You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me

 

 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  

 

Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

 

- John 8:12–20 

 

 Yesterday we read that on that last day, the great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."   The lectionary then skips over the story of the woman taken in adultery; see John 7:53-8:11.

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."    My study bible explains the context of Christ's remark.  At this time on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the great lamps were lit at its conclusion.  This was a gigantic menorah lamp in the outer courtyard of the temple, which when illumined made the entire region of that part of the city of Jerusalem bright as daylight, according to witnesses of the period.  In this statement, my study bible says, Christ is declaring Himself to be the fulfillment and the divine object of all celebrations of light.  In the Scriptures, God the Father Himself is light (John 1:4-9, 1 John 1:5), an attribute which God bestows on God's followers (Matthew 5:14, Philippians 2:15).  Christ will confirm this claim when He will perform the great sign of opening the eyes of a man born blind in John's next chapter (John 9:1-7; see especially verse 5).  

The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."   Once again, Christ gives witnesses to His identity.   Jewish law required two witnesses for a valid testimony.   In chapter 5, He gave four witnesses:  John the Baptist, the works or signs He does which the Father has given to Him to do, the Father who testifies to Christ, and the Scriptures (see this reading).  Here in today's reading, in Christ's response to the Pharisees, He gives two witnesses.  He bears witness of Himself, and the Father who sent Him also bears witness to His identity as Son. 

Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.   My study bible comments here that because the Son and the Father share the same divine nature, one cannot be known apart from the other (see John 14:7-11).  Christ's hour, once again, will be the time when He is glorified:  His Passion, death, and Resurrection.  The temple officers are still unable to arrest Him (see yesterday's reading, above).

It's interesting to think about witnessing.  What constitutes a witness?  Repeatedly in John's Gospel, we are given language that comes from the realm of the courtroom or legal system.  It gives us a sense that there is a deep focus on the meaning of judgment, and on the importance of Christ as being given the authority of Judge due to His Incarnation as Son of Man ("For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man" - John 5:26-27).   Judicial language plays a great role throughout the Gospel:  witnessing, testimony, Jesus' characterization of the Holy Spirit which will be sent as the "Paraclete" or advocate, as in one who advocates for defense in a courtroom.   But what is testimony and witnessing?  Most often we say that anyone proclaiming the good things God has done for them is witnessing or testifying.  But we should also keep in mind that for the early Church, the word "martyr" came from the word for "witness" in Greek.  To testify in Greek is "martyreo/μαρτυρέω."  So to testify in this case implies a deeper rendering of the truth to the world, and that includes the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the truth of His identity, and the true word He gives to us all.  It also includes the suffering undergone for the sake of the truth, following Christ Himself who is called the Faithful and True Witness (Revelation 1:5, 3:14).  So testimony is related to something much deeper than a historical event or something perceived only with our physical senses.  It is related to what is much deeper in the heart, a timeless truth that is recognized through our spiritual senses, and relates to the fact that we aren't simply flesh.  To be a human being is to be body, soul, and spirit, and to have a heart and mind that work together.  This truth asks of us to perceive with the deepest parts of ourselves, that which reaches to the heart of love and can accept that truth of the things which Jesus reveals.  For that, He says, we must love God, because only then can we appreciate and know the truths of God He reveals for us.  This requires a communion, a prayerful life, a contact with that which lives in this eternal place.  IJesus says, "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me."  Let us learn what it is to ask for the judgment which God gives us, that which discerns not according to the flesh, and is capable of prayerful hearing.  This is what truthful witnessing is all about.