The Miracle of Spit and Sight

The Miracle of Spit and Sight
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And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit in his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

Mark 8:22-26

Three Unanswered Questions

There are three questions that have bothered me about this story of healing. I have heard this passage preached before, but have never been satisfied with the answers I have heard explained. The purpose of this article will be to answer those questions and increase your faith to be healed. The questions are:

1. Why did Jesus have to lead this man out of town to heal him?

2. Why did Jesus spit on the eyes of the blind man?

3. Why did Jesus have to pray for the blind man twice?

Why Did Jesus Have to Lead This Man Out of Town?

The answer to this question is found in Matthew 11:20-23:

Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Jesus chose three Jewish cities and rebuked them for their unbelief. They had heard His preaching and saw His miracles yet had not repented, accepted Jesus as their Messiah and received salvation. He compared them to present and past Gentile cities filled with sexual perversion, idolatry, and heathenism. These were the present cities Tyre, Sidon, and the Old Testament city of Sodom. Jesus said these cities were better than the cities of Israel. If these cities had seen the same miracles and heard the same preaching, they would have repented. It will be more tolerable at the Great White Throne Judgment for the heathen Gentile cities than for Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum in Israel.

Think of this statement to the Jewish mind. Capernaum was the city from which Jesus based His preaching and healing ministry. Jesus said this city had been exalted to heaven and would be brought down to hell. They were exalted to heaven because this was the city Jesus used as the hub of His ministry in Galilee. This is the city where He had healed a paralyzed man who was let down through the roof of the synagogue. The same place where Peter’s mother-in-law and the leper who was cleansed were also healed. Capernaum was also where the centurion commended for his great faith lived. Also, the woman healed from the issue of blood and the daughter of Jairus who was raised from the dead were from Capernaum. It was also a city filled with religious cynicism and unbelief.

This can be seen in the raising up of Jairus’ daughter. (Matthew 9:23-26) When Jesus entered the room to raise the young girl from the dead, the mourners had already arrived and laughed Jesus to scorn for declaring the daughter was not dead but asleep. Jesus removed them from the room before He prayed. This was for Jairus’ sake. The father had already begun to fear when he heard the report of his daughter dying. (Mark 5:36) Jesus did not want this man surrounded by the unbelief so rampant in Capernaum. Jesus separated the man from the atmosphere of unbelief.

He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of town before healing him. This blind man lived in Bethsaida, one of the cities Jesus cursed for it’s unbelief. (Mark 8:22) Jesus separated the man from the unbelief of the city. Jesus did not need snide remarks and insults to be hurled at this man who was young in faith. He could heal in the midst of unbelief, but this man could not maintain his healing surrounded by the ridicule of the city in which he lived. This is why Jesus led the man out of town and healed him away from the view of the religious population of Bethsaida.

Notice the last thing Jesus told this man after his sight was restored. “Go back to your home, but do not go back into the city or tell anyone of your healing.” What a wonderful statement to anyone needing healing today who is bothered by the reports of unbelief given by friends, relatives, church or business associates. We can go home but we need to separate ourselves from the village of unbelief that could so easily sway us and cause us to lose our healing. Home is where we can be alone with God to pray and study His Word. God still asks us today, “Who’s report will you believe?” To believe His report, we must study it until it becomes a part of our lives. One day we will become strong enough not only live around unbelief, but expose it.

Why Did Jesus Spit On the Eyes of the Blind Man?

I don’t care how you examine spitting in the Bible, it is a great insult to spit on someone or to be spit upon. Anyone under the law who was spit upon had to wash themselves and their clothes and were considered unclean until the evening. (Leviticus 15:8) Other scriptures deal with the insult of being spit upon. (Numbers 12:14, Deuteronomy 25:9) Jesus was spit upon as a great insult before He was crucified. (Matthew 27:30)

This story of the blind man has been taught by many ministers who try to tell us the spit of Jesus was different--that somehow His spit was not a curse or insult, but a blessing. “This was creative spit. Jesus’
spit will heal you.” They miss the point of the miracle and the insult Jesus was giving. Jesus did not spit on the blind man; He spit on the blindness. This was the ultimate insult to sickness and disease. If Jesus could speak to sickness and rebuke it, then apparently sickness can hear. (Luke 4:39) If sickness and disease can hear, it can also be insulted. Jesus released all of His contempt for Satan and his works when He spit on the blindness.

Jesus spit on two others in the New Testament. He healed another blind man by spitting in the clay and rubbing it in the man’s eyes. (John 9:1-7) He also spit on the tongue of a man with a speech impediment. (Mark 7:33) Notice in each of these cases, Jesus spit on the diseased part of the body demonstrating He was spitting on the disease, not the person. Jesus did not always lay hands on the diseased part of the body. He touched Peter’s mother-in-law on the hand to heal her of a fever. He touched people, but He spit on the devil and his works.

Why Did Jesus Have to Pray for the Blind Man Twice?

Jesus spit on the blindness, but He laid hands on the man for healing. In fact, He laid hands on the man twice. After laying hands on this man once, his eyes opened partially and he told Jesus he saw men walking, but they were blurry, they looked like trees. This man was not born blind, but somewhere in his life, perhaps through an accident, he had become blind. He knew what men looked like. He also remembered what trees looked like. When Jesus laid hands on the man a second time, his vision was completely restored. He saw clearly.

This is the only case recorded in the word where Jesus laid hands on a person more than once. Why? Because of the unbelief of the city of Bethsaida where he resided. He was filled with doubt concerning the ability of Jesus to heal him. Being separated from the people of the city allowed him to open himself up, although with skepticism, to the healing power of God. Once he could see partially, he resolved himself to being healed completely. Jesus did not lay hands on this man twice to release more of God’s power. God's full power was in manifestation. Jesus prayed twice because the man was now more open to God's healing power.

Although this is the only case where Jesus prayed twice for a person, it is not the only case where a person was prayed for more than once. Jesus had to cast out the devil from a boy who had already been prayed for by the disciples. Jesus cast out the devil and then upbraided the disciples because of their failure due to the skepticism of the religious leaders and the pressure of the crowd. They had failed because of their unbelief. (Matthew 17:20)

There is nothing wrong with a person being prayed for in a prayer line for a second time if they know they have grown in faith since the first time they were prayed for. If they have conquered more of their doubts, taken into captivity more thoughts and human reasonings, they are welcomed by the Lord Jesus and not condemned when they ask for hands to be laid on them again.

If this is you, separate yourself from the pressure of people’s opinions and your own reasonings. Separate yourself from unbelief and get into God’s Word. Jesus will heal you by His power and grace if you will release a mustard seed amount of faith in His goodness.

Bob Yandian

If you like this article, check out Miracles In Matthew and his book, How Deep are the Stripes?, at the BYM Store.