The Man Born Blind: “One Thing I Know”

Biblical Source: John 9

A standalone biographical passage for the EC–18+ curriculum

Reading level: approximately 660 Lexile (3rd–4th grade)

Vocabulary note: Written using high-frequency Dolch sight words (was, said, could not, went, made, saw, then, know, asked, again) paired with AAC core vocabulary (know, want, help, more, stop, look, see, yes, no, again), so the passage can support both fluent readers and core-word communicators in the same lesson.

Family and Community

Scripture does not tell us this man’s name.

It does tell us that his parents were living nearby. Later in the story, religious leaders called his parents in and questioned them about their son (John 9:18–23).

We also know something important about his disability:

He had been blind since birth (John 9:1).

Blindness was not something that happened to him later because of an accident or illness. It had been part of his life from the beginning.

The Passage

Jesus and his disciples saw a man who had been blind since birth.

The disciples asked Jesus a question:

“Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2, KJV)

They assumed someone must be to blame for his blindness.

Jesus rejected that idea.

“Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents.” (John 9:3, KJV)

The man’s blindness was not a punishment for something he or his parents had done.

Then Jesus made mud and put it on the man’s eyes. He told the man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam.

The man went.

He washed.

And he came back able to see (John 9:6–7).

His neighbors were confused.

Some asked whether this was really the same man they had known before.

Others thought he only looked like him.

The man answered for himself:

“I am he.” (John 9:9, KJV)

But the questions did not stop.

Religious leaders questioned the man about what had happened. They questioned his parents. Then they called the man back and questioned him again.

They wanted answers about Jesus.

The man did not pretend to know things he did not know.

Instead, he told them what he knew from his own experience:

“One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” (John 9:25, KJV)

The questioning continued.

Eventually, the leaders threw him out.

Later, Jesus found him again.

Jesus spoke with him, and the man came to believe in Jesus (John 9:35–38).

Key Verse

“Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”
— John 9:25 (KJV)

Disability Was Not a Punishment

Before Jesus heals the man, John gives us an important conversation.

The disciples see a person who was born blind and immediately ask:

Whose fault is this?

Was it the man?

Was it his parents?

Jesus rejects the choice they give him.

Neither.

That matters.

Throughout history, people have sometimes treated disability as evidence that someone did something wrong, lacked faith, was being punished, or came from a family that deserved blame.

John 9 does not allow the disciples’ assumption to go unchallenged.

Before Jesus does anything to the man’s body, he challenges the belief that someone must be morally responsible for his blindness.

Disability was not evidence of guilt.

“I Am He”

After the man returns able to see, something interesting happens.

People who knew him start talking about him.

Some think he is the same man.

Others think he only looks like him.

But the man is standing right there.

So he answers:

“I am he.”

It is a remarkably simple statement.

He knows who he is.

Other people are confused about him, but he is not confused about himself.

That gives us another important lesson for disability education:

When the person is present, include the person in the conversation.

Do not talk around someone who can communicate for themselves.

Ask.

Listen.

Make room for the person’s own voice.

“One Thing I Know”

The man is questioned again and again.

Other people want him to explain what happened.

They want him to make judgments about Jesus.

They want answers he does not have.

The man does something powerful.

He does not pretend to know everything.

He tells them what he does know.

“One thing I know.”

Then he speaks from his own experience.

This is another form of self-advocacy.

People with disabilities are often surrounded by experts—doctors, teachers, therapists, caregivers, administrators, and others who may know important things.

Expert knowledge matters.

But so does lived experience.

A person can say:

This is what happened to me.

This is what I experienced.

This is what I know.

That knowledge matters too.

Why This Story Matters for Our Curriculum

The man born blind gives us a powerful story about disability, assumptions, identity, lived experience, and self-advocacy.

The story begins with people talking about him.

They want to know what caused his disability.

They assume someone must be responsible.

Jesus rejects that premise.

Later, neighbors debate whether the man is even the same person they knew before.

He answers:

“I am he.”

Then religious leaders repeatedly question him and pressure him to interpret his experience the way they want.

He answers again:

“One thing I know.”

For students with disabilities, there is an important message here:

You are an expert on your own experience.

For parents, educators, caregivers, ministry leaders, and advocates, there is another:

A disability does not require a moral explanation.

We can learn about diagnoses, causes, treatments, supports, accommodations, and services without turning disability into a question of blame.

And when we want to understand someone’s experience, we should remember what happens throughout John 9.

People keep talking about the man.

People keep questioning the man.

People keep trying to explain the man.

But again and again, he speaks for himself.

“I am he.”

“One thing I know.”

Note: Scripture references use standard chapter-and-verse citations so readers can use whichever Bible translation their ministry, classroom, or family prefers. Direct Scripture quotations above are from the public-domain King James Version.