Question concerning Mark 8:23-25?

Question

Here are the verses:

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.

When taken at face value, it would appear as though Jesus had to try twice to heal this man. When God heals....he heals completely and without error....we know this.
There are some things that need to be left up to mystery with scripture......God has not revealed everything to us and is under no obligation to do so.

But what are your general thoughts about these verses? The footnotes are no help here and neither is the Greek. I do not deny the power of Almighty God in any way....I'm just curious.

-Primo

Answer 1

I believe the problem was on the receiving end as in it took the blind man some time to get it/receive. I agree with you, the error was not on God's end.

I also wanted to tell you goodby and you inspire me. I am deleting my account. I was doing this for fun while I filled in for my husband's secretary but it has caused me more trouble than it is worth. Even though we vary on doctrine I have a great deal of respect for you. Maybe I will see you sometime in Florida. If not, I will definitely see you in Heaven. God bless!

Answer 2

Dear Primo,

I find Fish's answer very interesting.

My Reformation Study Bible (R.C. Sproul, General Editor) gives an interesting footnote for verse 26.

8:26 Do not even enter the village. Jesus had led him out of the town (v.23), so it is likely that the message of this miracle was intended for His disciples. They must realize that Jesus is gradually healing their spiritual sight. While in v.21 they still do not understand who Jesus is, they too, like the blind man (v.25), are about to see "clearly" the mystery of His person (vv.27-30).

Answer 3

Mark 8: 23 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. Mark 8: 24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. Mark 8: 25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. The Lord Jesus Christ was God manifested in the flesh. He didn't have to hear the blind man twice. The man never had saw anything before and when he open his eyes he through that men looked like tree. After the Lord placed His hand on him the second time he understood what he was seeing. In the age of grace we are living in today, God has reveals all the hidden mysteries to us today. If we would study His Word and rightly divide it the we can understand all mysteries. 2 Timothy 2: 7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. 2 Timothy 2: 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Answer 4

In todays technological advances "we" have the ability to "give" sight many years after someone has been born blind. Opthomologist say that they can repair the mechanics involved to "allow'" sight BUT there is an optice nerve that communicates with the brain "identifying" what it is "seeing"and this takes years to develop natually from birth.

As when a baby first sees its hand and is totally facinated with it. Anyway the man in the bible actually had 2 miracles performed on him, first Jesus repaired the mechanics and he could "see" but his brain didn't understand what it was seeing ie men as trees. So Jesus prayed again and repaired the brain communication also.
Some people who get their mechanics fixed take years of therapy to be able to use their sight because the optic nerve to the brain never developed and some Never are able to "see" even though their eyesight is "repaired".

Answer 5

Yes, God heals perfectly the first time. With that knowledge firmly planted in our minds, we know that there has to be something more to what He did.

A couple of notes from my mind's card catalog. One of the things Jesus was doing was needling the Pharisee's little pet traditions. They had a rule that you were to never use mud in healing rituals. This may be due to only God being able to do this based on Genesis 2:7.

So, what do we know about mud? Well, God created Adam from mud. It may be that the blind man's eyes needed to be completely recreated from scratch. They might have been all dried and shriveled. The first application got the iris, cones, rods and fluid in place with the optic nerve properly reattached, the second was for the focus system of the lens.

If we look at this as a spiritual analogy, when we first come to Christ, God does not immediately heal us into "instant mature Christians" but rather, we "see men as trees walking" and in time we see things clearly. I am working with someone right now who is just learning about her new sight in Christ. She is not seeing things very clearly right now, is a little confused regarding certain issues, but in time I know that she will see all things clearly.

Answer 6

I looked this up in my dictionary and the translation was ever so slightly different. Instead of saying "then his eyes were opened" it says "this time the man looked intently, his eyesight returned."

I had always, before looking at it again believed that this passage was about the blind man only being healed when he believed. Remember that the blind man had not come to Jesus but that his friends had taken him and it was his friends who begged Jesus to heal him. However this was only possible when the man had faith, when he began to believe and he looked intently.

I do believe that Jesus could have healed him the first time but as in other cases of Jesus healing people he says by your faith you are healed.

This is my interpretation but I should be interested to see others. Hope this helps :)

Answer 7

Mark
English: King James Version
Mark 6 [Commentary]

1. And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
2. And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
3. Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
4. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
5. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
6. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

faith is part of the healing equation.
I don't know for sure why it took two times to heal him.

Answer 8

"Perhaps he was moving him gradually back to full sight? Back in Jesus day, medical science wasn't what it is now, and to suddenly go from darkness to total clarity probably would have been very jolting. Jesus being the kind, gentle soul that he was, he probably wanted to ease the transition so as not to frighten the man. "

I like that answer.

Besides, it is like Jesus said in another part, what is harder, to cure someone or forgive them of sins?

And furthermore, the fact that this was not an "instant" cure kind of makes the writing more accurate. You would expect it to heal him the first time, but the author writes that Jesus spit twice.

Also an interesting way to heal him. Spit and mud. Why couldn't he have just said, "Have sight" and it be done? Maybe he wanted to use something as an instrument to heal him, like how he wants to use us as an instrument to tell people of the gospel instead of just announce it from heaven.

Answer 9

Isn't this an awesome verse? A favorite.
Jesus demonstrated He can heal with a word, strictly through faith, by touching His garment. Another time He spit on the ground and made mud. This time He spits in the man's eyes and touches him a second time - a gradual healing, if you will.

How men love to tell you exactly how God is going to work, and they put the limitations and the confines around God. "And God only works in this way, and only works in this dispensation, and only..." and they're only trying to limit God. And unfortunately, many times they do limit God's work in their own lives, as did the children of Israel because of their unbelief. As we are told in the Psalms, "And they limited the Holy One of Israel because of their unbelief." But Jesus is using a variety of ways: healing instantly, here a gradual healing, sometimes touching, sometimes not touching, just saying a word, sometimes going to visit, sometimes just saying it and saying, "Go home, and you'll find it's done." But not being confined to a pattern.

Answer 10

You are correct. There is more to this story. Jesus could speak and the blind were healed we have examples of this.
Man was made from clay could Jesus have been creating the eyes then giving them sight?

Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

This man was blind from birth others were blinded in their lives he may have never had the eyes necessary for sight. Is this a testimony that Jesus is God the creator?

Answer 11

My NIV says "this second laying on of hands is unique in jesus' healing ministry. Saw Everything clearly. Giving sight to the blind was another indication that Jesus was doing what God had promiced to do when he came to bring salvation see Mark 7:35.