29

Spiritual Blindness
(Mark 8:11–26)

The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side. And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to Him, “Seven.” And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?” And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.” Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” (8:11–26)

Since the fall of Adam and Eve into sin (Gen. 3:6–19), every human being has been born spiritually blind (cf. Rom. 1:21; 3:23). The eyes of their hearts are clouded by sin (cf. Eph. 4:17–18) and darkened by Satan (cf. 2 Cor. 4:3–4), so that they naturally love the darkness and hate the light (John 3:19–20). Unable to comprehend truth (1 Cor. 2:14), they stumble through life groping for answers (cf. Acts 17:27) as they wander in moral and spiritual confusion (Ps. 82:5; Prov. 4:19).

For some, this blindness is temporary. By God’s grace, their minds are illuminated by the Holy Spirit to see the light of the gospel and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ in saving faith (cf. Acts 26:18; 1 John 2:8). As Jesus Himself explained, “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness” (John 12:46; cf. John 1:9; 8:12; 9:5). The reception of such spiritual sight requires a supernatural work of God (cf. Col. 1:13). The apostle Paul compared it to the miracle of creation: “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). As new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), believers are given the mind of Christ by which they can understand and appropriate spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:10–16; Eph. 5:8; 1 Thess. 5:5). Such understanding is only possible because the eyes of their hearts have been enlightened (cf. Eph. 1:18).

For many others, their blindness is permanent and eternal. Refusing to embrace the Lord Jesus in saving faith, they remain in the total darkness of sinful rebellion and unbelief (cf. John 1:4–5; 1 John 2:9). Though they may be externally religious, in reality they are spiritually ignorant and self-deceived (cf. John 12:35). The Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day, for example, considered themselves to be the most enlightened of all people (cf. John 9:41). Yet, the Lord condemned them as “blind leaders of the blind” (Matt. 15:14 KJV). Though they had been given the Old Testament Scriptures and the biblical covenants, their spiritual blindness was so acute that they refused to receive their own Messiah (John 1:11).

When sinners persist in rejecting the truth, there comes a point when God gives them over to the consequences of their unbelief (Rom. 1:24, 28–32). They are thus confirmed in their blindness as an act of divine judgment, and the truth is hidden from them (cf. Mark 4:12). Jesus referred to this form of blindness when He wept over Jerusalem, “saying, ‘If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:41–42). Because the religious leaders would not repent but continually hardened their hearts instead, they crossed a line past which they could not repent (cf. Mark 3:28–30). Thus, judgment became inevitable (cf. Luke 19:43–44; John 3:18).

This section (Mark 8:11–26) illustrates the difference between those who are permanently blind and those whose blindness is only temporary. On the one hand, the Pharisees’ unwillingness to receive the truth signified a terminal condition with everlastingly devastating consequences. On the other hand, Jesus’ disciples eagerly desired to embrace the truth. Though they sometimes struggled to comprehend spiritual realities, their lack of clarity was only temporary. Finally, by healing a blind man, Jesus provided a vivid illustration of temporary blindness and spiritual sight.

THE PERMANENT BLINDNESS OF THE PHARISEES

The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” (8:11–12)

After spending an extended time with His disciples in Gentile territory, traveling from Tyre (7:24–30) to Sidon (7:31) to the Decapolis (7:31–8:9), Jesus returned to the Jewish region of Galilee (8:10). Having arrived in Dalmanutha in the region of Magadan (Matt. 15:39), located somewhere along the western shore of the lake not far from Capernaum, the Lord was soon confronted by a hostile group of Pharisees. Motivated by spite and malice, their only interest in Jesus was to discredit Him and plot His murder. Their menacing attitude stood in stark contrast to that of the Gentiles, who had welcomed Jesus and praised God because of Him (Matt. 15:31; Mark 7:37).

In their confrontation with Jesus, the Pharisees exhibited three characteristics of those with permanent spiritual blindness. First, they found common ground in their hatred for the Light. According to the parallel passage in Matthew 16:1, the Pharisees who came out to meet Jesus were accompanied by a group of Sadducees. Under normal circumstances, the Pharisees and Sadducees were bitter rivals (cf. Acts 23:6–10). The Pharisees were fastidious legalists who sought to separate themselves from any form of moral or cultural defilement. Zealous to protect institutional Judaism from Greek influence, they elevated rabbinic traditions to a place of equal authority with Scripture (cf. Mark 7:8, 13). (For more on the Pharisees, see chapter 7 in this volume.) The Sadducees, by contrast, had no regard for the oral traditions of the Pharisees. Though they paid lip service to the Torah, they denied key doctrines like the existence of angels, the resurrection of the body, and the immortality of the soul (cf. Mark 12:18; Acts 4:1–2; 23:8). Generally aristocratic, the Sadducees (many of whom were priests—cf. Acts 4:1; 5:17) were the guardians of temple policies and operations, including lucrative (and corrupt) practices like money changing and the sale of sacrificial animals (cf. Mark 11:15–19; John 2:14–17). Despite their significant animosity toward each other, the Pharisees and Sadducees were united by their common rejection of the Savior.

Fueled by a mutual hatred for Jesus, representatives from both parties began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven. A popular Jewish superstition alleged that demons could mimic earthly miracles (like the signs performed by the magicians in Pharaoh’s court; Ex. 7:11–12, 22), but only God could work wonders in the sky. The religious leaders could not deny that Jesus performed miracles on earth, but they insisted that He did so through the power of Satan (cf. Mark 3:22). Thus, if Jesus were unable to perform a miraculous sign in the heavens, it would bolster their claim to the people that He was not empowered by God.

Clearly, making the demand for a sign from heaven was nothing more than setting a trap, intended to test Jesus in the hopes that He would fail and be discredited. As it was, Jesus had already provided ample evidence to demonstrate His divine power (including heavenly signs—cf. Mark 1:9–11; 4:39–41), but they stubbornly refused to believe in Him. The religious leaders clearly did not need to receive more proof by seeing another miracle; even if Jesus accommodated their request, their unbelief would have remained unchanged (cf. John 12:37–40). Among the Pharisees who interacted with Jesus, Nicodemus is the only recorded example of one whose salvation faith began to come to life when he recognized the self-evident truth that Jesus’ power was divine. As he said to Christ, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (John 3:2). Yet, most of the religious leaders rejected Jesus anyway. They did not recognize that Jesus, the incarnate Son of God standing in their midst, was Himself the ultimate sign from heaven (cf. John 8:23).

On this and other occasions, the religious leaders exhibited a second characteristic of permanent spiritual blindness: they responded to additional light with more intense rejection. The Pharisees and Sadducees were no different than Pharaoh who, with each sign that Moses performed, hardened his heart even more (Ex. 8:32; 9:12, etc.). Rather than responding in faith to the light of the Savior, they retreated even farther into the darkness. Jesus responded emotionally to their resolute faithlessness by sighing deeply in His spirit. A simple form of this same verb is found in Mark 7:34, where Jesus sighed in response to the suffering of a deaf man. Here, the compound form expresses even stronger emotion. The willful blindness of the religious leaders broke the Lord’s heart, later causing Him to weep over the people of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41).

Jesus rebuked their inexcusable unbelief with a condemning question. He said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign?” Looking beyond just the Pharisees and Sadducees who stood before Him, the Lord indicted the entire generation of Israelites who followed their apostate teaching (cf. Matt. 16:4). Like their ancestors who fell into apostasy (cf. Deut. 32:20; Judg. 2:10–11) and persecuted the prophets (cf. Matt. 23:29–36), the Jews of Jesus’ day proved similarly faithless. Their willful rejection was such that no sign would convince them to believe. When confronted by the light, they ran deeper into the shrouded gloom of their self-righteous traditions. There was therefore no reason for Jesus to perform another miracle, since it would have only compounded their guilt. The permanence of their blindness was such that Jesus issued an unalterable verdict: Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation. The Lord would not oblige the wicked demands of hard-hearted unbelievers.

The parallel passage in Matthew 16:1–5 expands on Mark’s account:

Because the Pharisees and Sadducees insisted on seeing a sign in the sky, Jesus used an illustration involving the heavens to expose their folly. Their method of predicting the weather by looking to the color of the sky was primitive and crude. Yet, ironically, they were better meteorologists than theologians. They could recognize a coming storm from something as subtle as a ruddy morning hue, but they failed to recognize the coming of the Messiah in spite of the abundant evidence that was right in front of them. If the countless miracles Jesus had already performed could not convince them, nothing else would (cf. John 5:36; 10:37–38). Jesus’ reference to the sign of Jonah referred to His death and resurrection (cf. Matt. 12:39–40), the ultimate testimony to His power and His victory over sin, death, and Satan. Sadly, even that would be knowingly rejected by the religious leaders, who bribed the Roman soldiers, instructing them to spread lies about what actually took place at the tomb (cf. Matt. 28:11–15).

