The Church Fathers on this verse
THEOSIS
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Mark 8:26Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And he sent him into his house, saying: Go into thy house, and if thou enter into the town, tell nobody.

Douay-Rheims

και απεστειλεν αυτον εις τον OMIT τον οικον αυτου λεγων μηδε εις την κωμην εισελθης μηδε ειπης τινι εν τη κωμη

Greek (Byzantine text)

The Church Fathers on this verse

10 Church Fathers comment on this verse · 20 commentaries

John Chrysostom

5th centuryChurch Father

He spat indeed, and put His hand upon the blind man, because He wished to shew that wonderful are the effects of the Divine word added to action; for the hand is the symbol of working, but the spittle, of the word proceeding out of the mouth. Again He asked him whether he could see any thing, which He had not done in the case of any whom He had healed, thus shewing that by the weak faith of those who brought him, and of the blind man himself, his eyes could not altogether be opened. Wherefore there follows: And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees walking; because he was still under the influence of unfaithfulness, he said that he saw men obscurely.

From the commencement, however, of the return of his senses, He leads him to apprehend things by faith, and thus makes him see perfectly; wherefore it goes on, After that, he put his hands again upon his eyes, and he began to see, and afterwards he adds, And he was restored, and saw all things clearly; that is, being perfectly healed in his senses and his intellect. It goes on: And he sent him away to his house, saying, Go into thy home, and if thou enter into the town, tell it not to any one.

Theophylact of Bulgaria

11th centuryChurch Father

Or else, after He has healed him He sends him to his home; for the home of every one of us is heaven, and the mansions which are there.

But the reason why he did not see at once perfectly, but in part, was, that he had not perfect faith; for healing is bestowed in proportion to faith.

For Bethsaida appears to have been infected with much infidelity, wherefore the Lord reproaches it, (Matt. 11:21) Woe to thee, Bethsaida, for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. He then takes out of the town the blind man, who had been brought to Him, for the faith of those who brought him was not true faith. It goes on; And when he had spit in his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.

These precepts He gave him, because they were unfaithful, as has been said, lest perchance he should receive hurt in his soul from them, and they by their unbelief should ran into a more grievous crime.

Jerome of Stridon

5th centuryChurch Father

And He brings him out of the town, that is, out of the neighbourhood of the wicked; and He puts spittle into his eyes, that he may see the will of God, by the breath of the Holy Ghost; and putting His hands upon him, He asked him if he could see, because by the works of the Lord His majesty is seen.

And He says to him, If thou enter into the town, tell it not to any one, that is, relate continually to thy neighbours thy blindness, but never tell them of thy virtue.

Or else, he sees men as trees, because he thinks all men higher than himself. But He put His hands again upon his eyes, that he might see all things clearly, that is, understand invisible things by visible, and with the eye of a pure mind contemplate, what the eye hath not seen, the glorious state of his own soul after the rust of sin. He sent him to his home, that is, to his heart; that he might see in himself things which he had not seen before; for a man despairing of salvation does not think that he can do at all what, when enlightened, he can easily accomplish.

Beda Venerabilis

8th centuryChurch Father

Knowing that the touch of the Lord could give sight to a blind man as well as cleanse a leper. It goes on, And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town.

Or else, putting spittle into the eyes of the blind man, he lays His hands upon him that he may see, because He has wiped away the blindness of the human race both by invisible gifts, and by the Sacrament of His assumed humanity; for the spittle, proceeding from the Head, points out the grace of the Holy Ghost. But though by one word He could cure the man wholly and all at once, still He cures him by degrees, that He may shew the greatness of the blindness of man, which can hardly, and only as it were step by step, be restored to light; and He exhibits to us His grace, by which He furthers each step towards perfection.

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Again, whoever is weighed down by a blindness of such long continuance, that he is unable to distinguish between good and evil, sees as it were men like trees walking, because he sees the deeds of the multitude without the light of discretion.

Seeing indeed the shapes of bodies amongst the shadows, but unable to distinguish the outlines of the limbs, from the continued darkness of his sight; just as trees standing thick together are wont to appear to men who see them from afar, or by the dim light of the night, so that it cannot easily be known whether they be trees or men.

Or else, He leaves an example to His disciples that they should not seek for popular favour by the miracles which they did. 1Mystically, however, Bethsaida is interpreted ‘the house of the valley,’ that is, the world, which is the vale of tears. Again, they bring to the Lord a blind man, that is, one who neither sees what he has been, what he is, nor what he is to be. They ask Him to touch him, for what is being touched, but feeling compunction.?

For the Lord touches us, when He enlightens our minds with the breath of His Spirit, and He stirs us up that we may recognise our own infirmity, and be diligent in good actions. He takes the hand of the blind man, that He may strengthen him to the practice of good works.

