Jesus intentionally used mud, a common folk remedy for eye ailments, to highlight that His healing power wasn't dependent on the means, but on Him. By employing such an ordinary, even messy, substance, He demonstrated that even the simplest elements can be conduits for Divine power, lifting the mundane to the miraculous.
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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus has just explained that the man’s blindness was not due to sin but for God’s glory to be revealed. He then immediately takes action, using mud made from his saliva and the earth to anoint the man's eyes. This physical act is a tangible part of the miraculous healing that is about to unfold.
Jesus uses spit and mud to heal a man born blind. Was this just an ancient folk remedy, or something more profound?
The Healing Touch
It's easy to look at Jesus spitting on the ground and making mud, and think, 'Was that just some old-school medical practice?' The ancient world certainly used saliva, especially 'fasting saliva' (that is, saliva before eating), for eye ailments. Many doctors and even common folk believed it had healing properties, a kind of folk medicine.
Divine Power in Ordinary Means
While the practice might have seemed familiar, Jesus elevated it. He took something ordinary – spit and dirt – and infused it with divine power. He wasn't limited to these means; He could have healed with a word or a touch. Yet, He often chose to use physical actions and materials.
This shows us two crucial things:
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Anointing with mud might seem strange, even counterproductive! Why did Jesus do it this way?
The Blind Man's Leap of Faith
Jesus didn't just heal the man; He tested his faith and obedience in a remarkable way. Imagine being born blind, and a stranger puts mud in your eyes. It could easily feel like a mockery or a senseless act.
Obedience as the Pathway to Sight
The man's willingness to follow Jesus's instructions—to go and wash in the pool of Siloam—was crucial. His obedience, stemming from a nascent faith, unlocked the miracle.
This interaction reminds us that faith isn't just belief; it's active trust expressed through obedience, even when we don't fully understand God's methods.
Why mud? Could this simple act be a powerful symbol pointing to something much bigger than just healing?
Remaking Humanity
Some scholars suggest Jesus's use of clay to heal the man born blind was a deliberate echo of the very first creation. When God formed Adam, He used the dust of the earth.
The Sending and the Seeing
Furthermore, the pool Jesus sent the man to, the Pool of Siloam, has a name rich with meaning. The name 'Siloam' in Hebrew can mean 'Sent'.
Through these layers of meaning—creation and His own mission—Jesus reveals His identity as the divine Healer and Creator, bringing sight to both physical and spiritual blindness.
Understand the original words
eptusen · Greek Verb
To eject saliva from the mouth. In the ancient Near East, saliva was sometimes believed to have medicinal or ritual properties, though here it serves as an agent of Jesus' miraculous power.
pēlon · Greek Noun
Earthy material mixed with liquid. In Scripture, it often symbolizes human frailty or the dust from which humanity was created, yet here it becomes a medium for a creative miracle.
ptusmatos · Greek Noun
The clear liquid secreted by the glands in the mouth. In this context, it is the physical element used by Jesus to heal, demonstrating his authority over nature and the use of tangible means to accomplish divine purposes.
epechrisen · Greek Verb
To apply oil or another substance to a person or thing, usually in a religious or consecratory context. Here, it denotes the application of the healing agent to the man's eyes.
kolumbēthran · Greek Noun
A reservoir or body of water collected for a specific purpose. Biblically, pools are often sites of healing or purification; Siloam specifically relates to the "sending" of the water from the Gihon spring.
apestalmenos · Greek Verb/Adjective
A term meaning "sent." In the context of the Gospel of John, it serves as a christological typology, as Jesus is the one "sent" by the Father to bring light and healing to the world.
Jesus' act of healing the man born blind involves specific, symbolic actions rooted in common (though debated) ancient understandings of healing. The anointing with mud, followed by washing in the Pool of Siloam (meaning 'Sent'), highlights both Jesus' creative power and His divine mission, while also creating a public spectacle that fuels the theological disputes of the time.
c. 27 AD
Jesus begins public ministry
Jesus starts his public ministry in Galilee, performing miracles, teaching, and gathering disciples. This period sees increasing crowds and attention from religious authorities.
c. 30 AD— this verse
Jesus encounters the man born blind
Jesus and his disciples encounter a man who has been blind from birth. Jesus chooses to heal him in a unique and symbolic way.
c. 30 AD
Healing and scrutiny
The man is healed on the Sabbath, leading to immediate conflict with the Pharisees who question the miracle and Jesus' authority.
c. 30 AD
Excommunication and confession
The healed man, after defending Jesus, is excommunicated by the religious leaders. Jesus later finds him and the man confesses his faith in Him.
c. 30-33 AD
Jesus' ministry continues
Jesus' ministry progresses towards Jerusalem, with increasing opposition and theological discussions about His identity and authority.
This passage describes God forming man from the dust of the earth, mirroring Jesus' use of clay, suggesting a new creation or a restoration of God's original design through His power.
2 Kings 4:29Elisha used his staff in a similar symbolic action to bring about healing, showing a pattern where God's prophets used physical means to enact His power.
Isaiah 8:6The prophet Isaiah contrasts the despised waters of Shiloah with powerful streams, paralleling Jesus sending the man to the pool of Siloam, implying a deeper spiritual meaning connected to God's sent one.
Mark 7:33Jesus also used physical means, like touching the deaf man's ears and spitting, to bring about healing, demonstrating that physical touch and substances can be conduits for divine power.
1 Corinthians 1:27The Apostle Paul speaks of God using the foolish and weak things of the world to shame the wise and strong, which resonates with Jesus using mud and spit, seemingly ordinary and even unsanitary, to perform a profound miracle.
vincentJohn 9:6: "When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,"
On the ground (χαμαὶ)Only here and John 18:6.Anointed (ἐπέχρισε)Only here and John 9:11. The spittle was regarded as having a peculiar virtue, not only as a remedy for diseases of the eye, but generally as a charm, so that it was employed in incantations. Persius, describing an old crone handling an infant, says: "She takes the babe from the cradl…
ellicottJohn 9:6: "When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,"
(6) And he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. —The words “blind man” are omitted in some of the older MSS. The marginal rendering, and He spread the clay upon the eyes of the blind man (or, upon his eyes ) , is to be preferred. The details given in this and the next verse are evidently to be regarded as part of the sign. They impressed…
Jesus intentionally used mud, a common folk remedy for eye ailments, to highlight that His healing power wasn't dependent on the means, but on Him. By employing such an ordinary, even messy, substance, He demonstrated that even the simplest elements can be conduits for Divine power, lifting the mundane to the miraculous.
Jesus has just explained that the man’s blindness was not due to sin but for God’s glory to be revealed. He then immediately takes action, using mud made from his saliva and the earth to anoint the man's eyes. This physical act is a tangible part of the miraculous healing that is about to unfold.
Jesus has just explained that the man’s blindness was not due to sin but for God’s glory to be revealed. He then immediately takes action, using mud made from his saliva and the earth to anoint the man's eyes. This physical act is a tangible part of the miraculous healing that is about to unfold.
"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." — Jesus intentionally used mud, a common folk remedy for eye ailments, to highlight that His healing power wasn't dependent on the means, but on Him. By employing such an ordinary, even messy, substanc…
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Last reviewed October 2026
