“Jesus took the blind man by the hand…spit on his eyes and put His hands on him and asked, ‘Do you see anything?’ ‘I see people, [but] 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 8:23-25 (emphasis mine)

We know Jesus, as God, would never need two attempts to heal anyone. So what’s going on with this two-stage miracle? 

First, the background: immediately following Jesus’ feeding of the 4,000 (Mark 8:1-10), the Pharisees bewilderingly “ask for a sign” (v.12). “Sighing deeply,” Jesus won’t play along. He takes his disciples in a boat, warns them about “the yeast of the Pharisees,” and they completely miss the significance of Jesus’ words. “Do you still not see?” (v.17). Yes, of course, they and the Pharisees have eyes to see…or do they?

Second, the two-stage miracle: Jesus’ spittle gives the man a measure of sight (v.24), but it’s blurry. Jesus’ laying on of hands then gives him clear, fully restored sight (v.25). 

Third, the application. Could this two-stage healing be a teachable moment, one brimming with symbolism? (It certainly can’t mean that Jesus sometimes doesn’t get it right the first time.) The disciples have been with Jesus nearly two years. His ministry is drawing to its climax, but their vision of Him remains blurry. They frequently miss His parables’ points. They were just miraculously fed but then worry about forgetting bread (v.14). Yes, they know He’s the Messiah. But their vision is far from aligning with a rejected, suffering, and dying Messiah. When Jesus, likely exasperated, asks them, “Do you still not understand?” (21), behold, He is asked to give sight to a blind man! What a double opportunity: heal the man, and show the disciples that gaining clear vision can be a process. How merciful Jesus is to this blind man; how patient He is with His own “blind” men.

Fourth: the aftermath. Did the disciples “get it”? You can read ahead and see their continued blurry vision: a clear proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah is quickly followed by Peter rebuking Jesus when He says He will suffer and die. Don’t criticize Peter too quickly, though, for what about us? Do our spiritual eyes need opening, our sight made clearer? We don’t always clearly see what God is doing either, but He can supernaturally clear up our sight if we’ll recognize our blurriness and just ask. 

As Jesus was eager to help His disciples see Him clearly, His Spirit can supernaturally correct our vision, too. As you read Scripture, are you ever confused? In your prayer life, do you see God more as a near-sighted answer to your needs than as a Savior to be worshiped? How might you ask God this week for a vision test, that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (Eph.1:18)?