His pain, my gain.

Click here to read Mark 8:22-25

"...Jesus led him..." Mark 8:23

One day, some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged Him to touch him. “Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village…” (Mark 8:23) Notice two things that Jesus did:

1. He took the blind man by the hand

2. He led the blind man out of the village.

I was studying that line very carefully and I realized that:

It DID NOT say:

A. “Jesus took the blind man’s hand and led him out of the village.”

It said:

B. “Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village.”

The “object” of attention in Statement A is “the blind man’s hand.” However the object of attention is Statement B is “The blind man.” Mark 8:23 does not use Statement A, rather it uses Statement B.

I am glad that when I encountered Jesus, He did not take only a few components of me – rather He took all of me. He did not take my hands alone, but he took ME by my hand – and that means a lot to me. It means a lot to me that He did not take my hands alone to serve His purpose – rather He used my hand to take ME – and then work out His purpose through me. He did not take my successes alone, or my failures alone - my strengths alone, or my weaknesses alone - my dreams alone, or my fears alone. He took me. “Jesus took the blind man…”

One of my favourite passages in the Bible is Exodus 12:12a-13: “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night…The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” Notice those two words in the beginning of verse 12 i.e. “that night” That night! That night! Which night? The night the Passover Lamb was slaughtered! That very night a spotless lamb, without any blemish, was slaughtered in each of the houses in Israel. It bled to death slowly, bleating helplessly, suffering intense pain, for no wrong it had committed. Some of that blood was taken and smeared on the doorposts and the lintels of the houses. That night! That night! What happened that night? The angel of death “passed over” them!

What does any of the above have to do with Jesus taking a blind man by the hand? After all that is the central subject of our meditation. There is something about two people holding each other’s hand that is quite simple, yet profound. Question: What is it? Answer: Two people, who hold each other’s hand, can never do so, standing far apart from each other. If anyone has to hold the hand of the other, it can only be done so if they are NEAR each other. If the two parties move far apart, they will cease to hold hands. In other words, Jesus and the blind man can hold hands, only if they are NEAR each other.

What does this observation have to do with the blood of a slain Passover Lamb? Simply this: “Remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought NEAR by the blood of Christ” Ephesians 2: 12, 13. Brought NEAR! Brought NEAR! What brought us NEAR to God? The blood of Jesus, who is our Passover Lamb! The blood brought us NEAR to God and now He holds our hand! It would have never been possible for God to hold my hand unless I was brought NEAR Him. For that to happen, my Passover Lamb had to be slain.

When I think of the goodness of God, who chose to crush His Son with pain and kill him publicly on a cross - so that on account of the blood of His Son, I can be brought NEAR to God, I cannot help but give Him thanks. Christ could have only taken the blind man by the hand if they were NEAR each other. I was far away from God. On account of the blood of my Passover Lamb, I was brought NEAR to God. He took me! Oh, he took me! Not just some of me – all of me. That night! That night! The very night when God saw the blood on my ‘house’, the anger of God passed over me and death passed over me too! I was brought NEAR! NEAR to God.

Whenever I go through life and I feel that God is ‘far away,’ I think of the blood of my Passover Lamb. Why? Because God said “the blood shall be a sign for you…” A sign that His wrath is satisfied. A sign that death passed over me. A sign that I have been brought NEAR. A sign that He took me because I have been brought NEAR by the blood. The Bible says that the blind man was brought NEAR by “some people.” I wonder how many people. Two? Three? A dozen? I will never know... The Bible says that I was brought NEAR by the blood. I wonder how much it cost Him. I will never know, how much…

Now after the blind man is brought “NEAR,” the two hold hands and start walking together. After a while, Jesus lays His hands on him and asks him the strangest question i.e. “Can you see anything?” Why in the world would Jesus ask that? Like He didn’t know in the first place whether the blind man could see or not! Jesus knew everything! He even knew the secret intentions in the heart of the Pharisees! Surely, He should know whether the blind man can see or not! Mark 8:24 “And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.”

The blind man’s response reveals two things about him. I have stated them below:

Argument 1

He once had sight but then lost it – otherwise how could he recognize that he was seeing people who looked like trees. It indicates that He had prior knowledge of how trees and people look like.

Allegory 1

There is an allegory that can be drawn from the above argument that pertains to Adam’s race. The blind man lost what he once had. Adam also lost what he once had. The blind man’s need was to gain back what he once lost. Adam’s need was also to gain back what he once lost.

Argument 2

His posture prior to the question was such that he faced the ground – otherwise how would he see people, after looking “up”? Assume his posture was already upright prior to the question. The Bible says that upon hearing the question, he looked “up.” If that is so, he would have only seen the sky and not people! In other words, his posture straightened, in response to the question.

Allegory 2

Let me narrate the allegory that can be drawn from the above argument with an illustration. Imagine I lose my car one day and as a result I do not drive for a very long period of time. Now imagine I regain my car again. Although I have regained what I lost, there is something else I have lost over time i.e. the confidence and familiarity to drive. It will do me no good to regain my car, yet lack the ability to operate it. It was important for the blind man to adjust his posture in order to operate what he would regain i.e. his sight. Jesus asked that question, not because He didn’t know the man only had partial sight, but to aid and prepare him to operate what he would regain. Adam’s race lost a lot in the Garden of Eden. It would do me no good if I regain all that Adam lost, if I cannot “operate” it. Everything that the “Last Adam” regained is only useful for me, if it can be made real in me. How can be made real in me? - By the receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will help me “operate” everything that I regained in Christ.

And so, I conclude my thoughts on the glorious gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ – Calvary that helped me regain every thing the First Adam lost and the Holy Spirit that helps me “operate” everything the Last Adam gained.