The Sign Nobody Asked For

A man born blind never asks Jesus for his sight. Jesus just gives it to him, unasked, and it costs the man everything else he had: his community, his synagogue, his parents' support.

John 9:1 English - ESV

The disciples want a theology lesson: whose sin caused this John 9:2 English - ESV. Jesus refuses the question. Neither, he says, this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him John 9:3 English - ESV. Then he spits in the dirt, makes mud, and puts it on the man's eyes. John 9:6 English - ESV

That is the strangest detail in the whole account. God does not need mud to heal. He chooses to use it anyway, ordinary dirt and spit, on a body that has never once worked right, to make a point about how he touches the parts of us that feel most unfixable.

John 9:5 English - ESV

The man never saw Jesus' face before he was healed. He believes before he fully understands, and worships after. John 9:38 English - ESV Sometimes clarity about who Jesus is comes after you've already obeyed him, not before.

The Pool of Siloam, where the man washed the mud from his eyes and came back seeing.

John 9 Berean Standard Bible - Bob Souer

The Pool of Siloam. Where the man was sent to wash the mud away.