John 8:14 Commentary and Bible Study

‘Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came.’ From heaven, of course. He has been very explicit before about his Father, the Father being God, and him being the Son of the Father and his divinity, but now he is going to express it in a more oblique manner, because they are just waiting to make a charge against him. They want him to say the word. And he is not going to say the word. He is going to protect his disciples. It is not time for him yet to be executed so he is going to be discrete in the way in which he expresses it.And here is how he expresses his divinity – ‘I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.’ And so he asserts that he has the highest knowledge, the very knowledge of heaven, and he is here for a time and returning. And he will say it again.He says in effect, ‘You cannot tell, you cannot understand, because you have no spiritual sense. You can’t possibly analyse these things, because you are so wilfully unbelieving. You have no spiritual sense at all. You only have material considerations – you are not allowing for a spiritual Saviour. You believe that when Messiah comes, He’ll be only a political Messiah – that’s all you want, that’s all you’re looking for, so how can you understand me?’ That is in effect how the Lord replies to them. ‘You want to be noticed; you want fame; you want wealth; you want earthly things.’