John 8:14

Joh_8:14-17

Though I bear record of Myself, yet My record is true

The self-evidencing power of the Sun of Righteousness

The sun pours forth his beams so that it becomes bright day, and we question not his being the sun, because he bears witness of himself; and shall we say to the eternal Sun, who is shedding His light upon us, Thou bearest record of Thyself, Thy record is not true?

Be that far from us! A light not only reveals other things, but itself also. Therefore the light bears witness of itself; the eye, if healthy, it brightens up and is its own witness that we may know it as being the light. (Augustine.)

Christs witness to Himself

Consider what this witness is. If any of us know a holy man, we know a humble man. The holiest are the most conscious of their sinfulness. It is not a fashion of speech. It is not cant or hypocrisy. The writer who is perfectly satisfied with his lines is not a poet. The painters or sculptors who have no noble dissatisfaction with their work may be ingenious and dexterous, but they are not artists. They have none of that straining forward to an unattained ideal of beauty which is the heritage of genius. So, too, the man who is perfectly content with his own spiritual condition may have a mechanical regularity of habit. He may be a respectable Pharisee; but he is utterly without saintliness, which is, as it were, the genius of goodness. Now Jesus had the loftiest idea of duty. He was also the meekest and humblest of men. Yet in His life there is one fundamental difference from the lives of the saints. They are full of burning words of penitence; they are burdened with cries of confession. But we have long discourses of Jesus. We have one soliloquy with His Father in chap. 17. Yet there is no confession of sin. He can bare His noble breast to His enemies, and say, Which of you convinceth Me of sin? He can go further: He can declare, The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me. Farther yet--in those solemn moments when death is near; when moral natures, seemingly made of the strongest granite, crack and crumble before the fire of eternity--He can lift His calm and trustful eyes to heaven and say, I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do. And with this we know that His spiritual insight was so keen and piercing, that not one mote could have floated on the tide of his purity without being detected by that eagle eye; that one speck or stain could not have rested on the very skirts of the garment of His humanity without soiling in His sight the raiment that was white as snow. This holy Man, with the highest idea of duty; this humble Man, who prays falling upon His face; this keen-sighted Man, who sees further into sin than any other, declares that His life and the perfect rule of goodness are in unbroken harmony. What witness is comparable to this witness of Jesus to Himself? (Bp. Alexander.)

Ye judge after the flesh: I Judge no man.--Is this not in conflict with Joh_5:22, and with the whole tenor of the New Testament, viz., that Christ is the present and final Judge of all men? No. Christ was indeed Judge; but there were some manner of judgments which He never exercised, and had no commission to execute; for He did all His Fathers will.

1. Christ usurps no mans jurisdiction; that were against justice.

2. Christ imputes no false things to any man; that were against charity.

3. Christ induces no man to desperation; that were against faith: and against justice, charity, and faith, Christ judges not. Christ, then, judgeth not

I. IN SECULAR JUDGMENTS.

1. In civil matters (Luk_12:13).

2. In criminal matters (Joh_5:11). When Christ says this, may we not ask of His pretended vicar, Who made you judge of kings that you should depose them? or proprietary of kingdoms that you should dispose of them? If he says, Christ; did He it in His doctrine? If so, where? Did He do it by His example? Yes, when He whipped the traders out of the Temple and destroyed the herd of swine. But these were miracles; and though it might seem half a miracle that a bishop should exercise so much authority, yet when we see his means, massacres, assassinations, etc., we reply that miracles are without means.

II. BY CALUMNY, as did the Pharisees when they judged Him.

1. Calumny is

(1) Direct.

(a) To lay a false imputation.

(b) To aggravate a just imputation with unnecessary circumstances.

(c) To reveal a secret fault when not bound by duty.

(2) Indirect.

(a)To deny expressly some good in another.

(b) To smother it in silence when our testimony is due.

(c) To diminish his good parts.

2. These Pharisees calumniated Jesus with the bitterest of all calumny--scorn and derision.

3. Since Christ, then, judges no man as they did, judge not you.

(1) Judge not, that ye be not judged--i.e., when you see Gods judgments fall upon a man, do not judge that he sinned more than others, or that his father sinned and not yours.

(2) Especially speak not evil of the deaf that hear not (Lev_19:14)--i.e., calumniate not him who is absent and cannot defend himself. It is the devils office to be the accuser of the brethren.

(3) Always remember Davids case, who judged more severely than the law admitted, which we do when in a passion. But Christ judges no man; for Christ is love, and love thinks no evil.

