And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man, and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the village; and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands upon him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" And he looked up and said, "I see men; but they look like trees, walking." Then again he laid his hands upon his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and saw everything clearly. And he sent him away to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village."- St. Mark 8:22-26
Blindness, in the time of Jesus, and at that time in history especially, was not uncommon. In many cases it probably was caused by a combination of genetics, the glaring sunlight, and a general lack of hygiene. This particular incident is told only in St. Mark’s Gospel, and there are some very interesting things contained in this event.
As is frequently seen in the interaction that our Lord has with people in need is the great consideration shown by Him to the individual. Jesus took him out of the crowd and out of the village, so that they could be alone. Why? Remember that this man apparently had been born blind, and if he had been suddenly given back his sight in the midst of a large crowd of people, there would have come into his eyes suddenly hundreds of people and things, dazzling colors, sights he never could have imagined, and he would have been completely bewildered. Jesus knew it would be far better if he could be taken to a place where this would be less dramatic or traumatic.
And as was His usual practice, Jesus used methods that the individual could understand. Those in the ancient world believed in the healing power of spittle, and this belief isn’t so strange, when we think about it. Isn’t our first instinct, when we have a cut or burnt finger, to put it into our mouths? I can well remember from my childhood on the farm, when an animal was cut or scraped, the best medicine often seemed to be to let the animal lick its wounds, which tended to speed the healing. This would have been common knowledge, and so Jesus used a method of curing him which he could understand. He didn’t begin with words or methods which were foreign to ordinary people, and this is part of the greatness of Christ: His greatness can be comprehended by the simplest of minds.
There’s one thing in this miracle that is unique among all of Christ’s miracles, and that is that it’s the only one which can be said to have happened gradually. Usually, Christ’s miracles happened suddenly and completely. In this miracle the blind man’s sight came back in stages – perhaps in consideration of the man himself, to spare him the shock – but also for a symbolic reason, too. No one sees the totality of God’s truth all at once. Certainly, a conversion to God can be sudden, but the apprehension of God’s truth is always gradual, and rarely can we know or see all of God’s truth without effort and time and progression.