This miracle is found in the gospel of John chapter 9, verses 1-41. Jesus and his disciples come across a man who had been blind since birth. His disciples are curious to know if this man or his parents had sinned causing this man to be born this way. Jesus said the answer was neither. This surprised the disciples because they had always been taught that such an incurable infirmity must be due to sin. They had often heard their Jewish leaders say, “there is no death without sin and there is no suffering without iniquity.” Some teachers of the law taught that Scripture taught this. For the parents to be at fault, some Jewish leaders pointed to Exodus 20:5 (for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me) and Ezekiel 18:20 (the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them). Yet, these phrases seem to be taken somewhat out of context to support this tenant. Regarding the unborn having sin, some rabbis thought it possible, while others thought it impossible. It’s not clear how widely held the prenatal sin view was, but apparently it was widely held enough to generate debate among themselves. Some argued that when it was stated about Jacob and Esau that they “struggled together” in the womb (Gn 25:33), it was implying they were trying to kill each other. Again, this seems to be an over interpretation of what the scripture is actually implying. So, it seems the disciples were wanting to understand from Jesus what the true answer to this debate was as they knew Jesus, of all people, would know the answer.
Instead, Jesus said this man was born this way so God could be magnified. Jesus made some mud using his own saliva, placed it on the man’s eyes, and then told him to go and wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam (in the southern part of the city of Jerusalem). The man did so and received his sight.
Jesus also made somewhat of a strange statement: night is coming when no one can work. What did he mean by this? The disciples were learning that they needed to make the most of their opportunities while they had the Light of the World (i.e., Jesus) with them. They needed to pay attention to him, to learn from him, so they could know him and faithfully represent him later. Today, we can’t “work while it is day” in the same way because Jesus is not personally here on earth. Yet, we still have been enlightened by him—he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Like the disciples, we should look to him, and like the disciples were encouraged to do—and like Jesus did—we should also make the most of the opportunities afforded to us. Each opportunity is provided by God for his glory, so we need to consider how we can work while it is still day.
Why did Jesus make mud with his saliva? There was a belief that saliva had healing properties. Maybe Jesus was indicating that healing was in progress to the people around him. Or it may be because the act of creating mud was considered work by the Jewish leaders. Perhaps Jesus is again emphasizing that the Sabbath was created for man and not man for the Sabbath (Mk 2:27). Doing good is always appropriate for the Sabbath. If the Law allowed them to get a donkey out of the ditch on the Sabbath (Dt 22:4), why not their fellow man who is far more valuable?
Why did Jesus send the man to the Siloam pool? In some respects, it was a word play, for the word Siloam meant “sent” (Jn 9:7). Christ had been sent by God through his authority, and now Christ was sending this man in his authority.
This was the last great day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). The previous seven days, the priests each morning went from the temple to the Pool of Siloam in the southern part of the City of David and gathered water in a golden vessel and brought it to the altar through the Water Gate in the Southern side of the Temple. The water was then poured down the side of the altar to signify the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
On this last day, the ceremony was not done. Yet, Jesus is now sending the blind man to the pool. Rather than the Holy Spirit being brought to the temple, the man is sent to the Holy Spirit for his healing.
Christ had just stated he is working while he is here on Earth. Who would be working when he is gone? The Holy Spirit. Perhaps this was a lesson for the disciples to ponder once he was gone from them.
Jesus did not go with the man to the pool. Who took him? We don’t really know. Maybe he knew his way around, but that’s traveling about a fifth of a mile. Also, Jesus was not there when the man received his sight. The miracle of sight would be its own witness for the man to proclaim to the people.
Why did the people not believe this was the man who had been blind and begged? Those who knew this man knew he had been born blind. They had been taught that one born blind could not be cured. Such a one was in sin and God would not heal such a man steeped in sin before he was even born. This is also why the Pharisees and Jewish leaders grilled him and his parents so. They also could not rectify that one born blind could now see. Rather than rejoicing in the miracle, they did all they could to deny the miracle.
They questioned the man relentlessly but did not believe him. They then questioned his parents and then brought the man back again. Not to understand, but how to discredit. They still tried to make the man feel like a sinner rather than rejoice with him. They said that the man who healed him was a sinner as well. The man quotes back to them scripture that they should know and reveals what they said about Jesus was untrue: “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous” (Pr 15:29). This makes the Jewish leaders mad, and they tell this man that someone steeped in sin from birth has no right to tell the righteous (indicating themselves) they are wrong. They then forcibly excommunicate the man from the temple.
Jesus then meets the man a second time. This miracle affected this man deeply and he was willing to stand up to the Jewish leaders and point out their hypocrisy. He was ready for a true encounter with the Messiah. Jesus reveals himself and the man readily accepts him and worships him. Jesus does not stop him from doing so.
What did Jesus mean when he said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind?” The reference to those who see versus those who are blind is meant to explain this entire incident with the blind beggar and the religious critics. Those who admit their need, and trust in God, are those who will be granted sight—just as the blind man was given both sight and knowledge by Jesus in response to his sincere faith. Those who are arrogant and presume they already know, will be hardened by the presence of Jesus, instead. Despite their knowledge (“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refused to come to me to have life” (Jn 5:39-40)), they allow their own prejudice to blind them (“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2Co 4:4)), making them incapable of understanding what they don't want to understand, anyway (“Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (Jn 7:17).).
Jesus' statement here underscores an important principle: God holds people accountable not only for what they know but holds them absolutely accountable for it. Those who come to God in humility, admitting weakness and seeking truth, are met with grace and forgiveness. We see this in this man’s response to his encounter with Jesus:
When Jesus heard that the Jewish leaders had thrown the man out of the temple (i.e., excommunicated him), he found him, and said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him (Jn 9:35-38).
This is a good example of the fulfillment of Matthew 7:7–8 – “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Those who think they are wise, who claim to have spiritual sight, will be judged accordingly (“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (Ja 3:1)). This is especially true of those who, like the Pharisees, have knowledge and deliberately choose to ignore it.
Yet, can we today be too quick to judge here? Do we not at times act hypocritical? I think this is a good example for us to really look at our actions and see how they really align with Scripture. “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (Ja 4:17). Truth is necessary even when it is sometimes hard to hear.
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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens