John 5:31

More Testimony About Jesus

5:31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.

John 8:13

8:13 So the Pharisees ¹  objected, ²  “You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true!” ³ 

John 8:17

8:17 It is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. ⁴ 

John 5:32

5:32 There is another ⁵  who testifies about me, and I know the testimony he testifies about me is true.

John 19:35

19:35 And the person who saw it ⁶  has testified (and his testimony is true, and he ⁷  knows that he is telling the truth), ⁸  so that you also may believe.

John 21:24

A Final Note

21:24 This is the disciple who testifies about these things and has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

John 1:19

The Testimony of John the Baptist

1:19 Now ⁹  this was ¹⁰  John’s ¹¹  testimony ¹²  when the Jewish leaders ¹³  sent ¹⁴  priests and Levites from Jerusalem ¹⁵  to ask him, “Who are you?” ¹⁶ 

John 8:14

8:14 Jesus answered, ¹⁷  “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you people ¹⁸  do not know where I came from or where I am going. ¹⁹ 

[8:13]  ¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[8:13]  ² tn Grk “Then the Pharisees said to him.”

[8:13]  ³ sn Compare the charge You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true! to Jesus’ own statement about his testimony in 5:31.

[8:17]  ¹ sn An allusion to Deut 17:6.

[5:32]  ¹ sn To whom does another refer? To John the Baptist or to the Father? In the nearer context, v. 33, it would seem to be John the Baptist. But v. 34 seems to indicate that Jesus does not receive testimony from men. Probably it is better to view v. 32 as identical to v. 37, with the comments about the Baptist as a parenthetical digression.

[19:35]  ¹ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[19:35]  ² tn Grk “and that one.”

[19:35]  ³ sn A parenthetical note by the author.

[1:19]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:19]  ² tn Grk “is.”

[1:19]  ³ sn John’s refers to John the Baptist.

[1:19]  ⁴ tn Or “witness.”

[1:19]  ⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Iουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. Here the author refers to the authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)

[1:19]  ⁶ tc ‡ Several important witnesses have πρὸς αὐτόν (pro" auton, “to him”) either here (B C* 33 892^c al it) or after “Levites” (Ì^{66c vid} A Θ Ψ Ë¹³ 579 al lat), while the earliest mss as well as the majority of mss (Ì^66*,75 א C³ L W^s ˹ Ï) lack the phrase. On the one hand, πρὸς αὐτόν could be perceived as redundant since αὐτόν is used again later in the verse, thus prompting scribes to omit the phrase. On the other hand, both the variation in placement of πρὸς αὐτόν and the fact that this phrase rather than the latter αὐτόν is lacking in certain witnesses (cf. John 11:44; 14:7; 18:31), suggests that scribes felt that the sentence needed the phrase to make the sense clearer. Although a decision is difficult, the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA²⁷ has πρὸς αὐτόν in brackets, indicating doubt as to the phrase’s authenticity.

[1:19]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:19]  ⁸ sn “Who are you?” No uniform Jewish expectation of a single eschatological figure existed in the 1st century. A majority expected the Messiah. But some pseudepigraphic books describe God’s intervention without mentioning the anointed Davidic king; in parts of 1 Enoch, for example, the figure of the Son of Man, not the Messiah, embodies the expectations of the author. Essenes at Qumran seem to have expected three figures: a prophet, a priestly messiah, and a royal messiah. In baptizing, John the Baptist was performing an eschatological action. It also seems to have been part of his proclamation (John 1:23, 26-27). Crowds were beginning to follow him. He was operating in an area not too far from the Essene center on the Dead Sea. No wonder the authorities were curious about who he was.

[8:14]  ¹ tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to them.”

[8:14]  ² tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun (“you”) and verb (“do not know”) in Greek are plural.

[8:14]  ³ sn You people do not know where I came from or where I am going. The ignorance of the religious authorities regarding Jesus’ origin works on two levels at once: First, they thought Jesus came from Galilee (although he really came from Bethlehem in Judea) and second, they did not know that he came from heaven (from the Father), and this is where he would return. See further John 7:52.