Not Since The World Began Has This Been Done

Not Since The World Began Has This Been Done

Knowing nothing but darkness his whole life, the man blind from birth now stood before the religious leaders of his day trying to prove his restored eyesight was from the hand of a man called Jesus. The Pharisees grilled the man with questions of doubt unbelieving he was truly blind. Calling his parents they questioned them about their son’s blindness which they confirmed he had been blind from birth. As to how he received his sight they told the Pharisees to ask their son. Demanding a straight answer the Pharisees pressed the man further. The accused began to teach his accusers showing them the power of God which they would not see with their own eyes. He replied, “’Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.’ They answered and said to him, ‘You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?’ And they cast him out” (John 9:32-34).

One man was born blind by a circumstance of nature and a body of men born with physical sight could not see in their hearts the power and wonder of God’s power in Jesus. Clearly evident throughout the ministry of Christ no man would ever deny the miracle performed. When Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11) the miracle was not denied but confirmed when the chief priests and Pharisees said, “What shall we do? For this man works many signs” (John 11:47). Others who were blind were healed (Matthew 11:5; 12:22) along with the mute, lame, sick, diseased, etc. Nothing like this had ever been seen on the scale of Jesus ministry. The blind man of John 9 understood the power of his miracle was not only his sight being restored but the eternal power of God demonstrated through Jesus Christ.

The healing of the blind man was not the first miracle ever done. Creation itself is the evidence of the awesome power of God when he “spoke” everything into existence (Genesis 1). Destroying man with the flood in Genesis 6 shows a power second only to creation. Pharaoh witnessed firsthand the destructive nature of God’s fury (Exodus 7-12) and the Hebrews walked in the midst of God’s grace when they crossed the Red Sea on dry land (Exodus 14). The Bible unfolds page after page of the majestic power of God in His working with man throughout the generations. John confirms the purpose of miracles proving that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and the world itself could not contain the books that would be written of what Jesus did (John 20:30-31; 21:25).

Not since the world began has there been a book that would tell man so much about who he is, where he came from and what lay before him in death. The Bible is the last and final miracle of God and yet most men cannot see His power in this book. Like the Pharisees of John 9 men today cannot deny the evidence of the book yet they deny its message of salvation. It has stood the test of time and will endure until the last day (1 Peter 1:25). The gospel is God’s power (Romans 1:16) and while critics assail its contents the purity of its message remains unchanged for generations.

The blind man saw more than most men. He experienced the grace of God when his eyes were opened and today when our eyes are opened by the word of God we understand the grace of God (Romans 10:17). “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law” (Psalms 119:18).