John, 8:12-20. “You are bearing witness to yourself; your
testimony is not true.”
So said the scribes and Pharisees in response to Jesus’
statement, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.”
From the beginning, the rule had always been that two
witnesses were required to establish the truth surrounding a person in question
– three people were involved. In this case, Jesus has only himself and “he who
sent me,” who, obviously, was not physically present. So, in effect, Jesus
turned the law on its head as it concerned him.
The results of this confrontation are obvious: the
Pharisees, self-proclaimed guardians of Jewish Law, had one more example of
Jesus’ disregard of that law (as they perceived it), which they would use
against him later.
I wonder – what if you and I had lived in that time and
place as Pharisees, without, of course, the benefit of knowing how the story
ends: Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost, and the rest of the N.T. writings. What
would our reactions to Jesus’ ministry have been? What healings or miracles had we heard of or seen with our
own eyes? Would priorities of protecting the law as well as our elevated
position in the community override whatever we had heard and seen, such that we
would become a part of the group that aroused the crowd to yell, “Crucify Him?”
Tough question. Scary, to say the least. By the grace of God, it’s just a
rhetorical one.
Speaking of Pharisees, we know one by name and his letters. Paul,
up to when he was knocked off his feet and blinded on his way to Damascus, held
nothing but contempt for Jesus and those who followed him, and consequently
persecuted them with great zeal. After his experience on the road, he secluded himself for
several years to fully understand what had happened to him and what his call
was. Only then did he become the great apostle of the Gospel to the Gentiles.
(SCD)
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