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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comRobertson Word Pictures - John 5:31 - 5:31
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If I bear witness of myself (Ean egō marturō peri emautou). Condition of third class, undetermined with prospect of determination (ean and present active subjunctive of martureō). The emphasis is on egō (I alone with no other witness).
Is not true (ouk estin alēthēs). In law the testimony of a witness is not received in his own case (Jewish, Greek, Roman law). See Deu 19:15 and the allusion to it by Jesus in Mat 18:16. See also 2Co 13:1; 1Ti 5:19. And yet in Joh 8:12-19 Jesus claims that his witness concerning himself is true because the Father gives confirmation of his message. The Father and the Son are the two witnesses (Joh 8:17). It is a paradox and yet true. But here Jesus yields to the rabbinical demand for proof outside of himself. He has the witness of another (the Father, Joh 5:32, Joh 5:37), the witness of the Baptist (Joh 5:33), the witness of the works of Jesus (Joh 5:36), the witness of the Scriptures (Joh 5:39), the witness of Moses in particular (Joh 5:45).