“I Look, I Perceive.” What is communicated in the blind man’s confession in Mark 8:24?

A popular interpretation of the healing of the blind man in Mark 8:22-26 is that it is an acted-out parable that illustrates the state of the disciples at this point in the narrative. I agree that this is the right interpretation, but I still have some questions that need to be answered. So this post will first cover that popular interpretation of the passage, and then I will ask a question to wonder if there is anything more that we are supposed to glean from the man’s confession in 8:24.

To say that the healing is a parable does not mean that it is a fictional tale. Mark records an historical account, but the way he incorporates it into his story tells us that it has parabolic meaning; meaning that there is more than what appears on the surface. One layer to this story was presented in my last blog post that it completes Mark 7:31-37 to fulfill Isaiah 35:1-10. A second layer, highlighted here, to this story is that it is intended to be read in parallel to Peter’s confession. Jesus asks the blind man and Peter the same question: “What do you see”/ “Who do you say that I am?” Seeing and perceiving has been a major theme throughout the story thus far. Everyone can see Jesus and his miracles, but so far no human has perceived or understood their meaning. The disciples certainly didn’t perceive correctly after Jesus fed the 4,000. He rebukes them in 8:17-18: “Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?”

That theme continues here in 8:22-29. The basic question that Jesus is asking both the blind man and Peter is, “Seeing, what do you perceive?” To the blind man, “Seeing the people, what do you perceive?” To the disciples, “Seeing me, what do you perceive? Who do you understand I am?” And their respective answers are also intended to be read in parallel. When Peter confesses that he is the Christ, he is essentially saying that I see you Jesus, I perceive that you are the Christ. Yet we know, that this is not as a complete of a confession as we like to believe for he rebukes Jesus just three verses later. And right after that, Jesus rebukes him for not perceiving that he also must suffer many things (8:31). Therefore, Pater makes only a partial confession. In this way, it is just as partial as the blind man’s vision in 8:24: “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.”

That is the popular (and my interpretation) of this parabolic story of Jesus healing the blind man. It illustrates for us that half of Jesus has been revealed. The disciples see that just as the blind sees half the picture in 8:24. The second half of the Christ is about to be revealed, and the disciples will come to a clear perception of Jesus (just as the blind man does in 8:25) only after the resurrection.

Even though I am there, I’m not totally settled about the blind man’s confession. I keep thinking there is something more that Mark intends for us to see. The reason for this hunch is that the last time that we saw the combination of the words of this confession was in Mark 4:12 (which is a quotation of Isaiah 6:9-10) when Jesus said that he speaks in parables so that the outsiders “may indeed see (βλέποντες) but not perceive (ἴδωσιν).”

A literal translation of the blind man’s confession is, “I see (βλέπω) people, I perceive (ὁρῶ) that [they are] like trees walking.” Notice that there isn’t a negation (ESV= “but”) or a conjunction in the original. Rather, we have two first person verbs. The blind man sees, and he perceives. The key is that he is only perceiving half of the picture. His vision is blurred. Therefore, is he able to see the content, but not perceive what it is.

This is the identical situation to the last time we see these words used together. In Mark 4:12, the outsiders could see Jesus, but not perceive who he is. They could hear his words, but they could not understand their meaning. But what is the upshot of this connection? How does Mark 4:12 help the interpretation of 8:24?

The only solution I have is that the blind man is positioned as an outsider when he makes this first confession. But Jesus is persistent, and his grace is enough to open the blind eyes to bring the man to a proper understanding. When he does this, he brings him into the inside group: Those who know and perceive the kingdom of God (4:10).

If this is supposed to parallel the confession of the disciples, is the point that they also are on the outside at this moment but will be brought in eventually like the blind man?