Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men (Acts 17:11-12).

This was when Paul went to the city of Berea on his second missionary journey. There was a Jewish synagogue in the city, and the Jews who heard Paul peach searched “the Scriptures everyday to see if what Paul said was true.” Why did they examine the Scriptures? Didn’t they believe what Paul said? If they did it out of their doubt on Paul’s preaching, don’t you think it was not so good? But Luke says, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians…”

When the disciples returned, the Samaritan woman at the well went down to the town, and told the people what she heard from Jesus.

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did (John 4:39)."

These people believed in Jesus through the words of the woman. This is one way to believe. But then:

So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world (John 4:40-42)."

The same people, who had heard from the woman, now heard directly from Jesus, and came to believe. This ‘believing’ was not the same as the previous ‘believing.’

Job experienced the same thing. Not knowing why the disasters suddenly came upon him, he came to wish that he could speak directly with God. When all the discussions between him and his friends were exhausted, God spoke to him out of the storm.

Then Job replied to the Lord:

"I know that you can do all things;

no plan of yours can be thwarted.

[You asked,] ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me to know.

["You said,] ‘Listen now, and I will speak;

I will question you, and you shall answer me.’

My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.

Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:1-6)."

Note that he said, “My ears had heard of you but my eyes have seen you.” He came to realize that all what he had known about God so far was simply by hearing from others with his physical ears, and had never learned anything directly from God. It was a big surprise for him when God spoke to him. For the fist time, he came to have ears to hear. It was this kind of ears that the Bereans used when they examined the Scriptures.

In order to have good ears to hear, we need to have holiness. It is difficult to understand God’s word when we have uncleanness in our hearts. As sin is against righteousness, uncleanness is against holiness. Sin and uncleanness are not the same. Sin is the fruit or the fulfillment of uncleanness, and it is something that is seen in our deeds and words. But uncleanness is of the heart. So even if we think that we are not doing anything wrong in our actions, there may be uncleanness in our hearts, which is as serious as sin.

I often get comments from people saying, “Today’s sermon was hard, and I did not understand it at all,” or “I knew I was hearing something wonderful, but didn’t know what it was.” I used to think it was my fault. So, I made it really easy, but it did not help them either. Honestly, I never thought that any of my sermons was hard to understand. If people have difficulty in understanding my sermons, it must be the truth itself, not the way I teach or preach, but the content of what I teach or preach that makes it hard.

Read the following scripture carefully:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Rom 12:2).

Truth in the Bible is about God’s will—“his good, pleasing and perfect will.” This scripture says that in order to “test and approve” such will of God, you need to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” instead of conforming to “the pattern of this world.” Otherwise, you will not be able to “test and approve”—really understand so that you can act upon it. Look at the following scriptures also:

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation (1 Pet 2:1-2).

Note that there is a step you need to take before you come to “crave pure spiritual milk.” You need to “rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” And here is another scripture that teaches the same thing:

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you (Heb 1:21).

You need to “get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent” first before you can actually “humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” I often see that people have a hard time accepting a particular scripture because there is something not good in their hearts, which hinders them from understanding it.

God’s will is always perfect, and his word is flawless and pure. The scripture never compromises with our thoughts and attitudes. So, it often goes beyond our way and ideas, and we end up not being able to grab it.

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him (Ps 18:30).

Therefore, if you want to understand God’s word, you need to “rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind,” or “be transformed by renewing of your mind.”

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps 139:23-24).

In this scripture, the psalmist is asking God to check his heart if there are any wrong ideas, thoughts or attitudes in him. This is a wonderful prayer that all of us should have. But think. Hearing this prayer, how does God actually point out to us such wrong ideas and attitudes—the offensive way in us? In other words, how do we find out that particular attitudes we have in us are wrong? Having lived with those ideas for many years, we are usually blind to them, and never ask ourselves if there is any offensive way in us. So, how does God let us see it so that we can change? For that, we have the following scripture in the New Testament:

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Heb 4:12).

It is by the word of God that he shows us the offensive way we may have in us—the thoughts and attitudes that are not God’s will. Like a teacher who teaches and admonishes us with love and patience, the word of God “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” God’s word is like an x-ray which penetrates your body, and sees what is happening underneath the skin. It goes beyond the external things of us—words that our physical ears hear, or deeds that our physical eyes see. It reveals the hidden motivations and thoughts we have in our hearts. So, the writer of Hebrews says:

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account (v. 13).

