Testimony



John 8:13-20 
13So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

John chapter 8 is a brilliant exposition of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Jesus’ conversation with the Pharisees stands as one of the great debates of all time. He declares them ignorant and they call Him a liar. Only one side of the argument is correct.

First the Pharisees want to dispute the veracity of Jesus’ claims because He stands alone. Jewish law demands that any testimony be corroborated by two witnesses. Jesus makes two statements refuting their point. 1. He is God and He has the truth on His side. 2. The Father in heaven bears witness to the things He is saying. There are two of them – the legal requirements are met. Then Jesus questions their right to judge Him or anyone else. They judge according to what the flesh tells them. This is a shaky ruler at best. Jesus doesn’t judge but has every right to do so and He isn’t using fleshly laws to govern those judgments.

At the end of this debate, the Pharisees will be decimated. If they were smart they would have backed off by this point. But they will continue to press their case until Jesus leaves them in their own filthy lies. By the end of this brief salvo, they want Him dead and gone. But they are all bound to God’s timing and “His hour had not yet come.” Jesus remains in control.

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