In Mark 8:22-26, we see the healing of a blind man and it is unique in all the gospels. In this simple healing we find clues as to who Jesus is and how He comes to give us all true sight. Let’s look at what this miracle shows us.
First, we want to back up just a bit to Mark 8:17-18 when Jesus rebuked the disciples in the boat after the feeding of the four thousand. They had brought just one loaf of bread with them and Jesus had warned them to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees” and they had assumed it was because they had no bread. So, Jesus, being aware of their confusion, said, “Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see?” And He reminded them of the miraculous feeding miracles. We are left to wonder, in what way are the disciples blind? They are still not understanding the true meaning of Jesus’ parables and analogies. They are not looking deeper. We, too, are called to search Jesus’ words for a deeper meaning perceived with a softened heart.
The following verses are about the blind man, and they will show us some of the meaning we are looking for. After getting to Bethsaida, “they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.” They didn’t just ask for Him to give him his sight, though they had faith He could do this. They begged Him to touch him. Then Jesus took him out of the town and did something interesting—He spit on his eyes and put His hands on him. He sought out relative privacy. Then He used an act of physical contact even more intimate than a simple touch. Just as it was with this blind man, it is in this private space and intimate contact that we encounter the Savior and experience His healing miracle.
After this touch, Jesus asked the man if he saw anything. In verse 24, he said, “I see men like trees walking.” How interesting! I wear glasses and only see a blur as I am near sighted. I could partly relate to this partially healed blind man. Nevertheless, I have never seen men “like trees.” So, what does this mean? I immediately think of a verse in Isaiah 61 at the very start of the chapter verses 1-3, the same verses Jesus read (in Luke 4:16-21) in the synagogue in His home town when He declared to everyone that He had fulfilled these verses in their hearing. They state, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called *oaks of righteousness*, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
In healing this blind man, Jesus is delivering him from his prison of darkness and freeing this captive of sin by His intimate touch.
Though we may have eyes that see, like the disciples, we too must be delivered from the blindness of a hardened heart to be able to see men “like trees, walking” as God has made us to be: free to walk in the light, justified and healed by the miracle of His touch. As we come to see the world through God’s sight, we see men not as lost and perishing sinners, but as God’s children destined to become strong and mighty oaks of righteousness when we walk in His Spirit by faith in His saving grace. We must but place our faith in His mercy and forgiveness through the cross and with the help of the Advocate and Helper, the Holy Spirit, we become strong and tall and fruitful with healthy leaves, a planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
In the following line, we see this purpose in God’s grace because Jesus completed the miracle by touching this man a second time. It states, “Then He put His hands on his eyes and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.” The second time, the man “looks up” and perhaps he looks up to heaven with hope, faith, and gratitude—suspended as he is between seeing and seeing clearly—trusting his miracle is possible, giving glory to God. And so must we, even when our miracle is but begun and we are just beginning to see clearly, we patiently await the Master’s second touch, the laying on of hands that restores us completely to be able to see the world around us clearly, through eyes that see the light of God in the world. When we truly see, we gain understanding of God’s wisdom and values. We see life through eyes that look through the wisdom of days counted unto eternity.
So let us, like this blind man, beg for our eyes to be opened. Let us wait with hope, trust, and faith for the Master’s intimate touch. Let us leave the town and the ways of the world with Him and spend time with Him alone in prayer and meditating on His Word. May we be patient and await the complete restoration that His miracle will bring. Let us remember to look upon souls as they were designed to be: His children, oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord for His glory. Let us thank Him for His saving mercy and grace that redeems us from the dark of death to the light of life, from unbelief to faith that overcomes. Let us give thanks, praise, and glory to our God for His healing touch that gives us True Sight. Thank You Lord! Amen!