Jesus Accused by the Pharisees
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 “w...