Mystical Gleanings from John Chapter 9

We often miss the deeper truth for the truth that is floating on top of the water.  But if one would only dig a little deeper, all kinds of spiritual treasures are hidden and found in God's Word.  The Gospel of Mark tells an important blind man story where a man is partially healed and only sees partially.  Jesus touches the man a second time and he then can clearly see.  This is a pattern throughout the gospel of Mark concerning blindness, partial seeing, and finally after the resurrection, the complete seeing by Jesus disciples.

Here in John Chapter 9 is another story of a blind man that Jesus heals.  Deeper spiritual meaning concerns our own need for spiritual healing and our own spiritual blindness.  God wants to shed spiritual light into our inner darkness.  Here Jesus takes dirt and clay and heals a blind man.  Just like God took dirt and clay and formed man in the first chapter of Genesis, here is Jesus restoring sight and bringing into the world God's brighter spiritual light which comes from the Messiah Jesus.  Just like Israel needed new life and hope, here comes Jesus who fulfills all of Israel's prophecies and dreams.

Jesus is like a new Elisha opening blind eyes.  Jesus is the wisdom of God, the divine Sophia who forms man from the dust of the earth and has the creative power to restore eyes that can not see.  Jesus is the eternal light where open eyes can see spiritually.  The first man and woman were trying to see and be like God without God.  But now, here is Jesus, God with us.

Jesus name occurs seven times in this chapter.  This is the sixth miracle of seven miracles in the Gospel of John and seven reveals Jesus who is the perfect man of God.  The seven miracles happen in chapter 2, 4, 5, 6 (twice), 9, and 11.  There are seven churches John names later in the book of Revelation and seven spirits of God.  There are seven feasts in the Jewish calendar all  pointing to the seven days of creation.  This divine creation pattern is seen throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation from the plagues of Egypt to the end-time apocalypse.  Each judgment corresponding to a certain idolatry which stretches our imagination to look within and see what idols plague our own lives.