As the Lord Jesus was passing along a street of Jerusalem He saw a blind man who sat and begged, and the Lord gave him a wonderful gift — his sight.
For some blind people, Jesus had touched their eyes and said for them to see. But for this man He first spit on the earth then took some of the moist clay in His hand and pressed it upon the man’s eyes, and told him to go, wash in the pool of Siloam.
That pool of water may have been close by, and easy for the blind man to get to: anyway, he obeyed and washed the clay from his eyes and he could see. What a change for him, for he had been born blind, so had never seen any person, a tree, or even light!
The neighbors and others who knew the blind man were so surprised that he could see, they were not sure he was the same person. Some said, “It is he:’’ others said, “It is like him.” But the man was certain, he said, “I am he.” And he told them that Jesus had put the clay on his eyes and told him to wash in the pool of Siloam, and he received sight. Jesus had walked on, but the man did not know where.
A Special Pool
It might seem it would not matter in what water his eyes were washed, but there was a reason for that certain pool. It was an important one of the city near what was once the king’s palace and garden, and very old, for its wall was repaired hundreds of years before in the time of Nehemiah (Neh. 3:1515But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David. (Nehemiah 3:15)). It is written that the name Siloam meant “Sent” (verse 7), so those waters which came from the hills above, taught of Jesus, the One sent from Heaven to give the “water of life”.
Perhaps from this we can understand why Jesus put the clay on the man’s eyes and sent him to wash in that pool. First, He had spit on the clay, which was a sign of the humanity of Christ, in humiliation and lowliness and yet the Son of God with power. All the earth and man were created by God, but because of man’s sin, all is unfit for God. The blind man was in darkness. To cover his eyes with clay seemed to teach that was the result of a nature of sin in which he had been born, and must be cleared away by the power of one sent by God.
Jesus, the One sent from God, had taken an earthly body, but without sin, to bear the wrath of God. How wonderful it was that the pool of Siloam was named long before the Lord Jesus came, to teach about Him.
The Lasting Gift of God
It is said the pool of Siloam is still in use by people of Jerusalem, and would remind us how lasting is the Gift of God, His Son. By our nature we are like that blind man who could not see Jesus’ but he heard His voice. We too may hear His voice in God’s word; he obeyed and followed Jesus’ directions to receive his sight; we too must believe Him to be the only One to save us from wrath and darkness.
Further Meditation:
1. What does the name Siloam mean and what does its meaning teach us?
2. Darkness and light are often used in the Bible as spiritual symbols. Where else can you name that they are used in a way that’s similar to this chapter?
3. The Synopis of the Books of the Bible by J. N. Darby can be difficult to understand at times. However if you have the patience you will be very richly rewarded by its rich spiritual insight into passages such as this one.