John 9:7, commentary and pictures

Jesus laid clay on the eyes of a man blind from birth and sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam, which means Sent, and the man obeyed and came back seeing. The clay and the water had no healing virtue in themselves; the cure came by Christ's power and mercy. His blindness was not proof that he or his parents had sinned, but was made the occasion for God's works to be revealed in him as the light of the world bringing relief to those in darkness and suffering. The healing stands as convincing proof of Christ's divine mission and exposes the spiritual blindness and prejudice of those who refused to believe. It shows His tender compassion in seeking and saving a despised sufferer who did not yet know Him, until the man learned Him as the Son of God and worshiped Him.

Event and Setting

Jesus spread clay upon the blind man's eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, and the man went his way, washed, and came back seeing. The command required obedience at a distance, for he was sent to the pool to wash after the anointing rather than being healed on the spot. The name Siloam means by interpretation Sent.

The man healed in this way had been blind from birth. Jesus healed him as He was leaving the temple after declaring His divine identity. He performed this healing on the Sabbath, and for that reason it became a point of dispute.

Divine Power and Purpose

The clay placed on the blind man's eyes and the water of the pool of Siloam where he was sent to wash possessed no curative virtue in themselves. The cure came wholly through Christ's own power and mercy, exercised when the man obeyed the command to go and wash and returned seeing. The anointing and washing were simple, natural means employed in the healing, while the instantaneous restoration of sight was wrought by the power of the Great Healer.

His blindness from birth was not proof that he or his parents had sinned, but became the occasion for God's works to be made manifest in him. In healing him Christ revealed Himself as the light of the world, bringing sight to one in darkness. That same relief of one in darkness and suffering reflects the Creator's work of redemption and restoration.

The giving of sight in this way stands as convincing evidence of Christ's divine mission. The testimony of the healed man to what had been done for him laid bare the spiritual blindness and prejudice of the Pharisees who opposed Him.

Compassion and Healing Practice

The healing is an act of tender compassion for human suffering, seeking and saving a poor man who did not yet know his Healer. He was among those whom the self-righteous Pharisees despised and treated with contempt, yet the compassionate Shepherd sought him out to restore his sight and save him. The Lord was anxious to save such a despised wanderer, and His care reached one whom others counted unworthy. The man learned who had healed him only afterward, when Jesus revealed Himself to him as the Son of God, and then he worshiped Him.

Christ anointed the blind man's eyes with clay and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, and the man obeyed and came back seeing. The clay and the washing had no healing virtue in themselves, for the cure came instantaneously through Christ's power and the Great Healer's mercy, while the clay and water were simple, natural means He chose to use. His use of such simple means supports the use of simple, natural remedies. The obedience that brought sight illustrates that natural remedies may be used without relying on drug medication. It also supports treating the delicate eyes with care and not applying drug remedies to them.