THE Lord had declared His divinity to the unbelieving Jews at the Feast of Tabernacles, and in reply they had taken up stones to stone Him. In the midst of the tumult that arose the Lord passed through the crowd, and, as He did so, He met a man who had been born blind, and He, the Light, bade the man go and wash in the pool of Siloam. And the man obeyed.
Siloam’s water had been used in the very services of the temple at the close of which the Lord had declared His divinity. The pool stood outside Jerusalem, and bore the interpretation “Sent.” Its water was poured out from a golden vase, and symbolized the joy, foretold by the prophets, which will fill the earth when the Holy Spirit shall be poured out on all flesh. From this pool, as from Himself (The Sent), life and joy were to conic unto Jerusalem. But the Jews, to whom were given the Scriptures of God, which foretold Christ’s coming; to whom pertained the worship of Jehovah, which symbolized the blessings Christ would bring; were spiritually like the blind man. They were religiously insensible to the glory of the person of Christ.
In order to receive sight, the efforts of the religion of their day had to be left; it was necessary, as it were, to go outside Jerusalem to the Sent One. And, indeed, we may apply the parable to our own times.
Siloam is but a little way outside Jerusalem, and not far from the temple. The blind man would not take long to reach it, for he was an energetic person, and we may suppose not very many minutes elapsing between the Lord’s order to him to go and wash at (not “in”) the pool and his doing as he had been bidden. While he was so occupied the crowd was raging to stone Jesus.
Let us hear the blind man’s own account of what he did. “I went and washed, and I received sight.” Excellent in its simplicity; a noble example to us all whose eyes are not opened to see Jesus. Obey His word and see. Believe His word and live.
The man received his sight with wonder and with joy. He came back into Jerusalem a living miracle, and an exultant witness to the power and grace of Jesus. He made, too, a very great impression both upon his parents, his neighbors, and the Sanhedrim itself―the great council of the Pharisees. He became at once an object of interest. A crowd gathered around him questioning and discussing, and, maybe, some of these people had in their hands the very stones ready to stone Jesus.
Was this radiant face that of the blind beggar? “Is not this he that sat and begged?” cried some. “This is he,” the very man, was the answer. “He is like him,” interposed some doubters. “I AM HE!” the man cried. He was sure of himself; he knew who he was, and what had been done in him and for him, and he knew and boldly confessed who had done it― “A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.”
Let fall those stones, ye Jews! “Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind” (ver. 32). Jesus is the I AM. He is Jehovah-Jesus. He is the Light of the world. Jesus is the sinner’s friend.
Own your blindness, ye Pharisees! What “are we blind also?” (ver. 40) ―we the teachers of religion, we the council to decide all matters of faith and morals ! “Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth” (ver. 41). But they were obdurate.
They cast out the blind man from their society; they excommunicated him. Shall we pity him? “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee.
“And he said, Lord, I believe.
“And he worshipped Him” (vers. 35-38). The place of worship was and is at the feet of Jesus.