John 8:13

Our Lord having said, I am the Light of the world; and, he that follows Me, walks not in darkness, the Jews wish to overthrow what He has said: The Pharisees therefore said to Him, you bear record of Yourself, Your record is not true.

As if our Lord Himself were the only (one that bore) witness to Himself; whereas the truth was that He had, before His incarnation, sent many witnesses to prophesy of His Sacraments.

Our Lord however overthrew their argument: Jesus answered and said, Though I bear record of Myself, yet My record is true. This is an accommodation to those who thought Him no more than a mere man. He adds the reason, For I know whence I come and whither I go; i.e. I am God, from God, and the Son of God: though this He does not say expressly, from His habit of mingling lofty and lowly words together. Now God is surely a competent witness to Himself.

The witness of light is true, whether the light show itself, or other things. The Prophet spoke the truth, but whence had he it, but by drawing from the fount of truth? Jesus then is a competent witness to Himself: For I know whence I come, and whither I go: this has reference to the Father; for the Son gave glory to the Father who sent Him. How greatly then should man glorify the Creator, who made Him. He did not separate from His Father, however, when He came, or desert us when He returned: unlike that sun which in going to the west, leaves the east. And as that sun throws its light on the faces both of him who sees, and him who sees not; only the one sees with the light, the other sees not: so the Wisdom of God, the Word, is every where present, even to the minds of unbelievers; but they have not the eyes of the understanding, whereas with to see. To distinguish then between believers and enemies among the Jews, as between light and darkness, He adds, But you cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. These Jews saw the man, and did not believe in the God, and therefore our Lord says, You judge after the flesh, i.e. in saying, You bear record of Yourself, Your record is not true.

As if to say: You judge untruly, according to the flesh, thinking, because I am in the flesh, that I am flesh only, and not God.

Understanding Me not as God, and seeing Me as man, you think Me arrogant in bearing witness of Myself. For any man who bears high testimony to himself, is thought proud and arrogant. But men are frail, and may either speak the truth, or lie: the Light cannot lie.

As to live according to the flesh is to live amiss, so to judge according to the flesh, is to judge unjustly. They might say, however, If we judge wrongly, why do you not convict us, why do you not condemn us? So He adds, I judge no man.

Which may be understood in two ways; judge no man, i.e. not now: as He says elsewhere, God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved: not that He abandons, but only defers, His justice. Or having said, You Judge according to the flesh, He says immediately, I judge no man, to let you know that Christ does not judge according to the flesh, as men judged Him. For that Christ is a judge appears from the next words, And yet if I Judge, My judgment is true.

As if to say: In saying, I judge no man, I meant that I did not anticipate judgment. If I judged justly, I should condemn you, but now is not the time for judging. He alludes however to the future judgment, in what follows; For I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me; which means that He will not condemn them alone, but He and the Father together. This is intended too to quiet suspicion, as men did not think the Son worthy to be believed, unless He had the testimony of the Father also.

But if the Father is with You, how did He send You? O Lord, Your mission is Your incarnation. Christ was here according to the flesh without withdrawing from the Father, because the Father and the Son are every where. Blush, you Sabellian; our Lord does not say, I am the Father, and I the self-same person am the Son; but, I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. Make a distinction then of persons, and distinction of intelligences: acknowledge that the Father is the Father, the Son the Son: but beware of saying, that the Father is greater, the Son less. Theirs is one substance, one co-eternity, perfect equality. Therefore, He says, My judgment is true, because I am the Son of God. But that you may understand how that the Father is with Me, it is not for the Son ever to leave the Father. I have taken up the form of a servant; but I have not lost the form of God. He had spoken of judgment: now he speaks of witness: It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.

Is this made a bad use of by the Manichaeans, that our Lord does not say, in the law of God, but, in your law? Who does not recognize here a manner of speaking customary in Scripture? In your law, i.e. the law given to you. The Apostle speaks of his Gospel in the same way, though he testifies to having received it not from men, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

There is much difficulty, and a great mystery seems to be contained, in God’s words, In the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be established. It is possible that two may speak false. The chaste Susannah was arraigned by two false witnesses: the whole people spoke against Christ falsely. How then must we understand the word, By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established: except as an intimation of the mystery of the Trinity, in which is perpetual stability of truth? Receive then our testimony, lest you feel our judgment. I delay My judgment: I delay not My testimony: I am one that bears witness of Myself, and the Father that sent Me bear witness of Me.

