It's the first day of an eleven-day tour of Israel and I'm sitting on the steps of the pool of Siloam near the city of David, in Jerusalem. Our guide is explaining how Jewish people ritually cleansed themselves here before the long walk up the hill to the temple.

In recent years, archaeologists have been uncovering more and more evidence to prove the authenticity of biblical places and events. The pool of Siloam was initially uncovered in 2004 during construction work to repair a large water pipe near the city of David. Its history reaches back to King Hezekiah's time, when he dug a 1,750-foot (533 metre) tunnel under the city of David to bring water from the Gihon spring. Our group had been sloshing through that tunnel just before we sat down here at the Pool of Siloam. Right behind us is the recently excavated Herodian Road on which worshippers — and Jesus — walked up the hill from the pool to the temple.

John 9:11 – He told them, "The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.' So I went and washed, and now I can see!" (NLT)

This is the pool where Jesus healed the man blind from birth. From the Scripture, it appears that, at first, the blind man thought that the pool had a role in his healing. But unlike the pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed an invalid, this pool had no miraculous properties. The Pharisees interrogated him, trying to stir up trouble for Jesus, but he stood firm: "But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!" (John 9:25b NLT) However, it still doesn't appear that he fully understood who this Man was who had healed him.

John 9:35-38 – When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" The man answered, "Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him." "You have seen him," Jesus said, "and he is speaking to you!" "Yes, Lord, I believe!" the man said. And he worshiped Jesus. (NLT)

Finally, he got it right. He worshiped Jesus, not the pool. He understood that his healing came from his interaction with Jesus. It is the same today. Healing may come in miraculous ways, or it may come through the gifted hands of medical practitioners. But it all still comes from Jesus.

1 John 2:5b-6 – By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (ESV)

As I listen to the guide, it's tempting to focus on being at the actual location where Jesus walked by this pool 2,000 years ago, when He and the disciples encountered the blind man and then went up the Herodian Road where He met the Pharisees. But it's not about walking where Jesus walked; it's about walking in the same way in which He walked: in total dependence upon His indwelling Spirit to be at work in us always, enabling us to abide in Him, to trust Him, and to believe in Him, as did the man blind from birth. Today, we can rejoice that He not only heals us physically, but that He also heals the spiritually blind who call on Him.

Prayer: Lord, it is incredible to visit the places where You lived, walked, and worked. It's even more incredible to realize the sacrifices that You made for us as You came to earth to make atonement for our sins. Help us in our feeble efforts to walk in the same way in which You walked. Amen.

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Sharon Cook <craftercook@gmail.com>
Apache Junction, Arizona, USA
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