- John 10:31-36
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- John 10:31 (KJB)
- Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
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- As soon as Jesus made that declaration that He and the Father are one,
the Jews once again picked up stones and wanted to do a summary execution.
This would have been illegal and would have brought down the Roman
authorities on the Jews. However, since it was yet about 5 months before the
predetermined time of Jesus’ crucifixion, they could not have done anything
on that scale to Him before the time. This is what happens when the hatred
stirred up in a crowd spreads like wildfire and then emotions, which are out
of control, takes over instead of sober thinking. Keep in mind that when you
testify of Christ, you may also face very hostile people.
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- John 10:32 (KJB)
- Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father;
for which of those works do ye stone me?
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- Jesus then responded to their attempted stoning and reminds them that He
has shown them many good works from His Father, so for which good work is He
being stoned for. Jesus was totally sinless so, of course, He could not say
for what sin or what crime are you stoning me? All Jesus had to lay before
His accusers here was His good works. Even with the stones in the hands of
the Jews, He still emphasizes the fact that God is His Father. This is a
principle of Christian living that no matter how desperate a situation gets,
we must never turn away from the truth.
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- John 10:33 (KJB)
- The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but
for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
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- They did not deny the fact that Jesus did good works but their response
was less than honest. Jesus healed two people on the Sabbath and under the
law any work done on the Sabbath was punishable by death and this is what
the Pharisees were counting on that they could make a case against Jesus for
desecrating the Sabbath. Then they went on to accuse Him of blasphemy
because they claimed that Jesus made Himself God while He is a man. They
learned nothing from the Scriptures, the events surrounding the virgin birth
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the affirmation of Jesus by the Father at His
baptism. Jesus was sent from the Father but here they accuse Him of making
“Himself” God.
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- John 10:34 (KJB)
- Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
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- Jesus then responds to them concerning their law. He uses the term “in
your law” because it was in the law they had trusted and boasted. He was
pointing to a verse in Psalm 82:6.
(Psa
82:6 KJV) I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are
children of the most High. Jesus is not speaking
that they were elevated to the status of deity but in their relation to the
people as leaders, they were like gods who were to be the interpreters of
the law. A good example is found in Exodus 7:1.
(Exo 7:1 KJV) And the LORD said unto Moses,
See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy
prophet. Moses had authority over Pharaoh who was
probably the most powerful monarch in existence at that time and yet Moses
was able, through the power of God, to bring Egypt down. It was like Moses
was the god and Aaron was his prophet because he spoke for Moses in the
beginning of their ministry. Moses faced Pharaoh and it was like Moses was
the god and Pharaoh was the vassal. So if the Scriptures had referred to
these leaders as gods, then how much more innocent would Jesus be since He
truly is God and was sent from God the Father to this earth.
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- John 10:35 (KJB)
- If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the
scripture cannot be broken;
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- Broken - Abolished or destroyed
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- The reason that these people were called gods was because they were
entrusted with the Scriptures. They had the eternal word of God given to
them and that gave them authority over those who did not have them. The
Scriptures always represent authority because they are the words of God.
Since in Psalm 82:6 these people were called gods, this means it is written
in the Scriptures and the Scriptures cannot be abolished, then they must
obey exactly what the Scriptures teach and therefore since the Scriptures
teach they are gods, then the accusation of blasphemy against Jesus cannot
stand.
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- John 10:36 (KJB)
- Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world,
Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
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- Here Jesus continues His response to their accusation of blasphemy. He
then asks a question of them that the one who has been set apart for this
specific ministry and sent into the world, do you continue to accuse Him of
blasphemy simply because I said I am the Son of God? Jesus was sent into
this world as the sinless Son of God to die for the sins of the elect. This
was His sanctified mission. They saw Jesus as inferior because He did not
graduate from one of the major theological schools and since the Pharisees
were considered gods because they received the Scriptures, then Jesus could
not claim to be God because He was not in a position to receive those
Scriptures and therefore He could not be considered God.
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