he told him not to go into the town. So the man did not live in Bethsaida. It doesn't say where he lived. Right. He may have lived on the outskirts.

[13:57] He may have lived in, you know, in some other little village. Some other little sect. But he did not live in Bethsaida. And we know that because of what Christ said. Or what the word says. And he sent him away to his house.

[14:08] Saying, neither go into the town. Nor tell it to any in the town. Don't waste your breath with these people that have already been condemned. In other words. Condemnation has already been pronounced upon Bethsaida.

[14:22] Don't tell them. You go to your house. Tell those that are within your house. And folks, that's where evangelism begins. Is in the home. It doesn't even begin in the church house.

[14:34] It begins in our own house. It begins in our own dwellings. That's where evangelism starts to take place. And then it can spread out into the church. And then the church can spread it out outside the walls of the church.

[14:47] But it must begin at home. If we are failing to evangelize our own families. I can promise you we're going to fail out there in the world trying to evangelize. We must evangelize our children.

[14:59] We must evangelize parents. We must evangelize grandchildren. We have to evangelize all these folks before we ever try to tell the world of Jesus Christ.

[15:10] Christ. He sends him to his own house. Saying, neither go into the town nor tell it to any in the town. Now again, there's a reason that Mark has this here.

[15:21] And this is the only account throughout all the gospels. This is the only account of this particular instance. Of this particular miracle. This particular man healed in this particular fashion.

[15:32] In a two stage miracle. But why? Why? We need to back up some to see why. If you back up to verse 14.

[15:42] In the same chapter. Now leading up to this. A lot of things led up to this. But immediately leading up to this. Christ had fed thousands of people.

[15:54] Christ had performed a miracle. Feeding thousands. Off of just a little bit of bread. And a little bit of fish. So verse 14. It says, now the disciples have forgotten to take bread.

[16:06] They've gotten onto a ship. They're headed back across the water. Like they do many times throughout the gospels. Because Christ didn't keep everything just to a very specific locality. Christ went a lot of different places.

[16:18] There was a big radius that Christ went to. And the disciples. So it says, now the disciples have forgotten to take bread. Neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. And he charged them saying, take heed.

[16:30] Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. And of the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves. Saying, it is because we have no bread. Now folks, this should make us stop.

[16:43] Here's Jesus. Has just performed a great miracle. Of feeding a multitude of people. And they step into a boat.

[16:54] The disciples realize. Hey, we don't have any bread. There's only one loaf. For us and Jesus. And Jesus says. It says he charged them.

[17:05] Saying, take heed. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. And the leaven of Herod. The leaven of the Pharisees. Was spiritual leaven. The leaven of Herod was political leaven.

[17:16] Leaven. Leaven. What's the significance of leaven? Leaven is a picture of sin. A little bit gets in. It's going to corrupt the whole bunch of it. Just like when you put yeast in bread.

[17:27] If you try and bake bread with no yeast. You're going up with flat bread. But just a little pinch of yeast. That bread's going to rise. And that's throughout the entire Bible.

[17:40] Leaven is almost always a picture of sin. And how sin corrupts the whole. How sin corrupts the lot. And he says. Beware of the leaven. After they realize.

[17:51] They ain't got but one loaf. On this ship. He says. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. And the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves. Saying it's because we have no bread. Here's Christ giving them warning.

[18:06] Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Don't listen to the Pharisees teaching. Otherwise it will corrupt you. Don't listen to Herod's teachings. Otherwise it will corrupt you.

[18:19] And here's the disciples. Worried about bread logistics. That's exactly what this boils down to. They're worried about bread logistics.

[18:30] They think that Jesus is upset with them. Because they have no bread. And that had nothing to do with what Jesus said. Nothing to do with what he said.

[18:42] Verse 17. And when Jesus knew it. He saith unto them. Why reason ye? Because ye have no bread. Perceive ye not. Perceive ye not yet. Neither understand. Have ye your heart yet hardened?

[18:56] Having eyes. See ye not. Having ears. Hear ye not. And do ye not remember. That's why the account of this blind man.

