May 30, 2023
Formed in Clay
“When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, ‘Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?’ Others were saying, ‘This is he,’ still others were saying, ‘No, but he is like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the one.’” John 9:6-9 (NASB)
Each of us could probably testify of some wonderful event where someone looked hopeless and then it all changed for the good. It can be such a blessing to see them pull through when it all looked so bleak. Some transformations occurred from medicines or procedures; others from lives which were transformed inwardly by something totally unexpected. Either way, it can be an amazing experience to witness. I am sure we have never seen such a miracle which we will witness today. Watch and see a man get a new set of eyes… from mud.
“When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,” This is the third time Jesus used saliva in healing: John (7:33- the deaf and mute man, 8:23- and a blind man). This time Jesus mixed saliva with clay from the ground. Some schools believe Jesus was using the same formula as Genesis 2:7, “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” In this preparation, Jesus would make a new set of eyes “to replace those which had never seen.”[1] Whatever way or method Jesus used, it was a miracle, literally from His hand. God cannot be governed by physical and tangible laws of nature. He has the power to supersede them. As Jesus “applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam,” and “he went away and washed.” “What distinguishes this spring is the fact that it flows from the Temple hill and forms its pool at the foot of that hill. For this reason Isaiah 8:6 uses Siloam and its waters as a symbol of the blessings that flow from the Temple; likewise, the water of Siloam was used in the sacred rites of the Feast of Tabernacles as we have seen in connection with 7:38… and just as Jesus used the Temple as his own Father’s house, in which he has a Son’s rights, so now he appropriates this Temple pool and its waters for his sacred purposes.”[2] Imagine how the man felt at the time. Even though he was blind, he had to have known there were people watching as he walked toward the pool, with mud on his eyes. In the heart of the man the hope of “What if?” entered his mind. “What if it works?” When “he went away and washed, and came back seeing…” In the past he could only hear those skeptical of his healing, but now he could clearly see them. He now heard and saw those who “were saying, ‘Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?’ Others were saying, ‘This is he,’ still others were saying, ‘No, but he is like him.” His skeptics still weren’t sure though, but he demanded, “I am the one.”
When we have been given the gift of a miracle, we need to thank the One who gave it to us. To not give thanks, insults the Healer. Maybe you have a miracle baby. Maybe you have a miracle job. Maybe you have a miracle family. Thank God for His wonderful gifts today!
[1] (John MacArthur, 2006), 394.
[2] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 681.