In their hard-hearted stubbornness, the religious leaders illustrated a third characteristic of permanent spiritual blindness: persistent rejection of the light inevitably brings eternal darkness. The beginning of verse 13 spells out the terminal consequences of their willful unbelief: Jesus left them (cf. Matt. 16:4). Knowing the Pharisees and Sadducees would not believe, He abandoned them to their own self-righteous delusions (cf. Rom. 1:24, 26, 28). They were blind men (Matt. 23:17, 19) and blind guides (v. 24) leading their followers to hell by knowingly refusing to believe (cf. Matt. 23:15). The consequences of their terminal blindness were forever irreversible. They had long since rejected the Messiah (cf. Mark 3:6, 22), and He had consequently rejected them. The Bible appropriately describes hell as “outer darkness” (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30) because it is a place of everlasting spiritual blindness. The tragic reality is that the whole world is filled with people who, like these apostate religious leaders, have rejected the light. Because they love the darkness of their sin (John 3:19), they will one day be cast into the darkness of everlasting punishment.

That Jesus left the Pharisees and Sadducees signified more than a temporary separation. This exchange constituted Jesus’ final conflict with the religious leaders in Galilee. Once again, they tried to put Him to a test He would fail (cf. Deut. 6:16). And once again, they failed and He rebuked them for their hard-hearted unbelief. From this point forward, the Lord’s miracles, like His parables, would primarily be intended for His disciples, and not for the religious leaders or even the crowds. Moreover, His public ministry in Galilee had come to its end. When He later made a trip through the region, He did so secretly (cf. Mark 9:30). The populace of Galilee had been given ample opportunity to repent and believe, but they did not (cf. Matt. 11:20–24). Having been finally rejected by them, Jesus shifted His focus to Judea and Jerusalem, and ultimately the cross.

THE TEMPORARY BLINDNESS OF THE DISCIPLES

Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side. And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to Him, “Seven.” And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?” (8:13–21)

In contrast to the Jewish religious leaders and the apostate generation they represented, a small remnant of true believers saw the light and followed it (cf. John 1:12). That group, known as the disciples (from the Greek word mathētēs, meaning “learners”), included the twelve apostles and other loyal followers of Jesus. Unlike the Pharisees, who loved the darkness, the disciples loved the light and sought the truth. They willingly rejected the blind religious leaders in order to follow Jesus (cf. Mark 10:28), because they knew Him to be the Light of the World (cf. Mark 8:29; John 6:69).

Leaving the incorrigible Pharisees and Sadducees behind, Jesus and His disciples again embarked and went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, crossing the lake to its northeastern shore. Jesus’ departure symbolized a tragic reality: the religious leaders of Galilee had rejected the light, and darkness settled in because the light was gone. But the Lord was accompanied by His disciples, those who had embraced Him in saving faith. Though they had once been spiritually blind like the Pharisees, the veil over their hearts had been lifted by divine regeneration so that they could believe (cf. 2 Cor. 3:15–18). Even so, there were still times when the disciples failed to understand the things Jesus taught them (cf. Mark 9:32; Luke 2:50; 9:45; John 12:16; 14:9; 20:9). Unlike the religious leaders, their lack of clarity about spiritual matters was only temporary.

On this occasion, the disciples demonstrated their obtuseness when, in spite of the significant interchange that had just occurred, they became preoccupied with the mundane. As they traveled across the lake, growing increasingly hungry, they realized they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. The northeastern shores near Bethsaida were less populated and fairly remote (cf. Mark 6:35), and the disciples wondered where they would eat their next meal. Though they had been so long with Jesus, their thinking still operated primarily on a natural level.

