The Second Touch

Mark 8:22–26 “And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.”

You can image how thrilled he must have been

Jesus could have said you are better.

Im grateful

God did not come to make you better, so you could get by, He came to make you completely whole.

Why did he

Some miracles are progressive

Sight but no vision

Exhausted

Many of us are like this blind man.

We are thankful for what the Lord has done

While we are Content when could never settle for mediocrity.

He is not satisfied. A second touch is coming. When doors begin to open.

tbis is not it. What God has started he will complete.

It may be blurry for you right now but God is not supposed.

It may not happen all at once.

God has something incredible for you.

Live with expectancy.

God doesn’t do things half way.

Second touch is overflow.

A Shift is coming.

Old Testament Illustrations Sight (Opened Eyes - Elijah and Elisha)

1 Kings 18:41–46“And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”

2. 2 Kings 6:17 “And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

Mark 8:22–26 (FSB): 8:22–26 This healing story in Bethsaida, along with a similar story in 10:46–52, frames Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, which is interrupted by incidents of the disciples misunderstanding or misrepresenting Jesus.

8:22 Bethsaida A village on the northeastern shore of the sea of Galilee. The hometown of Jesus’ disciples Peter, Andrew, and Philip (John 1:44).

8:24 like trees walking around Indicates that the man is not fully healed. Only here in Mark’s Gospel does Jesus heal someone in two stages.

8:25 he opened his eyes and was cured The apostles demonstrate the same distinction between partial and full vision: While they occasionally show some understanding about Jesus, they struggle to grasp the full implications (compare note on Mark 8:21).

8:26 Do not even go into the village With the exception of the demon-possessed man healed in the region of the Gerasenes (5:1–17), Jesus has always been secretive about His individual healings. Yet this command is particularly emphatic, possibly because people likely would notice a previously blind man walking through town. See note on 1:34.

Mark 8:22–30 (NAC Mk): 1. Introduction: The Healing of the Blind Man at Bethsaida (8:22–26)

22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 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?”

24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

25 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. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village.”

Commentators differ on whether to treat this miracle story as the conclusion or the beginning of a major division. The main reason for treating it as the conclusion of the first division is to make Peter’s confession in 8:27–30 the beginning of a new division. Certainly the confession marks a turning point in the narrative. If, however, 8:22–26 functions as the introduction to a new division, 8:27–30 can still be the turning point. The reason for making 8:22–26 the introduction to the division has been given, but one additional comment is desirable. A miracle in which physical sight is restored in two stages is an appropriate setting for an account of the progression of spiritual insight in two stages (8:27–30). There are two levels of meaning: outward vision and inner perception, though it must be noted that Peter’s perception remained fuzzy at this stage. Jesus’ rebuke of Peter (8:33) shows that Peter, like the first blind man, had spiritual sight but failed to see the true contours of Jesus’ messiahship. The healing serves to introduce the whole central section on discipleship, which is the account of progression in spiritual insight.

The present section, which is found only in Mark, has many verbal parallels with the healing of the deaf and mute man in 7:31–37, which is also peculiar to Mark. This in no way suggests that the two are variant accounts of the same miracle as a few have claimed, only that Mark used some of the same “standardized” language to describe the two.

Perhaps Mark recorded the story to show that the messianic age as prophesied by Isaiah (e.g., 29:18; 35:5) was present in Jesus. Very important is the symbolism of the two-stage healing. The disciples, like the blind man, had been “touched” by Jesus and had received a preliminary blessing. Their spiritual insight, however, was far from complete. It was not much better than that of the Pharisees. They needed a “second touch” for complete understanding.

8:22 For the location of Bethsaida, see the comments on 6:45. The reference to it as a village in v. 23 would seem to distinguish the small fishing village from the nearby city and capital of Philip the tetrarch.

8:23 The withdrawal from the city was probably to avoid the gaze and clamor of the crowd. For a similar action see 5:40; 7:33. For the use of spittle see again 7:33. Only here does Jesus ask a question of one whom he healed. The questions related to the healings in 5:31 and 10:51 are of a different kind altogether.

8:24 The NIV does a good job of making sense out of a difficult and awkward Greek construction. The man’s reply may indicate that he was not born blind and had some concept of what he ought to see. Another possible explanation is the man had bumped into trees in his blindness; now he dimly began to see something like tree trunks walking around. The statement implies that the cure was not complete.

