Jesus Heals the Man Born Blind
Clay, spit, a wash in Siloam — and one unshakeable testimony: now I see.
Jesus heals a man blind from birth by anointing his eyes with clay and sending him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The healing sparks a fierce interrogation by the Pharisees, but the man's testimony never wavers: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
What happened
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 unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay... he went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
What it means
The disciples asked whose sin caused the blindness — the man's or his parents'. Jesus rejects the question's whole premise: neither, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. Not every affliction is a punishment; some become the very stage on which God's glory is displayed.
The healed man's journey through the chapter is a picture of growing faith under pressure. Interrogated and threatened, he moves from calling Jesus a man, to a prophet, to one from God, and finally, meeting Jesus again, to Lord, I believe — and he worshipped him. His theology grows every time he is challenged.
The deepest theme is spiritual sight and blindness. The man born physically blind comes to see everything clearly; the Pharisees, who can see, are exposed as the truly blind — blind to the Light of the world standing in front of them. The one who admits he was blind receives sight; those who insist they see remain in the dark.