III. SO AS TO GIVE A FINAL CONDEMNATION HERE. There is a verdict against every man in the law, the consequence of which men might well despair; but before judgment, God would have every man saved by the application of the promises of the gospel (Joh_3:17). Do not, therefore, give malicious evidence against thyself; do not weaken the merit or lessen the value of the Saviours blood, as though thy sin were greater than it. Can God desire thy blood now, when He hath abundantly satisfied His justice with the blood of His Son for thee? (J. Donne, D. D.)

Judging after the flesh is often altogether misleading

Were men to be guided by the appearance of things only in forming their judgment, how erroneous and deceptive it would be! The sun would be no more than a few miles distant and a few inches in diameter; the moon would be a span wide and half a mile away; the stars would be little sparks glistening in the atmosphere; the earth would be a plain, bounded by the horizon a few miles from us: the sun would travel and the earth stand still; nature would be dead in winter and only alive in summer: men would sometimes be women, and women men; truth would often be error, and error truth: honest men would be rogues, and rogues honest men; wealth would be poverty, and poverty wealth; piety would be wickedness, and wickedness piety. In fine, there is scarcely any rule so deceptive as the rule of appearance; and there are multitudes who, in many things, have no other rule by which they form their judgment. Hence the errors of their speech and life; ridicule and blunders into which they plunge themselves before the world. (John Bate.)

False judgments

If you go into a churchyard some snowy day, when the snow has been falling thick enough to cover every monument and tombstone, how beautiful and white does everything appear! But remove the snow, dig down beneath, and you find rottenness and putrefaction, dead mens bones, and all uncleanness. How like that churchyard on such a day is the mere professor--fair outside; sinful, unholy within! The grass grows green upon the sides of a mountain that holds a volcano in its bowels. (Dr. Guthrie.)

Judging by appearances fallacious

We are shallow judges of the happiness or misery of others, if we estimate it by any marks that distinguish them from ourselves; if, for instance, we say that because they have more money they are happier, or because they live more meagrely they are more wretched. For men are allied by much more than they differ. The rich man, rolling by in his chariot, and the beggar, shivering in his rags, are allied by much more than they differ. It is safer, therefore, to estimate our neighbours real condition by what we find in our own lot, than by what we do not find there … Surely, you will not calculate any essential difference from mere appearances; for the light laughter that bubbles on the lip often mantles over brackish depths of sadness, and the serious look may be the sober veil that covers a Divine peace. You know that the bosom can ache beneath diamond brooches; and how many blithe hearts dance under coarse wool! (E. H. Chapin, D. D.)

And if I Judge, My Judgment is true

The concurrent judgment of the Father and the Son

The Mosaic law required at least two or three witnesses to make a testimony valid Deu_17:6; Deu_19:15). Jesus declared that He satisfied this rule because the Father united His testimony to that which He bore of Himself. Where the fleshly eye saw but one witness, there were in reality two. It is usual to refer this testimony to miracles, in accordance with Joh_5:36.But Joh_5:16 sets us on the road to a far more profound explanation. Jesus was here describing an inward fact, applicable both to the judgments He pronounced on others and the statements by which He testified to Himself. He was aware that the knowledge He possessed of His origin and mission was not based wholly on the fact of consciousness. He felt that it was in the light of God that He knew Himself. He knew, moreover, that the testimony by which He manifested His inward feeling bore, in the eyes of all who had a sense for the perception of Deity, the seal of this Divine attestation. An anecdote may perhaps better explain this. About 1660, Hedinger, chaplain to the Duke of Wurtemburg, took the liberty of censuring his sovereign--at first in private, but afterwards in public--for a serious fault. The latter, much enraged, sent for him and resolved to punish him. Hedinger, after seeking strength by prayer, repaired to the prince, the expression of his countenance betokening the peace of God and the feeling of His presence in his heart. The prince, after beholding him for a time, said, Hedinger, why did you not come alone, as I commanded you? Pardon me, your highness, I am alone. The duke, persisting, with increasing agitation, Hedinger said, Certainly, your highness, I came alone; but I cannot tell whether it has pleased God to send an angel with me. The duke dismissed him unharmed. The vital communion of this servant of God with his God was a sensible fact, even to one whom anger had exasperated. (F. Godet, D. D.)

I am one that bear witness of Myself.