8:25 This is the only example in the Gospels of a healing in two stages. An incomplete cure and a two-stage healing may have been thought by some to be discrediting to Jesus. This consideration may be why Matthew and Luke omitted the story. In any event the early church would not have invented it. Its historicity is beyond question. Equally important is the symbolism of the two-stage healing. The disciples, like the blind man, had been “touched” by Jesus and had received a preliminary blessing. Their spiritual insight, however, was far from complete. They too needed a second touch.

8:26 Jesus’ gift of spiritual and physical sight to the blind enables Mark’s readers both to see who Jesus is (Isa 35:5) and to know what Jesus can provide for them. This verse appears to be another, although veiled, example of the “messianic secret.” In fact, many textual witnesses add a statement about not speaking to anyone.

2. The Confession of Peter at Caesarea Philippi (8:27–30)

27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”

30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Radical form critics label this account as a legend. The term is unfortunate because it implies that the account is not historical. Its historicity is guaranteed, however, by the fact that Jesus did not fully accept the confession and in v. 33 called the prince of the apostles Satan. More appropriate therefore is the term used by moderate and evangelical form critics: a story about Jesus. Even the word “story” is offensive to some because they think it raises questions about the historicity of the account. The word itself, however, is neutral. Historicity must be decided on other grounds.

8:27 Caesarea Philippi constituted a rebuilding and enlargement of the ancient city of Paneas by Philip the tetrarch. Paneas was the site of a grotto dedicated to the god Pan. When Herod the Great acquired Iturea, he built a temple in Paneas and dedicated it to the emperor Augustus. When Herod died and Philip succeeded him as the Roman client-king, he renamed the city for the emperor and for himself. The qualification “of Philip” was a necessity in order to distinguish the city, which was about twenty-five miles north of Lake Galilee, from the Caesarea on the Mediterranean Sea, which was built by Herod the Great and also named for Augustus. The city enjoyed a most beautiful setting at the foot of Mt. Hermon and beside some gushing springs that constitute one of the sources of the Jordan River.

The Greek expression “on the way” appears seven times in this division (also 9:33, 34; 10:17, 32, 46, 52) and only twice elsewhere (8:3; 11:8). It characterizes the division and perhaps even sets forth a theme of the division. Some describe the entire division as a journey to Jerusalem, but that journey does not begin until 10:1. The entire division is, however, a journey to discipleship.

In rabbinic circles the students usually asked the questions, and the teacher provided the answers. That Jesus here asked the question is just one of many indications that he was not a typical rabbi. “People” (REB, NRSV) is a better translation than “men” because the Greek word properly means human being.

8:28 These “popular” opinions of Jesus are quite similar to those of 6:14–15. Mark cited them only to show their inadequacy.

8:29 In the Greek text the word translated “you” is emphatic because it is the first word in the clause. The NIV evidently tries to bring that out by inserting “But what about you?” Peter functioned as the spokesman for the group so that the confession was as much theirs as it was his. The term “Christ” has not appeared since 1:1. “Christ” is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew “Messiah.” It is translated “Messiah” here by the NRSV, NEB, REB, and GNB.

The account provides another instance of Mark’s use of irony. On the one hand, Peter’s confession went beyond that of the crowds. Jesus was the promised Messiah/Christ. On the other hand, the sequel shows that Peter and the other disciples did not understand what kind of Messiah Jesus was. No doubt Peter had a typical Jewish understanding of a military conqueror who would free the Jews from foreign domination. There is no evidence that any Jew in pre-Christian times thought in terms of a suffering Messiah. The confession, although correct, was also inadequate. For this reason Mark did not indicate that Jesus either accepted or rejected it (cf. Matt 16:17–19). The confession resembles the first, incomplete phase of the previous healing.

8:30 Understanding why Jesus would command silence about a healing or exorcism is relatively easy, but why he would attempt to prevent further confession of his identity is relatively difficult. The answer has to do both with the popular misconception of the nature and role of the Messiah and with the insufficiency of identifying Jesus only as the Messiah. The verb translated “warned” ordinarily means to rebuke (previously in 1:25; 3:12; 4:39 and in vv. 32–33 following, although the first two are obscured in the NIV). The association of this term with demons and Satan (1:25; 3:12; 8:33) suggests that the popular conception of messiahship is not only inadequate but erroneous.