[19:11] Immediately follows. What we're. What we're reading now. That question. Having eyes. See ye not. Hovers over.

[19:23] Verses 22 through 26. In two different ways. It hovers as a big dark cloud. Over top of 22 through 26. And it also hovers as the sun.

[19:35] Over verses 22 through 26. What we originally read this evening. Having eyes. See ye not. And having ears. Hear ye not. Do you not understand.

[19:46] They had just. Witnessed. This miracle of feeding thousands. And Christ brings it up. He said. He says. When I break the five loaves. Among five thousand.

[19:57] And how many baskets full of fragments. Took ye up. They say unto him. Twelve. And when the seven. Among four thousand. How many baskets full of fragments. Took ye up. And they said seven. And he said unto them.

[20:08] How is it. That you do not. Understand. How is it. That you do not. Get. Who I am. How is it. That you're worried.

[20:18] Because we're out here. On a boat. And we've got. But one loaf of bread. To split between. Thirteen. Of us here. How is it. That you can worry. About that. When you just.

[20:29] Witnessed it. And folks. We get ourselves. In that same predicament. In that same circumstance. In that same mindset. Constantly. We forget about the miracles. That God has worked in our lives.

[20:40] We forget about the healings. That we've seen. We forget about the prayers. That he has answered. We forget about all of these things. We say. God. How are you going to do this? God says.

[20:51] Have you forgotten? Do you not understand? Having eyes. Do you not see? Having ears. Do you not hear? And that's why we read this account. Of this man that is healed in two stages.

[21:03] He was a picture of the disciples faith. It wasn't complete. But with enough touches from Christ. With enough encounters from Christ.

[21:14] His restoration. The restoration of his sight. Was complete. The disciples here. Still did not understand who Christ was. Christ. And even after.

[21:25] Even after this. Even after Christ rebukes them. Softly rebukes them. But rebukes them. In the account that we just read. Then after we go through verses 23 through 26. Let's pick up in verse 27.

[21:37] Verse 27 of the same chapter. It says. And Jesus went out. And his disciples. Into the town. Of Caesarea Philippi. And by the way. He asked his disciples.

[21:48] Saying unto them. Whom do men say that I am? And they answered. John the Baptist. But some say Elias. And others. One of the prophets. And he saith unto them. But whom say ye that I am?

[21:59] And Peter answereth. And saith unto them. Thou art the Christ. And he charged them. That they should tell. That they should tell. No man of him. So immediately after.

[22:10] According to Mark's account. Immediately after. This blind man is healed. Two touches. And he's healed. Immediately after that. It says. Christ goes out. And his disciples go with him.

[22:21] And Christ asks a simple question. Who do men say that I am? And they give him these answers. Some say you're John the Baptist. Some say you're Elias. Some say you're one of the prophets. But then.

[22:32] He makes it more personal. He says. But whom do ye. And that ye is plural. He's asking every one of them. Who do ye. Say. That I am.

[22:44] And Peter gives. What is. Sometimes called. The messianic confession. Sometimes called. The great confession. Sometimes it's called. The betraying confession. But he gives.

[22:54] A wonderful confession. I like Matthew's account. Of this confession. A little bit better. Matthew chapter 16. He says. Thou art the Christ. The son of the living God. But Peter makes that confession.

[23:06] So Peter sees Christ. He sees Christ. And he somewhat has an understanding of Christ. And he confesses Christ.

[23:17] And what happens next. And he began to teach them. Jesus. And he began to teach them. That the son of man. Must suffer many things. And be rejected of the elders.

[23:28] And of the chief priests. And scribes. And be killed. And after three days. Rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him. And began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about.

[23:39] And looked on his disciples. He rebuked Peter. Saying get thee behind me Satan. For thou savest not the things that be of God. But the things that be of men. So Peter sees Christ.

[23:52] He sees him. And he says. Thou art the Christ. And again. Matthew's account. Thou art the Christ. The son of the living God. Confesses who Jesus Christ is.