The witness of Christ as seen in some contradictory phenomena of His life and character

The conflict of Christianity is ever being narrowed to the question of the person of Christ. Unitarians have either abandoned their old positions and Christianity with them, or returned to views not easily distinguished from orthodox. Both friends and foes write lives of Jesus, and seek in that for proof of Lordship or evidence of delusion. Men have largely forsaken metaphysical arguments. What think ye of Christ? is the question of apologist and infidel. The issue here is vital. Victorious at this point all the rest is easy; defeated here the Christian Church expires. In this line of argument it is natural to ask what testimony Christ gives of Himself, and we propose to point out certain paradoxes and find their explanation.

I. THE PHENOMENA. A candid observer will notice in Jesus

1. His sublime self-consciousness of Divinity, together with His ceaseless subjection to God.

(1) Compare Him with all religious teachers, and we find Him dreaming no dreams, seeing no visions. We never hear Him saying, Thus saith the Lord, but I say unto you. He consoles His disciples. Let not your hearts be troubled. Why. Ye believe in God, believe also in Me. Show us the Father, says one: the response is, He that hath seen Me, etc. In discussion with Jews He says, Abraham rejoiced to see My day--wild words to scribe and Pharisee. Thou art not yet fifty years old; the rejoinder is, Before Abraham was I am. There is an endeavour to explain away the simple meaning of all this. Much greater force will therefore be found in the indirect words of Christ. Take one, If I go not away the Comforter will not come, etc. What must He claim who says He will send Gods Spirit? and who must He believe Himself to be?

(2) On the other hand, a young man asks, Good Master, what good thing, etc. Jesus replies, Why callest thou Me good, etc.? Although He said, I and My Father are one, He also says, The Father is greater than I. I came not to do My own will. Nowhere does the contrast appear more distinctly than in that scene in the Temple, Wist ye not that I must be about My Fathers business; and then He meekly places His hand in His mothers and becomes subject unto Joseph and Mary.

2. His pronounced self-assertion and His humility and self-abnegation.

(1) He appeals to no authority but His own as the ground on which men should accept Him. When He propounded His law on the Mount, He contrasts His teaching with that of the ancient law, although Divinely given, with the words, I say unto you. What a significant scene is that in which He upbraids the cities for their unbelief, and then hearken to the words which follow, Come unto Me all ye that labour, etc. From His disciples He learns how men misunderstand Him; and how calm, resolute, inspiring, the words in which He replies to these misapprehensions, and rewards the confession of Peter. On this rock I will build My Church, etc. Is this arrogance, egotism? It is the sublimest ever witnessed. If true, the noblest; if unfounded, the wildest and most vain.

(2) But what a contrast. The child of a carpenters wife; He is fitly born in the outhouse of an inn, and moved for thirty years amidst the humblest surroundings. When He came into public life His career opened to Him no affluence or dignity. The foxes have holes, etc. His moral characteristics were in keeping with His circumstances. I am Meek and lowly of heart. He is led as a lamb to the slaughter, and prays for His murderers.

3. Infinite power combined with noteworthy weakness.

(1) Mark the works of Jesus--how easily performed. Let there be light, says God, and there was light. He opens the windows of heaven and a race is overwhelmed. And thus Christ works. It is in a storm; the Master sleeps. The disciples cry, We perish! He rises, speaks, and there is a great calm. In His dealings with disease, a touch upon the eyelid pours daylight on the darkened orb. Be clean, He says to the leper, and the loathsome disease is gone. Another word, and the man who had become a wild beast is sitting at His feet in his right mind. Here is no paraphernalia of the magician, or the exercise of delegated power.

(2) In contrast with this is Christs meekness. Take the supernatural out of His life, and what feebleness! He who can multiply the bread is familiar with hunger. Give me to drink, He says to one to whom He gives living water. With His hand upon a universe He is as helpless as a child.

4. The complete absence of any sense of sinfulness or moral defect. The religious life of the leaders of human thought has been marked by a profound sense of personal unworthiness, but there is no trace of this in Jesus. Which of you convinceth Me of sin? asks Jesus of the ages. I find no fault in Him, re-echo well nigh two millennia.

5. In these series of contrasts we have noted two contradictory qualities--infinity and limitation. The last scenes of His life exhibit these. Our Lord comforts His disciples. Calm and helpful, He promises them Divine strength. But see Him a few moments after in His agony. Where in all literature is an artistic contrast so striking? And this only the simple story of the unlettered, who tell the story as they knew it best. But what is this. An armed hand approaches, and at a word from Him they fall to the ground--yet He submits to be led away.

