Golf is a game of strategy. Of course the goal is to get the ball into the cup with the least number of strokes. Sometimes you don’t drive directly toward the pin. Sometimes you drive to a better position rather than to shortest yardage. You use your drive to set up your second shot, making it easier to get to the pin, although not the shortest route.
Strategy gets used in many sports, and in many areas of life. We butter up a colleague with cookies and complements in order to help with future requests. You save your fastest player until the fourth quarter when their speed with overwhelm your opponents. You train carrying an extra ten pounds of weight, so that when the race comes, and the weight is removed, it is much easier to run.
Jesus, like all teachers, has some students who seem to be missing main points of the lesson being taught. Every teacher plans their lessons with the main points in focus. If the students can master these essential skills, then they will have a sufficient grip on the material and will be able to move on to the next, more complex tasks. If they don’t get the concept, they won’t be able to move to the next task.
Jesus’ disciples have missed an essential warning that Jesus gave. They were too busy focused on their next meal. They got the message it hanging out with Jesus is important. Now they need to begin to really listen to what He is saying.
Mark in constructing the order of his recording of Jesus life and ministry did so with purpose in mind. I think that is why he includes this story of two-touch healing. The first touch restored sight, but the man was unable to accurately distinguish objects. He thought people looked like trees walking. I suppose he could have continued in life like that. It certainly would have been better than staying blind, but Jesus had more for him.
Today some people want to hang out with Jesus without listening to what He said. They gloss over the difficult message of holiness and self-sacrifice. Instead, they only hear that God loves them “just the way they are.” He does love us just the way we are, but He loves us enough to not leave us in our selfishness and rebellion. He loves us enough to want us to change.
Some people feel that part of Jesus’ message is enough. But without full understanding, they are stumbling around in life struggling to identify the most basic elements of the life Jesus demands from us.
One final note: Jesus tells the man not to go back into town. If he did, he would be disobeying Jesus. The Christian walk is about freedom, freedom to obey God, not freedom to do whatever we want. Life gets lived within the confines of God’s character, holiness. There are some things that are never acceptable to Him. Many things are specifically listed, like the Ten Commandments. Some are cultural and time-limited, like many of the specific ritual laws of the Old Testament.
Maybe we need to go straight home and not enter the village.
The Arnold Journey 