Brian Buhler tells a fictitious story of three men who were born blind but who had been miraculously healed by Jesus. The three heard about one another and decided to get together to celebrate their unity in Christ and to exchange testimonies. After the men introduced themselves and exchanged warm embraces, one man began telling his story.
Bartimaeus said, “Gentlemen, let me go first. I cannot wait to tell you what Jesus did for me. I was outside the city of Jericho when Jesus walked by, surrounded by a mob of people. I cried out, ‘Son of David! Son of David! Have mercy on me!’ and Jesus stopped. The crowd quieted down. He asked me the most unusual question. He asked, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ I said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see.’ He said, ‘Go. Your faith has made you well.’ Gentlemen, at that moment, instantaneously I could see. I was healed. As a result, I have come to this conclusion: When it comes to healing blind people, Jesus uses our faith and His word, and that equals healing.”
The other two shook their heads and frowned. They obviously disagreed with Bartimaeus’ conclusion. Unable to keep quiet, the man from Bethsaida spoke up. He said, “Gentlemen, my story of how Christ touched me isn’t anything like that. Jesus took me out of the city, and he spit directly into my eyes. Then he touched my eyes with his hands. I was expecting an instantaneous healing like yours, Bartimaeus, but when I opened my eyes, it was awful. I saw men as trees walking. Everything was a blur. I thought, ‘If this is what it is like to be healed by Jesus, he’s not much of a healer.’ Then Jesus repeated the procedure. He spit in my eyes again and touched me again. Gentlemen, the second time I opened my eyes, I could see. As a result, I am convinced that when Jesus heals blind people, he uses spit, and it’s always in two stages.”
By this time, the third man was red in the face. he said, “Gentlemen, I would seriously doubt the validity of both your conclusions. When Jesus healed me, he used saliva all right. But he did not spit in my face. Instead, he spit in the ground, and he took the saliva and the dirt and made mud packs and put mud packs on my eyes. It was uncomfortable and somewhat disgusting. Then he told me to go to the pool of Siloam and commanded me to wash the mud out in the pool. As I washed it out, I could see instantly. As a result, I am convinced that when Jesus heals blind people, he uses mud and the holy waters of the pool of Siloam.”
The three men argued with one another well into the night and went away divided on the matter of Jesus and healing. In the days that followed they formed three denominations – the Mudites, the Spitites, and the Faithites. The Mudites made mud their sacrament of healing, the Spitites made saliva their sacrament, and the Faithies assigned no special sacrament at all to healing, believing that faith in Christ’s word was all that was necessary to be made well.
Which one do you belong to?
Tags: blindness, denomination, division, faith, unity