“Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 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. And he looked up and said, ‘I see men like trees, walking.’ Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Then He sent him away to his house, saying, ‘Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.’” Mark 8:22-26.

The best way for you to approach this study is to read Mark chapters 7 and 8 if possible. That way you will be able to form your own conclusions about what is being laid out here.

There is also a similar incident to the one described above, in Mark 7:31-37 for those who read those chapters.

For those who do not have time to read right now here is a quick catch up of chapter 8 which is our main concern.

Chapter 8 begins with the feeding of the four thousand in the wilderness. The feeding of the five thousand happened before this and is recorded in Mark chapter 6 if you wish to read that account.

After Jesus had finished feeding the four thousand, He immediately got into a boat with His disciples and landed in the region of Dalmanutha.

“Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, ‘Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.” Mark 8:11-13.

As soon as Jesus arrived, these self-righteous Pharisees began to dispute with Him. The word dispute indicates that this was not an honest examination of the Lord’s credentials, but rather an attack.

By asking a sign from Him they were attempting to trip Him up since they had no intent of believing anything He said. Surely the feeding of four thousand people with only seven loaves of bread or the healing of so many folks before His arrival must have been known to them.

Consider this carefully, no amount of miracles, signs and wonders will sway the heart that is determined not to believe.

I see this over and over and over in the Scriptures. In Genesis four, God Himself spoke to Cain about his sin of murdering his brother, and still there was no repentance.

“Men willingly believe what they wish.” Julius Caesar 100-44 B.C.

Have you ever come close to the end of a difficult project and had something break, or find that you miscalculated somewhere? Did you stop and just sigh a deep sigh from the heart?

The Lord’s response was to sigh deeply within His spirit. How hard the human heart is, how unreasonably antagonistic; there are no words to sway them and no reason to argue, so He gives a simple response and leaves.

“Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” Mark 8:12b.

Leaving them, Jesus re-entered the boat with His disciples and set out for the other side. As they went along, He said to them:

“Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” Mark 8:15b.

Leaven’s function is similar to yeast that is used to make bread rise. It is always used as a symbol of evil. This is the meaning here. Jesus is warning the disciples to beware of the error of the self-righteous Pharisees and the worldly Herodians.

There has been a great deal of leaven introduced into the church over the centuries, and it is still being done today, through liberal theology, politically correct suppression of freedom of speech, and psychology, all of which can be called doctrines of demons.

This leavening is accelerating at a frantic pace today and will continue until the whole church is corrupted and becomes apostate.

Christ’s warning to the disciples applies even more so to pastors and Christians today. The smallest error should not be permitted in the church’s doctrine.

“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Galatians 5:9.

This brings us to the blind man who was healed at the beginning of this study.

“Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 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.” Mark 8:22-23.

Scriptures say of Jesus that all things came into being through Him, and apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being.

“He [Jesus Christ] was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:2-3.

It is consistently stated in Scripture that all things were made through Christ. Jesus Christ is eternal God the Son.

“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6-9.

Since we know these things to be true, why did it take two tries to heal the blind man? And if Jesus spoke and it stood fast, why did He have to spit in this man’s eyes?

Knowing the things said in Psalm 33 above, we can assume that the Lord did not have to go through all of these steps to heal the man. The best conclusion is that these extra things are symbolic of something.

This symbolism surely came out of the spiritual condition of Christ’s own disciples. Christians do not automatically become mature Christians when they accept Christ as their Savior.

It is through diligent study of the word of God that Christians grow in spiritual maturity. This growth will take as long or short a time as the individual will allow.

As you read through the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John you will see that this growth was also taking place in the disciples. Even in the presence of the living Word of God, Jesus Christ, their growth in faith and in Christ took a long time.

The things that Jesus did when He healed the blind man were not just for the benefit of the blind man, but an example to the disciples themselves, and to us.

Earlier when they had left the Pharisees and were sailing to another location, Jesus had said to them, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

The disciples thought Jesus was referring to the fact that they had not taken bread with them on the boat (they had one loaf).

“And they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘It is because we have no bread.’” Mark 8:16.

After He reminded them of the feeding of the five thousand, and of the four thousand, He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?” Mark 8:21b. Then they came to Bethsaida and the blind man.

“So He took the blind man by the hand [to lead him] and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes…” Mark 8:23a.

Returning to Psalm 33 we have this insight about the Lord.

“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” Psalm 33:6.

All of creation and healing come from the mouth of God; it is His word and His breath that sustains us.

As God the Son, this can be said of Jesus Christ. But this goes a bit further, words were indeed spoken, but the spittle is applied to blind eyes.

This spittle applied to blind eyes represents the Holy Spirit, who is part of the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit was sent forth from God to draw men to Jesus Christ and then to heal and indwell those who accepted Christ as their Savior.

But He could only indwell men and women after Christ died on the cross; in that sense the Holy Spirit came out of Jesus.

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:38-39.

It is the Holy Spirit who slowly opens men’s eyes and then shows them their need for Christ as their Savior.

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper [Holy Spirit] will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:7-14.

As the spit represented the Holy Spirit’s opening the eyes of the spiritually blind, so the disciples and we ourselves are being awakened either to the need for salvation or He is leading us into the deeper things of Christ.

“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. And he looked up and said, ‘I see men like trees, walking.’” Mark 8:23-24.

“I see men like trees, walking.” This was the condition of the disciples as they followed Jesus. He was as like a tree walking, so poor was their sight in the beginning, and so it is with all new Christians.

We are also told that Jesus put His hands on this man. In another place Jesus tells us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5b.

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…” Philippians 1:6.

This man is held by the hand, led by the hand, and finally healing hands are laid on him. In time they would receive him up in glory.

“Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Then He sent him away to his house, saying, ‘Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.’” Mark 8:25-26.

Jesus’ instructions here may not have been to keep the town from learning of this significant miracle, rather that would have been inevitable, but merely for the man to go home and think about the things that had happened to him.

It is also possible that he would have been subjected to the criticism of the Pharisees in the town, as was the man born blind in John chapter 9. Eventually he may have been confused by the leaven of the Pharisees.

Some have also put forth the following thoughts. Bethsaida may have already been filled with Christ rejecters. Bethsaida, which means, “place of nets”, would also be symbolic of the world, which indeed is a place of nets.

Another reason to send the man home would have been so he could tell his family of Jesus and if he could, consult the Scriptures about the Messiah.

The Apostle Paul tells us what happened after his own conversion to Christ on the road to Damascus.

“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.” Galatians 1:15-19.

Paul’s sojourn in Arabia was probably to study the Scriptures with the aid of the Holy Spirit who now dwelt in him. It is through the word of God which Paul already knew very well that he was able to preach Christ Jesus and Him crucified to the Gentiles.

Arabia and the Middle East would not be subjected to the horrors of Islam for another 600 years, so Paul’s time there may have been one of peaceful study.

This is sheer speculation but, is it possible that the man whom Christ healed of his blindness may have studied like Paul and have become a preacher of Christ in that area after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Is it possible for you or me to do the same with our lives?

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…” Ephesians 3:20.

God can do far more than we ask or think. All He needs is a willing vessel who desires to do His will.

Pharisees, Herodians, and Spittle taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 6-30-16, updated on 9-10-23.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.