In Mark 8:22–26, Jesus heals a blind man in two stages. First, he spits on his eyes and lays hands on him, asking, “Do you see anything?” The blind man sees people, but they look like walking trees. Then, Jesus lays his hands on the man’s eyes again, and “he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” Besides John 9, this is the only place in the Bible where a miracle is performed with two treatments. As an isolated event, it seems strange. But as always, context is king. To understand Mark 8:22–26, we need to track closely with what comes before it and what comes after it.
Having Eyes Do You Not See?
Early in Mark’s Gospel, he introduces the theme of the hard-heartedness of Jesus’s own disciples. In Mark 6:30–44, Jesus feeds the five thousand, essentially repeating the wilderness manna miracle and revealing his identity as Yahweh incarnate. But in the very next passage when Jesus walks on water (Mark 6:45–52), the disciples are “terrified” and “utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.” If they had understood the meaning of the multiplication of the loaves to feed the five thousand, they would have reacted differently to Jesus walking on water.
Then in Mark 8:1–9, Jesus is teaching a crowd of four thousand who grow hungry, and the disciples ask, “How can one feed these people?” It’s as if they have completely forgotten about the miracle with the five thousand!
In the next section, the Pharisees try to test Jesus (8:11–13), and Jesus warns his disciples about their “leaven” (8:14–15), a symbol of their sinful influence and teaching. But the disciples begin talking about actual leavened bread, and how they don’t have any!
In Mark 8:17–21, Jesus rebukes his disciples for completely missing his point and discussing how they have no bread: “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?” Jesus then reminds them of the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand, and asks them again, “Do you not yet understand?”
These questions come right before the healing of the blind man in two stages (Mark 8:22–26), in which a man begins to see, but his vision is still severely distorted. Jesus doesn’t want him to stay that way, so he fully restores his sight, “and he saw everything clearly.” Mark 8 is an illustration of the disciples: They have followed Jesus and therefore have partial sight, but their spiritual eyesight is still distorted because of their hard hearts! Jesus is leading them towards 20/20 spiritual vision!
A Mind Set on the Things of Man
The passage immediately after Mark 8:22–26 is also crucial. After healing the blind man, Jesus asks his disciples the crucial question: “Who do you say that I am?” This is the first thing that the disciples need to see clearly. Jesus wants them to see and understand his true identity.
Peter, always first to speak, pipes up, “You are the Christ'” (Mk. 8:27–30). And as Bible readers, we might think, “Finally, someone gets it!” Someone has clear spiritual vision!” But when Jesus teaches that the Messiah must suffer and die, Peter takes Jesus aside and begins rebuking him! Jesus responds, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Mk. 8:31–33). Peter could see that Jesus was the Christ, but because of his man-centered thinking, he could not see that the Christ had to die to provide salvation. His eyesight was like the blind man who had begun to see people, but only as walking trees.
Conclusion
In summary, the healing of the blind man in two stages is sandwiched between passages where Jesus’s disciples lack spiritual insight. They should have been able to think clearly about spiritual things, since Jesus had revealed his identity to them and taught them about the kingdom of heaven. But instead, they were blinded by their lack of faith and preoccupation with earthly matters. By healing the blind man in two stages, Jesus essentially says to his disciples, “You are like this man. I’ve tried to open your eyes, but your spiritual vision is still blurry. You need to allow me to open your eyes fully so that you are able to see things the way they really are.”
This is an important passage for all Christians. When we come to Jesus, he opens our eyes. We sing, “Amazing grace … I once was blind, but now I see.” But sadly many Christians still have blurry spiritual eyesight, even after years of professing Christ. Consider the Ephesians. They were saved (Eph. 1:1), and so their eyes were already opened (Acts 26:18), yet Paul prays “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened” (Eph. 1:18). It is possible for one’s spiritual eyes to be open but to have “cataracts” of varying degrees. Let Jesus fully restore your sight!