Alexander Gorsky

19th centuryCommentator

In Bethsaida, Jesus restored sight to a blind man, similarly to how he had previously healed a deaf man. Following this miraculous act, He instructed the man to keep silent about it. After taking a circuitous route through the northern regions of Galilee and returning to the area by the sea, specifically from Capernaum where His journey had initially commenced, He set out once again toward Caesarea Philippi. This journey, along with associated events, marks the culmination of the Lord's significant ministry in Galilee and is recounted by all three Gospel writers. Among these occurrences is the pivotal transfiguration of the Lord.

Bogolepow D.P.

19th centuryCommentator

As Jesus Christ and His disciples traveled northward from the regions of Dalmanutha and Magdala along the eastern shore of the sea, they arrived at Bethsaida, also known as Bethsaida-Julia. The man who received healing at this location was not born blind, but instead became blind later in life. When Jesus asked him if he could see anything, the man replied, “I see people, but they look like trees walking around,” indicating that he had once had sight and was familiar with both people and trees.

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In this instance of healing, Jesus employed similar outward actions to those used when healing the man who was deaf and mute, with the same intention in mind. The process of gradual healing likely served to foster and build the man's faith over time. The Lord perceived the small ember of faith within him and recognized the potential to ignite it with His healing touch. Initially, Jesus provided the man with partial relief, suggesting a deeper significance in the method of healing concerning the man's future spiritual life.

The Lord observed that the sick man was not deeply engaged in matters of the spirit, yet his soul had the capacity to focus on his salvation. Therefore, rather than experiencing an immediate transition from suffering to wholeness, it was important for him to undergo a gradual recovery, enabling him to truly appreciate the goodness of the Lord's healing hand and to engrave this memory more indelibly upon his heart. To facilitate a more profound self-reflection, Jesus led him away from the city. Furthermore, the command “Do not enter the village, and tell no one in the village” seems to align with this intention; rather than indulging in recounting the miraculous change to others and drawing attention to himself, the healed man was encouraged to return home, allowing him the opportunity to contemplate his past, present, and future more seriously. This directive also served to prevent stirring up a reaction from the crowd or provoking the ire of those opposed to Jesus.

Gladkow B.I.

19th centuryCommentator

Jesus performed healings and miracles not for personal glory, but purely out of compassion for those in distress. He understood that faith based solely on miracles is fragile; it demands an increasing number of miraculous signs, and in the absence of these, it not only becomes lukewarm but can ultimately fall into disbelief. He recognized that the Jews, astonished by wonders, might acknowledge Him as the King of Israel—seeing Him not as the true Messiah, but as someone who fit their expectations.

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Therefore, He consistently sought to avoid situations that would lead them to proclaim Him as the Messiah and instructed His disciples to keep His true identity as the Christ a secret; this was also the reason He commanded those He healed to refrain from sharing their experiences.

Lopuchin A.P.

19th centuryCommentator

When Christ instructed him to return home, He directed him not to reveal this miracle to the town, allowing Him the chance to converse privately with His disciples.

Michail (Lusin)

19th centuryCommentator

The instruction given to the blind man to return home indicates that he was not originally from Bethsaida but rather a visitor. In obedience to the Lord’s directive, he was to leave the site of his healing and go straight to his residence, avoiding the village of Bethsaida entirely and refraining from sharing his experience with the locals. This could be in line with the Lord's previous command to a healed deaf and mute man, which suggests a similar intent (see Mk. 7:36 and accompanying commentary).

Paul Matwejewski

19th centuryCommentator

After traversing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus Christ arrived in Bethsaida. As news of the Lord's presence spread, a blind man was brought before Him, imploring for healing through a miraculous touch. In performing the healing, Jesus employed similar actions as He did when restoring the deaf and mute man. He took the blind man by the hand, led him away from the village, applied spittle to his eyes, placed His hands upon him, and inquired, "What do you see?" The man who received his sight replied, "I see people, like trees, walking," indicating that he perceived movement but could not yet discern the finer details of those in motion; he recognized only vague outlines. Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes once more and instructed him to look.

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The blind man was fully restored and began to see everything clearly. The Lord sent him home, instructing him not to share the miracle, likely for the same reason He had previously instructed the healed deaf man: to refrain from entering the broader world or drawing others into the weight of the matter.

Cross references

Passages read together with this verse.

The original text

Greek text, 12 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.

  1. καὶ
    kai
    and
    G2532 · καί
  2. ἀπέστειλεν
    apesteilen
    I send forth
    G649 · ἀποστέλλω
  3. αὐτὸν
    auton
    he
    G846 · αὐτός
  4. εἰς
    eis
    into
    G1519 · εἰς
  5. οἶκον
    oikon
    a house
    G3624 · οἶκος
  6. αὐτοῦ
    autou
    he
    G846 · αὐτός
  7. λέγων
    legōn
    I say
    G3004 · λέγω
  8. Μηδὲ
    mēde
    and not
    G3366 · μηδέ
  9. εἰς
    eis
    into
    G1519 · εἰς
  10. τὴν
    tēn
    the
    G3588 · ὁ
  11. κώμην
    kōmēn
    a village
    G2968 · κώμη
  12. εἰσέλθῃς
    eiselthēs
    I go in
    G1525 · εἰσέρχομαι