Jesus Heals the Blind

There are so many miracles listed in the bible that I decided to break it up and do one post just for Jesus’ healings for the blind. The reason I’m fascinated by healings for the blind is because he seemed to approach these healings in several different ways. The first one I have listed is the simplest one.

Mark 10: 46-52 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

I say, good for him! It’s easy to tell someone to be quiet when you’re not the one that’s blind. This guy wanted to see. No one was going to shut him up. It continues…

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

Seeing his excitement gives me joy because I can only imagine how he must have felt.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Wow. It’s easy to understand why this guy followed Jesus. Jesus did for him what no one else could ever do. He had great joy and faith and didn’t want to leave him.

The next one is two blind men who are crying out to Jesus.

Matthew 20:32-34 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

In the first example, he just healed the man. In this example, he touched their eyes. Interesting.

We’ll move on to the next one.

John 9: 6-7 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “Wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So, the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

This guy can’t see that Jesus is using spit to make the mud, but I’m sure he can hear him and knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t care. He wants to see. I don’t know why he heals him this way but I don’t hear this guy complaining and Jesus has his reasons for healing this guy differently.

One more…

Mark 8: 22-25 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home saying, “Don’t go into the village.”

I have a couple questions about this story. Why did Jesus lead him outside the village? Was it too crowded? Were the Pharisees there and he just didn’t want to deal with them at that moment? Or maybe Jesus didn’t want the first thing he saw to be the city. Maybe he wanted him to see trees and the beauty of the countryside. I don’t know. Why did he not want him to go back into the village? Was it a dangerous time for the man to be there? Hmmm.

The next question is why did he heal this man in two stages? Was Jesus having an “off” day? Of course not! This is another question I may never have the answer to. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please leave them in the comments. I would love to hear them!

Won’t it be wonderful when we get to heaven and there’s no sorrow or suffering and everyone is healed of their infirmities?

That will be a glorious day. Until then, peace and joy!