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Verse

Mark 8:25

ESV Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
NIV 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.
NASB Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.
CSB Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly.
NLT Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly.
KJV After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
NKJV Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

What does Mark 8:25 mean?

Giving hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute, and sight to the blind was a Messianic expectation (Psalm 146:8; Isaiah 29:18; 35:5–6). This is not the first time Jesus had healed the blind. When John the Baptist was still alive, he sent his disciples to Jesus who told them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear…" (Matthew 11:4–5).

"Clearly" is from the Greek word telaugos and actually means "at a distance." It may mean that Jesus' first effort made the man near-sighted and the second brought his full vision back. That would explain why he thought the people were walking trees (Mark 8:24).

If so, the man's healing provides an even acuter metaphor of the disciples' spiritual maturity. Even as they are about to affirm Jesus as the Jewish Messiah (Mark 8:29), their vision is near-sighted. They see Jesus, His teaching, and His miracles up close, and they know the Messiah will deliver the Jews from their enemies and establish them as a powerful sovereign nation again, as the blind man must know there are mountains nearby. But in between, Jesus looks like a tree, walking. Soon, the disciples' vision will be healed, and they will see "'the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again'" (Mark 8:31).
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