Mark 8:22–25 - When a blind man wasn't healed right away

Jesus had just gotten done chiding His disciples for being spiritually blind to the power of God in His miracles. And then they encounter a man who is blind.

"22 When they [Jesus and His disciples] arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him. 23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?” 24 The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.” 25 Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly." (Mark 8:22–25, New Living Translation, 2015)

This is one of many times when friends or family brought someone to Jesus for healing (Mark 2:3). Today, we can have a role in bringing others to Jesus, particularly when they can't make it on their own.

Jesus healed some people publicly. This is one of the occasions when Jesus avoided the reaction from His enemies (Luke 9:21-22), so He did this miracle outside of Bethsaida, a town known for despising Jesus' miracles (Matthew 11:21). Healing can take place in any number of settings, even with unbelievers not very far away.

Some scholars point out that in Jesus' day, saliva was thought to have medicinal value for eye diseases. (1) On the other hand, spitting in someone's face was an insult. (Psalm 30:10; Isaiah 50:6). In any case, Jesus chose spittle as a means for the grace of healing. But the healing power was with Jesus, not the method or the means.

Often, when Jesus healed someone, it was instantaneous. Here was a situation where the healing came in stages. We aren't told why, but the response of the man is challenging.

The blind man had probably heard of instantaneous healings done by Jesus. He didn't doubt Jesus ability to fully restore his sight, but neither did he insist that Jesus do more than a partial healing. 

Jesus asked, "What do you see?" (It's always instructive to look at the questions posed by God or Jesus.)

The man's initial response was that he saw people, "like trees walking around." Obviously his blindness wasn't congenital because he knew what a tree looked like, and he knew what it looked like for people to be walking around.

He could have complained, "You've only partially healed me."
Or he could have said, "This is better than being completely blind. Thanks."

Instead, he simply waited for Jesus to make the next move. And he was completely healed.

Jesus had taken him outside the city gate where were people going in and out of the town. The man could see that much but from a distance, but the people were oblivious to the miracle taking place, albeit in stages.

Jesus, enable us to not only entrust our prayers to You, but our very lives and the lives of loved ones as well. When it seems like You give only half-answers, bless us with patience to leave all the outcomes up to You. Amen.

(1) "There was a current belief that saliva was beneficial for diseased eye. But whereas Jesus used currently understood means, he did not attach any superstitious value to them." New Bible Commentary, on John 9:6