The Blind Man of Bethsaida: Seeing Men Clearly

Mark 8: 22-26

Mark alone records this dynamic miracle. It is the only case of a “gradual” cure by Jesus. The man’s healing took place in two stages. First, he saw men out of focus, and then he saw them clearly. Read Mark 8:22-26 before you begin.

Verse 22
Note that the blind man’s friends brought him to Jesus. Christ Himself took the man by the hand. How we need to allow Him to do that. The man’s friends besought Jesus to touch him, thinking that His touch would perform the miracle. But Jesus does not perform on command. Jesus shows that He will handle each of us in a unique way. Note that Jesus led the man out of town for this cure. Jesus often wants to minister to us privately.

Verse 23
Jesus had used saliva and mud in another case. However, in this situation, Jesus did something else, for He is not locked into any one healing method. Jesus is one-on-one and very personal in His dealings with us. He put His own spit into his eyes. He used that which was from Himself, but never implied that His spit had special healing power. Jesus’ healing power was inherent within Himself as the Son of God.

Verse 24
Jesus was awakening faith in this man gradually. At first, the man saw other people “as trees walking.” His sight was still hazy, and Jesus would have also appeared hazy to this man. Jesus is often out of focus to a person when they are first touched by Him. But we see Jesus Himself and others more clearly as He opens our eyes more completely throughout our lives. This partial ability to see stands in sharp contrast to the complete restoration of his sight later. Jesus touched the man again, for Jesus never leaves His work unfinished.

Verse 25
Now the man clearly sees things at a distance. The Greek term implies “he saw thoroughly and kept on seeing clearly.” And the first Person He saw was Jesus Christ Himself.

Verse 26
Jesus instructs the man not to go into town to tell about this cure because He didn’t want to be mobbed. Jesus didn’t say, “Don’t ever tell anyone.” He simply meant that that this was not the time. Jesus may choose to perform your personal miracle in private.

At the end of the story, we are still clueless concerning why Jesus dealt with this man in this special way, but it is a great lesson concerning the progress of spiritual enlightenment. At first, our doctrine may be hazy. But closeness with Jesus clears everything up. Through obedience and listening to His voice, we discover that clarity of vision comes from Jesus alone. On earth, our vision is far from 20-20, but in heaven everything will be crystal clear when we see Him face to face. In Revelation 3:18, we find that Jesus anoints the eyes of those who are spiritually blind. 

Allow Jesus to touch your spiritual eyes and see Him clearly. He is our blessed optometrist.

Have you brought anyone to Him lately to experience His touch?

Maxim of the Moment

A problem is a chance for you to do your best. - Duke Ellington