II. SOME OF THE EXPLANATIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN GIVEN.

1. That Christ is a natural product, the outgrowth of the ages; that all preceding generations gathered in Him, and produced the ideal man. But where in Judaea, Greece, or Rome, can be found the elements from which the nature of Christ could be compounded? And if one Christ could be produced why not others?

2. That Christ is a literary product, the ideal of an individual mind--the grandest triumph of human imagination, but altogether fictitious. But who was the romancer who must have been greater than His romance?

3. That Christ is a mythical product; that a remarkable individual did exist who founded a school, and after death was slowly changed by the loving regard of His followers into the heroic, and at last into the Divine. Granted that such a myth may have grown up in a century, how is it that we have the unique Divine nature of Jesus made the ground of a finished argument in the Epistle to the Romans, published within a generation from the time of Christ, by one whose life overlapped His?

4. The theory that Christ was a deceiver or deceived hardly merits notice. A knave ought to recognize that Christ was truthful, and a fool, would he open his eyes, might see that He was perfectly self-possessed.

III. THE THEORY WHICH ALONE SATISFIES ALL THE CONDITIONS OF THE CASE. In these phenomena

1. We find evidence of a personality altogether unique. There are contrasts, but there is a unity about the Person, and a consistency in the life which make us feel confident of the truthfulness of the Bible record. All things fall into their place when we are taught that Christ is at once the Son of God and the Son of Man. He is Divine, and all the Divinity of His being is thus accounted for. He is human, and all the humanity of His lot is wholly explained.

2. The origin of this unique personality must be traced to God. The human race could produce no such being. Even were the ideal conception possible, which is doubtful, a person who had formed the idea could never have realized it. But with God all things are possible.

3. The purpose for which such a unique being was sent by God must have been to accomplish some special work.

(1) A mere teacher or reformer might have been only man.

(2) God would not have become man for His own sake. He can require nothing which He cannot supply.

(3) Christ is evidently not the first of a new species, for He has no successor.

(4) His mission therefore must have been for man, to establish some new, or modify some old relation between God and man. Such an object is declared by Scripture to have been sought by God and accomplished by Christ, and for this such a Personality as has been described was suited and designed. (Ll. D. Bevan, D. D.)

Then said they unto Him, Where is Thy Father?--The question indicates assumed ignorance of Christs meaning, or a scornful fling at His ever imagining that God was His Father. How different to the child-like simplicity of Philip (Joh_14:8)! Their earthborn idea was, If you are visible, cant we see something of your Father? They ask about the Father, He replies as to Himself; and when asked about Himself He (verses 25-27) replies concerning the Father. The primitive Christians were called atheists because they could not show their God. In every age the sneering challenge is repeated. At Orleans the Papists asked the Huguenots in the flames, Where is now your God? Mary Queen of Scots, having by French mercenaries forced Protestants into the bleak hills, cried, Where is John Knoxs God? In Fotheringay Castle she had time to answer her own question. (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8:14-15 Jesus answered the Pharisees’ charges, saying that he could make such claims about himself because he knew both his origin (heaven) and his destination (heaven). He then pointed to the most vital witness for his case, his Father who sent him (8:16).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 8:14. Κἄν, even though) He does not speak conditionally, but affirms, that He bears witness of Himself, Joh 8:18, “I am one that bear witness of Myself.” After that He has taught them many things, He demands of His hearers, what He had not before so demanded.[219]—οἷδα, I know) It is from sure and confirmed knowledge that true testimony proceeds.—πόθεν, ποῦ, whence, and whither) The doctrine concerning Christ can be reduced to these two heads. The former head is treated of at Joh 8:16, etc., “If I judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me;—the testimony of two—is true;” the latter head is treated of at Joh 8:21, etc., “I go My way, and ye shall seek Me,” etc.—ὑμεῖς, ye) It is with you the fault rests, that you do not attain to perceiving the truth of My testimony. “What you need is, that I should tell you, what no one of mortals can tell you.—ἔρχομαι, I come) To be distinguished from the preceding ἦλθον, I came. By the expression, I came, Jesus signifies, that He always knew; by the expression, I come, He signifies, that the Jews not even now know.

