I finally plucked up the courage to repair the faulty CD player in the car. I tracked down an equivalent unit, removed the dashboard-trim, performed the replacement, plugged in the electrics, clipped the trim back in place, and then turned on the ignition. Nothing! Blank! Zero! Sigh! So retracing my steps, I discovered that a crucial ribbon cable had not been quite correctly seated in its socket. But once in place, voila! A wall of sound!

I can well understand my taking two attempts to get it right. (So can my wife!) But why did Jesus take two attempts to heal the blind man from Bethsaida? Mark reports in his eighth chapter that Jesus’ first attempt didn’t seem to go quite to plan. The man’s sight was still a blur. But then on Jesus’ second attempt, the ‘voila moment’ came. And no doubt with great satisfaction. A miracle of course, but why the two operations?

It would be most incorrect to think that Jesus’ was merely guessing at the repair, or applied the wrong technique, or is not quite the Healer that many thought him to be. No doubt he had his reasons. Perhaps it was simply a case of first connecting the optic nerve, and then doing the finetuning. Like anyone who plugs in a TV – first the power, then the tuning. Afterall, that’s what he does in the action of salvation – first the justifying, then the sanctifying; and who will raise any complaint with the method of that gracious work?