​On Simple Faith. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

 
Have you ever wondered  "Why did Jesus use spit for some of His miracles?"
 
Our pastor Ben touched on this yesterday and because I am a big proponent of a walk of simple faith, I have often pondered this subject.
 
It was Near Decapolis that some people brought Jesus a deaf man who could hardly talk. Jesus healed the man, of course, but in an interesting manner: “Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue” (Mark 7:33). Later, in the town of Bethsaida, Jesus healed a blind man. Again, the miracle was preceded by spitting: “He . . . spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him” (Mark 8:23). To heal a man born blind, Jesus “spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes” (John 9:6).
 
Certainly, Jesus, the divine Son of God, does not need physical props to work miracles. In many cases, Jesus merely spoke, and healing followed (e.g., Matthew 15:28; Luke 17:12-14). Yet, in three cases, Jesus used His spittle in the process of healing.
 
One possible reason for Jesus’ use of His saliva has to do with the beliefs of His contemporary culture. Several Roman writers and Jewish rabbis considered saliva to be a valid treatment for blindness. Since the people of that day had a high view of saliva’s healing properties, Jesus used spit to communicate His intention to heal. Those being healed would have naturally interpreted Jesus’ spitting as a sign that they would soon be cured.
 
Now the verse that really jumps out at me is the one in Mark 8:23. It says… “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.”
 
Who’s Faith is really at work here?

There are those who would say that… “The greater need was of each of those who were healed required the need for increased, proportional faith.  I like to work through this perspective differently than others may so allow me to break it down this way.
 
It was the Faith of Jesus that produced the miracle not the profound faith of the person being healed.
 
Think trough this with me.
 
Each individual was equally faithless; otherwise they all would have already been healed. The last time someone spit in your eye… Did it get your attention? I believe the whole point was not to increase their faith but rather to get them to put their focus on the One who is Faithful!
 
For to long in life I have tried to increase my faith, speak things into existence, exert my own spiritual fortitude. Could it be that Jesus the Faithful One, Just wants my focus and attention! Could it be that all this time He has been taking me away from the common beliefs on matters of profound faith to get me alone, to redirect my focus off of the issues and the questions about how I am going to survive or get through the day and simply put my focus on Him?
 
You see… When we are weak He is Faithful!

2 Tim 2:13 NIV “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
 
Could it be that the key to seeing increased but simplistic faith produced in my life is as simple as getting away with Jesus? 1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
In Mark 8, Jesus called this blind, faithless man away, He literally takes him by the hand and leads him out of town away from all other influence and the man begins to connect what little faith he has to the one who is faithful.
 
Look at the flow in the process of developing simple faith. Let it saturate your heart.
 
First, Jesus, after spitting in this mans eyes and putting His hands on the man, asked him… “Do you see anything?” I like that! Jesus is not expressing His own lack of faith rather, He is taking this man on a journey of anticipation and simple expectation that the work is being done. He is learning to lean on, depend on Jesus and His faithfulness. Slowly, the man begins to get it. Things are still fuzzy but he realizes there is something happening in His life. Jesus now puts His hands on the blind mans eyes and he is fully restored.
 
The real miracle is not the physical eyesight being restored. It is this man embracing and understanding what a walk of simple trust and faith in Jesus is! Once this happens, Jesus tells the man, “Don’t go back!”
 
Mark 8:23-28 (KJV)
 
23 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.
 
24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
 
25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
 
26 And he sent him away to his house, saying, neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
 
Ponder…
 
Is Jesus calling you away to a walk of simple faith? Your miracle waits and yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel!

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