Note that he talks about “the eyes of him.” Keep in mind that for ancient people, eyes are something that shines. In fact, through those eyes, God sees what is in our hearts—every detail of our thoughts and emotions. And it is through the same eyes that God’s word gives light to our heart. Jesus said:

Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear (Mark 4:21-23).

Here, ears to hear and eyes to see are used metaphorically in the same meaning. If you have ears to hear, you also have eyes to see. When your eyes give light to your heart, hidden things are disclosed, and you can see that they are there, and what they are. And if they are wrong and not God’s will, you come to see it so that you can change. That is how God’s word works for you. But the important thing is that you should not reject that light by “putting it under a bowl or a bed.” Since we all have a free will, we can reject it if we want to. The following story of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law in Mark is one example of that.

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. … So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands (7:1-5)?"

And to them, Jesus spoke the following words giving light to their hearts, but note how they reacted:

Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men (vv. 6-7).”

He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear (Mark 4:21-23).”

This was the parable that Jesus spoke along with the parable of the sower, which the disciples asked him to explain. So the same context still continues in the above parable: “them” refers to the disciples. This parable of a lamp is very simple, but not easy to interpret in the context. Those who think it is easy are not really seeking its meaning in the context. When you consider the context, it becomes difficult. What was it that Jesus wanted to say?

The main reason for the difficulty lies in the fact that we modern people no longer see things as the ancient people did—in this case, concerning “eyes.” We all know how a camera works to capture the images coming through the lens. Our eyes work in the same way. In this view, the light goes though the lens, and projects images on the screen called retina. But they did not have this knowledge. According to their view, the light goes out through your eyes like a searchlight, and you are able to see things around you. In other words, they thought that eyes give light.

We have some scriptures to illustrate this view. First, look at the way that the lampstand inside the tabernacle was made.

Make a lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms shall be of one piece with it. Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand … Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, … And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms.

Notice that the whole lampstand looked like almond branches with cups of almond flowers. Why, and what is the meaning of this? It was not simply for the decorative beauty. There must have been something that was commonly understood among the people so that it was not necessary to explain it. The key to this is found in the vision that Jeremiah saw:

The word of the Lord came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied. The Lord said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled (Jer 1:11-12)."

Jeremiah was a son of a priest, and knew well how the lampstand was made. “An almond tree” is shaqed, and the verb “watching” is shoqed in Hebrew. Note that the three consonants are the same in both words. Naturally, these two words are associated with each other in their mind. Keep in mind that eyes are shining according to their view. Jeremiah was probably already familiar with the meaning of the lampstand being made in likeness of almond branches, and the vision was more like a confirmation or an encouragement for his calling. But when Zechariah saw the vision of the lampstand with seven lights (Zech 4) in a later time, he asked the angel of the Lord about the meaning of it. Interestingly, the angel answered back, “Do you not know what these are?” and it indicates that he expected Zechariah to know what they were. Then, the angel taught him saying:

These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range throughout the earth (Zech 4:10).

With all these passages in mind, read the parable of a lamp again. You will understand better. The following scriptures will also help you.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path (Ps 119:105).

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple (v. 130).

Consider carefully what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you––and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him (Mark 4:24-25).

These words, Jesus spoke along with the parable of the sower. Its conclusion is: “Consider carefully what you hear,” or “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” In an attempt to elaborate and emphasize his point, he brought in another parable, a short saying: “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” What was it that Jesus wanted to say?

The same saying is mentioned two more times in gospels:

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:38).

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Mat 7:2).

It can be easily observed that though the same saying is used in these passages, the context of each passage is quite different; hence the meaning of the saying is not the same. The ones in Luke and Matthew are somewhat similar to each other because both are talking about a person’s attitude toward others: how you treat others will determine how you come to be treated by God. But the one in Mark is very different from the other two because it is not talking about the measure you use in the relationships with others, but rather about the measure you use within yourself in understanding the words of Jesus. Since we are more familiar with those two uses of the saying in Matthew and Luke, we tend to look for the similar meaning in the one in Mark as well, and that is a mistake. This assumption tricks us, and we stumble. The important thing to realize is that here nothing of the relationship with others is at stake. And the following statement by Mark gives a big clue:

With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand (v. 33).

Jesus taught the people according to their capacity of understanding his words. To those who had more of this capacity like his disciples, he taught them more by explaining the meaning of his words to them. The “measure” that Jesus talked about was this capacity.

Consider carefully what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you––and even more (v. 24).

