In John 9, Jesus encountered the only congenital blind man in Scripture and performed an unusual act. Extending past his customary healing method through spoken word alone, Jesus created the man’s ability to see using secondary natural causes saliva, dirt, and physical touch. The miracle, or “sign” in Johannine register, distinguishes itself in the use of indirect means, underscoring Jesus’s authority over the physical realm. Because bodily excretions are perennially considered unclean with common cultural disdain, Jesus’s choice of spittle is particularly noteworthy of exploration. The most widespread readings of the scene originate in the earliest periods that tend to focus on either the physicality of the act (Chrysostom) or allegorical interpretations of the sign (Gregory)—both of which ignore Old Testament influences and John’s use of irony to heighten messianic implications. Highlighting his divine power to transform the ordinary and even the impure into instruments of healing, this paper examines the seemingly peculiar method Jesus employs with his use of spittle (πτύσμα) to heal the man born blind, and how this action contributes to a deeper understanding of Jesus’s identity through John’s use of irony.
The paper will explore the theological weight of Jesus’s use of spittle as it relates to Old Testament prophecies forecasting acts of messianic humiliation along with connections to Jesus’s claim of being the “Light of the world” in his encounter with the man born blind. Additionally, it will engage rabbinic uses of spittle codified in Second Temple Judaism that suggests powers of healing from certain authorities when accompanied by conversation. It will be argued that the same substance known to express contempt for the Savior was also employed by him to restore sight, demonstrating a profound irony connecting the physical act of giving sight with Johannine themes of light and darkness contrasted with reactions of faith and rejection. Ultimately, as the paper shows, the seemingly unusual use of spittle in this Johannine sign is not incidental, but ironically serves to reveal Jesus’s divine authority, his fulfillment of Jewish messianic expectations, and his role as the bringer of both physical and spiritual light illuminating Jesus’s identity as the Messiah who willingly suffers humiliation for others.