[24:02] But he shows us here. He still doesn't see him plainly. He doesn't see him. For whom. He was. He doesn't see the purpose. For what Christ. What Christ was here for.

[24:15] Peter. Like all the other Jews. He was wanting. A political power. To rise up. And to get Rome's foot. Off the back. Of the Jewish nation.

[24:28] That's the kind of Messiah. He was looking for. And that's the kind of Messiah. That all the Jews. Were looking for. That's what they were expecting. From what they could read. In the Old Testament. But.

[24:38] The Old Testament. Also speaks of a suffering servant. It also speaks of one. That would come in humility. The Old Testament. Speaks of Christ. Just as he was here.

[24:51] But Peter. And the rest of the Jews. Failed to see that. So Peter. Is a picture of that blind man. The other disciples. Are a picture of that blind man. That we read in verses 22 through 26.

[25:03] He had sight. But he saw men as trees. Walking. And we know that. Because of what happened. After the confession. Directly after the confession.

[25:15] And it's the same way. In Matthew's account. It's the same way. In Luke's account. It says. And he began to teach them. The son of man must suffer many things. And be rejected of the elders. And of the chief priests.

[25:25] And of the scribes. And be killed. And after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him. And began to rebuke him. Now folks. Peter is treading on dangerous territory.

[25:36] Says he took him. I picture. Whenever I read this. Peter. If he was sitting down. Jumping up. And grabbing Christ by the arm. And taking him.

[25:47] And beginning to rebuke him. And doing just like it says in the other gospels. Not so. Not so. This can't be. If you are the Christ.

[25:59] As I just confessed that you are. Who are you to say. That you're going to be handed over. Into the hands of the chief priests. And of the elders. That you're going to be mocked. That you're going to be scourged. That you're going to be crucified.

[26:10] Who are you to say this Jesus? So that shows us. That Peter and the other disciples. Were a picture of the man. From verses 22 through 26.

[26:22] And that's why that man. Is found. Where he is. And he's not found. In the other gospels. Now. The other gospels. They have the.

[26:33] The confession of Peter. They have this. They have the. The condemnation. On Bethsaida. They have. A lot of the things. That we talked about tonight.

[26:44] But Mark is the only one. That has this account. Of this blind man. That. Is healed. In two stages. So we know now.

[26:55] The disciples. From. Verses 14. What we read earlier. 14 through 21. We know that. They had. Half sight.

[27:07] They had. Men as trees. Walking. Theology. And we know that Peter. Himself. Had that. From. These verses. That we just read. But folks.

[27:17] This theme. Continues. Throughout the gospel. Of Mark. Turn with me. To Mark chapter 10. Just a couple. Chapters over. Mark chapter 10.

[27:30] We find another blind man. This one's got a name. The one in Mark chapter 8. Is never named. But this one here. Has a name. Verse 46.

[27:40] In Mark chapter 10. Says. And they came to Jericho. And as he went out of Jericho. With his disciples. And a great number of people. Blind Bartimaeus. The son of Timaeus.

[27:51] Sat by the highway side. Begging. And when he heard. That it was Jesus of Nazareth. He began to cry out. And say. Jesus. Thou son of David. Have mercy on me. Let's stop.

[28:03] This man's name. Is blind Bartimaeus. He is blind. Cannot see.

[28:15] And yet. He recognizes Christ. More than the disciples. More than those that have been following him. At this point for three years.

[28:26] Folks. This is just before. The passion week. That begins in the very next chapter. The last week of Christ's life. Begins in chapter 11. This is the last healing miracle.

[28:38] In the book. In the gospel. Of Mark. Is this blind man. Named Bartimaeus. And this blind man. Recognized Christ. More so.

[28:49] Than his disciples did. That had been following him around. For three plus years. At this point. Shame on the disciples. And shame on us.

[29:00] Right. Shame. Amen. Shame. Shame on them. And shame on us. So. When he heard. That it was Jesus of Nazareth. Now surely. This man had heard.

[29:10] That Jesus was coming. He had heard of the miracles. That Christ had performed. I get. All that. But the man was blind. Says. When he heard. That it was Jesus of Nazareth. He began to cry out. And say. Jesus.

