Some interesting aspects of the story of this healing.
It shows how considerate Jesus was. He took the man aside from the crowd probably because He knew that He was going to give the man his sight and that the immediate recovery of his sight could be traumatizing especially if he remained in the crowd. Imagine if you were blind and then all of a sudden you could see light, and colors and things and people. I suspect it could be overwhelming.
Jesus used materials in curing the man, that the man could understand. The people of those times believed in the healing power of spittle. Jesus did not use methods that were far above the heads of the simple folks gathered. Jesus spoke to people in a way that they could understand.
Some would suggest that faith has to be primarily about mystery, and indeed mystery is an important part of faith, but the definition of mystery is “something that is difficult or impossible to understand.” Jesus taught and acted among the people, in as much as possible, a way that could be understood.
Finally, this miracle is unique in that it happened gradually. Usually, Jesus’ miracles happened suddenly. The truth presented here is that “no man sees God’s truth all at once.” One of the dangers of evangelization is that a person becomes a ‘full grown’ Christian all at once.
One of the challenges of our sacramental system is the temptation to believe, as one of my theology professors warned us, that sacraments are “magic”. They are not magic, the commitments made in the sacrament ritual are beginnings, not endings. They represent in Baptism the beginning of our journey of discipleship, and in the other sacraments, the further affirmation of our initial commitment.
Discipleship is not a “one and done”.