Albert Barnes Commentary John 9:32

"Since the world began it was never heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind." — John 9:32 (ASV)

Since the world began. Neither Moses nor any of the prophets had ever done this. No instance of this kind is recorded in the Old Testament. As this was a miracle which had never been performed, the man argued justly that he who had done it must be from God. As Jesus did not do it by surgical operations, but by clay, it showed that he had power of working miracles by any means.

It may also be remarked that the restoration of sight to the blind by surgical operations was never performed until the year 1728. Dr. Cheselden, an English surgeon, was the first to attempt it successfully and was enabled to remove a cataract from the eye of a young man and to restore sight. This fact shows the difficulty of the operation when the most skilful natural means are employed, and the greatness of the miracle performed by the Saviour.