Blogger: Amber Schamel
"Go, wash in the pool of Siloam."
When we read this command in John 9:7, we usually don't stop to think of the significance. But I think there is more to the story of the blind man's healing than meets the eye.
Thanks to John's explanation, we know that Siloam is translated "sent." Because the Messiah is identified as "the Sent One", this pool was also recorded as being call The Messiah's Pool.
|Ruins of the Pool of Siloam|
The location of the Siloam pool was under debate for many years. According to the accounts left us by Josephus, it would appear that the pool was outside the city walls near where the Tyropoeon Valley terminates. However the Biblical accounts indicate that the pool was close to the temple, inside the walls.
In 2004, the during a construction effort to repair a water pipe to the south of the Temple Mount, near the old City of David, a discovery was made. Two archeologist identified it as two steps. Further excavations revealed a pool hewn out of rock with steps leading down into its depths. The find was soon identified as the true Pool of Siloam.
The Pool is fed by the waters of the Gihon spring, also known as the Virgin Spring, which is the only fresh water in the Jerusalem area. King Hezekiah built a tunnel in the early 7th century B.C. to channel water from the Gihon spring into the city so that the inhabitants could have water without leaving the city walls. The tunnel is more than 1,700 feet long and winds its way beneath the ground. When my family and I went to Jerusalem, we got to hike through the tunnel, and came out at the excavated ruins of the Siloam Pool. Water still flows through the tunnel today.
|Hiking through Hezekiah's tunnel|
In Jesus time, the pool was located in the Lower City, or the poor quarter of Jerusalem. It was within sight of the Temple Mount. The flowing water from the fresh spring made it suitable for ritual baths, as well as drinking. It is believed that many poor and sick folk came to Siloam to bathe, and that it also may have been used as a Roman-style swimming pool.
During the Feast of Tabernacles, a golden pitcher of water would be drawn from Siloam and carried to the Temple Mount.
The types that we discovered here are amazing. We have The Messiah's Pool, which is fed by the Virgin Spring and is a source of life, cleansing and healing for the poor and sickly. Perhaps this is why Christ sent the blind man to wash here. Maybe by so doing, the blind man recognized who Jesus was and was able to fall on his knees and proclaim, "Lord, I believe!"
This is one of the reasons that I chose this beautiful and significant pool as the site of Malon's baptism in The Master's Calling, which just released TODAY!
To celebrate the launch of the last book in the Days of Messiah series, I'm giving away a Kindle Copy to one commenter! Leave your name and email address to get your name in the party hat.