Jesus anointed the blind man’s eyes with clay and spittle, and the man became able to see. The clay and spittle are part of the Earth, as is man. Christian, Jewish and Muslim scriptures refer to making man out of clay and the idea recurs in the creation myths of many cultures. Here blindness means being spiritually dead, being made to see signifies that one who has been spiritually dead has been awakened. Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world’; [9:5] when a person is enlightened he has the possibility of enlightening other people.

After the blind man had been made to see he took on the role of a believer; the Jews questioned him about how his eyes had been opened and he replied, ‘... one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.’ [9:25] He did not care how Christ had achieved this, he had the conviction of his own experience. The Jews reviled him for following a sinner who had rejected the laws of Moses – the ‘work’ with the clay and spittle took place on the sabbath – and cast him out.

Jesus said, ‘… I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.’ [9:39] Christ is speaking as the third force of the Sun – as God, objective justice. When people have the opportunity to work spiritually, but do nothing, they reject the truth, reject God. They lose their sight. Some of the Pharisees who heard this statement said, ‘Are we blind also?’ [9:40] Jesus told them, ‘If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.’ [9:41] Because they were aware of the truth and chose not to be awake their sin was worse than that of ignorant people. They had had the opportunity of learning and rejected it.