Mark 8:23-25 intrigues me. So, I did a little research. It says:

And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, but they look like trees walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly (ESV).

This two stage miracle is such a contrast to the rest of the book. Throughout Mark, I can’t help but notice how often the word “immediately” is used (“straightway” if you read the King James Version). 

In fact, my research indicates Mark uses words which can be translated “immediately” 43 times. That means almost 6.5% of the verses in the book say something happened immediately. Additionally, these words are only used 57 times in the rest of the New Testament. That means almost half of the times we find these terms used are in just this one book. Mark is a fast gospel. Everything is happening immediately. Everything is happening right away. You get a sense of urgency and speed as you read.

Then you get to Mark 8:23-25 and for a brief moment, everything comes to a screeching halt. Jesus did not heal the man immediately. He healed him in stages. It didn’t happen right away or right now, it happened over a period of time. What is up with that?

I can’t help but notice this story is told right after Jesus rebuked His disciples for slow understanding. They had seen the feeding of the five thousand and the feeding of the four thousand. However, when Jesus told them to beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Herodians, they just didn’t get it. You can hear the frustration or resignation in Jesus’ voice as Mark relates Him saying, “Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?” (Mark 8:17-18, ESV).

Then we get the story of the two stage healing. Jesus is giving an object lesson about the walk of discipleship. There is a lot of urgency and immediacy in Jesus’ work. However, He is patient. He knows making disciples out of mere men takes time. After a whole bunch of time, we still only see the plan of God the way this man saw people. He could see a faint outline, but no details. However, as we keep on walking with Jesus and keep allowing Him to clear our vision, we actually begin to see those details and get the real picture and not just some general and vague idea that leaves us still wondering about what is really going on. It will take time, but we can grow as disciples. We will struggle along the way, but we will get there.

Three Applications

1. I need to be thankful that Jesus is patient with me and my baby steps as a disciple.

2. I need to be patient with myself and keep working when I know I don’t always get it immediately.

3. I need to be patient with others when they are only making baby steps in their discipleship.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

The liberal critics like to make hay in Luke 7:1-10.

“You see,” they tell us, “these Bible writers just couldn’t get it right. They were making up the stories and not even checking with each other to make sure they told it the same way. Why, look here at Luke 7:1-10 and at Matthew 8:5-13. Luke said the centurion sent Jewish messengers to make his request of Jesus, but Matthew says he came himself. There is just one of the many contradictions in the gospel accounts and throughout the whole Bible.”

But is that really what is going on here? Is this really a contradiction?

Actually, it is not. In fact, calling this a contradiction merely demonstrates those critics have yet to figure out the purpose of the four gospel accounts. Sadly, many Christians are not truly aware of the purpose of these accounts. When asked what the gospels are, many will say, “Those are the life of Jesus” or “Those are a biography of Jesus.” That is not correct. The gospel accounts were not written to provide us with moment by moment detailed chronicles of Jesus’ life. As John said in John 20:30-31, the gospels were written not so we would know the life of Jesus but so we would know Jesus is the Life and believing that we might have life.

Thus, as these four gospels were written by different authors for different audiences, we would be surprised to see them tell all the stories exactly the same way. This is not contradiction, this is selective perspective.

Matthew was writing for a Jewish audience while Luke was writing for a Gentile audience. Both wanted their audience to see the miracle of Jesus, demonstrating His Messiahship and Deity. However, they both had differing secondary purposes in this account. Keep in mind that these gospels were written during a time of transition and turmoil as Jews and Gentiles were coming into Christ’s church and trying to figure out how to get along with such divergent backgrounds. Matthew wanted the Jews to see that Jesus worked a miracle for a Gentile without regret. Luke wanted the Gentiles to see that Jews and Gentiles had worked together to accomplish great ends.

Do these statements contradict? No, they just tell the story from a different perspective. Even though the centurion asked through emissaries, he still made the request. Matthew didn’t lie or make a mistake when he claimed the centurion came to Jesus and asked. He simply told the story in the way that would make his point to the Jews. The centurion did come but he did so through friends. 

So, is this a contradiction in the Bible? Or is it simply selective perspective? 

We can trust our Bibles and Luke is a great place to learn this.

Have a great 4th of July.

Keep the faith and keep reading.

ELC

P.S. For a more in depth look at this principle check out a sermon I preached on this issue at the Franklin Church of Christ. You can get the outline and the audio at the following the link.

“Why Do the Gospels Contradict Each Other“