The promise that the blind shall see is prominent in Jewish prophecies of the works of the Messiah. The Messianic era was foretold as a period of general enlightenment. In that connection the Scriptural references to the healing of blindness have rich figurative as well as literal significance. Jesus completely fulfilled the prophecies. He opened many blind eyes, but his supreme accomplishment was the correction of seeming spiritual blindness or sin. Following Christ Jesus as the Wayshower, Christian Science heals both physical and mental blindness through the power of God, and proves that the restoration of physical sight is inseparably connected with increased spiritual discernment. The physical healing of this Science is, as Mrs. Eddy tells us (Science and Health, p. 150), "to attest the reality of the higher mission of the Christ-power to take away the sins of the world."
The statement in the gospel of John that Jesus applied clay to the eyes of a blind man whom he healed, is often cited as supporting the use of material remedies, on the ground that it was the clay which accomplished the healing. Jesus said that the healing was the work of God; but material sense would have it the work of clay. That God works through the clay is a favorite materialistic argument, which only illustrates how the human mind attributes to God its own futile and mistaken reliance upon matter. The Bible narrative states that it was the washing away of the clay, not the application of it, which was the occasion of the healing.
We fail to get the full meaning of the cleansing which Jesus required in this case, if we miss the significance of the clay he used, which he procured by spitting on the ground. What other action or material could the Master have used to emphasize more strongly the mistaken, superstitious, and degrading character of human reliance upon matter for healing? Such reliance is itself basic evil or disease, from which man must be cleansed in order to be healed. This reliance upon matter cannot exist in the same consciousness with a spiritual estimate of God; so the knowledge of God that Christ gives is the certain and only cleanser or healer.
