Bethsaida in New Testament tradition By YADIN ROMAN IN FOCUS "I see men. But they look like trees walking." Thus says the blind man of Bethsaida as he is healed by Jesus in (Mark 8:22-26) in one of the most moving and unique miracles in the Gospels - and one that puts this city of the disciples in the Biblical spotlight. The story is unique because of the two-stage healing process that the man undergoes; it is moving because of the compassion that flows through the narrative. The story begins when the blind man is led to Jesus - yet with little idea of where he is or what is about to happen to him. He is, after all, blind. Jesus takes him by the hand and leads him out of Bethsaida. The blind man can only follow, placing his trust in the person who is leading him, in his world of darkness, to an unfamiliar place. And then Jesus spits on the man's eyes and lays his hands upon him. He asks the man if he sees anything, and the blind man raises his eyes - as blind men do - and says, "I see men. But they look like trees walking." Jesus again lays his hands on the blind man's eyes. The blind man concentrates, stares intently, and his vision is restored: "...and he saw everything clearly." And Jesus sends him home, saying: "Do not even enter the village." How many lessons can there be in one miracle? There are the parallels between the gradual process of healing and the gradual process of faith. There is the need to take those who cannot see by the hand and lead them to a place where they can be cured; There is the importance of direct physical contact with the needy. Finally, Jesus' final words to the man are a powerful lesson in the ancient Jewish morality of giving charity in secret, for the purpose genuine healing. Biblical scholars, of course, question the authenticity of the story. Did it really happen? Does the Gospel of Mark, the earliest of the Gospels, relate memories of an actual event? Is it possible that this strange miracle, with its double process and the spitting on the eyes, sounded so strange to Matthew and Luke that they both omitted it from their Gospels? Examining this miracle more carefully, it seems that the healing at Bethsaida contains strong signs of a historical tradition on the one hand and creativity on the part of the early church on the other. The two-stage healing of a "blind man from Bethsaida" also parallels the two-phase understanding of the spiritual vision of Jesus by his most important disciple - Peter, the man from Bethsaida. Peter's first stage of newfound Œsight' was his confession at Caesarea Philippi that Jesus was the Messiah (Mark 8:27-30). The second and final stage was the full vision of Jesus as the Son of Man and Son of God, a vision realied only by Jesus's subsequent crucifixion and resurrection. It could even be that Matthew and Luke omitted the story not because they were uncomfortable with it strangeness, but because they rejected Mark's theological agenda with its heavy emphasis on the increasing blindness of the disciples to the mystery of Jesus' true nature. The miracle of the blind man of Bethsaida has some embarrassing features. Spitting on the eyes, healing in stages, asking the recipient of the cure if the miracle was working. But it is exactly these features that make it even more credible. Because the tradition was so strong and because it was perceived as an actual event from the life of Jesus, the story, with all its embarrassing details, could not have been omitted from the Gospels. The journey to Caesarea Philippi: "Who Do People Say the Son of Man Is?" Banias and Caesarea Philippi of the Roman period Jesus' Mission to the Golan: Feeding the Multitudes and healing the Gentiles Tel Hadar: Identifying the site of the feeding of the multitudes The Golan Heights and Sea of Galilee: Syria's Holy Land claims Bethsaida - A Biblical tradition comes alive again Bethsaida in New Testament tradition More QuickTime VR Panoramic Views Back to Index - Digital Holyland Back to Main © Copyright - Eretz Magazine