Day 26: Jesus heals a blind man in two stages
In the Disney film Tangled, Rapunzel’s tears save Eugene’s life by healing the stab wound the horrible witch Gothel has inflicted on him. But in the original fairy tale, the prince falls from Rapunzel’s tower and is blinded by a thorn bush until Rapunzel’s tears drop in his eyes and heal them. Today, we’ll see Jesus heal a blind man, not with tears, but with His spit!
Where did Jesus and His disciples go in verse 22?
Three of Jesus’ disciples—Peter, Andrew, and Philip—came from Bethsaida (see John 1:44; 12:21).
What happened when Jesus arrived in Bethsaida (v. 22)?
Where did Jesus take the blind man (v. 23)?
What two things did Jesus do to the blind man (v. 23)?
What question did Jesus ask the man (v. 23)?
Usually, Jesus heals people in one go. But what does verse 24 tell us about the man’s eyesight after Jesus spat on his eyes and put His hands on him?
In our passage yesterday, Jesus asked His disciples, “Do you have eyes but fail to see?” How is the blind man in this moment a bit like Jesus’ disciples?
What did Jesus do next (v. 25)?
What happened to the man (v. 25)?
Mark tells us three times that the man could see again: “His eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” This guy could really, really, really see!
Who did the work to get the man from being able to see only a little to being able to see everything clearly?
We know that Jesus can heal people just with His words, even if they aren’t there, like He did with the Gentile woman’s daughter. But here, Jesus goes through multiple steps to heal the blind man—just like when Jesus healed the deaf man who could not speak properly by putting his fingers in his ears and putting spit on his mouth and saying, “Be opened.”
How does this two-stage miracle help us understand Jesus’ work in the lives of the disciples?
How does this miracle help us understand Jesus’ work in our own lives?
If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who came to die for your sins and be raised from the dead so you can live with Him forever, thank God for opening your eyes to see who Jesus is! If you’re not sure what you think of Jesus yet, ask God to open your eyes just like Jesus opened the eyes of the blind man.
You’ve made it to the end of Act 3, so you’re at the halfway mark of Mark! Well done!