Query.

By:
C. M. — CAN YOU GIVE A LITTLE HELP TO THE UNDETANDING OF John 5:31; 8:13,1431If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. (John 5:31)
13The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. 14Jesus 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. (John 8:13‑14)? The two passages taken together afford an illustration of the inability of the natural mind to understand spiritual truth. The Lord had pointed out to the Jews that in presenting Himself to them for their acceptance He did so not upon His own bare testimony, but upon that of John the Baptist, of His own miracles, of the Father, and of the scriptures. They were, therefore, entirely without excuse, having not merely a twofold but a fourfold witness. It is in that connection that the Lord said, “If I bear witness of myself my witness is not true” (John 5:3131If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. (John 5:31)). Clearly, an unsupported testimony is here meant, such as that of Theudas who boasted that he was somebody (Acts 5:3636For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. (Acts 5:36)).
The Pharisees took up the words literally, seeking to use them against the Lord. “Thou bearest witness of thyself, thy witness is not true” (John 8:1313The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. (John 8:13)). But their accusation only proved their utter ignorance of the Person of Christ. For His witness was not simply human. What He spake of Himself was true, because He was the Son from heaven. And His answer to their cavil is the truth concerning Himself. He, in contrast with them, knew whence He came and whither He went. Besides, He said, “I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.” They could not, therefore, divide between the testimony of the Father and that of the Son (John 14:1010Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. (John 14:10)).
The Jews stumbled at the letter, because they failed to perceive the spirit of the Lord’s words. To them it was one of those “discrepancies” which it is the morbid delight of some minds to discover in the scriptures. But the knowledge of Christ is the key to all such difficulties. For He Who spake on earth was not man only but God also.