Romans 12:3-13, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of
yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in
accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has
one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the
others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is
prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it
is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving,
then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep
your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in
prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Growing together in exhortation.”
Remember the man who was blind from birth? Take a look back at John chapter 9 where
Jesus healed him from his blindness. I make note he was blind from birth, first, because
the Bible tells us this and, second, because his eyesight couldn’t be improved medically. The thought that he had been completely healed blew their minds. This is why they almost didn’t believe it was the same person and bombarded him with questions.
So how did Jesus heal this man? Jesus made a bit of mud using the dirt and his own spit.
However gross or cool you think this was, the meaning behind it is pretty cool. Here Jesus goes again, ticking the Pharisees off by deliberately breaking one of those precious laws.
See, it was Saturday, the Sabbath. What couldn’t you do on the Sabbath? You couldn’t
knead dough. See where we’re going? Yes, they were just that technical. Mixing up that
spit and dirt was “kneading dough”! I’m laughing out loud right now. You? Just think
about how mad those teachers were that Jesus, 1) claimed again he was the Son of God
(v. 5)—this made them mad enough!— 2) kneaded dough, and 3) healed a blind man all
in one day! He just proved he was Lord of the Sabbath. His day, his rules.
The leaders were so mad they threw this man out of the synagogue. But that didn’t stop
the work of salvation that was beginning in this man’s heart. Encouragement on the horizon! Jesus shows up, introduces himself and this man believes, receives salvation and worships Jesus. The Pharisees that were nearby overheard his conversation. They questioned if he meant they were blind, and he told them they were guilty because they
said they could see.
We’re going to dive a bit deep here, so I’ll try and be clear. We have talked about the first
part of this man’s healing, the physical healing. And we’ve touched on the finality, his salvation. But there is an in-between to cover, Jesus sends him to the Pool of Silaom.
If we are to encourage and function as the body, we need to “send” our friends, acquaintances, and loved ones to Jesus for salvation. It isn’t something we can do ourselves. They have to take that leap of faith.
Siloam means “sent” and the location of this pool was near the temple. It’s water was
used every morning, for seven days, during the Feast of Tabernacles. One of the priests
would poor a cup of the water from it out on the altar on the west. On the east side, a
priest poured a wine offering called the drink offering. This was in response to Isaiah
12:3, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” This man was sent to
uncover his blindness. He left physically and spiritually blind. He returned with physical
sight and believing that Jesus was a prophet. The seed had been planted.
This festival had one more day. The very day that this man was healed. On this day, no
water was to be poured out from the Pool of Siloam. This is the day that Jesus makes his
proclamation, “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out,
‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’’” (John 7:37-38). This final day, Jesus fills in for the ‘water’! He is offering the Holy Spirit which is better than pool water. The ultimate encouragement and exhortation for anyone. Jesus is our living water!
Continue to pray for those who need encouragement and hide our memory verse in your heart.
Ephesians 4:22-24, “You were taught to leave your old self—to stop living the evil way
you lived before…because people are fooled by the evil things they want to do; taught
to be made new in your hearts; to become a new person, created to be like God—
righteous and holy.”
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