October 14, 2026 | The Blind Man Near Bethsaida & The Demoniac Boy | Lesson 359

MARK 8:22-26; MATT. 17:14-21; MARK 9:14-29; LUKE 9:37-43

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THE BLIND MAN NEAR BETHSAIDA: According to Josephus, the Jewish historian, the village of Bethsaida was located in Gaulanitis on the east side of the Jordan River near its entrance into the Sea of Galilee, and Philip, the tetrarch and son of Herod the Great, built the village into a city, naming it Julias in honor of Julia, the daughter of Caesar Augustus. Modern archeologists, however, say the city was renamed in honor of Augustus' wife Livia, known as Julia Augusta after her adoption into the ancient Roman clan Julia (gens Iulia).

Bethsaida was the home of Philip, Andrew, and Peter (John 1:44; 12:21), and Jesus fed the 5000 miraculously in a desert place belonging to Bethsaida (Luke 9:10). Bible references indicate there may have been a second Bethsaida in Galilee on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum although no site has been identified. Since Bethsaida means "house of fishing," it is possible there were two villages of the same name in the locality of the Sea of Galilee.

This story took place at Bethsaida Julias on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. Mark alone relates this incident of the blind man brought to Jesus.

THE DEMONIAC BOY: Luke states that this miracle took place the day following Jesus' transfiguration on the mountain. Jesus and the three disciples who had been with him on the mountain returned to the nine disciples left behind to find a multitude about them and scribes questioning them. The disciples had attempted to cast an evil spirit out of a boy who was deaf and mute (dumb) and had failed. The father of the child pleaded with Jesus for help.