During the time scholars refer to as His “year of opposition,” Jesus and His disciples traveled through the village of Bethsaida. By then, His reputation as a healer had spread throughout the region of Galilee.

Some of the local villagers approached Jesus and begged Him to heal one of their friends who was blind (Mark 8:22). Jesus graciously led the man outside the village by the hand. There, out of the public eye, He restored the man’s sight—but not immediately.

At first, Jesus spit on the man’s eyes and touched him. Then He asked the man if he could see (v.23). The man said he was starting to see, but his vision was still blurry. So again, Jesus touched the man’s eyes, and amazingly this time “he could see everything clearly” (v.25).

Have you ever wondered why this healing required two touches? Jesus could have healed the man completely with His first touch, so why did He have to touch Him again? I can assure you it wasn’t due to a lack of faith on the man’s part or a lack of efficiency on the part of our Lord. He knew exactly what He was doing.

Jesus often communicated a deeper spiritual meaning through His miracles. By healing in stages, rather than immediately, Jesus may have been revealing the fact that His followers live between His touches. While our relationship with God is instantly restored when we first encounter Jesus, becoming all that we are in Him is a lifelong process.

Jesus has worked in our lives in some amazing ways, but there is more renewal to come. We are all on a journey of restoration. Some are farther along than others, but none of us are fully restored. We all live between His touches.