Mark 8:22–26 (TNTC Mk): i. The blind man of Bethsaida (8:22–26)

The disciples had been blinded to spiritual truths by their constant preoccupation with their own immediate bodily needs. It was only fitting therefore that the next miracle should be the opening of the eyes of the physically blind man of Bethsaida, as a picture of what God would yet do for them. It is also fitting that 8:29, immediately below, should contain the account of the opening of the eyes of Peter to the Messiahship of Jesus, and that chapter 9 should contain the story of the transfiguration. Of course, we are specifically told that Jesus healed many blind in the course of his ministry (Luke 7:21), but this particular miracle is recorded only in Mark, naturally enough, if it occurred in Bethsaida, the home town of Peter (John 1:44), and if Mark, even indirectly, depends on Petrine tradition. No name is recorded: with the exception of Bartimaeus (10:46), such people are usually nameless in the gospels, particularly in Mark.

The Blind man’s name is not mentioned as in Blind Bartameus - The focusis more on the miracle than the man.

Mark 8:25 (TNTC Mk): 25. Scripture does not make plain why two applications of the hands of Jesus were necessary here: was it a lack of faith on the recipient’s part? Nowhere else is such twofold healing action recorded of Jesus. But the important theological point is not how difficult the healing was, nor what the peculiar nature of the difficulty was, but that Jesus did not desist till the man was completely healed (cf. Paul’s confidence, expressed in Phil. 1:6). The very fact that Jesus, after laying his hands on him, asked the man whether he could ‘see anything’ (23) suggests that he was conscious of some lack of faith in the blind man. There was no need to ask such a question of others, for they were completely healed. At Nazareth, Jesus had not been able to do many miracles, because of their unbelief (6:5–6): perhaps this is a similar instance of little faith.

Another reason- healing can be a process

Mark 8:25 (HNTC Mk): 8:25. Jesus placed his hands on the man again, and his sight was fully restored. The fact that this miracle took place in two stages shows that Jesus’ miracles are not formulaic and that healing can be a process. Perhaps Jesus used this miracle to show his disciples that their own “sight” was growing by stages. Because Jesus healed in many different ways, Christians should not try to reproduce the miracles through their own power. This two-stage miracle also shows us that Jesus will not give up on us. He who has begun a good work in us will bring it to completion (Phil. 1:6).

Mark 8:22–26 (Mark): JESUS RESTORES SIGHT TO A BLIND MAN / 8:22–26 / 108

Before revealing the central concept of his Gospel, Mark recorded one last incident from Jesus’ ministry. His miraculous healing of the blind man from Bethsaida served at least two purposes. It showed how Jesus responded with compassion to an obvious need. It also gave a vivid “acted-out parable” to demonstrate that insight seldom comes instantly.

This miracle seems to connect with Peter’s declaration that follows. Mark’s first words (1:1) portrayed that the gospel reveals Jesus as God’s Son. But Mark patiently developed his theme. The disciples’ struggle to grasp the meaning of the Cross parallels the blind man’s experience of receiving his sight. Both follow an all-too-real pattern in our own lives. We don’t understand Christ’s purpose for us all at once. God has provided a clear enough record upon which to base our faith. Unfortunately, having a wonderful picture of Jesus’ life will not do us any good if we insist on keeping our eyes closed to him.

8:22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. Jesus and the disciples went back across the sea to Bethsaida. The miracle recorded in this section was recorded only by Mark and is a fitting story following the account of the disciples’ persistent spiritual blindness in 8:14–21. We learn from John 1:44 that Bethsaida was Peter’s hometown. Bethsaida Julias was in the territory of Herod Philip (6:45) on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was the size of a city but had the structure of an agricultural village, probably with a population of about fifteen thousand.

The healing of this blind man in Bethsaida and the healing of the deaf-mute (7:31–37) are recorded only in Mark’s Gospel. These two miracles have several things in common: In both, Jesus took the man away from the crowd before performing the miracle, he used saliva, he touched him, and he did not publicize the event. This healing of the blind man is unique because it is the only record of Jesus healing in stages.

Once again, upon Jesus’ arrival, people brought the sick to him. This time some people brought a blind man (obviously he needed to be brought because he would never find Jesus on his own), and they begged Jesus to touch him. They had faith that Jesus’ touch would make their friend see again.

