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Mark 8:22-25

22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 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?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

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I don’t know about you, but I would drive miles into the wilderness to see a forest of walking tree people. 

To say that I’ve been hung up on this verse would be an understatement. It’s equal parts fascinating, wonderfully distracting and cognitively frustrating.  I kept asking Jimmy- “don’t you think it’s important?” His answer would always come around to- “if it’s not clear, you may be missing the forest through the trees. Focus on the miracle. Focus on the man. Don’t get lost—as you’re wont to do. “

Ughhhhh. 

Honestly, he’s right, most of the time here. I totally get where that could apply in most scenarios, specifically as it pertains to me. But, I’m like a dog with a bone. I don’t think God does anything by chance. It ALL has meaning. So, why trees? Why is that the symbol  He chose to show the blind man before full visual restoration? The wording alone is too visually appealing for me to discard. God knows He has me here. And, why did he even need to do a miracle in stages? There’s significance to that step. I know it.  He wants us to spend some time here- 

Or at least me.  Because the answer is God doesn’t need to do anything unless He purposes it. 

At any rate, Jesus loved a good metaphor. And the trees are a metaphor for something— I’m pretty sure he’s asking me to play along.  I invite you to play along with me! What else do we have going on? It’s global pandemic time —we can focus on some obscure stuff right now and the good news is, it won’t make our day any worse! So let’s play. 

What is the significance of the Wilderness in the Old Testament? 

What was the purpose?

Who in the New Testament came out of the wilderness? 

And what was his mission? 

Did Jesus experience the wilderness? 

What happened while he was there? 

Why is this significant?

Consequently, what raw material comes to mind when you think of the cross? 

And from which raw source does that material spring?  

Men (or in this case, the blind man’s awareness of them in the transition period between total darkness and total focus) are the metaphorical sourcethat literally made up the material used to kill our Savior. 

Acts 5:30

The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.

Harken back to the days of SAT prep as you play. Tree is to man as cross it to _________.  Stop and think about that blank space for a while. 

Have your answer? 

Good! Now let’s continue! 

We’ll come back to it. Promise. 

If the significance of the Wilderness in the Old Testament is punishment of God’s chosen, and God uses his staff to lead them through suffering born from their own willful choices, 

 to ultimately redeem and restore them so that men learned to trust in God through the rod of discipline, I think we may be on to something with this passage in Mark. 

I do think it’s Interesting to note- like the chosen people of the Old Testament- the blind man was brought out of the wilderness that day too. And, how tender is Jesus here? He removes him from the crowd. Singles him out and focuses all the divinity of heaven and earth on one person. Privately. In one uniquely purposeful miracle. The blind man would easily have been labeled by society as “without value”. Jesus, in that one act, showed the blind man how eternally valued he is. I wish I knew his name. Another question where I have dwelt. (And don’t get me started on how the miracle was performed.) But, maybe Jesus didn’t want to out right name him so that we may be able to put ourselves in the blind man’s shoes. Eternally valued, blind wanderers. WOW-layers of import to consider in this one passage. 

But, I’ll have to save these considerations for another compulsory writing assignment. Back to the puzzle at hand. 

The first clear image that the blind man sees as his vision is completely restored? The face of his Savior. Jesus, and the constant questioning of who He is, probably witnessed one less confused person that day. Clarity in Christ took on profound meaning for this chosen man—All in one, mind blowing, heaven ordained glance. We have an ugly tendency to feel sorry for the blind. But I’m willing to wager good money that this man was thankfulfor his blindness. He probably didn’t struggle like the rest of the forest with their “perfect vision”. 

I’m hyper aware that placing any real belief behind something so biblically obscure is indulgently risky. I would never teach this to my Sunday school kids as biblical fact- “this is what God’s saying here.” Oh, no, no, no, no, NO. Millstones oft come to mind—I have a healthy respect for how important children’s ministry is to Him. 

But I do think that it is a good idea to miss the forest and focus on the tree on a personal level-at least every once in a while- if the purpose is to try and understand Jesus, what He is trying to teach us and born from the desire to obediently draw closer to His heart. 

Jesus took the time to focus on just one metaphorical tree in a wilderness of them that day—and He didn’t miss the forest as He was doing it. What a man. We, as His body of believers, have been singled out and yet not missed as a collective whole. We are individually chosen and yet have become part of the ecosystem of covenant family. 

Jimmy wrote “sin.” My brain and heart were in accord with “atonement through Christ.” 

Atonement would work. 

Christ is always a great blank space to fill. 

Atonement through Christ is the cleanest read that my soul gave with this devotional. 

One names why the cross was necessary; the other names what the cross accomplished.

Why? Because we, in our sin, are what made necessary his death, and the tree became the material instrument of it. God alone brought Jesus out of the wilderness three days later in resurrection.

One thing I am sure of, without Christ and the grace afforded us through the act of atonement, we are all dead trees walking. Thank you Jesus for our eternal lives. Our inevitable death sentence makes this biblical truth the most important thing we can ever know. And thankfully, you made that fact simplistically clear.  

But can we at least put this question to rest? It is possible to focus on the tree and the forest at the same time. Didn’t Jesus just show us it’s possible? 

I think so. 

And praise God that I can now move on, better for it. 

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Isaiah 55:12-13

“For you shall go out in joy

    and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and the hills before you

    shall break forth into singing,

    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

13 

Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;

    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;

and it shall make a name for the Lord,

    an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

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Job 14:7, 13-15

7

“At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.

8

Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil,

9

yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant.”

13 Oh that you would hide me in Sheol,
    that you would conceal me until your wrath be past,
    that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

14 

If a man dies, shall he live again?
    All the days of my service I would wait,
    till my renewal should come.

15 

You would call, and I would answer you; 

you would long for the work of your hands.

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Judges 9:7-15

7 When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8 The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ 12 And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ 14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

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Psalm 104:16

The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,

    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

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The Trees song by Rush 

(Contribution by Jimmy) 

There is unrest in the forest

There is trouble with the trees

For the maples want more sunlight

And the oaks ignore their pleas

The trouble with the maples

And they’re quite convinced they’re right

They say the oaks are just too lofty

And they grab up all the light

But the oaks can’t help their feelings

If they like the way they’re made

And they wonder why the maples

Can’t be happy in their shade?

There is trouble in the forest

And the creatures all have fled

As the maples scream, “oppression”

And the oaks just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union

And demanded equal rights

“The oaks are just too greedy

We will make them give us light”

Now there’s no more oak oppression

For they passed a noble law

And the trees are all kept equal

By hatchet

Axe

And saw

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