God’s gifts and blessings are given according to the measure you use—the capacity of understanding his word. God’s word you hear remains in you when you understand it, and we have the following promise:

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you (John 15:7).

In order for his words to remain in you, you must understand them. Hearing God’s word without understanding its meaning is like memorizing phone numbers by reading a phone book. How long do those numbers remain in you? Not a long time. But those things you have come to understand, they remain in you forever. With the word remaining in you, you come to bear fruit.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (v. 5).

For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith (Heb 4:2).

God’s word is spiritual, and reveals the spiritual reality. God’s word purposes to turn the spiritual reality into a reality in this physical world. And what comes between the two realities is faith in our hearts. When God’s word passes through our faith, it substantiates the spiritual reality into this physical world, and we see it as a miracle. In other words, when God’s word is combined with our faith, a miracle happens, but when it is not combined with our faith, nothing happens and it is of no value to us. As for “they” in the above scripture, the writer of Hebrews refers to the people of Israel who just came out of Egypt.

Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief (Heb 3:16-19).

When these people came out of Egypt, they all heard and believed that God would bring them to the Promised Land. This promise actually goes back to the time of Abraham when God made a covenant with him promising to make him into a great nation, and give the land to his children. Some hundreds of years had passed, and the time came for them to enter the land. But what happened?

That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt (Num 14:1-4)."

Having heard the report given by those who had gone to explore the land, all Israelites became afraid, and refused to enter the Promised Land. What did they think about the promise God had given them? They lost the faith that they once had. With such unbelief, God could not bring them to the land, so he let them wander in the wilderness for 40 years till they died there. So, read again what the writer of Hebrews says about them:

For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith (Heb 4:2).

When God’s seed was sown unto their hearts, they received it with joy and believed for a while. But when a trial came, they fell away.

Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away (Luke 8:13).

They had no root. It is the root that ties the tree to the ground so that it can stand. As the tree gets taller the root needs to get stronger and grow deeper into the ground. Otherwise when winds blow, it will fall.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is (Mat 16:13)?"

It was more than two years after Jesus began his ministry, and shorter than one year before the last Passover in which Jesus was crucified and was raised from the dead. So far, Jesus had never said to his disciples anything pertaining to his coming death and resurrection. Neither did he reveal, nor admit publicly even to his disciples that he was the messiah. One day, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Since he had been often calling himself “the Son of Man,” they understood that the question was about himself—who he was. As you know, “the Son of Man” was understood those days as the title associated with the coming messiah. Therefore, it can be said that the disciples had already silently acknowledged such status for Jesus, but they had never confessed it. So, Jesus tested them, and wanted to see what they would confess. The test was given in two steps, and first, he asked, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets (v. 14)."

As you can guess easily, they talked a lot for this question, and the discussions went briskly until Jesus asked the second time.

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am (v. 15)?"

Then, there was a silence. Nobody dared to speak for a moment, but it was Peter who broke the silence.

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (v. 16)."

Oh, Jesus was so pleased with Peter’s confession. Note that Peter did not say, “I think you are …” He confessed what he believed as the fact he knew—a spiritual reality. In contrast to this confession, all the discussions that previously occurred among the disciples were only some ideas that had nothing to do with what they believed. Ideas are in the metal realm, and are not directly linked with the spiritual world. They do not touch the spiritual reality, and will not move God who is spirit. You remember that Jesus taught us that the true worshipers worship in spirit and in truth—in the spiritual reality, not in ideas.

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven (v. 17).

It is important to note that this truth was revealed to Peter by the Father. This is what happens to you when you have ears to hear. You listen to the Father. Physically you may be hearing a sermon given by a man on earth, or reading the pages of the Bible printed on paper, but spiritually, you are hearing from God and being taught by him. Jesus was on earth physically with the body, and spoke to Peter as well as the other disciples. But Peter, as he was hearing Jesus, listened to the Father with his spiritual ears and learned from him. Note that Jesus had never said with his physical mouth that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God as Peter confessed. Peter learned it from the Father. He surely had ears to hear.

As impressive and encouraging as this confession of Peter was, his confession in the next episode was disappointing and discouraging to us. What happened to him? It teaches us an important lesson.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men (vv. 22-23)."

We have looked at some stories in the gospels, especially in John, in which people had no ears to hear and could not understand what Jesus said. And by using those specific cases, we have discussed the specific reasons why they were deaf or blind. When we know that, we can check ourselves, and correct the same mistakes that we might be making. The following scriptures give two basic reasons for our spiritual blindness:

For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith (Heb 4:2).

