Healing of the Blind
(John 9:1–7)

Encountering by the wayside a man who had been blind from birth, Christ restored his sight by means of an "ointment" made from a mixture of dust and spittle. He sent the man away to wash in the pool of Siloam, and on his return his blindness was cured. Christ is seen anointing the eyes of the blind man, surrounded by the disciples and perhaps a throng of onlookers. The man, in beggar's rags, holds a stick and may be accompanied by a child who guides him. His cure may be represented with his "double" beside him throwing away the stick. Matthew (20:29–34) describes a similar incident, the curing of two blind men near Jericho. The scene is outside the city walls. Here Christ merely touches the eyes of one of the men; the other kneels awaiting his turn. The theme was seen as a symbol of man's spiritual blindness which Christ came to earth to redeem. The apocryphal story of the curing of blind Tobit was taken as its prefiguration.