• The Significance Of Spit

  Contributed by Perry Greene on Aug 13, 2012 (message contributor)

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  Scripture:  None

  Tags:  Knowing God's Will

  Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SPIT

Now why did Jesus spit in the blind man’s eyes? This is similar to another time when he spit in some dust and made clay, with which he anointed blind eyes (Mark 7:33). If a modern evangelist or missionary followed Jesus’ example in this, how well received would it be?

Jesus, contrary to what many modern commentators suggest, was not adverse to following tradition, so long as it did not render the word of God "of none effect." From ancient times in Judaism, there was a tradition that the saliva of the first-born son of a father had healing properties. Writes A. Cohen, "For eye-trouble spittle was commonly used, but we are told there is a tradition that the spittle of the first-born son of a father has healing powers..." (Everyman’s Talmud, p. 253).