“Again Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly.” – Mark 8:25
Twice. Jesus placed His hands on him twice before he was healed. Why? Did Jesus not have the power to do it right the first time? Did Jesus not get enough spit in His mouth before letting loose on him?! Why touch him a second time? What we see here is an instance of Mark subtly preparing us for what is about to follow. This man’s two-stage healing becomes a foreshadowing of the two-stage vision that the disciples will have of Jesus.
Stage 1: “You are the Messiah!” (Mark 8:29). Bingo! And yet, the disciples’ vision of “messiah” was as blurry as the blind man’s trees walking around (Mark 8:24). Jesus is the Messiah, but not the kind of Messiah they were expecting.
Stage 2: “It was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things” (Mark 8:31). A Suffering Messiah was not the expectation! Suffering with Him was not what they thought they were signing up for (Mark 8:34), and yet the clear vision of the Messiah was one who suffers in order to save. The clear vision for His disciples is that they would too.
Perhaps we all need to be touched by Jesus twice. Once to marvel at His healing power. Twice to see Him as the Resurrected Messiah calling His disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.
How many times has He touched you?
Think These Things 