The Strategy

The Holyday Leveraging Strategy

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Recently, I was meditating on a new insight that came to me after listening to John MacArthur (GTY.org) expound upon the account in Mk 8:22-26 where a unique healing of a blind man took place.

This is the only miracle that required Christ to lay His hands upon someone twice in order to completely heal a disease.

Since I know that God uses the TYPE/ANTITYPE METHODOLOGY to teach us important lessons throughout the Scriptures, I wondered what this 2-Phase healing might be a TYPE of, if there is one in this incident.

This diagram illustrates the 2-witness principle and strategy being employed by the Creator to convince man-kind about the truth of His 7 Annual Holydays Master Plan. Holydays 1 & 2 produce a Spring Harvest (Holyday 3, Pentecost). Holydays 4 & 5 produce a Fall Harvest (Holyday 6, Millenium). Then these TWO HARVESTS will, in turn, produce a Final Harvest (Holyday 7, the LAST GREAT DAY).

This simple diagram illustrates the Creator's strategy to convince as many people as possible to choose to join His Divine Family that lives by His Law and Way of Love, Cooperation, Sharing, and Creativity.


Continued...

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Upon impression upon first reading that ever, the first impression I got was of two distinct types or levels of seeing being restored. As in first his true sight or inner sight (or mind) was restored. The second time his physical sight was restored. The second time, he put his hands on his eyes. The first time, it says he put his hands "upon him" and spit in his eyes.

It might be Jesus actually made contact with the blind man three or four times: (1) took his hand to lead him out of town, (2) spittle (if you count that as contact--first contact with eyes), (3) put hands "upon him" generally as in a general healing or wholeness, (4) put hands on his eyes--as in focused on the eyes.

Spittle
To knowledge, it was believed that the spittle of a first-born son had healing properties. That might be telling something about what the blind men believed about Jesus and such belief being instrumental in his faith.

Underlying Causes Abated First?
What is brought to mind is that defects of the mind can cause disease--and I just happened to be perusing over such in the past few days. If someone was to heal someone of a condition B symptomatic of condition A, then it might be that condition B would return with time. With condition A abated, condition B being symptomatic of A is abated along with its cause.

If something is wrong with your mind or faculties so that you cannot make sense of what you perceive, then what would be the use of healing the faculties exterior or dependent?

Symbolic or Indicative of His Approach to Ministry
If I were to look for symbolism, I would I tend to see it as a type of approach to ministry and salvation. #1 Jesus led him out of Bethesda (see Luke 10:11-13) and consider the angels leading lot ouf of Sodom. #2 He took him by the hand, intimate to some extent rather than cold, sterile, corporate. It may have taken some time to walk or travel. #2 Looking to the cause to tailor make the cure (as opposed to coarse, one shoe fits all type ministry). #3 healing on deeper and and surface levels. #4 Exhorting him to stay out of Bethesda--perhaps Bethesda was hit hard between 65 AD and 70AD?

Men As Trees Walking: A Deeper Kind of Sight Restored
Some see the idea of men as trees walking as evidence of the healing not being complete. But tree and fruit analogies or allegories are all over the place. So I see it as a complete healing of one aspect of seeing first and restoration of fundamental wholeness first, the second type being 'physical eyesight' (likely the deeper healing was necessary for the second to work). People healing for show wouldn't likely be concerned to go through those lengths.

Greek Words
For edification I looked just now at the Greek there: the first seeing is blepo the second seeing is emblepo. Blepo seems to lean toward a more metaphorical or 'minds eye' type seeing.

The first mention of eyes (Mark 8:23) is Greek omma. The second (Mark 8:25) is Greek opthalamos.

The approach above is a testimony of love that Jesus has and had in him.