Jesus was hiding Himself from those who were intent on stoning Him to death. But as He hurried out of the temple area, He saw a man who was blind from birth. Probably he was sitting, begging, near one of the entrances into the temple area (a good place for beggars given the high traffic, especially during Feast time).
The story begins with a conversation, instigated by Jesus’ disciples: who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? As we said, they were in a hurry, but during a feast, “hurry” was a relative term as the temple area would have been quite crowded. The crowds provided some cover as they sought to escape the stone-throwers. But still, they were in a hurry, intent on finding a place to hide.
Yet, both Jesus and His disciples noticed the man. The question of the disciples turns on his being blind “from birth,” and is built on the assumption that our maladies are always someone’s fault. Since he was born blind, it’s an open question: was it the parent’s fault or the man’s fault, for some sin the Creator knew he was going to commit and who therefore could be punished in advance?
Jesus’ answer shows the fallacy of this kind of thinking. Sure, sometimes our problems are self-created by foolish or sinful actions. But that is not the bottom-line assumption. We would be much more accurate if we assumed that our trials provided an opportunity to glorify God.
Having said that, we must also recognize that Jesus knew this situation to be of special importance to the purpose of His Father in sending Him to earth. Even though they are intent on escaping a mob, Jesus knew He could not bypass this opportunity to do “the works of Him who sent Me.”
Jesus did not take the time to ask the man if He wanted to be healed, as He had done previously (Jn. 5:6). He also did not just say, “Be healed!” Instead, He spit on the ground and made some mud, put it on the man’s eyes, and sent him to the Pool of Siloam to wash it off.
Why did Jesus do this? I don’t think there’s any doubt but that His actions were meant to connect with the traditional daily “water ceremony” at the temple during Tabernacles (cf. post on March 11, 2024, second to the last paragraph). If the purpose of the daily ceremony was to acknowledge Isa.12:3, Therefore with joy you will draw water, from the wells of salvation, Jesus’ use of the Pool of Siloam was a statement that the joy of salvation the Jewish people hoped for was here now!
The Pool of Siloam has only recently been discovered in Jerusalem, by accident when city workers were working in the area. It should be a powerful statement today, for the Jewish people and everyone of the validity of Jesus’ offer of salvation to all who believe in Him.
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