Seven-Day Practical Faith Blog: Until We See

Why did Jesus have to heal the blind man of Bethsaida twice?

Mark 8 tells the unusual story of a miracle that seems to have failed. Verses 23-25 (NIV) read:

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.

Jesus is perfect, isn't he? How could he not get this healing right? Well, another view is the man didn't receive the healing properly; the problem was on his end.

We can think of it this way because of the next story, which is a metaphorical repetition of what we just read. Jesus asks the disciples who he is, and Peter correctly proclaims him to be the Messiah. But when Jesus explains how the Messiah must suffer and die, Peter rebukes him, only to be rebuked in return by Jesus, who then instructs in verses 34 and 35:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it."

Peter was like the blind man; he saw imperfectly, even though he should have better understood in the first place. Jesus had to fine tune his vision so Peter could comprehend the complete picture.

We all suffer blindness when it comes to perfectly seeing what Jesus wants to tell us. Our own bias or preference gets in the way. Our lack of Biblical knowledge can hinder us. Our failure to discern from prayer and walking in the Spirit can cause us not to see.

Jesus is the Great Optometrist who persistently presents us his vision until we can see it clearly. We may think we understand, but like the blind man, we may still blurrily see trees walking around. Like Peter, we may only have partial comprehension of what it means to follow the Messiah. Let us pray and seek earnestly so we can fully perceive what he wants us to know.

I want to call your attention to an important episode of my Practical Faith Academy podcast. In the most recent edition, Ashley Kinkead uses her own experience to show us how to overcome estrangement. Please search for Practical Faith Academy on podcast platforms, or visit the Cecil Taylor Ministries home page and click on Podcast.