Spitting Image

Nº 258

weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - July 11, 2023

Oh cursed sin! It was you who slew my dear Lord! For your sake He underwent all this! If your vileness had not been so great, His sufferings had not been so many. Cursed sin! You were the knife which stabbed Him! You the sword which pierced Him! - John Flavel

Spitting in someone’s face is universally condemned. Cultures worldwide see this vulgar act as a symbol of absolute contempt and utter disdain.

For Jesus to spit in the face of anyone seems totally out of character, especially a person already struggling with blindness. But Jesus did just that. “When he (Jesus) had spit on the man’s eyes, and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, ‘Do you see anything?’” (Mark 8:23)

Why Jesus would spit in the face of this poor man is baffling! But maybe Jesus’ real intent was not against the man; maybe the target of his disgust was the painful, sinful circumstance that enslaved him and limited his joy and productivity.

Sin – ours, that of others, or the effects of Adam and Eve’s rebellion – leaves us blind, enslaved, and ineffective in many areas. Jesus loves us. He came to set us free from the sin that blinds us. His life and death spit in the face of sin, showing His absolute contempt for anything that would injure or enslave us.

We would do well to match Jesus’ feeling toward sin and its devastating consequences while we walk in the light and love those who stumble in the darkness.

Excelsior,

Dan Bolin

Author & President

Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc