Okay, I haven’t posted anything on here in over a month. It is
a bit difficult to get back in rhythm after all the holidays. By the way, a happy belated new year, 2016,
to all. Now, I suppose we can get back into writing a bit. I don’t really have
any special commentary or essay at this time, but whenever that happens, I can
always share something I recently read that I feel would be worthwhile for all
to read, so here is something. I suppose that many of us know the story in the
Gospel of John in which Jesus heals a man that was blind from birth by spitting
on the ground, making clay with it, putting the clay in the man’s eyes, and
later telling him to wash in the Siloam Pool. Well, in case you don’t know it,
I am sharing John 9: 1-11below, so you can read it for yourself.
[1] As he passed by, he saw a man
blind from his birth.
[2] And his disciples asked him,
"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
[3] Jesus answered, "It was
not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be
made manifest in him.
[4] We must work the works of him
who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work.
[5] As long as I am in the world, I
am the light of the world."
[6] As he said this, he spat on the
ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay,
[7] saying to him, "Go, wash
in the pool of Silo'am" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came
back seeing.
[8] The neighbors and those who had
seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit
and beg?"
[9] Some said, "It is
he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am
the man."
[10] They said to him, "Then how
were your eyes opened?"
[11] He answered, "The man
called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, `Go to Silo'am and
wash'; so I went and washed and received my sight (RSV Bible)."
There is more to the story in context, but this gives a
basic understanding of it. You probably thought that I was going to give some
sort of exposition on the story, but I am not. This post is just a bit of
archeological apologetics. That pool was not some fictional place. It was a
real place in history for which we have archeological evidence. I wanted to
share this article on the pool from the Biblical Archaeology Society titled: The Siloam Pool: Where Jesus Healed the
Blind Man. I hope you enjoy reading and getting more acquainted with the
historical background of the pool which dates about eight centuries before
Jesus. Blessings and the article is below!
The Siloam Pool: Where Jesus Healed the Blind Man - Biblical Archaeology Society
References:
RSV Bible