John 9:32 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.

NIV: Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.

NASB: Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.

CSB: Throughout history no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind.

NLT: Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind.

KJV: Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.

NKJV: Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.

The man speaking these words, so far as we know, is the first person in all of human history to be cured of lifelong blindness. Jesus' miracle not only showed His godly power (John 12:37–38), it also fulfilled prophecies about the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:5; 42:7). In Scripture, concepts such as light and darkness, or sight versus blindness, were used to represent spiritual matters. In prior verses, the recently-healed man has pointed out that the miraculous healing Jesus performed on him ought to be evidence that Jesus is from God (John 9:30–31).

Further, Jesus' miracle is unique. Not only has Jesus done something supernatural, He has done something no other prophet or priest in Israel's history had ever done. Earlier, the scribes and Pharisees interrogating this man rejected Jesus on the grounds that they didn't know where He'd come from. This response, from the one who'd been healed, points out that such excuses are just that: excuses to be prejudiced, not valid answers.

The "bottom line" of the formerly-blind man's argument comes in the next verse, in simple and common-sense terms.

John 9:13–34 describes the Pharisees' reaction to Jesus' healing of a man born blind. Rather than being swayed by an obvious sign of divine power, they look for excuses and criticisms. Seeking to discredit the miracle, they interrogate the man's parents, who timidly defer back to their son. The healed man knows nothing more than this: ''though I was blind, now I see.'' His matter-of-fact responses to the Pharisees highlight their obvious prejudice. As a result, they excommunicate the healed man from the synagogue. Jesus will meet with the man in the next passage to give more context for the miracle.

Jesus encounters a man who has been blind his entire life. In typical fashion for that era, the disciples assume this condition is due to some specific sin--either the man's sin or his parents' sin. Jesus challenges this idea, and heals the man. His restoration leads to interrogation, as the Pharisees try to discredit Jesus' miraculous work. The healed man's simple, straightforward perspective embarrasses the religious leaders, who excommunicate him in frustration. Jesus is able to meet with the man, explaining more about His identity and the purpose of His ministry. Jesus also reminds the Pharisees that those who ought to know better, spiritually, will be held more accountable as a result.

Jesus has begun to actively confront the false teachings of local religious leaders. His most recent debate included a heated exchange with the Pharisees, where Jesus claimed to have existed before Abraham. This resulted in an attempted stoning for blasphemy. Here, Jesus continues to antagonize religious hypocrites by healing a man who was born blind. The ensuing ruckus further exposes Jerusalem's religious leaders as shallow, prejudiced, and false. This event launches Jesus into another lengthy discussion of His ministry, recorded in chapter 10, including several crucial teachings on His role as Shepherd.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.