The Saliva Miracle

Imagine being born blind.  Everything is dark.

Those of us with eyes that can see can’t really fathom what blindness is like.  Even on a dark night when I can’t sleep and I open my eyes, it is not totally dark.  My eyes adjust to the darkness and I can make out little things.  But that is not true of someone who is blind.

I remember as a child pretending to be blind by putting a scarf over my eyes.  One of the differences is that I could take my scarf off and see.

So when I read the story of a man who was blind from birth, it is not easy for me to fully understand.

Long Beach, Washington

John 9:1 As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth.

The disciples who were with Jesus wanted to know who was responsible for the blindness.  Was it because of the man’s sin or the parents sin?  It seems odd to ask the question because if the man was born blind what sin would he have committed?

Jesus affirms that neither the man nor his parents sinned.  Sometimes things happen and it’s nobody’s fault.  They just happen.  Especially in this sinful world we live in.

But Jesus didn’t let it go at that.

John 9:6 After saying this, He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva and put it on the man’s eyes.

What happens next is nothing short of a miracle.  John 9:7  Go, He told him, wash in the Pool of Siloam.  So the man went and washed and came home seeing.

The man is blind.  Jesus uses His saliva and dirt from the ground to make mud and put it on the man’s eyes.  Then, the man sees.

There are many different analogies one can make from this story.  My initial inclination is to see how Jesus can take something as common as spit and use it to change a man’s life.  He was blind but not he sees.  And he is able to see because he did what Jesus asked him to do — go and wash.  Get the dirt out of your eyes.

Nothing would have happened had the man chosen not to do as Jesus asks.  He would have remained blind with mud in his eyes.

And later He sees Jesus — His healer — and he worships Him.

I too was blind, but now I see.  So I can only worship Him.