Jesus, however, was focused on matters of eternal significance. In light of His confrontation with the religious leaders, there were important lessons the disciples needed to learn. And so, ignoring their hunger, He was giving orders to them. The imperfect tense of the verb giving orders (from the Greek word diastellomai, meaning “to charge” or “to command”) indicates that this emphatic instruction from Christ was repeated and ongoing. The Lord’s insistent warning to the disciples was, Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. The parallel account in Matthew 16:6 notes that Jesus’ admonition also included the leaven of the Sadducees. Leaven, or yeast, is used in Scripture to illustrate influence. Because a small amount of yeast is able to permeate a relatively large amount of dough and cause it to rise, leaven served as a fitting illustration of spiritual influences that produce dramatic effects—whether positive (cf. Matt. 13:33; Luke 13:21) or negative, as in this passage.

The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians comprised three influential parties in first-century Israel. They were very divergent from each other, yet all three hated Jesus (cf. Matt. 16:1; Mark 3:6; John 11:47–53), and each posed a serious spiritual threat to the disciples. The leaven of the Pharisees included both their doctrinal errors and personal hypocrisy (cf. Luke 12:1). Their system of works-righteousness and superficial externalism produced spiritual frauds who looked good on the outside but inwardly were full of death and uncleanness (cf. Matt. 23:27). The leaven of the Sadducees consisted of pragmatism, rationalism, and materialism. Their denial of key doctrinal truths, like the resurrection of the body and the immortality of the soul, and their willingness to use the temple to exploit people financially, made their teachings as dangerous as those of the Pharisees (cf. Matt. 16:12). The leaven of Herod referred to the depraved, immoral behavior that characterized Herod Antipas and all who emulated him (cf. Mark 6:21–28). The Herodians were secularists who openly welcomed the immoral influences of Roman culture. But that kind of worldliness had no place among the followers of Christ (cf. 1 John 2:15–17). Thus, Jesus’ admonition provided a somber warning against the ever-present temptations of legalism, hypocrisy, rationalism, materialism, immorality, and worldliness.

Incredibly, the disciples responded to Jesus’ instruction by thinking only about physical food. The Lord had been using figurative language to warn them about destructive spiritual influences, but they thought He was talking about literal yeast (cf. Matt. 16:12). With dinner on their minds, they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. Though the cross was less than a year away, Jesus’ followers were still more concerned about physical realities than spiritual truths. Consequently, they completely missed the significance of the Lord’s instruction. As on other occasions, their response demonstrated the weakness of their faith (cf. Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31). Though their eyes had been opened to embrace the truth of the gospel, some elements of spiritual dullness clearly remained. Aware of this, the Lord exhibited patience in His response to the disciples, although He was undoubtedly grieved by their thickheadedness. Jesus said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread?” The nature of their conversation evidenced a level of immaturity, lack of understanding, and weak faith.

Earlier, when Jesus explained that He would teach the multitudes in parables, He told His disciples, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven” (Mark 4:11–12). On this occasion, Jesus turned those statements into rhetorical questions that formed a mild rebuke for the disciples: Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? The disciples were not in the same category as the unbelieving crowds. They had been given spiritual understanding and their hearts were not hard. Thus there was no excuse for their utter lack of perception.

The last thing the disciples needed to worry about was where to find food. On two recent occasions, they had witnessed Jesus miraculously create meals for thousands of people (Mark 6:33–44; 8:1–10). In light of His power, they had no reason to be anxious about what they would eat. Jesus reminded them of this truth by further asking them, “And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to Him, “Seven.” Because they were in the presence of the Creator, there was obviously no need to be distracted by a lack of food. Their focus needed to be on the vital spiritual lessons Jesus was teaching. Graciously yet firmly, the Lord moved His disciples toward divine truth. After making it clear that He was not talking about literal leaven, He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?” Matthew 16:12 indicates that they finally did.

Though the disciples exhibited confusion on this occasion, their lack of spiritual understanding was not permanent like that of the Pharisees and Sadducees. A clear contrast can be seen between the two. The religious leaders found common ground in their hatred for Jesus; the disciples were united in their love for Him. The Pharisees and Sadducees reacted to additional light with greater rejection; the disciples responded with a deeper desire to learn more. The leaders’ darkness deepened, the disciples’ darkness dissipated. By persisting in their unbelief, the religious leaders were abandoned by Him and ultimately cast into everlasting hell. By embracing the Lord Jesus in saving faith, the disciples were embraced by Him and ultimately welcomed into eternal heaven.

