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, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”Once more Jesus put His hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Mark 8:23-26
What a strange account in the Bible of Jesus healing a blind man. Strange because He seems to do it gradually, or in two stages. He first touches him and the man replies that he sees men walking about as trees. He could see, but he couldn’t quite make things out what they were – maybe because he didn’t have a reference point due to his blindness, or maybe they were just blurry. Jesus had healed others completely with a simple touch or even a word from afar. So why did He only partially heal this man, only to be followed by a second touch that healed him completely?
Immediately before this account, Jesus has a discussion with His disciples on the loaves and fish and He chides them, “Do you have eyes but fail to see?” And then again, “do you still not understand?” By this time the disciples had already witnessed many miracles. They could see Jesus and His works, but they failed to recognize Him.[1]
Immediately following the healing account Mark records Peter’s declaration of Jesus as the Messiah. The first declaration by one of the disciples of Jesus’ deity.[2] I don’t believe the placement of this two-step healing, sandwiched between these reports, is random but that Mark is making a point.
The healing illustrates the progression. Though the disciples saw Jesus, saw the signs and miracles, they still did not grasp who He was. But when the Spirit opened their spiritual eyes, they not only saw, but understood.
Could it be Jesus first healed the man’s eyes and then gave him understanding of what he was seeing? God opens our eyes when He calls us, and then He gives us understanding.
How often do I “see” what God is doing but I don’t understand. I think I’m following Him but I’m only part way there, not even knowing I’m still partially blind. I can read His Word, know His deeds, but the Spirit opens the eyes of my heart to help me see who He is.
[2] Mark 8:27-30
