A blind man from Bethsaida

​

A blind man from Bethsaida

This man’s healing is similar to the deaf man with a speech difficulty in that Jesus used His spit to help the healing process. With the deaf man Jesus spit then touched the man’s tongue. Now Jesus spit in his eyes and then touched them. But what is different is that Jesus had to touch him twice. 

I am speculating here, but could the man have spit in someone’s face as an insult and then soon afterward went blind? So as an act of healing Jesus used his own act of insult to bring back a repentant heart toward the other individual? 

I believe Jesus did the same thing with Peter with the fish on the charcoal fire in John‬ ‭21‬:‭7‬-‭9.

“Therefore the disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, “It is the Lord! ” 

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied his outer garment around him (for he was stripped) and plunged into the sea. But since they were not far from land (about 100 yards away), the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread.” HCSB‬‬

You see the night Jesus was on trial before his execution, Peter had warmed himself by a charcoal fire and denied knowing Jesus.

“Then the slave girl who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you? ” “I am not! ” he said. Now the slaves and the temple police had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold. They were standing there warming themselves, and Peter was standing with them, warming himself.”

‭‭John‬ ‭18‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

Then after Jesus and the few disciples ate breakfast Jesus asked Peter do you love me. And immediately the smell of the charcoal fire reminded Peter of that fateful night a few weeks ago.

Jesus might be reminding the blind man of the person whom he harmed before he became blind.

What is Jesus doing in your life that should be reminding you to ask for forgiveness from a person whom you have hurt? 

There is a story that is told of a family who was trying to buy property but after years of saving and trying they could not. One day they were praying about it and either through a pastor or just God they were told that there was a hurt done by his grandfather regarding property where he had cheated someone out of their property. This grandson had to seek forgiveness from God and the party involved on his grandfather’s behalf. Eventually, he was able to buy the property. 

We might say that God does not operate that way holding the third and fourth generations guilty of the first generation’s sin.

“Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: Yahweh — Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

We cannot accept the blessings of a thousand past generations without also accepting the punishment of our grandparents and parents. 

“Fathers are not to be put to death for their children or children for their fathers; each person will be put to death for his own sin.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭24‬:‭16‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

God will not execute capital punishment on the kids because of the parents, but he can make the lives of the kids difficult because of the parent's sins. The only time that I can remember of a child dying due to the father’s sin was David and Bathsheba’s first. Because of David’s sin, Nathan the prophet predicted, before the child was born, that the baby would die. So how do rectify this contradiction? I am not sure I know the answer yet, but God does.