S'morevangelism

Scripture

6Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing! 8His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!” John 9:6-9

Observation

The gospel of john gives us the meaning of the word "siloam" as being "sent." The Greek word is Ewáu. A fuller explanation of the word is provided by Thayer as "a sending out, gushing forth' (of water)." The meaning of Siloam suggests that the water was gushing or being sent into the pool. The blind man had endured a life time of ridicule as anyone blind was thought to be that way due to their own sin. When Jesus came and spit in to the dirt he would have assumed it’s just another Rabbi showing his disgust. Then, Jesus did something unexpected and quite repulsive. He turned the mud into a poultice and applied it to the man’s eyes. The One who formed Adam from the dirt was now restoring his sight with wet dirt. The One who was sent for us as the river of life used his own saliva to bring this man not just to healing but salvation. The man had no idea that this miracle healing that culminated in the pool of “the sent”  was going to make him the sent one. It’s not a surprise that the word got around and all the way back to the religious leaders.  This uneducated man actually had a better grasp on theology than all of those knowledgable religious leaders. He responded to their impatient questions with clarity and humility, 30“Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.” (Jn. 9:30-32)

Application

Do we see ourselves as sent ones? When Jesus prayed in John 17:18- “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” He used the Greek word “apostello,” the noun from which we get our English word “apostle.”  Jesus was the first Apostle, the first “sent one” – “Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession…” (Heb 3:1). Like Christ was sent Christians are sent. We are an extension of Him in this world, on assignment. We have the privilege of carrying on this mission. Like the blind man we all have a story to share. Some people will receive and find Jesus. Some people who feel they already see, like those religious leaders, will reject it. People’s response to our story of salvation is not up to us. Our assignment is to go where He sends us. I find it interesting that before the apostles were ever commissioned by Jesus we have this blind man already walking out his assignment. We have made a grave mistake in communicating that only “the professionals”, the Peter, James, and John types, are sent ones. We don’t even know the blind man’s name and he was talking about Jesus without even knowing His name! There is a spiritual hunger like I’ve never seen and stats show people are more open to the spiritual discussions than there have been for decades.  Now is not the time to stay home, stay quiet, or abdicate our assignment to someone more knowledgeable. We can be like the man’s parents who are afraid of rejection and keep it to ourselves or we can share what we know with who we know. We overcomplicate evangelism. It’s actually pretty simple to be a sent one. For example, the youth handed out hot dogs and smores on Tuesday during or Moonlight Beach Worship Night. They just made themselves open to pray for anyone who might want it as they loved on people. I invited some guys over to the fire. At the end of the night after worship he asked for prayer. He’s in the military and moves all the time and felt distant from God and attracted to sin. He rededicated his life to the Lord. He might even come next Tuesday for the water baptism. Who knew S’morevangelism would lead to this? God did!  I, as a sent one, went to him. Now he, as a sent one, goes to those around him.  So the message spreads one person at a time, “I was blind and now I see.”

Prayer

Thank You Jesus for this story. I can see Your sense of humor all over it. From how You healed the man to how the man replied to the religious leaders. It’s very clear I shouldn’t take myself too seriously but should take my Gospel assignment very seriously. I pray that I would walk as a sent one every where I go today and that I keep sending those You send me too! I love what I see You doing and stirring around me and I don’t won’t miss a minute! Open my eyes to see the hungry and thirsty around me so I can go to them and show them You!