One Thing I Know | Frontline Faith

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Scripture • World English Bible

John 9:13–34

WEB

¹³They brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees.

¹⁴It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.

¹⁵Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see.”

¹⁶Some therefore of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.”

¹⁷Therefore they asked the blind man again, “What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?”

¹⁸The Jews therefore didn’t believe concerning him, that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight,

¹⁹and asked them, “Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

²⁰His parents answered them, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;

²¹but how he now sees, we don’t know; or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. He is of age. Ask him. He will speak for himself.”

²²His parents said these things because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if any man would confess him as Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.

²³Therefore his parents said, “He is of age. Ask him.”

²⁴So they called the man who was blind a second time, and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”

²⁵He therefore answered, “I don’t know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

²⁶They said to him again, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷He answered them, “I told you already, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t also want to become his disciples, do you?”

²⁸They insulted him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.

²⁹We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this man, we don’t know where he comes from.”

³⁰The man answered them, “How amazing! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.

³¹We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, he listens to him.

³²Since the world began it has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind.

³³If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

³⁴They answered him, “You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?” Then they threw him out.

World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain

Reflection

John 9:13–34 puts a spotlight on a simple, stubborn confession: one thing I know. A man healed from birth of blindness is hauled before religious leaders, questioned, and pressured. His parents dodge the conflict out of fear. The Pharisees twist the miracle into a theological problem. The healed man refuses to be bullied into silence. He keeps returning to the reality he cannot deny: he was blind, and now he sees.

This scene shows two kinds of vision. The first is physical sight restored by Jesus; the second is spiritual sight—the ability to perceive who Jesus is and to trust what he has done. The Pharisees, whose world depends on rules and reputation, are blind to the evidence before them. The parents are sighted enough to recognize their son, but afraid to name Jesus as the source of the change. The healed man has the clearest vision: his own experience convinces him even when arguments and threats mount.

There is a beautiful, practical lesson here for our faith. Many of us will never win an intellectual debate about Jesus, and many will face pressure from people who cling to systems that exclude his Lordship. Yet testimony rooted in encounter carries weight. The man did not offer polished theology; he gave an eyewitness account that exposed the weakness of disbelief. His words call us away from abstract argument and back to the central reality: Jesus meets people. He changes lives. If you have an encounter with Christ—an answered prayer, a life turned from darkness to light—you possess a rock-solid starting point for faith.

This passage also shows the cost of following Christ. Naming Jesus can bring rejection. The man is insulted and expelled from the synagogue. That reality is sobering but not defeatist. Even expelled, the man’s testimony stands as a witness to the truth. We can hold both realities at once: following Jesus may cost social standing, yet it yields a deeper, irreversible sight.

Finally, there is courage for the timid. The parents give a pragmatic response—ask him, he’s of age—because they fear the consequences of confession. The healed man, however, grows in boldness. Our Christian witness often begins small: tell one person what Jesus has done, refuse to hide the Gospel in polite company, step forward when silence would be easier. Faithfulness sometimes looks like a simple, repeated testimony: one thing I know.

Let this be a pastoral encouragement: if your faith feels simple, that is not a weakness. If you cannot answer every theological challenge, you can speak to what Christ has done in you. God uses honest, lived testimony to pierce the hardest of hearts and to build his kingdom.

So claim what you know. Let your life and your words point to the One who opens eyes.

Putting Faith Into Action

Write a one-sentence testimony that begins, "One thing I know..." and share it with a friend or small group this week.
When facing criticism or disagreement about your faith, lead with your experience of Christ rather than trying to win an argument; calmly state what God has done in your life and invite conversation.
If fear of rejection keeps you silent, take a small risk: invite someone to church, offer to pray for a neighbor, or tell a trusted person how Jesus has changed you.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to who you are and give us the courage to speak plainly about what you have done. When fear or pride would silence us, remind us of the simple truth we can always claim: we were blind, and now we see. Strengthen our witness so others may come to know you. Amen.

Memory Verse

John 9:13 — They brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees. (WEB)

“They brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees.”

Keep Going Continue to Part 37 I Was Blind, Now I See John · John 9:35–41 Read the next devotional →

Bible Context

Read all of John 9

John 9

World English Bible • WEB

¹As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.

²His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

³Jesus answered, “This man didn’t sin, nor did his parents, but that the works of God might be revealed in him.

⁴I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.

⁵While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

⁶When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the blind man’s eyes with the mud,

⁷and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.

⁸Therefore the neighbors and those who saw that he was blind before said, “Isn’t this he who sat and begged?”

⁹Others were saying, “It is he.” Still others were saying, “He looks like him.”

¹⁰They therefore were asking him, “How were your eyes opened?”

¹¹He answered, “A man called Jesus made mud, anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and I received sight.”

¹²Then they asked him, “Where is he?”