A Two Step Healing Process

And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” – Mark 8:22-26

There have been many suggestions as to why this healing took place in two stages; they range from Jesus’ misuse of the healing formula to the man’s imperfect faith. This passage does not tell us why Jesus healed this man this way. What we do know is that Jesus restores this man’s sight.

Jesus does not heal the man on the spot, but He takes him outside the village. Throughout Scripture, some people experience Jesus in a corporate setting where masses are coming to faith at one time. Others experience Jesus in a much more private setting. In Mark’s gospel we see both types of interaction with Jesus.

What we see is that Jesus meets His disciples where they are. He knows each and every one of His creatures well enough to come to them in a way that they will respond to Him and His message. This should give us great confidence that we do not necessarily need to have the same experiences as everyone else in order to be a disciple of Christ. Nor do we need to manipulate the situation so that other people, whom we are trying to introduce to Jesus, will come to Him. We can trust that Jesus in His sovereignty will call His sheep by name and that His sheep will know and respond to His voice.