“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid." - (John 8:14)

 

“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid." - (John 5:31)

Contradictory?

Whenever you read the Bible, always remember you have to read it like you would any other book out there, never forget that context is key!

John 5 vs 30-38
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30. “I can do nothing alone. I judge only the way I am told. And my judgment is right because I am not trying to please myself. I want only to please the one who sent me.
31. “If I tell people about myself, they cannot be sure that what I say is true.
32. But there is someone else who tells people about me, and I know that what he says about me is true.
33. “You sent men to John, and he told you what is true.
34. I don’t need anyone to tell people about me, but I remind you of what John said so that you can be saved.
35. John was like a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were happy to enjoy his light for a while.
36. “But I have a proof about myself that is greater than anything John said. The things I do are my proof. These are what my Father gave me to do. They show that the Father sent me.
37. And the Father who sent me has given proof about me himself. But you have never heard his voice. You have never seen what he looks like.
38. The Father’s teaching does not live in you, because you don’t believe in the one the Father sent.

John 8 vs 12-20
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12. Later, Jesus talked to the people again. He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never live in darkness. They will have the light that gives life.”
13. But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “When you talk about yourself, you are the only one to say that these things are true. So we cannot accept what you say.”
14. Jesus answered, “Yes, I am saying these things about myself. But people can believe what I say, because I know where I came from. And I know where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going.
15. You judge me the way people judge other people. I don’t judge anyone.
16. But if I judge, my judging is true, because when I judge I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me.
17. Your own law says that when two witnesses say the same thing, you must accept what they say.
18. I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself. And the Father who sent me is my other witness.”
19. The people asked, “Where is your father?”
Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. But if you knew me, you would know my Father too.”
20. Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Temple area, near the room where the Temple offerings were kept. But no one arrested him, because the right time for him had not yet come.

Below is the law of two or three witnesses which Jesus referred to there.

Deuteronomy 19 vs 15
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15. “If someone is accused of doing something against the law, one witness is not enough to prove that the person is guilty. There must be two or three witnesses to prove that the person really did wrong.