TWICE TOUCHED

At age three, Shirl Jennings, who was raised in a farm cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains, simultaneously contracted polio, meningitis, and a mysterious malady known as cat-scratch-fever.  Doctors gave up hope on him and sent him home to Montvale – probably to die.

His mother, Pearl Layman, was determined that her son would recover, and over the next three years she worked with him to teach him to walk again. His eyesight, however, quickly deteriorated to the point that he could distinguish only between light and dark. Doctors concluded that he had retinitis pigmentosa, a rare and incurable eye disease. As he got older, doctors considered removing the cataracts from Jennings’ eyes, but feared the surgery would further damage his retinas.

On September 19, 1999, at the age of 51, Shirl Jennings had the first cataract removed from his eyes, and on Halloween of that same year the other one was removed.

After Jennings’ initial delight in having his sight restored came the hard work of making sense of his restored sight. “He could see a lot,” his new wife, Barbara, said, “but all his visual memory was gone.” Jennings was seeing, but exactly what he was seeing was a mystery to him and to those around him. He was unable to distinguish between an apple and an orange, for instance, or even a banana and a tomato without touching them.

It was finally determined that Jennings had MENTAL blindness…

v He could see, but he could not distinguish what he was seeing.

v He could not understand what he was seeing.

v He had his eyes healed, but what he needed was for his mind to be healed.

When you read through the book of Mark, if you take the time, you will find yourself with Jesus…

Surrounded by crowds,

Wearied by the demands, and…

Besieged by attacks of demons.

Some of the miracles you will find in the Book of Mark are…

·     The great catch of fish;

·     The healing of the withered hand;

·     Peter’s mother-in-law being healed;

·     The healing of the Paralytic;

·     The storm that was calmed;

·     The Gadarene Demoniac delivered;

·     Jairus’ daughter called back to life;

·     The feeding of the 5,000; and…

·     The Lord walking on the water, Just to name a few.

Many of these miracles can be found in other of the Gospels; however, the Blind Man healed at Bethsaida is exclusive to the Book of Mark. There were other blind men that the Lord would heal, the accounts of which can be found in Matthew’s Gospel, and Luke; but this miracle is found only in Mark’s gospel account. It occurs not a far distance from the scene of the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000.

In Mark 8:22-25 we read the story of a blind man who was brought to Jesus by his friends who “begged” Jesus to heal him. These people had enough faith and action to know that if they could get him to Jesus, he could be healed. I wonder today, do we believe Jesus can still heal and change the lives of people? If you do, are you willing to bring those in need of a touch into the presence of Jesus?

Now, after Jesus touched him, He asked the man if he could see anything. The man’s reply would seem to indicate that his eyes were not completely healed. He said, “I see men as trees, walking.”

The fact is, this man’s eyes were completely healed, but, just like Shirl Jennings, he could not distinguish what he was seeing. His mind was not correctly interpreting what his eyes were seeing. He had his physical sight back, but he was mentally blind.

The next touch that Jesus administered was not to his eyes, but it was a touch of the mind! Thus, he was Twice Touched.

Often times, when folk read this passage, it is assumed that the first touch of Jesus was simply not adequate enough to perform the miraculous healing that this man needed. The issue, however, was in the mind of the one being touched. The reality is that oftentimes when Jesus touches a person’s body, out of habit or because their brain is simply unable to compute what has just happened, the body feels as if the healing is incomplete. He’s already healed your body, now He has to heal your mind!

Romans 12:1-2 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The Greek word translated “renewing” means, literally, “a renovation.”  Paul is demanding that, in order for you to present your body as a living sacrifice, your mind must be restored to good condition – as if it were brand new.

Many of you have been baptized in water in Jesus’ Name (which cancels the debt of sin against you), and you’ve been baptized in the Holy Ghost (which makes you a new man in Christ)…But far too many of us who have had this wonderful touch of God’s Spirit still have minds that have difficulty perceiving what has actually happened in our lives! You’ve been touched once in your life, but you will be transformed if you will let the touch of Jesus reinvigorate, refresh, and revive your mind, your intellect, your understanding, and your perception!