The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.

John 8:13-14

There are many liberal “Christians” today that promote the idea that Jesus never claimed to be God. They do this so they can redefine Jesus and make Christianity meld with other religions and philosophies. 

This idea is totally false. In this area of scripture, Jesus, by the way He presents Himself and His evidence of Who He is, is clearly claiming to be one with God the Father. He is claiming to be God!

There are other detractors that say the Bible is unreliable because it contradicts itself. They look the passage we have before us and then compare it to this:

If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

John 5:31

What is happening in the Gospel According to John is different than the other three gospels. John is unfolding the case that indeed Jesus is God. In Chapter 5, we get a hint of this fact but Jesus still uses the support of John’s testimony there. He calls Himself “Son of man” which is a clear claim to be the Messiah. The Pharisees are disputing Him on this claim, so Jesus uses John as a witness. 

The Pharisees also didn’t understand that the Messiah would also be the Son of God (God Himself). By Chapter 8, John is recording the events at the Feast of Tabernacles where Jesus is showing that all these things point to Him as the Messiah and the Son of God.

Both of these arguments against Jesus and against the credibility of the Bible are easily refuted by simply reading the context of the statements Jesus makes and how people react to what He says.

The Pharisees were obviously dead in their sins because Jesus said that they cannot tell where He is from. They do not see Him as the Messiah or as God. Even though the works that He did were an overwhelming testimony to His divinity, the depth of the depraved mind of one dead in his sins will blind him to the things that are happening right in front of him.

Jesus will later give evidence and corroborating testimony but since He is God, He can speak and it is true! Those who seek to deny the truth of scripture or deny that Jesus is God are not a friend to the people of God. In fact, they are declaring the very things that the spirit of antichrist declares.

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

1st John 2:22