[219] Viz., that they should believe Him, though bearing witness of Himself.—E. and T.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 8:14 . Jesus replies: κἂν … ὑπάγω , “even if I witness of Myself, My witness is true”. The difference between καὶ εἰ and εἰ καί is clearly stated by Hermann on Viger, 822; Klotz on Devarius, 519; and is for the most part observed in N.T. On the law regulating testimony, which was meant merely for courts of law, see Joh 8:31 . The expressed ἐγώ indicates that He is an exception to the rule; the reason being because He knows whence He comes and whither He goes, ὅτι οἶδα … ὑπάγω . He knows His origin and His destiny. He knows Himself, and therefore the rule mentioned has no application to Him. πόθεν ἦλθον cannot of course be restricted to His earthly origin. He knows He is from God, so ὑπάγω refers to His going to God. Cf. Joh 13:3 . Moreover, He is compelled to witness to Himself, because ὑμεῖς οὐκ οἴδατε … ὑπάγω . He alone knew the nature of His mission, yet it behoves to be known by all men; therefore He must declare Himself. They would no doubt have replied, as formerly, Joh 7:27 , Mar 6:3 , that they did know whence He was. Therefore He reminds them that they judge by appearances only: ὑμεῖς κατὰ τὴν σάρκα κρίνετε . They had constituted themselves His judges, and they decided against Him, because “according to the flesh” He was born in Galilee, Joh 7:52 . “For my part,” He says, “I judge (condemn) no one”; ἐγὼ οὐ κρίνω οὐδένα . As if He said, “I confine myself (Joh 8:16 ) to witnessing, and do not sit in judgment,” cf. Joh 3:17 . “But even if I do judge (as my very appearance among you results in judgment, Joh 3:18-19 , Joh 5:22 ) my judgment is true; there is no fear of its being merely superficial or prejudiced, because I am not alone, but I am inseparably united to the Father who sent me.” Cf. Joh 5:30 , “as I hear I judge”. In Pirqe Aboth , iv. 12, R. Ishmael is cited: “He used to say, judge not alone, for none may judge alone save One”.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That which he denied afore, John 5:31, must be taken by a manner of granting, for in that place he framed himself somewhat to the humor of his hearers, which acknowledged nothing in Christ but his humanity, and therefore he was content they should set light by his own witness, unless it were otherwise confirmed. But in this place he standeth for the maintenance of his Godhead, and praiseth his Father, who is his witness, and agreeth with him.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

for I know whence I came, and whither I go, &c.--(See on Joh 7:28).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 14. I know whence I came] I came from God, and am going to God, and can neither do nor say any thing but what leads to and glorifies him.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. Though I testify concerning myself. Christ replies, that his testimony possesses sufficient credit and authority, because he is not a private person belonging to the great body of men, but holds a very different station. For when he says, that he knoweth whence he came, and whither he goeth, he thus excludes himself from the ordinary rank of men. The meaning therefore is, that every man is heard with suspicion in his own cause, and it is provided by the laws, that no man shall be believed, when he speaks for his own advantage. But this does not apply to the Son of God, who holds a rank above the whole world; for he is not reckoned as belonging to the rank of men, but has received from his Father this privilege, to reduce all men to obedience to him by a single word.

I know whence I came. By these words he declares that his origin is not from the world, but that he proceeded from God, and therefore that it would be unjust and unreasonable that his doctrine, which is Divine, should be subjected to the laws of men. But as he was at that time clothed with the form of a servant, in consequence of which they despised him on account of the mean condition of the flesh, he sends them away to the future glory of his resurrection, from which his Divinity, formerly hidden and unknown, received a clear demonstration. That intermediate condition, therefore, ought not to have prevented the Jews from submitting to God’s only ambassador, who had been formerly promised to them in the Law.

But you know not whence I came, and whither I go. He means that his glory is not at all diminished by their unbelief. Again, as he has given the same testimony to us, our faith ought to despise all the reports and slanders of wicked men; for it cannot be founded upon God without rising far above the loftiest pride of the world. But in order that we may perceive the majesty of his Gospel, we ought always to direct our eyes to the heavenly glory of the Son of God, and to hear him speaking in the world, so as to remember whence he came, and what authority he now possesses, after having discharged his embassy. For as he humbled himself for a time, so now he is highly exalted at the right hand of the Father, that every knee may bow to him, (Philippians 2:10.)

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(14) Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true.—For “record” read in each instance witness, as in Joh_8:13. The pronoun is emphatic. “Even if I do bear witness of Myself, yet My witness is true.” He had before quoted their law of evidence (Joh_5:31), and showed that He fulfilled its canons. He is about to show this again (Joh_8:17-18), but He claims first that in reality the law cannot apply to Him. They claim a human proof of that which transcends human knowledge. They claim the evidence of a witness, to a truth for which there could not possibly be a human witness.

