Most of us have gone to the eye doctor at some point in our lives. The odd thing about visiting the eye doctor is that you usually leave seeing worse than you did when you got there. When they dilate your pupils it makes it hard to see, but it just seems odd. For most, this is the closest we ever get to physical blindness. We could close our eyes for or where a blindfold, but we are still not blind. If we were to go blind, we would know it for sure. It would be obvious. .
However, spiritual blindness is a bit trickier. It can lead our souls to hell. , the great problem with spiritual blindness is that we are often unaware of the fact that we cannot see. To be blind and know I is thing, but to be blind and not know there are dangers that are huge.
Jesus has encountered such blindness throughout His ministry. The scribes and the Pharisees have repeatedly misunderstood Jesus’ actions and teaching. Many of those in the crowds have struggled to make sense of the parables (see 4:10-12). Even the disciples did not really get the significance of Jesus and His ministry at first. Mark gives us two stories to show the struggle to believe that Jesus is the Christ.
You know, spiritual blindness and physical blindness are closely related. We, like the Pharisees and the disciples, are obsessed with the visible, with what we can see with our eyes. However, this one can lead us to wrong understanding.
First, fascination with the physical will blind us to the spiritual.
We see this lesson in Jesus’ dealing with the Pharisees in verses 11-13.
11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;
13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.
14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
The Pharisees keep coming...