npetreley said:
None of this speculation is very convincing, anyway, especially because Jesus didn't use spittle in other cases of healing.
On the contrary, Jesus often used spittle in healing:
Mark 7:33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears,
and he spit, and touched his tongue;
Mark 8:23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town;
and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
The issue is the clay, which added insult to injury to the Pharisee's minds. Not only was Jesus healing on the Sabbath, he made and used clay to do it.
No sir, the issue is the spittle, for without it, the dirt would have remained dirt.
But if you want to think it's all about spittle, be my guest.
I've just listed several scholars that agree with this position. However, if you want to depend on your friend from New Jersey, that's certainly your right.