Albert Barnes Commentary John 8:14

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true; for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye know not whence I come, or whither I go." — John 8:14 (ASV)

Jesus answered. To this objection Jesus replied by saying, first, that the case was such that his testimony alone should be received; and, secondly, that he had the evidence given to him by his Father. Though, in common life, in courts, and in ordinary human transactions, it was true that a man should not give evidence in his own case, yet in this instance, such was the nature of the case that his word was worthy of belief.

My record. My evidence, my testimony.

Is true. Is worthy of belief.

For I know whence I came—but ye. I know by what authority I act, and I know by whom I am sent and what commands were given me; but you cannot determine this, for you do not know these things unless I bear witness of them to you.

We are to remember that Jesus did not come of himself (John 6:38); that he did not come to do his own will, but the will of his Father.

He came as a witness of those things which he had seen and known (John 3:11), and no one could judge of those things, for no one had seen them. As he came from heaven, as he knew his Father's will, as he had seen the eternal world, and known the counsels of his Father, his testimony was therefore worthy of confidence.

As they had not seen and known these things, they were not qualified to judge. An ambassador from a foreign court knows the will and purposes of the sovereign who sent him, and is competent to bear witness to it. The court to which he is sent has no way of judging but by his testimony, and he is therefore competent to testify in the case. All that can be demanded is that he provide his credentials showing he is appointed; and this Jesus had done, both by the nature of his doctrine and his miracles.