22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”
24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into[a] the village.”
27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life[b] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
1And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
Question 1
Have you ever thought you understood something, and then realised that you had only seen half the truth?
Question 2
What does Jesus want to show by the way he heals the man?
The earlier part of this passage is a bit odd. Is there something wrong with Jesus? The first time he heals the blind man he sees a little, but it’s still a bit of a blur. So Jesus has to put his hands on him again, and this time he can see clearly. What in the world is going on here? Sometimes Jesus does things that look strange in order to explain something to his disciples. Carrying on reading, we see that this is what’s happening here.
We’ve seen many times that the disciples seemed unable to see who Jesus was. But now, when Jesus asks them who they think he is, Peter gives the right answer – Jesus is the Messiah. He is the one the people were waiting for, the one chosen by God to save and free his people. It seems that the disciples are beginning to see the truth. But the truth is that they were like the blind man who could see a little, while the details were blurred. As Jesus explains that he must suffer, die and then resurrect, Peter shows that he does not understand. The disciples hadn’t understood what the King would have to do, or the kind of life he called them to live. So Jesus calls all the people to him and explains to them that he is going to give his life for them and that they are expected to give their lives for him.
He ends by saying that a time will come when they will see Jesus killed and then resurrected and they will receive the Holy Spirit. Then they will see quite clearly, and be able to tell others the good news.
Question 3
What does Jesus mean by calling us to pick up our cross and follow him?
Question 4
What things do you need to give up in order to follow Jesus?
Pray
that God will open your eyes to see clearly, and enable you to give your whole life to Him.
