Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.
Since the world began it had never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind, and the healing was unprecedented and extraordinary. The man who was healed used this unprecedented fact as convincing evidence that Jesus is from God and that His mission is true, arguing that He could have done nothing of this kind apart from God. His reasoning rested on the principle that God hears worshipers who do His will, not sinners.
In performing the healing, Jesus as the compassionate Shepherd showed deep sympathy for human suffering toward a poor man, even though the man did not yet know who He was. That man was despised by the self-righteous Pharisees as deserving only sneers and hatred, while heaven sympathized with him as a sheep wandering far from the fold whom the Lord was anxious to save. Afterward Jesus revealed Himself to the man as the Son of God, and the man worshiped Him. The healing displays the love of God in giving a costly offering to save an apostate and ruined race, and it calls the poor sinner to look to Calvary and the cross to be changed in character.
The Jewish leaders rejected this evidence because envy, jealousy, prejudice, and unbelief had made them spiritually blind, and they chose to remain in darkness rather than receive enlightenment. They would not accept Christ because they were jealous of His popularity, hated Him for not receiving their ideas, and feared He would be honored above them, so they made themselves even more spiritually blind, sought to close the healed man's eyes after closing their own, and tried to smother his testimony.
Since the world began it had never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind, and the healing was unprecedented and extraordinary. The man who was healed used this unprecedented fact as convincing evidence that Jesus is from God and that His mission is true, arguing that He could have done nothing of this kind apart from God. His reasoning rested on the principle that God hears worshipers who do His will, not sinners.
In performing the healing, Jesus as the compassionate Shepherd showed deep sympathy for human suffering toward a poor man, even though the man did not yet know who He was. That man was despised by the self-righteous Pharisees as deserving only sneers and hatred, while heaven sympathized with him as a sheep wandering far from the fold whom the Lord was anxious to save. Afterward Jesus revealed Himself to the man as the Son of God, and the man worshiped Him. The healing displays the love of God in giving a costly offering to save an apostate and ruined race, and it calls the poor sinner to look to Calvary and the cross to be changed in character.
The Jewish leaders rejected this evidence because envy, jealousy, prejudice, and unbelief had made them spiritually blind, and they chose to remain in darkness rather than receive enlightenment. They would not accept Christ because they were jealous of His popularity, hated Him for not receiving their ideas, and feared He would be honored above them, so they made themselves even more spiritually blind, sought to close the healed man's eyes after closing their own, and tried to smother his testimony.