“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.”
Mark 8:25 (NIV)
Today is Remembrance Sunday.
Across the country, at war memorials in towns and villages, people will gather in the cold. Wreaths of poppies will be laid. At eleven o’clock there will be two minutes of silence to remember those who gave their lives in war. It is one of the few moments in British life when an entire nation stops to remember together.
Remembering matters. And as we gather for worship today, many of us will carry our own remembering: loved ones we have lost, and prayers we have prayed for a long time without seeing the answer. Perhaps you are wondering whether you can bring the same need to Jesus again.
You can. Today’s verse shows us why.
“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.”
Context first. This healing in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26) appears only in Mark’s Gospel, and it is unique among the miracles of Jesus. It happens in two stages. Some people bring a blind man and beg Jesus to touch him. Jesus takes him by the hand and leads him outside the village. He spits on the man’s eyes, puts His hands on him and asks, “Do you see anything?”
The man looks up and says, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Partial sight. Then comes today’s verse: “Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes.” The Greek word for “once more” is palin, again. And this time “he saw everything clearly.”
Why would Jesus heal in two stages? He had healed with a single word many times before. Mark’s arrangement gives us a strong clue.
Look at what comes immediately before this miracle. The disciples are in a boat, worried because they have forgotten to bring bread, even though they have just watched Jesus feed four thousand people. Jesus says to them, “Do you have eyes but fail to see?” (8:18). And look at what comes immediately after. Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah (8:29), seeing truly. But moments later, when Jesus speaks of His suffering and death, Peter rebukes Him (8:32). Peter is seeing, but not yet clearly. Like the man in Bethsaida, he sees people like trees walking around.
So Mark places this two-stage miracle right in the middle of a story about spiritual sight. The disciples will need a second touch too, and they will receive it after the cross and resurrection, when the risen Jesus opens their minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45).
Notice two beautiful things about Jesus in this passage.
First, He is patient. He does not leave the man halfway. He does not treat the partial result as failure, either His or the man’s. He simply touches him again.
Second, He invites honesty. When Jesus asks, “Do you see anything?”, the man tells the truth. He does not pretend that the healing is complete in order to please Jesus or the crowd. And Jesus welcomes that honesty and continues. There is room in the presence of Jesus to say, “Lord, I am not fully well yet.”
Now let me say clearly what we believe. As a Pentecostal church, we believe that Jesus still heals today, and that healing is provided for in His atoning work on the cross. Isaiah 53:4-5 says that “he took up our pain” and “by his wounds we are healed,” and Matthew applies that prophecy directly to Jesus’ healing ministry (Matthew 8:16-17). That is why we pray for the sick with faith, and why we expect God to move.
And let me guard this carefully. This story is not a formula. Jesus healed in many different ways, and He cannot be reduced to a technique. Nor is this story a reason to blame anyone whose healing has not yet come. Some of the most faithful believers in Scripture lived with illness: Paul left Trophimus sick in Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20) and urged Timothy to take something for his stomach (1 Timothy 5:23). Lack of healing is not proof of lack of faith. Final and complete healing awaits the resurrection, when God “will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4). Medical care is also part of God’s good provision. We pray in faith and we keep our doctor’s appointments.
So what does the “once more” mean for us? It means you are allowed to keep coming. You are allowed to ask again. Jesus told a parable “to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).
On this Remembrance Sunday, there is one more connection worth making. Jesus also gave us a way of remembering. On the night He was betrayed, He took bread and said, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). When we break bread together, we remember a sacrifice greater than any other: the One who gave His life not only for His friends but for His enemies, so that we might be reconciled to God. Our healing, our hope and our future all flow from that sacrifice.
So this Sunday, let your church family stand with you. Come forward for prayer if you need it. Keep receiving good care. We can believe God for healing and support one another patiently at the same time.
As we remember today, let us remember this too: Jesus has not changed. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). Bring your need to Him again. Come expectant.
Reflection
1. Is there a prayer you have stopped praying because you were discouraged by a partial answer or no answer? What would it look like to bring it to Jesus “once more”?
2. The blind man was honest with Jesus about what he could and could not see. Where do you need to be more honest with God about where you really are?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, on this Remembrance Sunday I thank You for those who gave their lives for others, and I remember before You the families who still grieve. Thank You that You gave Your life for me, and that by Your wounds I am healed. I bring my need to You again, honestly and expectantly. Thank You that You are patient, that You do not leave us halfway, and that You welcome me to ask once more. Strengthen my faith, surround me with Your people, and touch me again by Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Declaration
Jesus has not changed. I will bring my need to Him once more, with honesty and with expectation.
Pastor Ras
All Nations Community Church
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