John 8:14 (LSB)

Passage

Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness about Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.

Nearby Context

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 8:13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are bearing witness about Yourself; Your witness is not true.”

John 8:14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness about Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.

John 8:15 You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.

John 8:16 But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "answered", "said", "even", "bear", "witness", and "myself". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "answered", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "So the Pharisees said to Him You..." into verse 15's "You judge according to the flesh I...", so "jesus" and "answered" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jesus" and "answered" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.