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe (1 Thess 2:13).

The story in John 9 is another example of those who are spiritually deaf and blind. This one is especially interesting because the healing of a blind man is metaphorically used to point to the opening of his spiritual eyes as well: he came to see Jesus as the Son of Man! The story begins as follows:

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind (John 9:1-2)?"

The disciples asked Jesus what caused this man to be blind. Their assumption was that some kind of a sin caused it: this man’s sin or his parents’ sin. But since he was born blind, how could he sin before that? Look at Jesus’ answer:

Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life (v. 3).

The disciples’ assumption was denied, and Jesus told them that it was for the work of God to be manifested. The bad result of sin was turned into a good purpose of God through Jesus.

Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

Why did Jesus make mud with his saliva, and put it on this man’s eyes? Why did he tell him to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam? Why not in the pool of Bethesda? We don’t know, and do we need to know? A miracle happens when we do what we are told to do. So, as this man did what he was told to do, he came to see, and went home.

But it was a Sabbath day, and it caused a lot of discussions and arguments among the people:

Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided (v. 16).

The Bible commands that no one can work on the Sabbath, but Jesus was breaking that commandment. So it was not easy for them to justify his actions, and it caused them to be blind spiritually: they could not see Jesus. We might be blind in the same way.

Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here (John 6:24-25)?"

After having fed 5000 men with five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus dismissed the crowd so that they could go home. The reason for feeding them was that these people followed Jesus to such a remote place, and it was not a good idea to let them go home without food. But some of them, realizing that Jesus and his disciples went to the other side of the lake, continue to follow him and came to where he was.

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval (vv. 26-27)."

From here, the dialogue between Jesus and these people continues. Note the way they put Jesus to the test. Putting someone to the test means to test someone to see how he/she comes to react to what you say or do. In a neutral sense, there is nothing wrong about it, and God often tests us for good reasons and purposes—mainly to train us. But when a person tests for his/her own selfish purposes, it becomes an act of manipulation. Such was the case you see in this passage. They simply tried to manipulate Jesus in an attempt to make him provide another free meal. The Bible tells us not to test God (Deut 6:16).

They: "What must we do to do the works God requires (v. 28)?"

Jesus: "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent (v. 29)."

They: "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat (vv. 30-31).’"

You can see that they were all motivated by one desire—to eat a free meal again. This caused their ears to be closed. People come to church with all kinds of different motivations, and what they are seeking is not found in what they hear, they get disappointed and leave with their ears closed.

Jesus: "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world (vv. 32-33)."

They: "Sir, from now on give us this bread (v. 34)."

Jesus: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away (vv. 35-37).

Imagine the disappointment they had when they heard Jesus say, “I am the bread of life.” And pay attention to the way Jesus spoke of those who believe in him—“All that the Father give me will come to me.” Later, he also said:

It is written in the Prophets: “They will all be taught by God.” Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me (v. 45).

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isa 55:8-9).”

The first step for developing our listening ears is to realize that God’s thoughts are so different from our thoughts. We are created as God’s image in his likeness, and we are like God. But we should not think he is like us. Only when we know that his ways are different from our ways, we start listening to him.

If his thoughts are higher than our thoughts and his ways than our ways, then so is his word than our human words. God’s word is spiritual, but our words are not. We cannot fully understand his word with our head by hearing with these physical ears only. It takes spiritual ears to understand spiritual things of God.

In order for us to know what it means to have ears to hear, it would be good to see first what happens when we have no ears to hear. If you are seeing only the color white, and have seen no other colors, then you would not know the color you are seeing is white. But once you see the color black, you now know that the color you were seeing was white. In the Bible are so many stories that can be seen as examples for not having ears to hear. Especially, in John’s gospel are found some interesting passages with detailed dialogues between Jesus and various types of people who had no ears to hear. We will look at some of such passages.

But first pay attention to the following words of Jesus in the parable of the sower:

A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up (Luke 8:5).

Then, Jesus explained it as follows:

Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved (v. 12).

This is the case of the seed that fell along the path. You will see it illustrated, for example, in the following dialogue in John’s gospel:

Jesus: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (v. 12).

The Pharisees: Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid (v. 13).

Jesus: Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me (vv. 14-18).

The Jews: Where is your father (v. 19)?

Jesus: You do not know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also (v. 19).

Even though Jesus is the light of the world, it would be of no value without any eyes to see such light. Note also the way he spoke of his father. But did they understand what he meant?