Has it ever occurred to you that there’s a lot we don’t know about Jesus? The four Gospels give us actual events of his life, the majority being his adult life. We also see that when Jesus spoke to people, he often spoke in riddles. In the middle of ch. 4, he admonishes them (his disciples and a few others—his safe circle) to listen carefully. Towards the end of the chapter, he explained the parables to them “as much as they could understand.” I find it fascinating that, evidently, many didn’t understand, or their hearts were hardened, yet the crowd of followers grew, so much that they needed to get into a boat to get away from them. People are desperate to find answers for the crises they are living in. Only a few were with him when he rebuked the wind and waves, yet thousands know about it.
I am intrigued by the many nameless people that Jesus interacted with. Chapter 5: the demon-possessed man, a dead girl (daughter of Jairus), the woman who was healed when she touched his cloak; Chapter 7: Pharisees and teachers of the law, the blind man, a boy possessed by an evil spirit (as well as his father), multitudes of people; Chapter 9: boy with an unclean spirit. We don’t know their names, but they were all looking for something: healing, if not for them, then for a loved one. The significance of this is overwhelming. We don’t know if he knew some of their names. We do know, however, he spoke or imparted into the situation. Each person’s need was known to Jesus, and he addressed it. Look at Mark 8:22-26. We don’t know this blind man’s name, but people brought him to Jesus, begging for his sight. Jesus took him by the hand and led him outside the village (Why?? Was the village too noisy? Were there others who would steal their faith—their spiritual vision? Maybe he needed a drink of water.). Jesus’s method of healing this time was to spit on the man’s eyes. When he asked the man what he saw, the response was people looking like trees walking around. This tells me the man was not born blind; otherwise, how would he know what trees look like? Jesus touched his eyes again, and he could see everything clearly. This nameless man needed a second touch and was healed. Jesus sent him home, away from the village.
There have been times, long stretches, when I felt insignificant, maybe even nameless to God, yet I am reminded by Scripture that he DOES see, he KNOWS my circumstances, and sometimes a second touch is needed before I see restoration. And I need to protect his gift. I may need to limit who I talk to and what I talk about.
Meanwhile, there is an undercurrent of Jesus’s death approaching. Jesus predicts his own death, but the disciples didn’t know what he meant and were afraid to ask. I have been thinking of this since I read it. After all they’d seen, they were still afraid to expose their heart. I will stop for now; I’d like to remind you that God knows our hearts better than we do, and he will answer our needs.
