Symbolic Healing
...of the Blind Man in Bethsaida
A Reflection on Mark 8:22-26
This particular miracle is unique in Mark's gospel because it's the only healing that happens in two stages. Jesus first puts saliva on the man's eyes and lays hands on him, after which the man sees people "like trees walking around." Only after Jesus lays hands on him a second time does the man's sight become fully clear.
This two-stage healing carries rich symbolic meaning. It can be seen as a metaphor for the gradual nature of spiritual understanding - how we often come to see and understand divine truth not in an instant, but in stages. The first touch gives partial sight, much like how our initial encounters with spiritual truth might be blurry or incomplete. The second touch brings complete clarity, representing deeper spiritual maturity and understanding.
The location is also significant - Bethsaida was where some of Jesus' disciples were from, including Philip, Andrew, and Peter. Yet despite Jesus performing miracles there, the town is later condemned for its lack of faith (Matthew 11:21). This context adds a layer of complexity to the story, suggesting that even witnessing miracles doesn't automatically lead to true spiritual sight or understanding.
There's also an intimate, personal aspect to this healing that's worth noting. Jesus takes the man outside the village, away from the crowd, to heal him privately. This detail might suggest that some of our most transformative spiritual experiences happen in private moments with God, away from the noise and pressures of public life.
The use of saliva is particularly interesting from a historical perspective. In the ancient world, saliva was believed to have healing properties, and there are other instances in Mark's gospel where Jesus uses similar physical means (like in Mark 7:33). This shows Jesus meeting people within their cultural understanding while transcending it through his divine power.
Finally, after the healing, Jesus tells the man not to go into the village. This command reflects a recurring theme in Mark's gospel - the "Messianic secret" where Jesus often tries to keep his miraculous works private, perhaps to prevent people from misunderstanding his mission as purely about physical healing rather than spiritual transformation.
In the larger context of Mark's gospel, this story sits between Jesus' frustration with the disciples' spiritual blindness (8:18) and Peter's confession of Jesus as the Messiah (8:29). This positioning could suggest that the story serves as a metaphor for the disciples' gradual journey from spiritual blindness to insight - a journey that many believers might relate to in their own spiritual development.
©2025 James Dacey Jr.
