When Dust Meets Destiny: Seeing Through the Sign of John 9
“We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” …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 and said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.”—John 9:4–7 (ESV)
The healing of the man born blind is more than a miracle, it’s a message. John, more than any other Gospel writer, intentionally structures the life of Jesus around signs, miraculous acts that don’t just display power but reveal purpose. They are windows into the identity of Jesus and what it means to follow Him.
In John 9, we don’t just see a healing, we see through the healing. And if we pay attention, it changes how we see.
Seeing Through the Sign
Jesus and His disciples encounter a man born blind. The disciples, like so many before and after them, get caught in a theological debate:
“Who sinned, this man or his parents?”
It’s a conversation rooted in darkness, not life. It’s about causes, not restoration. But Jesus shifts the entire framework. He’s not interested in assigning blame. He’s focused on revealing the work of God.
“We must work the works of Him who sent me… I am the light of the world.”
What follows is as strange as it is stunning. Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud, and anoints the man’s eyes. It’s creative. It’s messy. It’s deeply intentional.
Dust and Divinity
What is Jesus doing here?
This isn’t random. This is a reenactment of Genesis. Just as God formed man from the dust of the earth, here Jesus combines spit, water from His mouth, a symbol of Spirit and breath, with dust to form something new.
In Jewish and Greco-Roman thought, saliva had medicinal value. It was thought to carry healing properties. Jesus, the Word made flesh, uses this symbol of divine breath and power to form a healing paste.
This is not just healing, this is new creation.
Dust touched by God becomes a sign. A declaration that Jesus is not only the Healer, but the Creator forming light out of darkness, order out of chaos, vision out of blindness.
Go Wash in the Pool of Siloam (“Sent”)
John, always deliberate, includes this note:
“…which means Sent.”
It’s not a throwaway line. It’s a theological spotlight.
Jesus, the Sent One from the Father (John 3:17, 5:36, 6:29), tells the man to wash in the place called “Sent.” In doing so, He creates a double sign:
Obedience to the Sent One’s instruction leads to sight, both natural and spiritual. The man comes back seeing, not just physically, but eventually spiritually, confessing Jesus as Lord (John 9:38).
From Clay to Commission: What Sent Ones Do
Jesus said, “We must work the works of Him who sent me.” That’s not just about Him—it’s about us.
The healing of the blind man reminds us of who Jesus is:
But it also reveals who we are:
This is the message of the sign:
If you’ll be about the Father’s business, it will change what and how you see.
When You Go, You’ll See
We often want sight before obedience. But this story flips the equation.
Obedience precedes revelation.
Going leads to seeing.
The man could have argued, hesitated, or waited for something to make sense. Instead, he went. He washed. He came back seeing.
What if your clarity is on the other side of obedience?
What if your sight is waiting for you at the place called Sent?
The Sign Still Speaks
The healing in John 9 is more than a display of divine compassion, it’s a prophetic call:
From dust to disciple.
From blind to bold.
From sent for healing to sent for mission.
The question is:
Will you go?
Will you obey?
Will you see?
The healing of the man born blind is more than a miracle, it’s a message. John, more than any other Gospel writer, intentionally structures the life of Jesus around signs, miraculous acts that don’t just display power but reveal purpose. They are windows into the identity of Jesus and what it means to follow Him.
In John 9, we don’t just see a healing, we see through the healing. And if we pay attention, it changes how we see.
Seeing Through the Sign
Jesus and His disciples encounter a man born blind. The disciples, like so many before and after them, get caught in a theological debate:
“Who sinned, this man or his parents?”
It’s a conversation rooted in darkness, not life. It’s about causes, not restoration. But Jesus shifts the entire framework. He’s not interested in assigning blame. He’s focused on revealing the work of God.
“We must work the works of Him who sent me… I am the light of the world.”
What follows is as strange as it is stunning. Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud, and anoints the man’s eyes. It’s creative. It’s messy. It’s deeply intentional.
Dust and Divinity
What is Jesus doing here?
This isn’t random. This is a reenactment of Genesis. Just as God formed man from the dust of the earth, here Jesus combines spit, water from His mouth, a symbol of Spirit and breath, with dust to form something new.
In Jewish and Greco-Roman thought, saliva had medicinal value. It was thought to carry healing properties. Jesus, the Word made flesh, uses this symbol of divine breath and power to form a healing paste.
This is not just healing, this is new creation.
Dust touched by God becomes a sign. A declaration that Jesus is not only the Healer, but the Creator forming light out of darkness, order out of chaos, vision out of blindness.
Go Wash in the Pool of Siloam (“Sent”)
John, always deliberate, includes this note:
“…which means Sent.”
It’s not a throwaway line. It’s a theological spotlight.
Jesus, the Sent One from the Father (John 3:17, 5:36, 6:29), tells the man to wash in the place called “Sent.” In doing so, He creates a double sign:
- The man is healed by trusting the word of the Sent One.
- And by washing in the waters of “sent-ness.”
Obedience to the Sent One’s instruction leads to sight, both natural and spiritual. The man comes back seeing, not just physically, but eventually spiritually, confessing Jesus as Lord (John 9:38).
From Clay to Commission: What Sent Ones Do
Jesus said, “We must work the works of Him who sent me.” That’s not just about Him—it’s about us.
The healing of the blind man reminds us of who Jesus is:
- The Creator who breathes into dust,
- The Redeemer who sees beyond shame,
- The Sent One who opens blind eyes.
But it also reveals who we are:
- People of dust,
- Transformed by divine encounter,
- Washed in “sent-ness,”
- Empowered to see differently
- And called to go as sent ones ourselves (Matthew 28:19).
This is the message of the sign:
If you’ll be about the Father’s business, it will change what and how you see.
When You Go, You’ll See
We often want sight before obedience. But this story flips the equation.
Obedience precedes revelation.
Going leads to seeing.
The man could have argued, hesitated, or waited for something to make sense. Instead, he went. He washed. He came back seeing.
What if your clarity is on the other side of obedience?
What if your sight is waiting for you at the place called Sent?
The Sign Still Speaks
The healing in John 9 is more than a display of divine compassion, it’s a prophetic call:
- To believe in the One who is Sent,
- To allow Him to touch the dust of your life with the breath of His Spirit,
- To be transformed,
- And to go as one who is sent working the works of God while it is day.
From dust to disciple.
From blind to bold.
From sent for healing to sent for mission.
The question is:
Will you go?
Will you obey?
Will you see?
Posted in 2025 Bible Plan
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