"After He said these things He spit on the ground, made some mud from the saliva, and spread the mud on his eyes. 'Go,' He told him, 'wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means 'Sent'). So he left, washed, and came back seeing."
John 9:6-7, HCSB
So Jesus is the Light... and He is also the Living Water... and that makes the saliva, in this case, a liquid of illumination. Now, I know all the "mother earth" people probably read this and think it's amazing that Jesus healed this man with the ground, but that is not what it says. It says that the ground was mixed with the saliva and that mud was spread over the eyes, and then a command to go and wash it off was given. So, to be clear, let's dismiss this ridiculous notion of a "mother earth," because there is no such thing. God created the earth, and now the Son is using His own creation to complete His will for this moment, and that is that.
Moving on, the mud Christ made with His saliva is spread upon the eyes of the blind man, directly applied to the eyes. A thing that I would like for you to notice here is that it doesn't say it was spread on his eyelids, but rather "on his eyes." This would mean that it is directly applied to the eyeball on both sides, and something grainy like mud does not sound like a pleasant addition to such a sensitive organ. However, it is directly applied, and the man is then given a strange command... when you consider that he is blind from birth.
Jesus tells him to go and clean the mud off in a specific pool. I don't know about you, but I tend to think that a blind person, with no ability to see anything ever in life, has found ways to navigate their surroundings in this day and age. Even in the days of Christ, the senses that become stronger to compensate for the loss of one were still very much a part of our human nature, so it is possible that this man had a good sense of where he was at all times, and what was around him. I always assumed from this story that there were people present to aid the man in moving to the pool to wash, honestly, but then I read it more carefully. There is no one that aids the man, according to the text. He is told to go to a place, and to wash, and it is said to "him," not them or all those around... just to this one man who could not see.
Better still, it is recorded for us that he does in fact go, and he washes his eyes in the pool, and he "came back seeing." I stand in awe of the power of the Christ, as the man is literally washed by the Living Water, blessed directly from literal darkness into light by the Light. The love that shines forth in that moment... wow! I mean, what would you say? I know it is impossible to imagine you were seeing for the first time, because if you're reading this, you have seen all your life (just a guess, but probably a sound one), but if you could, try to imagine it. Your entire life has been spent in total darkness, and then a Man comes by, rubs mud into your eyes (which had to feel weird at the very least), and then you rinse them off... and there is something other than darkness!!!
For the first time, there is a sensation in your mind that excites your pulse as you SEE the things that you have only known by touch and sound, and you begin to have the childlike wonder of youth wash over you. Understand, at this point you have no concept of what colors are, or what dim or dull or dingy or bright or shiny or reflective or any other such descriptor could possibly mean, and so each and every moment is an amazing revelation. Also, since you're washing in a pool, when this happens, the first thing you get to see is what God made in His image... you. No mental picture or imagination could possibly have met this level of detail, and you are literally breathless over it all.
Next we'll look to the reactions of others, and the realization that this Sign was performed, but for now we need to focus on the blessing that comes from having Jesus open our eyes. We may not have been literally blind, but our life certainly lacked the Light until He came. Give thanks for that Light today, and honor the Lord in doing so!
God bless you all!!!
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