fe. The Pharisees therefore said unto Him,
Thou bearest witness of Thyself; Thy witness is not true. 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. Ye judge after the flesh; I
judge no man. Yea and if I judge, My judgement is true; for I am not
alone, but I and the Father that sent Me. Yea and in your law it is
written, that the witness of two men is true. I am He that beareth
witness of Myself, and the Father that sent Me beareth witness of
Me. They said therefore unto Him Where is Thy Father? Jesus
answered, Ye know neither Me, nor My Father: if ye knew Me, ye would
know My Father also."--JOHN viii. 12-19.

At the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus, who knew that He was sent to confer
upon men the realities which had been symbolised and promised in all
religious rites, proclaimed that He was the fountain of life (vii. 37);
and thus responded to the unuttered prayer of those who looked with some
weariness at the old routine of drawing water in remembrance of the
provision God had made for their fathers in the desert. Another feature
of the same Feast leads Him now to declare a further characteristic of
His person. In commemoration of the Pillar of Fire that led their
fathers in the trackless desert, the people lit large lamps round the
Temple, and gave themselves up to dancing and revelry. But this, too,
was no doubt felt to be for the superficial souls that can live upon
rites and symbols, and do not seek to lay bare their inmost being to the
very touch of eternal reality. Not merely the cynic would smile as
venerable men joined in the lamp-light dance, but possibly even the
grave and pious onlooker, looking back on his own mistakes in life, and
conscious of the blind way in which he was still blundering on, stood
wondering where the true Guide of Israel, the real Light of human life
was to be found. In sympathy with all such longing after truth and
clear vision Jesus cries, "I am the light of the world; he that
followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of
life."

His words must be interpreted by their reference to the light which was
then being celebrated. Of that light we read that "the Lord went before
them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way, and by night in
a pillar of fire, to give them light." This was a