In many places the Father bears witness of the Son; as, This day have I begotten You; also, This is My beloved Son.

It is written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. If this is to be taken literally, in what respect does our Lord differ from men? The rule has been laid down for men, on the ground that one man alone is not to be relied on: but how can this be applicable to God? These words are quoted then with another meaning. When two men bear witness, both to an indifferent matter, their witness is true: this constitutes the testimony of two men. But if one of them bear witness to himself, then they are no longer two witnesses. Thus our Lord means to show that He is consubstantial with the Father, and does not need another witness, i.e. besides the Father’s. I and the Father that sent Me. Again, on human principles, when a man bears witness, his honesty is supposed, he is not home witness to; and a man is admitted as a fair and competent witness in an indifferent matter, but not in one relating to himself, unless he is supported by other testimony. But here it is quite otherwise. Our Lord, though giving testimony in His own case, and though saying that He is borne witness to by another, pronounces Himself worthy of belief; thus showing His all-sufficiency. He says He deserves to be believed.

Or it is as if He said, If your law admits the testimony of two men who may be deceived, and testify to more than is true; on what grounds can you reject Mine and My Father’s testimony, the highest and most sure of all?

1. Faustus said: Why do I not believe the prophets? Rather why do you believe them? On account, you will reply, of their prophecies about Christ. For my part, I have read the prophets with the most eager attention, and have found no such prophecies. And surely it shows a weak faith not to believe in Christ without proofs and testimonies. Indeed, you yourselves are accustomed to teach that Christian faith is so simple and absolute as not to admit of laborious investigations. …

2. Since you have proved that Christ declared that Moses wrote of him, I should be very grateful if you would show me what he has written. I have searched the Scriptures, as we are told to do, and have found no prophecies of Christ, either because there are none, or because I could not understand them. The only escape from this perplexity was in one or other of two conclusions. Either this verse must be spurious, or Jesus a liar. As it is not consistent with piety to suppose God a liar, I preferred to attribute falsehood to the writers, rather than to the Author, of truth. Moreover, He Himself tells that those who came before him were thieves and robbers, which applies first of all to Moses. …

And moreover it was necessary that what concerned Him should be spoken by another first and not by Himself. For if even after both testimonies and demonstrations so many and so great, they said, “Thou bearest record of Thyself, Thy record is not true:”had He, without John’s saying anything, come into the midst, and first borne record Himself; what would they not have said? For this cause, neither did He preach before John, nor did He work miracles, until John was cast into prison; lest in this way the multitude should be divided. Therefore also John did no miracle at all; that by this means also might give over the multitude to Jesus, His miracles drawing them unto Him.

What then is the meaning? The Jews were about to object to Him, “If thou bearest witness concerning thyself, thy witness is not true” ( c. viii. 13 ): therefore He spake these words in anticipation; as though He had said, “Ye will surely say to Me, we believe thee not; for no one that witnesseth of himself is readily held trustworthy among men.” So that the “is not true” must not be read absolutely, but with reference to their suspicions, as though He had said, “to you it is not true”; and so He uttered the words not looking to His own dignity, but to their secret thoughts. When He saith, “My witness is not true,” He rebuketh their opinion of Him, and the objection about to be urged by them against Him; but when He saith, “Though I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true” ( c. viii. …

Ver. 13 . “Thou bearest record of thyself, thy record is not true.” Alas! for their folly, He continually referred them to the Scriptures, and now they say, “Thou bearest record of thyself.” What was the record He bare? “I am the light of the world.” A great thing to say, great of a truth, but it did not greatly amaze them, because He did not now make Himself equal to the Father, nor assert that He was His Son, nor that He was God, but for a while calleth Himself “a light.” They indeed desired to disprove this also, and yet this was a much greater thing than to say, “He that followeth Me, shall not walk in darkness.”

But wherefore do they not now bring against Him the charge which they did before, when they said, “Thou bearest witness of thyself, thy witness is not true?” ( c. viii. 13 .) Because He had often stopped their mouths, and because His boldness towards them had been increased by His miracles. Then because He said above “And the sheep hear his voice, and follow him,” lest any should say, “What then is this to those who believe not?” hear what He addeth, “And I know My sheep, and am known of Mine.” As Paul declared when he said, “God hath not rejected His people whom He foreknew” ( Rom. xi. 2 ); and Moses, “The Lord knew those that were His” ( 2 Tim. ii. 19; comp. Num. xvi. …