[29:21] Thou son of David. Have mercy on me. This is very similar. To what Peter said. Just a couple of chapters ago. When he said. Thou art the cross. When this. When blind Bartimaeus. Here says. Thou son of David.

[29:32] That is a messianic term. That he was using. To call out to Christ. Very next verse. And many charged him. That he should hold his peace. And he cried out to more.

[29:43] A great deal. Thou son of David. Have mercy on me. Many charged him. Who was following Christ. Yeah. The disciples were following him. No doubt.

[29:54] There were others following him. Just hoping to see a miracle. I get how the crowds worked. And I get how the multitudes worked. But it says. That many charged him. That he should hold his peace.

[30:06] That sounds just like a church crowd. Amen. Sounds just like a church crowd. Somebody get happy in the Lord. Yeah. Somebody praise God. Yes.

[30:17] They're like. Oh. He'll be alright. Somebody. Somebody newly saved. A month or two in. They're like. Oh. His excitement will calm down. After a little while. Folks. I don't. I don't want it to calm down.

[30:28] Right. I don't want to forget what Christ did for me. I know who I was. I know what I was. I know what he saved me from. And I don't ever want that to go away.

[30:39] And if any of you. Or anybody else tells me. Just calm down. You're saved. You're on your way to heaven. Be happy with that. I am happy with that.

[30:49] I'm tickled with that. And that's why I praise God. Amen. It's because of those things. But these church folk. They charge him to shut up. They tell him to keep his peace.

[31:03] But he cried out the more. A great deal. Thou son of David. Have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still. And commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man. Saying unto him. Be of good comfort.

[31:14] He rise. Be of good comfort. Rise. He calleth thee. And he casting away his garments. Rose. And came to Jesus. He casting away his garments.

[31:25] This makes me think of the line in Hebrews. It talks about. Setting aside every sin that besets us. This man didn't want anything between him and Jesus. Now the scripture here doesn't say he was stark naked.

[31:37] I don't care if he was or if he wasn't. But he got everything out of the way. That was going to hinder him from reaching Jesus. He wanted an encounter with the Christ.

[31:48] And who are we to stop anyone. Who desires an encounter with Jesus Christ. And yet I've seen church folk do that.

[31:59] I've seen church folk do that. He casting away his garments. Rose and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered. And said unto him. What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him.

[32:11] Lord that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him. Go thy way. Thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight. And followed Jesus in the way.

[32:22] Two things here. Christ asks him. Just like he asked the blind man over in chapter 8. When he asked the blind man in chapter 8. He said do you see anything? Christ asked this man a question.

[32:35] What is it that I can do for you? What is it that you want? And the man says. I might receive my sight. Folks that shows the faith that this man had. In the Christ.

[32:47] To restore his vision. Says Jesus said unto him. Go thy way. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Not. Your persistence.

[32:59] Certainly not this crowd. Of church folk. None of that. Is what made him whole. But his faith. In Christ.

[33:11] Is what made him whole. And folks. You and I. Are in the same boat. As this man is. Right. It is not our works. That makes us whole. It is not.

[33:22] How much scripture. We can memorize. It is not. How many sermons. We can preach. Or how many songs. That we know. It is our faith. In Christ. And Christ. Alone. That makes us whole.

[33:34] Amen. The same thing. Was said to the Syrophoenician woman. When she came to Jesus. Beseeching him. That he. Cast the demon. Out of her daughter. Same thing. Was said to the woman.

[33:44] With the issue of blood. It was their faith. That made. That made them whole. Nothing else. The woman with the issue of blood. We all know that account. She fought her way through the crowd.

[33:55] She touched the. The hem of his garment. After she said. If I could but touch. The hem of his garment. But folks. It wasn't touching. The robe of Christ. That healed her. Right. His robe.

[34:05] Had no magical powers. In it. Whatsoever. He turned to her. He said. Daughter. Thy faith. Hath made thee whole. And it is no different for us.