For I know whence I came, and whither I go.—The requirement of two witnesses was based on the imperfection of individual knowledge, and the untrustworthiness of individual veracity. His evidence, as that of One who knew every circumstance affecting that of which He testified, was valid, for the perfection of His knowledge implied that He was divine. He and He only of all who have appeared in human form, knew the origin and issue of His life; He and He only knew the Father’s home from which He came, and to which He was about to return. For the same words, “I go,” or, I go away, as applied to His voluntary death, comp. Joh_7:33.

But ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.—The Greek word for “cannot tell” is the same as that for “know” in the previous clause. For “and” most of the better MSS. read or. Making these corrections we have, But ye know not whence I come, or whither I go. The change of tense is to be noted. Speaking of His own knowledge, He refers to the Incarnation in the historic past, “I came.” Speaking of their continued ignorance, He refers to the coming as continuing in the present. Every renewed act and word was a coming to them from God. (See Joh_3:31.) He knew, in the fulness of knowledge, the whence of past coming and the whither of future going. They knew neither the one nor the other. They do not even know His present mission. Once again His present teaching takes up words uttered before. They had said, “When the Christ cometh no man knoweth whence He is” (Joh_7:27). He has, then, fulfilled their test. He had said, “Ye both know Me, and do know whence I am” (Joh_7:28); but that knowledge was of the earthly life only, and He now speaks to them of heaven.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. Though I bear record] Better, even if I bear witness. God can testify respecting Himself, and there are truths to which He alone can testify. Yet He condescends to conform to the standard of human testimony, and adds to His witness the words and works of His incarnate Son; who in like manner can bear witness of Himself, being supported by the witness of the Father (Joh_8:16).

and whither I go] i.e. by Death and Ascension.

but ye cannot tell] Better, But ye know not. They knew neither of these points respecting themselves; how should they know it respecting Him? Man knows not either the origin or the issue of his life. ‘Ye’ is emphatic.

whence I came, and whither I go] For ‘and’ read or with the best MSS. Note the change from ‘came,’ which refers to the Incarnation, His having once come from the Father, to ‘come,’ which refers to His perpetual presence with mankind. Note also the balanced parallelism of the verse and comp. Joh_8:35; Joh_8:38, Joh_7:6.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And yet if I judge, my judgment is true,.... Because he saw not as man did, nor looked unto, and judged according to the outward appearance of things; but looked into the heart, and knew what was in it, being the searcher and trier of it; to whom all things are naked and open, and therefore cannot be deceived or imposed upon; his judgment must be sure and infallible:

for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me; he was not separate from the Father, or at a distance from him, when he was here on earth; he was in his bosom, and in heaven, as the Son of God, when as the son of man, he was below; nor was he alone in his testimony and judgment, the Father joined with him therein: and which is a further proof of the truth of his testimony, and the certainty of his judgment.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.

Ver. 14. Yet my record is true] i.e. For I am "Amen, the faithful and true witness," Rev 3:14, yea, the God of Amen, Isa 65:16, and so the only sufficient witness concerning myself.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jesus answered ... - To this objection Jesus replied by saying, first, that the case was such that his testimony alone ought to be received; and, secondly, that he had the evidence given him by his Father. Though, in common life, in courts, and in mere human transactions, it was true that a man ought not to give evidence in his own case, yet in this instance, such was the nature of the case that his word was worthy to be believed.

My record - My evidence, my testimony.

Is true - Is worthy to be believed.

For I know whence I came ...but ye ... - I know by what authority I act; I know by whom I am sent, and what commands were given me; but you cannot determine this, for you do not know these unless I bear witness of them to you. We are to remember that Jesus came not of himself Joh 6:38; that he came not to do his own will, but the will of his Father. He came as a witness of those things which he had seen and known Joh 3:11, and no man could judge of those things for no man had seen them. As he came from heaven; as he knew his Father’s will; as he had seen the eternal world, and known the counsels of his Father, so his testimony was worthy of confidence. As they had not seen and known these things, they were not qualified to judge. An ambassador from a foreign court knows the will and purposes of the sovereign who sent him, and is competent to bear witness of it. The court to which he is sent has no way of judging but by his testimony, and he is therefore competent to testify in the case. All that can be demanded is that he give his credentials that he is appointed, and this Jesus had done both by the nature of his doctrine and his miracles.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Although I give testimony (or witness) of myself, my testimony is true. He gives them the reason, ver. 16; because he is not alone, but the Father (who also beareth witness) is also with him. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

