The Unusual Work of Jesus
When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. (John 9:6-7)
In John chapter 9, Jesus and His disciples saw a man blind from birth. The disciples thought of him as an unsolved theological riddle, and so they asked Jesus if the man’s blindness was due to his sin or to his parents’ sin. We often suppose that where there is a more than ordinary sufferer, there is a more than ordinary sinner. But Jesus didn’t see the man as a theological riddle; Jesus saw a suffering person needing relief.
Jesus then healed the man, and He did it in a curious way. Jesus spat on the ground, made clay with the spit and dirt, and then told the man to go wash his eyes with water from the Pool of Siloam. Clearly, Jesus took the initiative but He expected the man to respond in faith. The man did what Jesus told him to do, and he was healed.
The Bible tells of no prophet, priest, or apostle that had ever before given sight to blind eyes before Jesus, but He did this type of healing more than any other. It demonstrates that Jesus is God, because the LORD claims the power to give sight to the blind (Psalm 146:8, Isaiah 35:5).
But why, on this occasion, did Jesus use such an unusual method of healing? One reason was that Jesus purposefully varied His methods of healing to avoid establishing a program or a formula. His power wasn’t in some technique; it was within Him. Here, Jesus used the dust of the ground to do a work of creation in man, just as God did in Genesis 2:7.
Some might object to the manner Jesus used in this miracle. Rubbing spit and dirt in a man’s eyes is certainly unusual. Some might say it was offensive or inadequate, or even harmful.
In the same way, some people feel the gospel is offensive. It is true that it offends man’s pride and human wisdom, but “it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:21)
In the same way, some people feel the gospel is inadequate. Yet can anyone say that all the psychiatric, political, and social programs in the world done more good than the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ? Jesus is indeed enough.
In the same way, some people feel the gospel is harmful; that the free offer of grace in Jesus will cause people to sin that grace may abound. Yet the gospel changes our life towards the good and the pure, not unto more and worse sin.
Let God do His work of re-creation in you, even when the manner seems strange.
Click here for David’s commentary on John 9