Mark 8:22-26
22They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 23He 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?” 24And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”
In the beginning of the chapter, Jesus miraculously feeds another large crowd – This time four thousand people.
Then the Pharisees come and argue with Jesus, asking for a sign from heaven.
Then Jesus warned the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod. Jesus was talking about the Pharisees seeing and experiencing great powers of God that Jesus was performing, and yet not being able to believe that Jesus was sent by God. But the disciples misunderstand and think that Jesus was complaining about the fact that they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus reminds them about the two great feeding miracles that the disciples witnessed. He seemed to be a bit frustrated by the fact that although they had witnessed five thousand men (and their families) being fed with just five loaves of bread and two fish, when Jesus tells them that they were going to feed the four thousand people, the disciples thought this was not possible.
Then Jesus cures a blind man at Bethsaida.
After this, Mark writes about Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Messiah. But soon after, when Jesus tells them that He will be rejected by the religious leaders, suffer and be killed, and be resurrected three days later, Peter rebukes Him.
At first glance, the healing of the blind man seemed to have failed, since after Jesus laid hands him, the man was no longer blind, but could not see clearly. He could tell that there were people, but they looked like walking trees. So, Jesus lays His hands on the man’s eyes the second time, and now the man could see clearly.
The fact that Jesus had to lay hands on the man twice seemed to have bothered the other gospel writers, since they do not include this narrative at all. So, what was the reason that Mark included this narrative and placed it here – What can we glean from this?
Physically, most of us are in the stage of life where we feel good when upon finding out our age, a person is surprised because he or she thought we were much younger. But for our spiritual maturity, it would not be a positive thing if someone who observes us is surprised that we are not more Christ-like than we are, considering how long we have been Christians.
Physically, as time passes, we cannot help but keep growing older. However, spiritually, we do not automatically mature with the passage of time. Not only that, it is also possible to regress in our spiritual maturity.
In Galatians 5, Paul states that the flesh-filled life is the opposite of the Spirit-filled life. Among the works of the flesh, he lists strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions and envy. By contrast, he lists the fruit of the Spirit – Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
I have been a Christian for over fifty years now. Am I more loving, more joyful, etc.? I think I am, but fifty years’ worth more loving, more joyful? Do I still have things like jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions? Might be a little less, but not fifty years’ worth less.
In regard to our knowledge about our faith, Hebrews 5:12 keeps me grounded – “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food;”
There are things I can teach from memory – Basic guitar playing and basic photography. As far as Biblical knowledge, I often need to consult reference materials to dig below the surface.
For Spiritual maturity and Biblical knowledge, we all could be doing better. For Mark’s audience, it was a much more difficult time. When being a Christian could lead to arrest, torture and death, there were many more opportunities to distrust what they were taught and to give up their faith.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18 – “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
When Peter rebuked Jesus, what Jesus was telling them seemed like foolishness. Peter believed and declared that Jesus was the Messiah. Since Peter believed that the Messiah would establish His kingdom forever, it made to sense to him that Jesus would die. Coming back to life three days after being killed also made no sense, since Peter knew that once someone dies, he is dead – he does not come back to life.
Fast-forward to the second chapter of Acts, where on Pentecost, Peter stands before a crowd and preaches that Jesus, who was crucified and was resurrected on the third day, is the Messiah, and through Him, their sins can be forgiven.
Just like the blind man, when Peter encountered Jesus, he was no longer blind to God’s truth. The way he saw his life changed dramatically. However, like the blind man, Peter’s sight was not perfectly clear yet. Clear site did not come to Peter until after Jesus’ death and resurrection and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
For us too, the healing of our spiritual blindness can come in stages. When Jesus touches us, we see the world in a whole new way. But we may not see clearly what our roles are, and this is revealed to us in stages.
Same with our spiritual growth. It takes time and different faith experiences.
If we know that we are still lacking in the fruits of the Spirit, we should pray that we would be more open to the Spirit’s guidance and less to our own desires. But also know that the Lord will continue to work with us and will continue to cause us to grow spiritually, if we do not fight Him.
The blind man knew well of his blindness, wanted sight, and was given it in stages. Peter thought he saw things clearly, but he did not until much later. Both of these men should give us the hope that we too can continue to grow more like Christ.
(the above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano during our worship on August 9, 2026.)
Japanese Congregational Church 