Thus, in spite of the disciples’ weaknesses and shortcomings, the Lord was glad to teach them. Whereas the religious leaders were shut off from divine revelation due to their unbelief, Jesus’ followers (especially the Twelve) were the privileged recipients of His constant instruction. Even after His death and resurrection, the Lord continued to teach for forty days until He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:3). Though no longer physically present with them, He had already promised the apostles that He would continue to reveal truth to them through the Holy Spirit. On the night before His death, He told them, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:26). He later added,

That revelation, given by Christ to the apostles through the Holy Spirit (e.g., “the apostles’ teaching” in Acts 2:42), is preserved for every generation of believers in the writings of the New Testament.

Though the Lord has not given new revelation since the close of the New Testament canon and the passing of the apostolic age, believers have been given the complete Scripture, the Word of Christ (Col. 3:16), empowered and illuminated by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14–16; cf. Ps. 119:18). Divine revelation in the Scripture is all that they need for life and godliness (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:2–3). As believers immerse themselves in the truth of Scripture, they inevitably grow in sanctification (1 Peter 2:1–3) and Christlikeness (2 Cor. 3:18). It was the Spirit who initially opened their eyes to the truth, and it is the Spirit who continues to elucidate that same truth of God’s Word in their hearts (1 John 2:27). For those who know the Lord Jesus, any confusion they might have in this life is only temporary. One day they will enter the eternal light of heaven (cf. Rev. 21:23–25). As Paul expressed to the Corinthians, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12).

AN ILLUSTRATION OF TEMPORARY BLINDNESS

And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.” Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” (8:22–26)

After sailing across the lake, Jesus and the disciples arrived at their destination on the northeastern shore. They came to Bethsaida, the hometown of Peter, Andrew, Philip, and possibly Nathanael (cf. John 1:44–45). The town of Bethsaida was near the place where Jesus fed the five thousand men plus women and children (Mark 6:41–44), and it is likely that many of the local residents were fed in that meal. (For more on Bethsaida, see chapter 22 in the current volume.)

Word undoubtedly spread quickly when Jesus arrived, and people began coming to be healed by Him. Among them were the friends or relatives who brought a blind man to Jesus. According to Jewish sources, blindness was widespread in the ancient world (cf. Lev. 19:14; 21:18; Deut. 27:18; 28:29; 2 Sam. 5:6, 8; Job 29:15), and Jesus healed a number of blind men throughout His ministry (Matt. 9:27–31; 11:5; 12:22; 15:30–31; 20:30–34; 21:14; Mark 10:46–52; Luke 4:18; 18:35–42; John 9:1–12; cf. Isa. 42:7). Those who suffered from blindness were helpless and reduced to begging (cf. Mark 10:46). Additionally, like others with disabilities or debilitating diseases, they were considered cursed by God (cf. John 9:1–2). That kind of stigma made living with blindness doubly painful.

The friends or relatives who brought this man to Jesus implored Him to touch him. The Lord often healed people, even those whom the Jewish religious establishment considered untouchable, by touching them. When Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever, Jesus took her by the hand and raised her up (Mark 1:31). When a leper fell before Him, the Lord “stretched out His hand and touched him” in order to heal him (v. 40). According to Mark 3:10, “He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him.” In Mark 5:23, Jairus pleaded for his dying daughter, asking Jesus to come lay His hands on her. Along the way, a woman with an incurable hemorrhage was healed simply by touching the hem of Jesus’ robe (vv. 27–29). Even in unbelieving Nazareth, Jesus “laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them” (6:5). Mark later reports that “wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured” (6:56). The Lord’s willingness to touch the sick and suffering demonstrates His infinite loving-kindness. Unlike the aloof religious leaders of Israel, who avoided anything or anyone that might cause ceremonial defilement, Jesus did not keep His distance from hurting people. He reflected the compassion of God and demonstrated that merciful tenderheartedness through personal touch.

Jesus responded with divine mercy to this man’s predicament. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village. Graciously and tenderly, the Lord escorted him to a place where they could have more privacy. This is one of two miracles (along with the healing of the deaf man in 7:32–37) that are recorded only by Mark. Much like He had done earlier for the deaf man (7:33; cf. John 9:6), Jesus used saliva to symbolize the transfer of healing power from Him to the man. Obviously, the saliva was not some sort of magic potion. The Lord did not need any props to accomplish His miracles, but it symbolized His healing power for a blind man who could feel the spittle on his eyes.

After spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.” The verb translated looked up (from the Greek anablepō) is the same verb used elsewhere to describe those whom Jesus healed of blindness (cf. Mark 10:51–52; John 9:11, 15). The fact that the man saw men looking like trees, walking around implies that the things he saw were badly out of focus. He understood that he could see other people, but they were so fuzzy that they were indistinguishable from the trees. (The men whom he saw were probably the disciples, who had accompanied Jesus and the blind man out of Bethsaida.) Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. For a second time, Jesus touched the man’s eyes. This time, the man looked intently (from the Greek verb diaplebō, meaning “to see through” or “to see with a penetrating gaze”). The fog was gone. His vision was in perfect focus, so that he was able to see everything with sharp clarity.

Modern faith healers sometimes allege that this verse supports the notion of incomplete healings, but it clearly does not. None of the Lord’s healings ever resulted in partial, imperfect, or gradual restoration, nor was there ever a period of rehabilitation necessary. This miracle was no exception. In a matter of moments, the blind man went from debilitating blindness to perfect vision. Such is obviously a far cry from the fraudulence and failure that characterizes self-proclaimed healers today. (For a full critique of modern faith healing, see chapter 8 in John MacArthur, Strange Fire [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013].)

Jesus often instructed those He healed not to tell anyone about their experience. (For more on why the Lord did that, see chapter 18 in the current volume.) He did the same here. After restoring the man’s sight, Jesus sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” In this case, the Lord’s prohibition served as a confirmation of divine judgment. Like the apostate religious leaders, the residents of Bethsaida had no excuse for their unbelief. They had witnessed many miracles, yet they refused to repent (Matt. 11:20–24). Consequently, the Lord would issue a stinging rebuke against them:

By escorting the man outside of the town, and by denying him the opportunity to go back and proclaim what happened, Jesus confirmed the permanence of Bethsaida’s unbelief and His own judgment. Like the Pharisees whom Jesus confronted earlier (Mark 8:11–13), the residents of Bethsaida were sentenced to eternal spiritual blindness.

The account of this miracle is simple enough for a child to comprehend. Yet, the setting in which it is placed gives it significant meaning. It is no coincidence that the healing of a physically blind man immediately followed the demonstration of permanent spiritual blindness by the religious leaders (8:11–13) and temporary spiritual blindness by the disciples (8:14–21).

This was a private miracle performed by Jesus for His disciples, and it underscored a number of important truths for them. First, it served as a confirmation of Jesus’ deity, since only divine power could open the eyes of the blind (cf. Ps. 146:8). In the very next section of Mark, perhaps thinking back on this miracle, Peter rightly confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matt. 16:16; cf. Mark 8:29). Second, it provided the disciples with a glimpse of the future messianic kingdom, when Christ will reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years (cf. Rev. 20:1–6). During that time, death and disease will be greatly reduced, including maladies like blindness (cf. Isa. 29:18; 35:5). Third, it marked a turning point in Jesus’ ministry. The Lord’s public ministry in Galilee was over, and His focus was on training His disciples. From this point forward, with the cross only months away, Jesus began to speak plainly to the Twelve about His coming death (cf. Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:32).

Finally, this miracle served as an illustration for the disciples of temporary spiritual blindness. Spiritually speaking, they had once been like that blind man. Having been raised in traditional Judaism, they had been taught to follow the guidance of the blind Pharisees and scribes (Matt. 23:16). Even with the light of Old Testament Scripture (cf. Ps. 119:105), and the advantages inherent in being part of God’s chosen nation (cf. Rom. 3:2; 9:4–5), their understanding of spiritual truth had been hopelessly blurred by centuries of rabbinic tradition and religious hypocrisy. All of that changed when they met the Savior. His saving touch removed the veil of darkness that once shrouded their unbelieving hearts (cf. 2 Cor. 3:14–15). In an act of infinite compassion, the Lord Jesus miraculously gave them eyes of faith, as He does for every sinner whom He saves, so that they could clearly apprehend truth for the first time. He is, as the apostle John describes Him, “the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man” (John 1:9).