6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7 "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
Here we see the Great Physician refusing to respond to this man born blind with a rote remedy. Jesus used His achieving powers to heal in various ways in Scripture. Certainly, He could have spoken the Word and the man would have been healed. He could have touched His eyes, snapped His fingers, and clapped His hands - or anything else for that matter - and produced the exact results. Yet here our Lord does something a bit out of the ordinary. Taking what was of man (dirt) and combining it with what came from Him (saliva), He mixes together a salve (on the Sabbath no less) anointing the eyes that could not see.
Meager means mixed with the power of Jesus will minister the miraculous. Jugs filled with water turned to wine, a small boys lunch to feed the thousands, dirt mixed with spittle healing the blind. How like the Lord to use the ordinary. That begs the question for us as well. Do we take our meager ordinary means and mix them with the achieving power of the Mater to minister mercy miraculously? A smile or an encouraging word for the downtrodden, a meal for the hungry, a visit for the lonely, a denial of self for the benefit of others – you get my drift. Needs are rampant and most - if not all - are able to minister in their sphere in some form or fashion. We need not preach Truth particularly if we are unwilling to practice it – we are to make the Truth visible.
“Be the first, wherever there is a sacrifice to be made, a self-denial to be practiced, or an impetus to be given.” Amy Carmichael
Of this, regarding Amy, Elizabeth Elliot writes: “It was no empty pedantry. Her own life made the truth visible to her children. The word became flesh and lived with them.”
As believers, Paul confirms our abilities in Philippians through the achieving power and strength of Christ dwelling within us:
13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Phil 4:13 (NIV)
19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19 (NIV)
How like our Jesus to always be about His Father’s business – He was simply fulfilling His purpose in coming - opening the spiritual eyes of the blind and unstopping their deaf ears. The prophet Isaiah tells us:
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. 7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. 8 And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. Isaiah 35:5-8 (NIV)
Interestingly, we find Jesus using His saliva for medicinal purposes two other times in Scripture – one for the healing a deaf and dumb man and another for the healing a blind man – these also fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy. Mark tells us in his gospel:
32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. 33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!"). 35 At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. Mark 7:32-35 (NIV)
22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" 24 He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." 25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Mark 8:22-25 (NIV)
Lastly, our Lord gives the following directive to the infirmed – “Go” – “Wash in the Pool of Siloam” (Sent). In obedience to the command of our Lord, the man goes and washes and is healed. Our obedience demonstrates our faith. Simply put, if we believe Him we will obey Him.
28 He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." Luke 11:28 (NIV)