[34:19] No different for us. But I have said many times. Unfortunately. There is a world of people out there. That say. When it comes down to the end of the line. When I stand before God.

[34:30] In judgment. I believe my good. Is going to outweigh my bad. And they believe that. Because it has been preached. From the churches. Right. Nothing about faith.

[34:41] Nothing. Nothing about. The blood of Jesus. Do good. And you will be rewarded. Is what has been preached. Now for decades. In America. And the world over.

[34:53] But America has been the worst for it. I love my country. I am a very patriotic person. But folks. America. Has got more false gospel.

[35:03] Going out of it. Then it has true gospel. Going out of it. Yeah. Jesus said unto him. Go thy way. Thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately. He received his sight again.

[35:14] Immediately. Not like the man in chapter 8. Immediately. This man received his sight. What did Jesus first say to him? Says. And Jesus said unto him. Go. Thy way.

[35:26] Go your way. Go your way. Is what Christ said. But the end of this account. Is what seals this. Immediately.

[35:36] He received his sight. And followed Jesus. In the way. What was the way. Here. In this context. What was the way. Where was Jesus headed. Folks.

[35:48] This was the last. Healing miracle. I've already said that. In the gospel of Mark. Christ was headed. Toward Jerusalem. He was going up. To Jerusalem. Jerusalem. And what's so amazing.

[35:58] About that. Is he knew. What waited. At Jerusalem. He knew. That this is where. He would be handed over. In the hands of sinful men. He knew. This is where. He would be given over.

[36:09] To the elders. And the chief priests. And this is where. The scourge. Would take place. This is where the mockery. Would take place. This is where the cross. Waited for him. This is where death. Itself.

[36:20] Waited for Christ. And that's where he was headed. And the Bible. Teaches that he. He set his face. Toward Jerusalem. Like a flint. There was no budging him.

[36:32] And that's where this man. Bartimaeus. Followed him to. Says he followed Christ. In the way. He followed the way. According to. John chapter 14. Verse 6. I'm the way.

[36:42] The truth. And the life. He followed the way. In the way. He followed Christ. To Jerusalem. That's the way. That Christ was going. Even though Christ told him.

[36:54] Go thy way. Go your way. You're healed. You're good. No. He followed Christ. In the way. And someone that has truly. Received salvation. That is what.

[37:05] They will do. They will follow Christ. In the way. They will follow him. Toward the way of suffering. They will follow him. Toward the way of the cross. They'll follow him. In the way that he. Is going.

[37:16] Someone that has truly. Received Christ. Someone that has. Made a confession. Revealed. But not truly. Received. They'll do just as Christ said.

[37:27] They'll go. Their way. They'll go. Their way. With. Their savior. And their salvation. Which was produced by. Their gospel.

[37:39] Which is false. Someone that has truly. Heard the gospel. And truly. Repented of their ways. And truly. Received. Jesus Christ. They will follow him. In. The way.

[37:50] This man said. Jesus. Thou son of David. Have mercy. On me. Which is a. Pretty clear. Confession. As to who Jesus is.

[38:00] Like I said. This is a thematic thing. Throughout the rest of the. Gospel of Mark. As to. What people do. With the identity. Of Christ. That Peter.

[38:11] Confesses. In chapter 8. When he says. Thou art the Christ. Thou art the anointed one. Thou art the one. That was promised. To be sent. This is what people. Are doing with it.

[38:22] But folks. Even though. Bartimaeus here. Makes a very clear. Confession. As to whom Jesus is. Jesus. Thou son of David. And he.

[38:33] Receives his side. And he follows Christ. In the way. This is still. Not the clearest. Confession. That we have. In the gospel of Mark. There's one. That is even clearer.

[38:43] Anybody want to take a stab. A little. As to who makes it. All right. Turn with me to. The next to last chapter. In Mark. Mark chapter 15.

[39:00] I'm going to do a lot of reading here. We all need to be reminded. Of the crucifixion. We all need to be reminded.

[39:10] Of what Christ has done for us. And the best way to be reminded. Of that. Is to read the gospel. Accounts. As to what. Went on with Christ. Not only the gospel accounts. But the old testament accounts.

