Another pool in Jerusalem that hosted a healing from Jesus in the Gospel of John is the Pool of Siloam (John 9). In contrast to the healing of the man who had been immobile for 38 years at the Pool of Bethesda (see Healing Pools, part 1, part 2, and part 3), Jesus was likely not present at the Pool of Siloam when a man who was blind received his sight there. Instead, Jesus sent the man to wash in the pool, and when he did so, he could see for the first time in his life.
We often visit the Pool of Siloam when we are in Jerusalem, and like the Pool of Bethesda, the site is not obvious to grasp. What can be seen currently is one edge of the pool with its descending steps, discovered in 2004. The city that has built up around it prohibits further uncovering of the pool for now. It is located at the far southern tip of the ridge known as the City of David, the oldest inhabited part of Jerusalem. The length of the pool is estimated to be about 225 feet.
During the time of Jesus, the Pool of Siloam supported pilgrims going to the Temple. They would stop to purify themselves in the pool, then they would ascend to the Temple Mount on a Herodian street that led there from the pool. The Pool of Siloam was well suited for this purpose because it was fed by the Gihon spring and so had a continuous source of fresh water flowing into it.
As far as we know, the Siloam Pool was not associated with healing like the Roman complex at the Pool of Bethesda was. It did not have divine, supernatural connections but rather was quite mundane in its function. It is significant that Jesus sent the man in John 9 to wash in the waters of this pool, which did not have the reputation of being “healing waters.” In fact, the idea of washing in the Pool of Siloam in order to be healed might seem like nonsense.
Of course, this was part of the point when it came to the transformation that the man born blind experienced there. What happens in John 9:1-7 is not about the location or the water. It isn’t even about the mixture of saliva and dirt that Jesus placed over the man’s eyes. It is about the touch, the word, and the power of Jesus himself. Healing flows from Jesus. The healing pools of the gospels actually point us to him rather than to themselves. When we visit these pools as pilgrims, along with so many others through the centuries, we connect with this reality. These places help us to center our understanding of healing on Jesus as we remember the occasions and the ways in which he offered his healing grace directly to those who needed it.
Pool of Siloam images from BiblePlaces.com.
Header image “The Old City of Jerusalem” by Ray in Manila is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
