Jesus’ Hour
In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies of myself; my other witness is the Father” Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come John 8:16-20
When Jesus spoke of ‘your own Law’ He was not distancing Himself from the Law of Moses. It might have been the Pharisees’ Law but it was His also. In the Old Testament Moses and Joshua spoke to the Israelites about ‘your God’ (Deuteronomy 1:10, 21) and ‘the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers has given you’ (Joshua 18:3) without distancing themselves from either God or the land.
Jesus accepted the provisions of the Law in Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15 that the testimony of one person was not enough to convict anyone of a crime. The Law said the testimony of two witnesses was valid and Jesus was insisting He was not a lone witness. “I am one who testifies of myself; my other witness is the Father.” As the gospel continues we will see other witnesses but none as crucial as Jesus and His Father.
‘Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”’ The Jews thought Jesus was talking about His human father, but the Father He spoke of was the Father they didn’t know, “You do not know me or my father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” The Pharisees prided themselves on knowing God but the evidence contradicted their pride. If they really knew God they would have recognised Jesus as having come from Him. As Jesus would soon make clear to His disciples: those who have seen Him have seen the Father (14:9,10).
‘He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put.’ John often gives clues to fuller meanings of a discourse or action by adding a small clue. The ‘place where the offerings were put’ was probably in the Court of the Women where the great candelabra were lit up at night and where His ‘light of the world’ messages were spoken.
Despite the Pharisees rejecting His teaching, ‘no one seized him, because his time had not yet come.’ John refers to Jesus’ time/hour nine times in this gospel. The first three say it had not yet come (2:4; 7:3; 8:20) and the next six that it had (12:23,27 [X2]; 13:1; 16:32; 17:1). The hour toward which everything moves is the hour of Jesus’ glorification – through His death, resurrection and exaltation.
God’s timing is perfect. Sometimes that’s hard to accept. We usually see it better in hindsight than we do at the time. Jesus had to trust the Father implicitly for the right time for every part of His earthly mission to be fulfilled. So do you.
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