Living in the Shadow of His Hand

A Clay Ointment

 

“Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.  I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world”. When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.  And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.” – John 9:3-7

Blind since birth, that was his burden every day of his life.  And every day, the religious people that passed by only saw a blind man.  They wondered, did he sin in the womb?  Did his parents sin?  What caused God to make this man blind?  Isn’t that just like religion to focus on crimes and punishments rather than the soul?

But this day was not like any other in his life.  This would be the best day of his life, the day he would always remember.  He heard the footsteps shuffle by.  He heard the questions again about his sin and his parents’ sin.  But then he heard a voice that was not familiar.  It was a voice of authority that answered the question.  Jesus knows our sins, and he understands our circumstances.  He understood this man’s circumstances.  He had been made blind for the sole purpose of allowing God’s power to be seen and understood by the religious people.

Not all bad things that happen to us in this world are satan’s doing.  In fact, none of them are done to us without God’s instruction or consent.  God is Almighty.  To think that satan would have any power that would not be given by God would be to make him equal to God.  God created satan just as He created man.  The created is never equal to the creator – simple as that. God is ALL powerful, the God of Heaven, Earth, and Hell.

Jesus said “I must do the works of Him who sent me”.  Even Jesus was under God’s authority while on earth.  He was fully God, but also fully man, bridging the gap between human and divine.  On this day, the One who sent Him had work for Him to do.  Though Jesus understood the blind man’s circumstances, He desired to change them. 

But why? Why did Jesus want to heal the blind man?  Believe it or not, it wasn’t about the blind man.  It wasn’t about His compassion on this man that had been blind from birth.  It wasn’t even to shut up the religious people and their stupid questions.  It was simply to reveal God to them all.  The things He does in our lives are often done for the same purpose. 

If God were to unveil all His power at one time to us, we would no doubt become frozen and stricken with fear!  Think about it. 

He can part the sea. 

He can speak things into life. 
He can impregnate a woman with His Spirit. 
He can send food falling down from Heaven. 
He can write on a wall with an invisible hand. 
He has power over death.
He can open tombs and bring people that were dead out walking among us. 
He can speak in an auditable voice from His throne to our ears. 
He can turn water into blood.
He can turn water into wine. 
He can cause water to come from a rock.
 
What if you were to see all that happen – and more - at once? 

On this day, God knew that if He just simply allowed Jesus to tell the man, “See!” these poor religion stricken people who were so use to working for their purification and sanctification would never understand it or believe it. 

Spit and clay, what an ointment!  Was it necessary for healing? Absolutely not.  Was it necessary for their belief?  I think so.  He certainly had the power to just speak sight into the blind man’s eyes, but His desire was to create belief in God, not just to heal.  

When I was a little girl, I pondered this story and this ointment quite a bit.  Was there some mineral in the clay that his eyes needed?  Was it not activated until it was wet with His spit?  Was it activated with the pool water at Siloam?  It’s easy to get distracted by God’s methods sometimes and not see what He’s trying to reveal to us.  I’d bet these same religious leaders went around spitting into clay every day trying to reproduce the ointment instead of recognizing the Power of God.

Don’t miss what God is doing by being focused on His methods.  In everything He does, He seeks to reveal Himself to us.