I debated whether or not to do this because, to be honest, I was concerned about the response I might get. However, I have decided to post this because I felt led by the Spirit to do so. Any comments/criticisms are welcome as long as they are done in a respectful way. I don’t mind disagreeing with someone but as the saying goes we can disagree without being disagreeable. This is a sermon I preached a few months back and that I also had to turn in as an assignment to my Pastor (who also happens to be my Father). I hope it blesses someone.
One of my favorite types of movies is a suspense thriller. I like these movies because they cause me to think outside of the box. I like to be led into thinking one thing will happen only to have the filmmakers pull out an unexpected twist or turn to surprise me and/or lead me in another direction. In these films such as “The Usual Suspects” and “Along Came a Spider” how they get to the end is almost as if not more interesting then the conclusion itself. I like these movies so much that I have began to look for the twist. I find myself paying more attention looking for that which may be unexpected. I expected to be tricked, I expect to be misled in these movies, I expect the unexpected. Even more then the movies I love to see God move in the same way. Just when I think I know what He is doing and how He is moving in my life He does something unexpected. He moves in a way I wasn’t looking for. I often find myself in a place I did not expect in Him and how I got there has taught me more than if I would have gone the “expected” way. It has happened so often that when things don’t go the way I want or how I think they should just like with the movies I have begun to look for the twist. I have begun to expect the unexpected. As we look at our text today I can see how the expectations of man and God’s way of handling the situation may have come in conflict. In fact there are several things in this passage that man would not expect but which Jesus did which led to the healing of this blind man. Some of these expectations where held by the blind man and I am also certain that there were some by the “they” mentioned in verse 22.
We never find out the reason they bought the man to Jesus. It is possible that they were sincere in wanting to see him healed. It is also possible they needed a reason to believe in this Jesus that they had heard about. Finally it is possible that they just wanted to see a show or be entertained. In the end it doesn’t matter why they took him to Jesus but the fact of the matter is he got there and that’s good news for somebody is that it doesn’t matter how you got here but the fact that you got to Jesus, that you are in His presence right here right now. Once the man gets to Jesus, Jesus begins His string of unexpected acts.
First there is an Unexpected Move. The first thing Jesus does is to take the man out of the town. This is unexpected because the people wanted to see if the man would be healed. There were several other instances in the Bible where Jesus does the healing on the spot but He chose to move this man. Why? I believe Bethsaida represented a comfort zone for the man. We will see later that he wasn’t from Bethsaida but clearly he was there every day and had possibly become dependent on that area to beg and support himself and sometimes Jesus has to take us out of our comfort zone and away from those we are comfortable with before He can deal with us. The Bible says that Jesus took the man’s hand and led Him out but it doesn’t say the man resisted. Too many of us when God does something to move us we want to fight back but when God does the leading there is nothing to be afraid of.
After the Unexpected Move Jesus has the man alone and then takes an Unexpected Approach. He spits in the man’s face. There is no culture and no time where spitting in someone’s face has ever been a compliment. It has always been considered an insult and so can you imagine this man who can’t see anything and Jesus has led him to some remote area and the first thing he feels is spit in his face. But God used what man considered an insult as a part of His healing process and my question to you is what is He using in your life that you are feeling insulted by. Is it the job you work, the place you live, the car you don’t drive. What do you have in your life that you think is insulting that God is trying to use? God uses this insult but then He follows it with a touch. Some of us are so distracted by the insult that we miss the fact that God is getting ready to touch us.
Then another strange thing happens. Following the Unexpected Move and the Unexpected Approach then comes an Unexpected Result. One would think that when God puts His hands on a situation it becomes completely fixed right away. But in this case it didn’t. After being asked if he can see the man looked up which in the original Greek means to regain sight. But he says that he can only see men walking around as trees. In other words the healing was only partial at this point. But I want to submit that this touch was not intended to completely heal because if it were, it would have. So what was the purpose? I’m glad you asked. It was intended to make clear the NEED for Jesus even after the first touch. See if God completely fixed us in one swoop many of us would not return to Him. Many of us wouldn’t even give Him full credit but not being completely healed the man had to wait around and figure out what it was Jesus wanted to do. I came to tell someone that you need God. And the reason you have don’t have any peace in your life is because you haven’t realized that you need Him more than He could ever need you.
We talked about the Unexpected Move and God’s Unexpected Approach and we have seen the Unexpected Result but then following that there is an Unexpected Touch. Sometimes we can get complacent and think that this is all God has for us. Maybe I won’t have any peace. Maybe I won’t have a decent life but I came to encourage someone to wait for his or her second touch. Verse 25 tells us that when Jesus touched the man again he was restored. Wait this means that the man had not been blind all his life and that Jesus was just giving him something that he had once possessed and for someone the second touch is coming to give you back your rightful place as a child of the King and His creation. Even the earth will get a second touch because even though Jesus’ fist trip did not completely deliver us from this world the second touch is coming and we will be caught up to meet Him. But while you are here there is a second touch coming and it is meant to restore some stuff to you. Your peace will be restored your relationships will be restored everything that God has intended for your life is going to be restored.
Finally after the Unexpected Move and the Unexpected Approach. After the Unexpected Result and the Unexpected Touch. God will give us some Unexpected Instructions. Jesus told the man to go straight home and not to go back through the town. This is how we know he traveled to the town everyday to beg. He tells him not to tell anyone in the town about what happened. Wouldn’t we expect to be a witness to those who knew us before? Wouldn’t we expect to at least tell the one who brought us to Christ that He delivered and healed us? Why would God have us avoid that place? Some might say that it was because Bethsaida was cursed. Some might say that his past was not ready for his present. Some would say that Jesus didn’t want him going back to a place of dependency. To be honest I don’t know why but I do know this, when God gives you instructions then we better follow them. Too many of us are falling short because God told us to do one thing but we thought it would be best to do something else. When God gives us instructions no matter how unexpected or unorthodox it is then it is up to us to follow those instructions.
God often deals with us in ways that are unexpected by men. Isaiah 55:8 reminds us that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. In fact there are several witnesses throughout the Bible which remind us of this.
Joseph’s brothers didn’t expect when there was a famine in the land that the same brother who they attempted to eliminate would be the one who saved them.
Moses’ family didn’t expect that the brother they hid away and came back with a stuttering problem would be the one to lead them out of slavery.
David’s family didn’t expect that of the all of his brother’s he would be chosen to be the next king.
No one expected a 33-year-old carpenter from Nazareth would one day be the Savior of Men.
They didn’t expect it when they arrested Him in the Garden
They didn’t expect it when they whipped Him 39 times
They didn’t expect it when they hung Him on the cross with a crown of thorns
They didn’t expect it when they pierced Him in His side
They didn’t expect it when He hung is head and died
They DID expect Him to stay in the grave Friday night
They DID expect Him to stay there Saturday morning
They Did expect Him to stay there Saturday night
But they DIDN’T expect EARLY Sunday morning he would get up with all power in his hands and a sinner like me could have his sins forgiven.
When it comes to dealing with JESUS I have come to expect the unexpected!!!
Recent Comments