Hey John...here is another angle. Jesus called the Laodicean church bishop blind....and that he needed to purchase eye salve from Him so that he might see.
1. This is not about physical sight.
2. As a Christian leader he would already know the gospel.
So that leaves the deeper walk of faith that opens into spiritual life. That is what he is missing. And SO many people these days are fully unaware of.
Therefore Jesus is speaking of
the spiritual faculty of seeing.
Just another reference to your OP.