From guestwriters

Who is this Jesus?

In those days the crowd being very many, and having nothing they might eat, Jesus having called his disciples, says to them,
2 I feel compassion for the crowd, for already they remain three days with me, and have nothing they might eat:
3 And if I loose them fasting to their house, they will be relaxed in the way: for some of them have come from far.
4 And his disciples answered him, Whence might anyone be able to satisfy these with loaves here in the lonely place?
5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.
6 And he enjoined to the crowd to recline upon the earth: and having taken the seven loaves, having returned thanks, he brake, and he gave to his disciples that they might set before; and they set before the crowd.
7 And they had a few little fishes: and having praised, he spake to set them also before.
8 And they ate, and were satisfied: and they took up the remains of the fragments, seven wicker-baskets.
9 And they eating were about four thousand: and he loosed them.
10 And quickly having gone into the ship with his disciples, he came into the parts of Dalmanutha.

…

14 And they forgot to take loaves, and had not but one loaf with them in the ship.
15 And he enjoined them, saying. See ye, look away from the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod.
16 And they reasoned with one another, saying, Because we have no loaves.

…

18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and remember ye not?

…22 And he comes to Bethsaida; and they bring to him one blind, and beseech him that he would touch him.
23 And having taken the hand of the blind, he led him forth without the town; and having spit into his eyes, having put hands upon him, he asked him if he saw any thing.
24 And having looked up, he said, I see men that I see as trees, walking.
25 Then again he put hands upon his eyes, and made him look up; and he was restored, and he saw all clearly.

…

27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, to the towns of Cæsarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples in the way, saying to them, Whom do men say me to be?
28 And they answered, John the Immerser: and some, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.
29 And he says to them, And whom do ye say me to be? And Peter, having answered, says to him, Thou art Christ.

…

31 And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be disapproved of by the elders, and the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise up.

The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (J. E. Smith, trans.; Mk 8:1–10, 14-16, 18, 22–25, 27-29, 31). (1876). American Publishing Company.

Mark 8:22–25

A helpful example of the book context, in addition to the immediate context, can transform our understanding of a text. This is provided by the miraculous healing of the blind man in Mark 8:22–25.

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 on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Questions immediately present themselves.

Why is this the only recorded miracle that Jesus performs in two stages?
Why does Jesus take the man out of the village so that only the disciples see the miracle?
Why is this miracle recorded only in Mark and none of the other Gospels?

Plenty of suggested answers have been offered, but only by paying attention to the wider context can we really understand.

Starting with the immediate context of Mark 8, we observe that the disciples have just witnessed Jesus’s feeding of the four thousand (8:1–10). They get into the boat with Jesus, and he warns them to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees” (Mark 8:15), which they mistakenly connect to the fact that they only have one loaf among them (8:14–16). Jesus rebukes them for their lack of spiritual perception. He asks, “Having eyes do you not see?” (Mark 8:18). They are still spiritually blind.

After the account of the miracle in Mark 8:22–25, the following context contains Jesus’s question,

“Who do you say that I am?”

and Peter’s answer,

“You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29).

At last the disciples’ spiritual eyes seem to be open. But not fully open! At once Jesus begins to teach them what sort of Christ (Messiah) he will be — one who suffers, is rejected, is killed, and after three days rises again (Mark 8:31). Following on the heels of his perceptive confession, Peter rebukes Jesus, refusing to accept a suffering Christ (Mark 8:32). At this point, the disciples do not yet see everything clearly. Their vision is impaired, like the blind man at the first stage of his healing.

Now let’s expand the context to the whole Gospel of Mark — the book context. Mark 1–8 focuses on the question,

“Who is this Jesus?”

It takes the disciples a long time to reach the right answer, but eventually Peter gets there on behalf of the other disciples (Mark 8:29). Their eyes are partially opened. In the rest of Mark’s Gospel, the question is “What sort of Messiah is Jesus?” The crucifixion provides the inescapable answer, which the disciples will not understand clearly until much later.

Thus, the healing of the blind man in two stages is actually a microcosm of the whole book. Mark records this miracle because it is an illustration of the central theme of the Gospel. Jesus takes the man and his disciples aside because the miracle is being played out spiritually.

Planting by Pastoring, A Vision for Starting a Healthy Church, Nathan Knight