The Pool

The story of Jesus using clay to bring sight to a man born blind (John 9) certainly aroused many questions from various parties. First, the disciples raised a spiritual question: “Whose sin caused this man to be born blind – his parents or his own?” Jesus made it clear that it was neither, but so that the “works of God might be displayed.” (John 9:3) Jesus did not act on His own. “We must work the works of Him who sent me,” Jesus said in verse 4. These works brought glory to God.

Jesus made clay using his own spittle and some earth at his feet, smoothed it over the blind man’s eyes, and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The pool of Siloam was fed by a spring located outside the city walls. Water flowed from the spring though an approximately 2000 foot long tunnel (two feet wide and, in places, tall enough for someone to stand in) cut through solid rock. This impressive water supply project was built during the reign of King Hezekiah (715-686 BC) and is still in use today!

I wonder who it was who helped the blind man find his way to the pool? Was it his parents? Curious onlookers who wanted to see if this healing would really work? The blind man obeyed, and after washing in the pool, came back with sight. (Interesting that the man returned to the temple instead of going out and touring his home town for the first time. Did he want to find Jesus?)

The neighbors were baffled. While some did believe that indeed this was the same man who was a blind beggar, others insisted that it was not even the same person! “How did you get your sight?” and “where is Jesus now?” they wanted to know. (v.8-9) If you believe in Jesus, aren’t these the type of questions someone may ask you? Has the Holy Spirit worked in you such radical transformation that people have trouble believing you are the same individual they knew before? And if someone were to ask you “where is Jesus now,” could you provide an answer? (See Colossians 3:1 for help.)

Isn’t it unfortunate that instead of rejoicing with this man over the gift of his sight, the neighbors brought him to the Pharisees? (This shows what a tight hold the Pharisees had over the temple members on their vendetta against Jesus.) This opened the most important question of all: “Who is Jesus? Is He from God or is He a sinner?” The Pharisees themselves were divided and they looked to the blind man and his parents for verification. (v. 16-18,24) “As for this man (Jesus), we do not know where He is from,” they concluded in verse 29, and they excommunicated the man from the temple. The Pharisees were the ones who were blind! (v. 39-41)

Jesus wanted to make sure that the formerly blind man would not only see Him, but also know His identity with certainty. So He sought him out and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man (as Jesus referred to Himself)?” The man’s response: “Lord, I believe.” Then the man worshiped Jesus. (v. 35-38) Jesus deserves our worship and praise. He is God’s Son (John 3:16), the anointed one, sent from God (John 9:35-37). Jesus restores sight to the blind, was the perfect sacrifice for sins (Romans 8:3), and is the source of life (John 5:24).

We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world. John 9:4-5


Did someone say pool? With the temperatures rising, it’s the perfect time to exercise in the water! Water exercise gives you a great low-impact cardiovascular workout while strengthening muscles (including the core) and improving coordination and balance. The water keeps you cool and gives you a nice massage while you work out! This week features exercises that can be done with a readily available and affordable piece of equipment: a water “noodle”.

The first thing to do is to find a comfortable water depth: between waist and arm pit level is best for what we are going to do this week. (The deeper you are, the lower the impact on your knees.) Warm up for at least five minutes (without the noodle): Jog or walk in place while making sideways “figure eights” with your hands. Then move around – jogging forward and back, then side to side. The purpose of the warm up is to gradually increase your heart rate and circulation while thermally warming your muscles and joints. Be sure to breathe. (Keeping your chest lifted will make it easier to breathe.) Check your alignment: ears over shoulders over hips.

Once you are warmed up, let’s practice the “Rocking Horse.” Step forward onto your right foot while your left foot comes off the bottom in back. Lift both arms forward as you step. (Keep your right foot in front.) Now, rock back, transferring your weight to your left foot (which is still in back) and pull your arms backward. (You will feel as though you are on an old fashioned rocking horse!) Repeat this action a few more times to become comfortable with it. Keep breathing! Then switch legs and do the Rocking Horse with the left leg in front.

Now take your noodle and hold it in front of you with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart. You will do the Rocking Horse just as above, but push and pull the noodle.

This will definitely feel harder using the noodle! Keeping the noodle under the water increases the difficulty. (You may also increase the challenge by lifting your legs higher with each rock.) Start with your right leg forward and then repeat with the left leg forward.

The next level is to travel forward and backward through the water while doing the Rocking Horse. This increases the difficulty because you have to push your whole body against the water as you travel. With the right leg in front, move forward through the water, pushing and pulling the noodle and doing the Rocking Horse. Then keep the right leg in front as you “Rocking Horse” backward. Repeat two times. (But gradually you may increase to traveling forward and back several times.) Then switch to the left leg in front and travel forward and back. (When switching legs you may want to release your grip on the noodle to give your hands a rest.)

The last variation is to Rocking Horse forward and then hold the noodle down in front of your hips as you jog back while pulling your abdominal muscles inward.

(See the photo at left.) They key is to pull your navel toward your spine as you jog backwards. Think of this one as an abdominal exercise because that is exactly what it is! Then switch and put your other leg forward. Do it three times with each leg leading, but you may build up to several times.

Be sure to keep your shoulders down (away from your ears) throughout this workout. Remember that if you have any pain, stop! If you are unsure whether an exercise is appropriate for you, ask your physician.

The Rocking Horse exercise works several major muscle groups and will get your heart pumping. Take a few minutes at the end of your work out to cool down: jog or walk across the pool and stretch your arms out at your sides. Exit the pool slowly and then drink some water. You have just given yourself a workout that promotes Length and Strength!

Next time we will learn some exercises for the deep water. You may also review a previous post describing exercise routines in shallow water by clicking here. For some guidelines on selecting a suit for water exercise, click here.


Photo credits: beibl.net,CreativeCommons, L.E. Lang collection