There is a seeming difficulty to reconcile the words of our Saviour, Joh 5:31, If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true, and his assertion here,

Though I bear record of myself, my record is true: but the resolution of it is clear by considering that he speaks in the former chapter of his own single testimony with respect to them, as not of sufficient validity to authorize his Divine vocation, according to the rule of their law, that required a double testimony for confirmation of things; but here he speaks of the verity of it in itself.

For I know whence I came, and whither I go; that is, I know from whom I have received my commission, (though secret to the world), even from the Father: and yet, after the accomplishing of my embassy for his honour, I shall return to heaven, and be glorified with the glory I had with him before the world was, Joh 17:5. The reason alleged implies his being the Son of God; and his Father’s entire approbation of his office, and fidelity in the discharge of it; and the concurrent testimony of the Father with him: therefore his record was authentic and true. But they did not believe his mission from heaven, nor that he was to ascend thither, and accordingly did not value his testimony.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Jesus answered and said to them, Even if I bear witness concerning myself in case I bear testimony, I, being who and what I am, and surrounded by Divine attestations, charged with a consciousness of a whole army and legion of approving witnesses, and, above all, with the Father"s own testimony to memy witness is true I satisfy in superlative fashion your own demand and also my own conceded testbecause I know oida , with clear undisturbed self-consciousness I know, absolutely, invincibly, with perfect possession of the past and futurewhence I came, and whither I am going. The whole of our Christian verities turn upon the consciousness by Jesus of that which lay before and after that human life of his. He embraced the two eternities in his inward self-consciousness. That whence" and that "whither," with all their infinite sublimity and solemnity, give adequate evidence and sufficient weight to his personal claim to be the Light of the world, because he is the temporary Embodiment of the eternal life which was with the Father, but is manifest to men. (cf. 1Jn_1:4) But ye know not whence I come am ever coming forth to you with Divine judgment and calls of mercynorwhither I am going. "Neither the one nor the other;" not that Christ had not repeatedly told them in various and most expressive form. They could neither grasp the origin of his Personality, nor the method in which, as Messiah, through suffering, through an equation of his lot with man"s (through the form of a slave and the death of a cross), he was doing the Father"s will. (cf. notes, Joh_7:27, 28 9:29)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Even if I bear witness about myself

"Even if I say these things about myself"

the flesh

"human standards and the laws of men"

I judge no one

Possible meanings are 1) "I do not judge anyone yet" or 2) "I am not judging anyone now."

if I judge

Possible meanings are 1) "if I judge people" or 2) "whenever I judge people"

my judgment is true

Possible meanings are 1) "my judgment will be right" or 2) "my judgment is right."

I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me

Jesus, the Son of God, has authority because of his special relationship with his Father. (See: Translating Son and Father)

I am not alone

The implied information is that Jesus is not alone in his judgment. AT: "I am not alone in how I judge" or "I do not judge alone" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

I am with the Father

The Father and the Son judge together. AT: "the Father also judges with me" or "the Father judges as I do"

the Father

This is an important title for God. If your language must state whose Father this is, you could say "my Father" since Jesus switches to that in the following verses. (See: Translating Son and Father)

translationWords

testimony

true

judge

flesh

God the Father

send

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

14. κἂν ἐγὼ μ. Even if I should bear witness. Strong emphasis on ἐγώ. God can testify respecting Himself, and there are truths to which He alone can testify. Yet He condescends to conform to the standard of human testimony, and adds to His witness the words and works of His incarnate Son; who in like manner can bear witness of Himself, being supported by the witness of the Father (Joh 8:16).

ποῦ ὑπάγω. By Death and Ascension. Ὑμεῖς is emphatic: they knew neither the whence nor the whither of their own lives, and how could they know His? Throughout the chapter we find ἐγώ and ὑμεῖς in constant opposition.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. ὅτι οἶδα κ.τ.λ.] See on ch. 7:29. This reason binds His testimony to that of the Father; for He came forth from the Father, ch. 16:28, and was returning to Him.

“Lumen,” says Augustine (Tract. in Joan. xxxv. 4) “et alia demonstrat et seipsum.… Testimonium sibi perhibet lux: aperit sanos oculos et sibi ipsa testis est, ut cognoscatur lux.”

