What does John 8:16 mean?
A common claim of those who reject Jesus' divine nature is that "He never claimed to be God." Verses such as this show that to be false. When a person claims to do what only God can do, or to know what only God can know, that is the same as claiming to be God. Jesus' enemies know this all too well, and it's the reason He is accused of blasphemy by those who seek to have Him killed. Here, Jesus claims to speak with divine authority: His judgment is identical to that of God the Father. In fact, Jesus was sent by God the Father.According to the prior verse, this makes Jesus' judgment and moral authority far superior to the religious leaders opposing Him. Even by human standards, they are using the wrong kind of discernment: they are judging "by the flesh" (John 8:15). Jesus is not only using "right judgment" (John 7:24), but He has access to judgment based in the very will of God.