Thou bearest record of thyself - Thou art a witness for thyself, or in thy own case. See John 5:31. The law required two witnesses in a criminal case, and they alleged that as the only evidence which Jesus had was his own assertion, it could not be entitled to belief.Is not true - Is not worthy of belief, or is not substantiated by sufficient evidence. read more
John 8:13-14. The Pharisees, therefore Namely, some of them who were then present, but different persons from those who had brought in the woman, being enraged at the late disappointment of their brethren; said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself And therefore, by thine own confession, thy record Or testimony, rather, as μαρτυρια signifies; is not to be admitted as true But may rather be suspected of vain glory. They retort upon our Lord his own words, (John 5:31,) If I... read more
89. The light of the world (John 8:12-20)In response to Jesus’ statement that he was the light of the world, the Pharisees argued that he had no right to testify on his own behalf. In their view he had no supporting witnesses (John 8:12-13). Jesus replied that he did have the right to bear witness to himself, because he came from God and was united with God. God was his supporting witness, and that should have been sufficient (John 8:14).The Jews were wrong in their judgments against Jesus,... read more
bearest record . See note on John 1:32 . of = concerning. Greek. peri. App-104 . record. See note on John 1:19 . not . Greek. ou ( App-105 ). true . Greek. alethes. See App-176 and note on John 3:33 . read more
The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest witness of thyself: thy witness is not true.This proves that Jesus was reading their hearts when he answered this same objection before (John 5:31). In this instance, the Lord refused, even for a moment, or for argument's sake, to notice their objection, having checkmated it in advance through his presentation of himself as the light of the world. Light, by its very nature, is a witness of itself. read more
13-19. bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true—How does He meet this specious cavil? Not by disputing the wholesome human maxim that "self-praise is no praise," but by affirming that He was an exception to the rule, or rather, that it had no application to Him. read more
Jesus’ testimony about Himself 8:12-20 read more
5. The light of the world discourse 8:12-59Following Jesus’ claim to be the water of life (John 7:37-38), official opposition against Him intensified considerably. The following sections of this Gospel trace this rising opposition. While some believed on Jesus, most of His own people rejected Him (cf. John 1:11-12). This section of the text deals with Jesus’ claim to be the Light of the World and the controversy it generated. read more
On another occasion Jesus had said that if He alone bore witness to His own identity His witness would not be admissible under the Mosaic Law (John 5:31). The Mosaic Law required at least two witnesses to guard against only one witness giving biased testimony (cf. Deuteronomy 17:6; Deuteronomy 19:15). The Pharisees now quoted Jesus’ statement back to Him. However they implied that because Jesus was bearing witness about Himself, without a second corroborating witness, His witness could not be... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - John 8:13-19
(2) The refusal of the Pharisees to accept this claim on his unsupported testimony, and Christ ' s reply. read more