8:22-25. A blind man healed
Although this miracle
may not seem connected with what has gone before, there is a link. It was a
difficult healing which could be understood to foreshadow the removal of
spiritual blindness in the disciples which Jesus would have to effect before
they could serve the Kingdom of God. It would require the Resurrection to open
their eyes fully (Luke 24:31-32). The miracle also relates directly to the
spiritual insight which is given to Peter in the next event of the gospel,
Peter's declaration that Jesus is the Messiah.
With this miracle Mark
ends the first half of the gospel and brings his readers to the point where
everything that follows points directly towards Jerusalem and the cross.