Jesus Accused By the Pharisees

Excerpt

The debate had thus begun. It was initiated by the Pharisees over the legitimacy—the truth—of Jesus’ witness. They called his testimony into question because they held it to be a self-witness (8:13). Indeed, Jesus himself had agreed at 5:31 that if he were merely a self-witness, his testimony would be false (cf. Deut 19:15; m. Ketub. 2:9). Obviously they accepted that statement but refused to hear the other four witnesses he called to testify at that point (John the Baptist, his works, the Father, and Scripture; 5:33–47). It was pointless, however, to argue with these self-righteous judges.

So Jesus turned not to call more witnesses but to prepare for his judgment by addressing their ignorance. How could they make decisions about his authenticity (alēthēs, 8:13–14) if they were ignorant of the two basic questions involved in his life and ministry (8:14)? Those questions could be summed up in the words “whence?” (pothen) and “where?”(pou). They were the questions of his origin and his goal or destiny, questions that puzzled not only the common people (7:27–28) but also the Jewish opponents (7:35–36). More

Borchert, Gerald L. John 1–11. Vol. 25A. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996. Print. The New American Commentary

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