Seeing the Opportunity to Exercise Faith!

Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!”

‭‭John‬ ‭9:6-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I love the story of the blind man. Blind from birth. Blind not because of anything he’d done, but because of the curse of sin handed down from Adam. I love his testimony.

This one thing I know. I was blind, but now I see.”

It’s fascinating to me that Jesus chose to heal this man in the manner that He did. Spitting on the ground. Making mud. Smearing it on the blind man’s eyes. Telling him to wash the mud off.

Was any of this necessary? Certainly there were no healing properties in the mud to restore sight. This wasn’t part of a religious ritual to perform to invoke God’s blessing for sight. Why spit? Why make mud? Why wipe it on the man’s eyes? What was this about?

I’m not going to pretend to know what Jesus was thinking or what His intentions were. I’m puzzled by Jesus’ methodology. But I’m certain of this. Jesus acted with intentionality.

What could His intentions be?

From what we’re told, the blind man didn’t ask to be healed. He might not have even known Jesus was nearby, or who Jesus was. Perhaps he stood out because he was begging. We often find the blind begging in the Gospels, and this man was known as a blind beggar.

His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?””

‭‭John‬ ‭9:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The disciples noticed him and asked Jesus a question.

“Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?””

‭‭John‬ ‭9:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Was Jesus upset at their lack of compassion for this man’s condition? Perhaps. Did Jesus want them to understand God’s grace and power to heal? Definitely!

“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭9:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The blind man didn’t ask to be healed. The blind man didn’t know Jesus was there. Perhaps Jesus used mud simply to give the blind man a step of faith to take? By covering his eyes with mud and asking him to go to the pool to wash it off, Jesus was giving the blind man an opportunity to believe and obey.

The blind man could have ignored Jesus, scoffed and cursed at Him, and wiped the mud off with his cloak. He could have thought, “Don’t play games with me! Don’t make a joke of my blindness and have fun at my expense, you jerk! Get away from me!!” But no. Instead, he listened to Jesus and did what he was told. He acted in faith, believing that Jesus could heal him.

Perhaps that was the intent behind the mud. It didn’t make sense medically, but it was a step of faith spiritually.

There are times God asks us to do things that don’t make sense. We’re blinded to His intent. But when we obey, when we act in faith, we experience the grace and the power of God. Our eyes of faith are opened to see God and our situation in a whole new way.

Jesus Himself displayed this same obedience to His Father. He wanted the Twelve to understand that there were moments where faith must be acted upon. No delay. No debate. Just decide. Yes, I will obey.