John 9:6-7

John 9:6-7. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and with his day anointed his eyes, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which is, by interpretation, Sent). He went away therefore, and washed, and came seeing. In the case of no miracle which Jesus wrought is His procedure as remarkable as it is here. We may at once dismiss the thought that such a mode of cure was in itself necessary: whatever may have been the design of Jesus in making use of it, He needed no instrument or means of cure. There is probably truth in the suggestion that the means of healing chosen by our Lord had in most cases some reference to the mental condition of the sufferer, and that here His procedure was well fitted to awaken and make trial of faith; but it is impossible to rest satisfied with any such explanation. The language of the Evangelist compels us to look upon the whole action as symbolical. The introductory words link these verses to those in which Jesus speaks of the manifestation of Himself to the world (John 9:4-5): the interpretation of the name Siloam leads us back to the thought of Him who everywhere in this Gospel is solemnly brought before us as ‘the Sent of God.' These indications teach us to see in the whole action of Jesus a special symbolical reference to Himself and His work. The means chosen are very remarkable. It is said indeed, and with truth, that the anointing of the eyes with spittle was a common practice, adopted for medicinal effect: but no such usage has any connection with this passage, for the eyes were anointed, not with the spittle but with the clay. In two other records of works of healing (both given by Mark, whose Gospel presents many points of contact with that of John) Jesus makes use of spittle (Mark 7:33; Mark 8:23), and we can hardly help supposing that this means was chosen as a symbol of that which was in closest connection with Himself: thus in Sir 28:12 the breath of the mouth and its moisture are brought together as alike in source, though differing in effects. Having made the clay, He anointed ‘with His clay' the blind man's eyes. The original words do not seem easily to bear any other meaning, and we fail to do justice to them unless we suppose that their object is to lay emphasis on the clay made by Jesus, and thus again to bring Himself, not merely the clay that He has made, but ‘His clay,' into prominence, the day in which something of His personality is expressed. (Some of the Fathers imagine that there is a reference to Genesis 2:7, but this seems too remote.) Again the word ‘anointed' no doubt contains an allusion to Jesus the Christ, the anointed One. The name of the pool Siloam or (according to the Hebrew form) Siloah is the last point to be noted, and here the meaning is supplied by John himself. As originally given to the pool, it is supposed to mean ‘sent forth,' i.e. issuing forth, said of the waters that issue from the springs that feed the pool, or of the waters which issue from the pool to the fields around. From this pool water had been drawn to pour upon the altar during the feast just past (see chap. John 7:38): it was associated with the wells of salvation of which Isaiah speaks (chap. John 12:3), and the pouring out of its water symbolized the effusion of spiritual blessing in the days of the Messiah. With most natural interest, therefore, the Evangelist observes that its very name corresponds to the Messiah; and by pointing out this fact indicates to us what was the object of Jesus in sending the man to these waters. In this even more distinctly than in the other particulars that we have noted, Jesus, whilst sending the man away from Him, is keeping Himself before him in everything connected with his cure. Thus throughout the whole narrative all attention is concentrated on Jesus Himself, who is ‘the Light of the world;' who was ‘sent of God' to ‘open blind eyes:' every particular is fraught with instruction to the disciples, who are to continue His work after His departure, and who must be taught that they can bring sight to the blind only by directing them to Jesus their Lord. As has been said above, we must not reject the thought that in our Lord's procedure lay a discipline for the man himself. The use of means may naturally have been a help to his faith; but this faith could not fail to be put to the test when the means proved to be such as might have taken away vision from one who was not blind (comp. John 9:39). Neither of this, however, nor of the discipline contained in the delay of the cure does the Evangelist speak; for he would fix our attention on Jesus alone. That the obedience of faith was rewarded we are told in the fewest words possible: the man ‘went and washed and came seeing.' The pool of Siloam, which still retains its name (Silwân), is situated near the opening of the valley of Tyrop œ on. All works on the topography of Jerusalem give a description of the site.