“Go to the pool…and wash.”
Scripture:
11 “A man named Jesus made a paste and rubbed it on my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ I did what he said. When I washed, I saw.”
Message:
1-2 Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?”
In Chapter 9, we see four different reactions to Jesus.
The neighbors revealed surprise and skepticism; the Pharisees showed disbelief and prejudice; the parents believed but kept quiet for fear of excommunication; and the healed man showed consistent, growing faith.
Each reaction to Jesus allowed the man to reach a clearer understanding of the one who had healed him.
3-5 Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world’s Light.”
A common belief in Jewish culture was that calamity or suffering was the result of some great sin. But, Christ used the man’s suffering to teach about faith and to glorify God.
We living in a fallen world where good behavior is not always rewarded and bad behavior is not always punished. Therefore, innocent people sometimes suffer.
Regardless of the reasons of our suffering, Jesus has the power to help us deal with it.
When you suffer from a disease, tragedy, or disability, try not to ask “Why did this happen to me?” or “What did I do wrong?”
Instead, ask God to give you strength for the trial and a clearer perspective on what is happening.
6-7 He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind man’s eyes, and said, “Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “Sent”). The man went and washed—and saw.
When Jesus spit on the ground and made mud in order to repair the man’s eyes, he was working with original materials.
Genesis 2:7 states that God formed Adam’s body from the dust of the ground.
Jesus was demonstrating a creator’s awareness of the materials he first used to shape the human body.
The pool of Siloam was built by Hezekiah. His workers constructed an underground tunnel from a spring outside the city walls to carry water into the city. Thus, the people could always get water without fear of being attacked. This was especially important during times of seige. (See 2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:30)
8 Soon the town was buzzing. His relatives and those who year after year had seen him as a blind man begging were saying, “Why, isn’t this the man we knew, who sat here and begged?”
10 They said, “How did your eyes get opened?”
11 A man named Jesus made a paste and rubbed it on my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ I did what he said. When I washed, I saw.”
12 “So where is he?”
“I don’t know.”