What do you see?

Two Stage Healing?

Ever wonder why Jesus healed the blind man in Mark 8:22-26 in two stages? It’s not like He couldn’t get it right the first time. He’s the Son of God, the Creator of heaven and earth. So why did He “kind of” open the guy’s eyes the first time and ask Him if He saw anything? 

The key to understanding the “why” of this unique miracle is to answer the question, “Who witnessed the miracle?” Before you read on, look at the text yourself to find the answer.

Jesus went out of His way to make sure that the only ones watching this miracle were the Twelve. This miracle is the turning point in Mark’s Gospel. Twelve men who had missed the point when Jesus healed the deaf man in Mark 7, now “saw” that their Master was indeed the Christ of God—their Messiah. Peter confessed it.

Look Again!

What they didn’t see was the type of Messiah He was. As soon as Jesus began telling them that He was going to suffer, die and rise again, their same spokesman, Peter, “took Him aside and began to rebuke Him” (Mark 8:32).

Like the blind man after the first stage of healing, they were only seeing a shadowy version of all that Jesus wanted them to see. The rest of the book of Mark demonstrates how Jesus opened their eyes to the full truth of Who He is and what His presence in their lives meant to Him.

They were willing to settle for the living in the shadows of their scaled-down comprehension of the wonder of living in relationship with the Son of God, but Jesus had greater plans for them. These were the men He had chosen to turn the world upside down for Him. These were the ones He would use to do so much more than serve on the earthly thrones they envisioned. He would partner with them to deliver men and women, boys and girls from the pain of sin and death!

Why not ask?

If you were to ask the Lord Jesus, “Where am I living in the shadows because I’ve settled for less?”, what would He say? If you asked Him to open your eyes to what His presence in your life really means, how do you think your perspective would change?

Before you answer that question for yourself, grab your journal (Don’t have a journal? Get One!), settle into a quiet place, and ask Him. And take notes—He will reveal to you what He wants you to see! 

 

“Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly” (Mark 8:25).