Through the Bible – 1 Chronicles 18-20, John 11:1-21
Good morning,
For today's verse we'll return to John chapter 9 and the healing of the man who had been born blind.
John 9:6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva, daubed the mud on the blind man's eyes 7 and told him, "Go out and wash them in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and returned enjoying sight.
There is often so much in the Bible that we miss when we simply read through a passage. Much can be gained by slowing down, looking at some of the words and names (people and towns) involved that bring more significance to the passage. Read these notes from Richard Burridge's commentary on the passage.
Whatever the reason for Jesus' impromptu eye ointment, he tells the blind man to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam (Joh. 9: 7). This is the pool from which water was drawn for the procession at the Feast of Tabernacles (see on Joh. 7:37 above). It is a marvel of ancient Jewish engineering. The Gihon
spring is one of Jerusalem's main water supplies, but it was in the Kidron valley outside the old fortified city. Therefore, when Jerusalem was threatened with attack in 701 BC, Hezekiah cut a tunnel through the solid rock for over 500 metres to 'send' the water to a basin inside the walls, called Siloam or 'sent' (see 2Ki. 20:20; 2Ch. 32: 2-4, 2Ch. 32:30; Isa. 22: 9-11). Now this man is sent to the pool of 'Sent' by the one who is himself sent by God to bring light and healing. Because the man is healed of being blind from birth by washing in the pool, many in the early church saw a reference to baptism in this story, and it would often be depicted as a baptism in art in the catacombs, as well as in the writings of people like Tertullian and Augustine. Whether John intended an allusion to baptism is not clear, but what is vital is that, unlike Naaman refusing to wash in the Jordan (2Ki. 5:10-12), the blind man obeyed his instruction: he was told to go and he went — and as a result he came back seeing (Joh. 9: 7).
Jesus was sent as the "light of the world". Hezekiah built the tunnel to send water from outside the walls into the city. Jesus put mud on the man's eye and sent him to the pool created. As a simple act of faith, the blind man goes in obedience and receives his sight.
Read the rest of the passage see what happens to the man, what he does. He has been transformed by this encounter to an extent that some who knew him questioned whether he was the same man. Isn't that the way God still works , desires to work in us?
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. NKJV
Blessings,
Mike
John 9:6-25
He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind man's eyes, and said, "Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam" (Siloam means "Sent"). The man went and washed — and saw.
Soon the town was buzzing. His relatives and those who year after year had seen him as a blind man begging were saying, "Why, isn't this the man we knew, who sat here and begged?"
Others said, "It's him all right!"
But others objected, "It's not the same man at all. It just looks like him."
He said, "It's me, the very one."
They said, "How did your eyes get opened?"
"A man named Jesus made a paste and rubbed it on my eyes and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' I did what he said. When I washed, I saw."
"So where is he?"
"I don't know."
They marched the man to the Pharisees. This day when Jesus made the paste and healed his blindness was the Sabbath. The Pharisees grilled him again on how he had come to see. He said, "He put a clay paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see."
Some of the Pharisees said, "Obviously, this man can't be from God. He doesn't keep the Sabbath."
Others countered, "How can a bad man do miraculous, God-revealing things like this?" There was a split in their ranks.
They came back at the blind man, "You're the expert. He opened your eyes. What do you say about him?"
He said, "He is a prophet."
The Jews didn't believe it, didn't believe the man was blind to begin with. So they called the parents of the man now bright-eyed with sight. They asked them, "Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he now sees?"
His parents said, "We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. But we don't know how he came to see — haven't a clue about who opened his eyes. Why don't you ask him? He's a grown man and can speak for himself." (His parents were talking like this because they were intimidated by the Jewish leaders, who had already decided that anyone who took a stand that this was the Messiah would be kicked out of the meeting place. That's why his parents said, "Ask him. He's a grown man.")
They called the man back a second time — the man who had been blind — and told him, "Give credit to God. We know this man is an impostor."
He replied, "I know nothing about that one way or the other. But I know one thing for sure: I was blind . . . I now see."
(from THE MESSAGE)
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