[39:21] You read. Just as much. About the crucifixion. In the old testament. As you do. In the new testament. Mark chapter 15. We'll start at verse. 22.

[39:35] Says. And they bring him. Under the place. Called Golgotha. Which is. Being interpreted. The place of the skull. And they gave him. To drink. Wine mingled with myrrh. But he received it not.

[39:46] And when they had crucified him. They parted his garments. Casting lots upon them. What every man should take. And it was the third hour. And they crucified him. And the super. Superscription of his accusation.

[39:57] Was written. Over. The king of the Jews. And. With him. They crucify two thieves. The one on his right hand. The other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled. Which saith.

[40:07] And he was numbered. With the transgressors. And they passed. They that passed by. Railed on him. And wagging their heads. And saying. Ah. Thou that destroyest the temple. And buildest it in three days.

[40:19] Save thyself. And come down from the cross. Likewise also. The chief priests. Mocking. Said among themselves. With the scribes. He saved others. Himself he cannot save.

[40:29] Let Christ. The king of Israel. Descend now. From the cross. That we may see. And believe. And they. That were crucified. With him. Reviled him. And when the sixth hour was come.

[40:40] There was darkness. Over the whole land. Until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour. Jesus cried. With a loud voice. Saying. Eloi. Eloi. Lama sabachthani. Which is being interpreted.

[40:51] My God. My God. Why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them. That stood by. When they heard it. Said. Behold. He calleth Elias. And one ran.

[41:01] And filled a sponge. Full of vinegar. And put it on a reed. And gave him to drink. Saying. Let alone. Let us see. Whether Elias. Will come. To take him down. And Jesus. Cried. With a loud voice.

[41:11] And gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple. Was written twain. From the top. To the bottom. Here we have Christ. At the end. Of the way. That he was in. We read.

[41:23] At the end. At the very end. Of Mark chapter 10. That blind Bartimaeus. Followed him. In the way. And here is Christ. At that end. Christ is on the cross. Christ.

[41:35] Has suffered. Mockery. Christ has suffered. The scourge. He has suffered. Being spit on. By his own people. By the chief priests. And he has suffered. Being spit on.

[41:45] By the Romans. By the Gentiles. He has suffered. All these things. And all this is going on. And Christ is there. On the cross. And those that are. Going by.

[41:56] Are wagging their heads. Not believing. What they are seeing. Again. These people had eyes. But they did not see. The disciples had fled.

[42:07] At this point. They had abandoned Christ. And all Christ had for company. Was a thief. On one side. And one on the other. And here in Mark's gospel.

[42:18] It says they reviled him. Praise God. For Luke's gospel. That shows that one of them. Received salvation. Christ was here. Alone.

[42:28] On this cross. And darkness had come. And in that darkness. Christ suffered. The full. Undiluted. Wrath of God.

[42:41] On himself. Not only did he carry. Your sin. And my sin. To the cross. And not only did he have that. Upon himself. But he also had.

[42:52] The. Very wrath. Of almighty God. Upon him. Along with your sin. Why? Because he that knew no sin. Became sin. For us.

[43:03] Sin must be punished. And that's what was happening. At the cross. And these people. Couldn't see it. The chief priests.

[43:15] The Pharisees. They had all the Old Testament. Scriptures. And they knew him. Frontward. And backward. And sideways. And diagonal. And they could not see Christ. Even though they had eyes.

[43:26] These two thieves. They reviled him. I said praise God. For Luke's account. But they reviled him. Both of them. Evidently. At first. Reviled him.

[43:39] But there was one. That has the clearest confession. As to who Christ was. In the entire gospel of Mark.

[43:50] Verse 39. And when the centurion. Which stood over against him. And saw. That he had so cried out. And gave up the ghost.

[44:01] He said truly. This man was the son of God. Who saw Christ. More clearly than anyone else.

[44:12] It wasn't Peter. It was none of the twelve. It wasn't the religious leaders. It wasn't none of those. It was a pagan.

