You have seen him

That blind man had never seen Jesus, but he had seen the Pool of Siloam.

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During the days of Jesus Christ's ministry, a man who had been blind from birth was living by begging in Jerusalem; the disciples asked the Lord about this blind man as follows - 1.Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2.And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” - John 9:1-2

Had he possessed his sight but suffered from some other affliction, could one have stood before him and asked, "who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Yet, for this blind man, the situation was pitiful and left him unable to answer; aware of the sin within himself, he was left only with anguish, unable to respond to such questions.

The answer Jesus gave was the most comforting the blind man had ever heard in his life; no one had ever spoken to him that way before. His heart yearned to see the One who had declared him free from sin. Moreover, knowing Jesus had said he was born this way so that the works of God might be displayed in him filled him with an indescribable joy - 3.Jesus answered, It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4.We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5.As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world - John 9:3-5

The parents of the man born blind had tried applying various medicines to his eyes, and he himself had made numerous attempts to gain his sight, yet all had ended in disappointment. Having been let down by both medicines and people, he found comfort in Jesus's kind words and His intercession on his behalf; he then set out for the Pool of Siloam to wash off the clay the Lord had applied to his eyes - 6.Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud: 7.and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. 8.The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”. 9.Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.” He said, “I am he.” - John 9:6-9

Why did he go to the Pool of Siloam? Did he go there to receive his sight? Certainly not! Furthermore, did Jesus apply mud to his eyes only after asking if he wanted to see? That was not the case either! Why, then, did he go to the Pool of Siloam? He went there to wash off and cleanse the mud that was on his eyes. The reason is that if mud gets onto one's eyes, no amount of wiping with one's hands will clean it; instead, it might get inside the eyes and cause irritation. It can only be cleansed by washing with water and that is why he went to the Pool of Siloam.

But when he washed his eyes, a miracle beyond anyone's imagination occurred: beautiful eyes had formed beneath the blind man's eyelids - 10.So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”. 11.He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.”. 12.Then they said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.” - John 9:10-12

I washed, and I see

In a sense, we are just like that blind man; we can neither see the God of heaven nor inherit the Kingdom of God, and the reason for this is the sin dwelling within us. Unless the Spirit of God reveals it, we remain unaware that we are covered in such filth of sin; this is precisely what Jesus Christ did for that blind man—He brought him to a realization of his condition and instructed him to wash away that filth in the Pool of Siloam.

The Pool of Siloam first washed away the clay from his eyes, but during that cleansing, an unimaginable miracle occurred: beautiful eyes were formed beneath the blind man's eyelids. Similarly, when we are washed by the blood of Jesus, it does not merely cleanse us; it transforms us into children of God and grants us eternal life. That is why he said, "I washed, and I see." - 13.They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14.Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15.So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” - John 9:13-15

When he said, "I washed and I see," he was not referring to viewing worldly matters with physical eyes, but to the realization that Jesus is our Savior; that secret would not let him remain silent—it compelled him to bear witness - 24.So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25.He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26.They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27.He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?”. 28.And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29.We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30.The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31.We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32.Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33.If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34.They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out - John 9:24-34

You have seen him

The Lord, who had sent that blind man to the Pool of Siloam, had disappeared from the scene; when the man returned with his sight restored after washing his eyes in the pool, the Lord was no longer there. Why did the Lord choose to leave that place?

On one occasion, when Jesus Christ met the Samaritan woman, He waited until she went into the town and brought the people back; on another, when ten lepers met the Lord, He waited until one of them returned. Yet, in this instance, when the man born blind returned with his sight, the Lord was not there—what was the reason for this?

When reading this incident superficially, one sees only that the Lord made clay with saliva and applied it to the blind man's eyes—prompting the question of whether anyone would actually smear spit on someone's eyes. Yet, what went unnoticed was that the Lord Himself had transformed into the Pool of Siloam to cleanse him; that is why He had disappeared from the immediate scene—Jesus Himself became that water, cleansing the man and restoring his sight, For in him we live and move and have our being - Acts 17:28

Having received his sight, he had never seen Jesus; however, his eyes had beheld the Pool of Siloam—the very place that had cleansed him. That pool was the first thing he ever saw, which is why the Lord said to him, "You have seen Him."  - 35.Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36.He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”. 37.Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38.He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him - John 9:35-38

"His form" you have never seen

At the same time, many in Jerusalem had seen Jesus with their own eyes, the "form of God" - 6.who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7.but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men - Philippians 2:6-7

if asked where He was, they would point and identify Him—"There He is." Yet, they did not feel the need for the cleansing and forgiveness of sins that comes through the blood of Jesus Christ, and there was no room for Him in their hearts. It was regarding such people that Jesus Christ spoke - His voice you have never heard, "His form" you have never seen - John 5:33-37

 those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind

When the Bible speaks of the Son of God, it says that He would come into this world so that those who do not see might see, and those who see might become blind - 39.Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”  40.Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41.Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains - John 9:39-41

However, Jesus Christ opens the eyes of the simple and offers salvation and the kingdom of heaven - 3.Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4.Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”. 5.Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6.then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert - Isaiah 35:3-6

At the same time, He blinds the eyes of the proud - 9.And he said, “Go, and say to this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10.Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” - Isaiah 6:9-10

The Prophecy Concerning the Pool of Siloam

However, Jesus Christ opens the eyes of the simple and offers salvation and the kingdom of heaven - 9.Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10.The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people - Genesis 49:9-10

In the land of Israel, near the Jerusalem Temple, there was a pool called Siloam—known in Hebrew as *Shalach* [שָׁלַח], which means "Sent." Archaeologists have discovered this pool and confirmed its location; it was built by King Hezekiah during the time of the prophet Isaiah. - The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? - II Kings 20:20

King Hezekiah had also arranged to channel water to that pool in the City of David -  This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works - II Chronicles 32:30 

The prophet Isaiah, who lived during the time of King Hezekiah, prophesied using the very name of that pool that God the Father would send the Son to save us - 1.The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent [שָׁלַח => shâ-lach] me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2.to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, 3.to grant to those who mourn in Zion to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. - Isaiah 61:1-3

It was this prophecy of Isaiah that Jesus Christ read in the synagogue at the beginning of His ministry, thereby declaring to the world that He was the One sent by God - 16.And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17.And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18.The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent [שָׁלַח => shâ-lach] me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19.to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, 20.And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21.And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” - Luke 4:16-21

Next Chapter: See, you have become well