Then again, he only who knows can witness: and Jesus only knew this.

Notice ἦλθον and ἔρχομαι,—I know whence I came:—this goes back to the ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν of ch. 1:1; but ye know not whence I come,—‘do not recognize even My present mission.’

We must not for a moment understand κἂν ἐγὼ μαρτ. with Grotius, “even though I should witness,” &c.: “etiamsi nulla essent de me prœgressa prophetarum, nulla Joannis Baptistœ testimonia.”

It does not suppose a case, but allows the fact.

15,

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. The answer of Jesus κἂν ἐγὼ μαρτυρῶ περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ, ἀληθής ἐστιν ἥ μαρτυρία μου is in formal contradiction with His former admission ἐὰν ἐγὼ μαρτυρῶ περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ, ἡ μαρτυρία μου οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθής (5:31, where see note); but there is no real contradiction, for here he takes higher ground, so to speak, than on that occasion, and claims that the Divine origin and dignity of which He is conscious justify Him in bearing witness to Himself. This is the very badge of Deity (see v. 18), although it is true that no individual man could claim it (as He had said, 5:31). He alone could be called ὁ ἀμήν, ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς καὶ ἀληθινός (Rev 3:14).

ὅτι οἶδα πόθεν ἦλθον, “because I know (with complete knowledge) whence I came,” sc. at the Incarnation (cf. 1:1, 13:3, 16:28).

καὶ ποῦ ὑπάγω, “and whither I go”; see on 7:33 for ὑπάγειν used of “going to the Father.”

The words which follow, ὑμεῖς … ὑπάγω, do not appear to have been present in the texts known to Origen, but the omission is readily explicable by homoioteleuton, ὑπάγω … ὑπάγω.

ὑμεῖς δὲ (א om. δέ) οὐκ οἴδατε πόθεν ἔρχομαι. That is, they did not know of His heavenly origin, although (like the Jewish interlocutors of 7:28) they may have known that He was of the family at Nazareth.

ἢ ποῦ ὑπάγω. See on 7:33.

BDNT support ἤ; the rec., with אLWΘ, has καί.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Though [καν] . Literally, even if.

I know [οιδα] . With a clear inward consciousness. See on 2 24.

Whence I came and whither I go. Two essential facts of testimony, viz., origin and destiny. "The question was one about His own personal consciousness, of which only Himself could bear witness" (Lange). "If the sun or the day could speak, and should say : 'I am the sun!' and it were replied, 'No, thou mayest be the night, for thou bearest witness of thyself!' how would that sound? Argue it away if thou canst" (" Berlenburg Bible, "cited by Stier," Words of the Lord Jesus ").

And whither I go. The best texts read, h, or.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 14. “Jesus answered and said to them; Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true, because I know whence I came and whither I go; but you know not whence I come or whither I go.”

Jesus had accepted in chap. 5 the position of an ordinary man; this is the reason why he had cited in His favor the double testimony of the Father, through the miracles and through the Scriptures. Here, He asserts Himself and claims His true position, which He had voluntarily abandoned. This difference arises from the fact that the rupture between Him and His hearers is now further advanced. He asserts Himself more categorically. The inner light which He possesses with regard to His person places Him absolutely beyond the illusions of pride.

And this is the reason why He is, at the same time, the light for others. The term οἶδα, I know, designates that unchangeably clear and transparent consciousness which Jesus has of Himself; it bears at once on the place of His origin and of that to which He would return, on the beginning and the end of His existence. He who distinctly knows these two limits of His life comprehends it altogether. Jesus is distinctly conscious of Himself as of a being coming from on high and returning on high, and as one for whom, consequently, the earthly life is only a passing period with a mission to fulfill, a transition from heaven to heaven. The whole of Christianity rests upon this consciousness which Jesus had of His person. It is the heroism of faith to give oneself up to the extraordinary testimony which this being has borne to Himself. The words: “you know not,” are more than the announcement of a fact; they contain a reproach. They also could know, if only they had their minds open to perceive. In the heavenly and holy character of the appearance of Jesus, every upright heart can discern the divinity of His origin as well as that of His destination. The disjunctive particle ἤ, or, in the second clause (see the critical note) is more forcible than the simple καί, and, in the first: Jesus adds knowledge to knowledge; hence the and; but as for them, when they are inquired of with reference to one point or another, they show always the same ignorance; hence the or.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.