In John 5:31 Jesus said: “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.” Does this mean, if Jesus said anything about himself, he is a liar? Well, taken literally, as it is translated in the KJV and a host of other translations, Jesus would be a liar, if he testified of himself, which is exactly what he had been doing up to this time. Nevertheless, a little later in John 8:13 the Pharisees accused Jesus of testifying of himself and, thus, invalidating his witness. However, Jesus replied that, although he did testify of himself, yet his witness was true… (John 8:14). So, did Jesus contradict himself there, concerning what he claimed here in John 5:31? How should we understand Jesus’ words, if the word of God cannot be used to contradict itself (John 10:35)?
To be true to God’s word, we must read the scriptures by making an effort to keep his word from contradicting itself, which is what Jesus was defending in John 10:35. This doesn’t mean, however, that we need to lie in order to claim the word of God is true. Efforts have been made by critics to cause the word of God to contradict itself, thus, showing the ignorant that scripture isn’t trustworthy. Nevertheless, if we read scripture in the manner in which Jesus says to read it (John 10:35), it won’t contradict. Many things have occurred between the time the word of God was uttered, and when we read it. Names of cities and other facts have changed, edits were made (Genesis 28:19), worldviews have been altered, causing folks to read the context of the record differently than in the context in which it was first written (cp Acts 9:1-6).[1] Thus, an effort on our part needs to be made in order that one doesn’t read the word of God falsely and change its original intent.
So, what did Jesus mean when he said: “If I bear witness of myself, my witness isn’t true” (John 5:31), if he really didn’t mean for those words to be taken as we might read them today (cp. John 8:14)? As I implied above many translations don’t render this scripture accurately.[2] Nevertheless, there are translations, which add words to John 5:31 or render the meaning of the Greek differently than the translations mentioned, and this allows its content to keep from contradicting what Jesus claimed in John 8:14. For example, the ACV renders John 5:31 “If I testify about myself, my witness is not valid.”[3] It isn’t valid in the sense that two or three witnesses are needed to validate what is claimed (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; Matthew 18:16). In other words, one’s personal testimony isn’t a valid witness as proof for the record. It doesn’t mean what is claimed isn’t true. It simply means other folks aren’t compelled to accept such testimony as true.
Therefore, Jesus had been testifying of himself throughout John 5:17, 19-29, but then adds: “It is another that bears witness of me; and I know that the witness, which he witnesses of me is true” (John 5:32), referring to the Father (cp. John 8:17-18). Thus, Jesus shows how his witness of himself is valid. Next, Jesus offers five witnesses, which, taken together, amount to a very valid witness or proof that he is the Messiah (John 5:33-47), and I’ll consider those witnesses in future studies immediately following this one.
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[1] The Jewish authorities had a different understanding of scripture in the first century AD than its intended meaning when scripture was first recorded. Thus, Saul’s whole worldview had to be righted before he understood Jesus correctly.
[2] Those translations I have, which don’t render this particular scripture (John 5:31) accurately, if we take John 10:35 into consideration, are the KJV, Apostolic Bible Polygot, AFV, ANT, ASV, BBE, Bishops, Cepher, Darby, DRB, EWB, ERV, ESV, Geneva, Lamsa, LEB, LITV, LSV, MKJV, NAS77, NENT, NET, RV, TS2009; Vulgate, Webster, WNT, Williams and YLT. These are translations I possess, and by no means represent the whole of what exists that are careless with John 5:31.
[3] Similar translations that don’t force John 5:31 to contradict John 8:14 are: CEV, EMTV, GNB, Moffatt, Murdock, NASB, TLV, TPT, WEB, WPNT. Again, these are translations, which I possess. Although they are in the minority, they probably are not the only translations that honor John 10:35.
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