Don’t miss the bridge from the story of the disciples’ spiritual blindness to the story of the blind man being healed. Sight is a metaphor for understanding. Though they had different kinds of blindness, the disciples and the blind man could be given sight if they would have faith.

8:23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” The miracles recorded in Mark are more often public than not; however, Mark recorded three more or less private miracles: raising the little girl from the dead (5:40–43), healing the deaf man with the speech impediment (7:32–35), and healing the blind man, recorded here. In this instance, Jesus led him out of the village by the hand. The people who had brought the blind man and some of the disciples probably went along. At times Jesus chose to avoid publicity and the crowds; in this case he may have wanted to give a lesson in “spiritual sight” to the disciples.

Some have placed a great deal of symbolic significance on Jesus’ special handling of this miracle. They see the two-part healing as a type of parable, teaching that insight into salvation or one’s spiritual life may be progressive for many converts. We may first discover Jesus as our Savior, then slowly grasp his lordship over our life. Others see this two-part healing as a dramatization of the disciples’ understanding of Jesus. First they believed him to be the promised Messiah; then, after the Crucifixion and Resurrection, they more fully understood his work as the Son of God. The Bible text simply does not tell us about Jesus’ intentions beyond healing the man. So we are left with several questions.

• We don’t know why Jesus took the man by the hand personally. Another disciple could have done it. The blind man couldn’t follow on his own, so Jesus led him. This teaches us servanthood because Jesus wasn’t too proud to do it himself.

• We don’t know why Jesus took the man out of the village. It may have been to establish a more personal one-to-one relationship with him or to overcome any passivity the man may have had to his ailment.

• We don’t know why Jesus put saliva, or spit, on the man’s eyes. We do know that spittle was commonly recognized in these times as having healing properties.

• We don’t know why Jesus did the healing in two stages. It may have been because of the man’s lack of faith or to show that spiritual sight may be incomplete but can be restored gradually and fully by faith. We do know that Jesus was not faltering in his power or daunted by the man’s blindness. He healed the man fully. God is sovereign even if people and the church are slow to perceive it.

As in the miracle of healing the deaf man (7:32–35), Jesus communicated with the blind man by his actions. Touch would be especially meaningful to a blind person. The blind man knew Jesus was doing something as he felt Jesus touch his eyes with the spittle. Jesus removed his hands and asked what the man could see.

8:24 And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” In answer to Jesus’ question, the man replied that he saw people (probably the disciples and the people who brought him), but they were blurry, like trees. If the man had been blind from birth, he had never seen trees, but he knew the shapes from having touched them. This may suggest that all the technical apparatus for sight was in place by this stage, but the man’s mental categories—cognitive and interpretive—were lacking.

The incomplete healing was not an indication of Jesus’ inability to heal thoroughly the first time. Instead, it was a vivid teaching for the disciples. Sight was there, but it was not complete. The disciples too had spiritual sight, but it was far from complete. Jesus had rebuked the disciples for their lack of sight, but there was hope for them, just as there would be complete healing for this man.

8:25 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. After Jesus touched the man a second time, the man’s sight was perfectly restored. Perhaps Jesus healed the man gradually to build his faith so that he would believe Jesus for perfect vision. Jesus’ question, “Can you see anything?” (8:23) indicates that Jesus sensed that something was wrong. Jesus’ words also may have been an encouragement for the man to believe with his whole heart in order to receive complete healing.

Scholars may ponder why Jesus did this miracle in two stages, but we would do well to consider this miracle from another angle. Mark gave a matter-of-fact record of this unusual healing, sharing the honesty and reliability of his account. We are not left to doubt that Jesus could heal; rather, we know that Jesus heals completely all the time.

8:26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village.” Jesus told the blind man to return home, but not to go into town or tell anyone about what had happened. Obviously people were going to find out, but Jesus did not want an immediate outpouring of sick people coming to him for healing. This gave Jesus time to move away from the area before the miracle was discovered. Jesus always had compassion on people in need, but he never lost sight of the fact that his mission was first and foremost the healing of people’s souls. He did not want to be known as merely a healer or miracle worker. Jesus had asked others to be silent about their healings as well (see 1:44; 5:43; 7:36).