Mark-Lesson 12...Continued from page 2

DAY THREE:  Fully Fit

Please carefully read Mark 8:22-26 and answer the following questions.

1.  As we saw in the chart in Last Week in Review, after both the feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000 there was a discussion about bread, and then a healing that served as a living lesson for His followers to learn from.  When they reached Bethsaida, what happened and what did Jesus do (v. 22, 23)?

2.  Spitting in one’s eyes to heal them is to say the least surprising to us!  The Greek word ptuo (to spit) comes from the sound that is formed by lips when spitting.  Usually spitting on someone is considered an insult, and the Essenes (the group who preserved the Dead Sea Scrolls) had a 30 day punishment for spitting, yet at the same time it was allowed in other healing contexts by the Jews as long as it didn’t accompany some occultic incantations.[xi]  What happened after this initial touch by Jesus (v. 24, 25)?  What did Jesus instruct this man (v. 26)?

3.  The Amplified Bible said that after the second touch of Jesus, the blind man “was restored and saw everything distinctly.”  This is a good translation, for the verb tenses used mean that he saw thoroughly, and kept on seeing all things clearly and at a distance.  This the only incident in the Gospels of Jesus doing a two-stage healing, but it was done for a purpose, like an acted out parable.[xii] The man was no longer totally blind, but his sight was still poor, like the disciples only seemed to be seeing and understanding in part. The disciples had been touched by Jesus, but their spiritual insight was incomplete, and needed a completed healing.[xiii]  According to the following passages, what are some ways that God works to lead us out of spiritual denseness and blindness to become like that blind man, fully restored, renewed, and fit before Him?

Psalm 146:8, 9; Isaiah 42:6, 7, 16; Proverbs 4:18, 19

1 Peter 2:9, 10

Revelation 3:17-20

Scripture Memory:  Try to fill in the missing words in the blanks below, by memory if at all possible, and then review the passage several times today.

He said to them, “Whoever desires to _______________ after Me, let him _____________ himself, and ______________ _______ his cross, and ________________ Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will _________________ it, but whoever ________________ his life for My sake and the ____________________ will save it.”  (Mark 8:34b-35, nkjv)