Pastor Lowell Nelson teaches about Mark 8:22-26 "Stages of Sight" on 1/17/2026 for our Sunday Morning service.
Mark 8:22-26
22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 23 So 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 on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
24 And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."
25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. 26 Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."
This unique miracle of Jesus in the healing of the blind man from Bethsaida, a gentile region, has Jesus taking this man away from the town and the crowd. Jesus after spitting on the mans eyes and touching him, Jesus asked him what he saw. The man replies, “I see men like trees walking.” This suggests that this man actually knows what men should look like. He knows what trees look like. He knows what walking looks like. This man has at one time seen clearly. The man who had lost his sight now receives partial sight. On the second touch by Jesus the man sees clearly.
This Jesus, who created all thing by simply speaking a word does not fail at the His first attempt. This healing is designed to be a teaching, not a failure and a reattempt. Jesus heals instantly when and where He desires to, thus, this event is a teaching. It is an active parable.
Man, in the person of Adam , once saw God clearly. After the fall mankind’s sight was darkened. With Jesus, God’s first touch to humanity, came a partial sight. With the Holy Spirit, God’s second touch to humanity comes full sight. Man is not learning sight for the first time, He is recovering what was lost.