[44:24] Gentile. Executioner. But folks. It's not so much. Who he was. As much as what he was doing. In Matthew's account.

[44:37] It says the centurion. And those that were with him. Watching Jesus. A man. Who was not a believer. A man. Who knew nothing about the law of Moses.

[44:49] Nor cared anything about the law of Moses. Cared nothing about. This Christ. Or God. Or anything else. Along those lines. Saw Christ.

[45:01] The clearest. He saw him clearer. Than anyone else. But how he saw him. Is what mattered. How did he see that? He saw him suffering.

[45:11] He saw him suffering. In obedience. To the father. He watched him die. I understand. That darkness came. About the sixth hour.

[45:22] And it lasted to the ninth hour. But folks. It wasn't complete. Utter. Utter. Total darkness. Well. It says that people went and. Fetched. Fetched.

[45:32] Vinegar. And held it up on a sponge. To Jesus. So they could at least see that clearly. And maybe the darkness. Had lifted up by this point. But folks. All these things that happened.

[45:43] And you read in the other gospel accounts. There was earthquakes that happened. There were graves that opened. There were. All kinds of. All kinds of things that had gone on. And here in Mark's. Mark's. Mark's gospel. We read that the veil of the temple was rent.

[45:55] It was rent from the top to the bottom. But who was it that recognized. Who Jesus was. And had the clearest. Amen. The clearest sight.

[46:05] ! As to whom he was. And what he was. And what he meant. It was a centurion soldier. It says. Truly. Truly.

[46:17] This man. Was the son of God. And I'm telling you now. If you have never. Seen. Not with your physical eyes.

[46:28] But if you have never seen. Christ. Crucified. If you've never understood. Christ crucified. You haven't truly seen him. The blind man.

[46:43] We go back to Mark chapter 8. One touch. I see men as trees. Walking. How many professing believers.

[46:54] Do we have now. With that same. Mindset. And they're comfortable with it. They haven't sought. A repeated encounter.

[47:05] They haven't desired it. Is that enough faith to save? I'm not God. I can't tell you. But the clearest.

[47:17] Confession. In all of the gospel. Of Mark. Is from a pagan. Gentile. Roman. Soldier. Who was one of Christ's.

[47:28] Executioners. Yeah. And he said. Truly. This man was the son of God. But it took him. Watching. Christ. Die. Granted. He witnessed everything else that was going on.

[47:40] He witnessed the earthquake. He witnessed the darkness. But he understood. Who. Jesus. Was. Do you. Truly. Understand.

[47:51] Who Jesus was. That he. Wasn't. Is. The Christ. That he wasn't. Is. The son of God. That he wasn't. Is. The Messiah. That he wasn't.

[48:01] Is. God. According to the scriptures. Do we truly. Understand that. Or are we comfortable. With our. I see. Men as trees. Walking. Theology.

[48:14] I hope not. I hope not. But this account. Of the crucifixion. Again. It amazes me. That it wasn't Peter.

[48:27] It wasn't John. It was none of the twelve. It was none of the chief priests. It was none of the Pharisees. It was none of the Sadducees. It was none of the. Not even the women.

[48:37] That were far off. You read that. Just a couple of verses only. In the same. In the same gospel. And chapter. They were watching Jesus. From afar off. They were watching.

[48:49] What was going on. But it was one. That was right there. At the cross. Witnessing him. Die. That truly. That truly. Understood. And truly. Seen.

[48:59] Who. He was. So the question is. Do you follow Jesus. Do you truly follow Jesus in the way. Do you follow Jesus for.

[49:11] Power. Or do you follow Jesus for truth. A lot of. Professing believers. That follow Jesus for nothing more than power.

[49:24] And. Unfortunately. From what I can gather. You know. You know. A tree by the fruit that it bears. They don't truly have power from Christ. But they have power over people.

[49:36] Because people believe they have power over Christ. So they're. Quote unquote. Following Christ for power. And not for truth. How are we following Jesus.

[49:48] How do I follow Jesus. And how do you follow Jesus. Amen. God bless y'all. That's a lesson for those ending. Amen. Amen.