John 9:6-7 6After saying these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva, and he smeared the mud over his eyes 7and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and returned seeing.
These verses are linked to the previous ones and illustrate Jesus as the light of the world. Jesus brings light to the darkness of the man born blind. Jesus could have simply said the word and the man would have been healed, like in other situations recorded in the Gospels. Instead, he did symbolic action by making a mud ball with his spit and putting it on the man’s eyes. Jesus used saliva other times to heal blind people (Mark 7:33; 8:23). The wetness of saliva could be felt by a blind person and served as a tangible experience of the divine touch. In this story, there is no mention of the blind man calling out for help. Rather, Jesus took the initiative to reach out to the man. This suggests that this episode was a symbolic teaching experience to the disciples and those who heard about it later.
esus’ use of mud is curious, with many ideas and opinions about why he healed the man this way. Part of the reason may be found in verse 7 with Jesus’ direction for the man to wash in the pool of Siloam. Humans were created out of dirt (Genesis 2:7) and will return to the dirt (Genesis 3:19). Wet dirt in the form of mud covered the man’s eyes, making him even more blind. He likely had damaged eyes or even empty sockets since he was born that way. The mud was a form of re-creation of what was damaged. A miracle took place as the man found his way to the famous pool and washed the mud off. What was happening in his mind as he walked? Blind people, especially someone born that way, develop other senses, especially hearing. He may have heard the debates or at least the rumors about Jesus. Hope may have sparked in his journey to the pool. As the story continues, his knowledge of Jesus was limited. His faith needed to grow into understanding.
The healing of this man is symbolic in the sequence of John’s Gospel, especially in how many Jews remained in spiritual darkness. Jesus obeyed the Father in all things, and so this healing is an example of this. As the Light of the world, Jesus brings spiritual sight to those who live in darkness. The blind man represents those in spiritual darkness who wander lost without hope. To those willing to be Sent (Siloam is from the Hebrew šilôaḥ, which is from the verb šālaḥ “to send”) to the pool of healing can experience light in their spiritual darkness, and this light represents the healing of eternal life. Jesus was “sent” from the Father. John may have mentioned this name on purpose because the man symbolically goes to the place known as Sent. The cleansing away of the creative mud allowed the man to see clearly and experience Jesus in a deeper and more personal way.
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