He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. 

When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him...

Mark 8:23 NIV

When he had spit on the man's eyes!

What is with that?

Maybe he's back in Numbers 12 where spitting in someone's face sent you outside the camp for 7 days in shame.

And here was Jesus outside the village, redeeming that by using his spit to heal.

Maybe he's thinking if Isaiah 50 where the suffering one is spat upon and he takes that, absorbs it, because God is with him and he won't be disgraced. Looking forward to Jesus being spat upon as he is taking away the sins of the world.

Maybe it's a mini version of shedding his blood to bring healing for all, that he spits on the man's eyes to bring healing.

There is no shame that he cannot redeem, nothing so broken that he cannot heal, he is outside the camp making all things new.

And in the process it's personal. You can't spit in someone's eyes from a distance. 

Jesus is close.

Jesus is close to us in our brokenness, in our shame, in our hurt, and is the redeemer of it all.

#gospelofmark

#redeemer

#gospelofmark