Josiah 

In December of 29 CE, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication against the wishes of his apostles. But he wanted to try once more to reach the hearts of the Jewish rulers and persuade them to see the light. He had Nathaniel and Thomas with him on this visit.

Josiah was a man who had been blind since birth. He sat and begged for money near the temple in Jerusalem with other unfortunates like himself. When Jesus, Nathaniel, and Thomas encountered Josiah, he was at his usual spot.

The day before encountering Josiah, Jesus had a successful meeting with some prominent leaders – Sanhedrin who had declared their belief in the Master and his teachings. They made many suggestions to Jesus on how best to win over even more of the Sanhedrin to join them. But Jesus knew that their plans would not work; he was undecided as to what course to follow now.

But when he and the two apostles came across Josiah, Jesus suddenly saw a way that he might bring these reluctant leaders to his side.

Jesus suddenly said to his apostles: "Let us create the sight of this blind man on this Sabbath day that the scribes and Pharisees may have the full occasion which they seek for accusing the Son of Man."

He then performed the miracle of healing for Josiah, mixing his saliva and some dirt, placing the paste on Josiah’s eyes, and telling him to wash it off in the Pool of Siloam. When he did that, Josiah could see for the first time in his life.

This was naturally a disconcerting event for Josiah. He had to suddenly adjust himself to being able to see, and not knowing what else to do, he simply went back to his place of begging. He did not encounter Jesus again until later that day.

Josiah was not a particularly spirit-minded man. He did not have great faith, nor did he ask for healing, and he did not know much about Jesus. But he did have faith in the power of the saliva of a holy man, and when he heard Jesus tell his apostles what he was doing and how he was making this paste from his saliva and dirt, Josiah assumed Jesus was a holy man, and he followed Jesus’ instructions. This was a key element of Josiah’s miracle of healing.

For Jesus, this miracle he deliberately performed for Josiah was both symbolic and a service to Josiah. It served as a public and open challenge to the religious rulers. He knew this miracle of healing would attract the attention of the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees. It was a somewhat defiant act on Jesus' part, but it was an act that benefitted Josiah permanently.

The news of Josiah’s miracle of sight reached the authorities – the people whose attention Jesus wished to attract. These authorities, the Sanhedrin, convened an emergency session, even though they were breaking the rules to work on the Sabbath. This was the height of hypocrisy because they were accusing Jesus of unlawfully healing on the Sabbath. Jesus had desired to be called before this group to counter their charges of Sabbath-breaking; he hoped to tell them the good news of the liberty and joy of divine sonship in the kingdom of God. But instead of calling Jesus, who they feared, they summoned Josiah and questioned him about what had happened.

Josiah again related the events as they had happened, saying: "This man came along, put clay upon my eyes, told me to go wash in Siloam, and now I see." There was no denying the truth of that statement, and the reality of the situation was beginning to be very disconcerting to the rulers. They finally asked Josiah: "What do you have to say about this man, this Jesus, whom you claim opened your eyes?" And Josiah answered, "I think he is a prophet."

Determined to put this event in a bad light, the authorities called for Josiah’s parents to testify that he really was their son and if he really was born blind. They attested to these things and referred them back to Josiah, saying he could speak for himself.

So they brought Josiah before them again; now, they wanted to know why he did not give the glory for this miracle to God. They badgered Josiah, demanding that he atone for not giving God the credit for his healing. They called Jesus a sinner for healing him on the Sabbath and Josiah a sinner for taking part.

Josiah answered: "Whether this man is a sinner, I know not; but one thing I do know – that, whereas I was blind, now I see." And since they could not entrap Josiah, they just kept harassing him: "Just how did he open your eyes? What did he actually do to you? What did he say to you? Did he ask you to believe in him?"

Josiah replied, somewhat impatiently: "I have told you exactly how it all happened, and if you did not believe my testimony, why would you hear it again? Would you, by any chance, also become his disciples?"

This infuriated the Sanhedrin, and they rushed Josiah almost to the point of violence, exclaiming: "You may talk about being this man's disciple, but we are disciples of Moses, and we are the teachers of the laws of God. We know that God spoke through Moses, but as for this man Jesus, we don’t know where he comes from."

Then Josiah stood on a stool and shouted to all who could hear, saying: "Hearken, you who claim to be the teachers of all Israel, while I declare to you that herein is a great marvel since you confess that you don’t know where this man comes from, and yet you know of a certainty, from the testimony which you have heard, that he opened my eyes. We all know that God does not perform such works for the ungodly; that God would do such a thing only at the request of a true worshiper – for one who is holy and righteous. You know that not since the beginning of the world have you ever heard of the opening of the eyes of one who was born blind. Look, then, all of you, upon me and realize what has been done this day in Jerusalem! I tell you, if this man were not from God, he could not do this."

And as the Sanhedrists departed in anger and confusion, they shouted to him: "You were altogether born in sin, and do you now presume to teach us? Maybe you were not really born blind, and even if your eyes were opened on the Sabbath day, this was done by the power of the prince of devils." And they went at once to the synagogue to cast out Josiah.

As for Josiah, his bold and courageous testimony in front of the supreme tribunal of Israel poured out of him naturally as the thoughts occurred to him; he seemed to be inspired in the moment. Before this unjust trial, he had had no real opinions or thoughts about Jesus or the nature of the healing that he had received.

When Jesus, Nathaniel, and Thomas heard that Josiah had been cast out of the synagogue, they went looking for him at his home. Thomas called him out to the front yard, and Jesus asked Josiah: "Josiah, do you believe in the Son of God?" Josiah answered, "Tell me who he is so that I may believe in him." And then Jesus said: "You have both seen and heard him, and it is he who now speaks to you." Josiah said: "Lord, I believe," and he fell down and worshiped at Jesus’ feet.

Josiah was very upset at being cast out of the synagogue, but he soon forgot his sorrow when Jesus invited him to leave Jerusalem and go with him and the apostles to their camp at Pella. And this Creator Son of the universe led the humble Josiah to join those who comprised "the spiritual nobility of that day and generation." The four of them left Jerusalem for Pella that very day.

Josiah later proved himself completely worthy of the healing he received through Jesus’ miraculous ministry; he became a lifelong preacher of the gospel of the kingdom.