One of my favorite accounts in all of the Bible is the encounter between Jesus and the man who was born blind. Much has been said of this in the past, but there are a few details that have never really been explored, and for something as important as healing, I believe in seeing every detail no matter how small it may seem.
Today we will be studying this well known account from scripture, and we will be taking a look at the finer points of what transpired between Jesus and this blind man, and how this message from Jesus applies for us today.
Let’s begin by reading the main text for today found in John 9:1-7:
“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus answered, Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night comes, when no man can work.
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
And said to him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.”
Those who have been here for previous studies have already heard me mention that the disciples immediately are focused on the wrong thing. They are interested in assigning blame, while Jesus is only interested in delivering Healing. In verses 3 and 4 He also makes a point to clarify that Healing is why He came from the Father to us. When we really think about it, salvation is one big work of Healing both for our body, soul and spirit.
Jesus then does something very interesting in verse 6… He spits on the ground and makes clay and anoints the blind man’s eyes. Now there are many theories floating around about why He used spit and why He spat on the ground in this case, but in order to truly understand this, we need to understand something about ancient Jewish laws and customs.
Spittle was considered ritually unclean under the Old Covenant Laws of Moses which everyone was still under while Jesus walked the earth. The detailed rules for the curious can be found in Leviticus 15.
In addition to this, dust has also been a symbol of uncleanness. Whenever a guest would enter a home, there would be a ritual foot-washing specifically because of the dust. To not offer a foot-washing to a guest was considered rude
There is one exception to this though, and that is the spittle of the firstborn son. In the Bava Batra – which is a treatise on the Jewish Talmud, there is a writing (126h) which states that the spittle of the firstborn son had healing properties. This was their belief, and so Jesus took this opportunity to make a very powerful statement regarding His lineage.
From Genesis 2:7, we learn that God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him His very own Breath of Life.
Now let’s put these facts together: Jesus spat on the ground, formed clay and anointed the blind man’s eyes. By this action He accomplished two very important things… It demonstrated that Jesus was the firstborn Son of His Father in Heaven just as He had been claiming, and it also demonstrated that He was the Divine master-builder who formed man from the dust to begin with by Jesus using the same material that man was originally formed from. The kingly manner in which Jesus operates here is truly remarkable.
In verse 7, Jesus tells the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam, which the scriptures translate for us as meaning “Sent”. This is an important point which many people skip over, but always remember that there are no insignificant words in the Bible; there is never any filler or fluff in the scriptures.
Some think that the scriptures mention the name “Sent” to draw attention to the fact that Jesus sent the man to the pool, but as we read we can see that this is not actually the reason. Notice in the verse, that the pool was named Sent. And this seemingly insignificant fact is a very important point when applying this principle to our lives today. To better understand this, let’s examine another verse of scripture, Ephesians 5:25-27:
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
In the Bible, water is a type that symbolizes the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. It is clear from these verses that God cleanses us by the washing of water by His Word. Whenever we receive His Words into our lives, whether we realize it or not we are being washed by the water of the Word, and He washes us because He loves us.
So knowing this then, let’s return to John 9:7, and see that Jesus tells the blind man to go wash in the pool named Sent. In those times, when they washed they did so by bathing, full-immersion. There were no real showers back then, only baths. So when this man went to wash he most likely immersed himself in the pool, and when he was finished, he came back fully seeing.
This is an amazing account, but how does it apply to us today? It all comes back to the fact that the pool was named “Sent” and the realization that water is a type for the Word of God. What Jesus is saying for us today is that when you need a miracle in your life, when you need some deliverance or restoration; when you need to be able to see beyond your limitations, immerse yourself in the sent Word of God.
We each have a veritable ocean – much more than a pool – of scriptures that the Spirit can use to strengthen and restore us from whatever our issue may be. We simply need to consent to be healed just as this blind man has done. Wherever Jesus says to go, we say yes and go. As we immerse ourselves in His Word, just as this blind man, we will find that we will come back completely whole and healed.
This is the power of the scriptures, and the love of Christ Jesus to make it so very simple and offer it all freely to us by His Grace. The blind man could have easily said “No.”, but he had enough humility and sense to simply accept what Jesus was offering him. As a reward he has his sight restored, and was able to look upon the very face of Jesus smiling back at him and calling the man to believe on Him. This is the very same gift offered to us today. To not only receive complete healing and deliverance, but to be able to look upon the face of Jesus unobstructed and receive His unrestricted and unreserved love upon us today.
My friends, I encourage each and every one of you today to not spend another moment wandering in the darkness wondering what is ahead. Turn to Jesus and receive His free gift of redemption. Let Him heal, redeem and save you today, and know the riches of His Grace in every area of your life.
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