JOHN 10: 30-42
JESUS, THE SON OF GOD
Here we come to the conclusion of Jesus’ final public disclosure of Himself to His people. It was the ultimate confession of His complete identity. In this last act of public ministry also is recorded the Jews final rejection of Him and all that He stood for. The account ends with His returning to where it all began — the Jordan River, where John had baptized Him.
I. THE MAN WHO IS GOD, 30-33.
II. THE SON OF GOD, 34-36.
III. THE WORKS OF GOD, 37-39.
IV. WHERE THEY BELIEVE IN GOD, 40-42.
The equality of power and unity of essence between the Father and the Son is expressed in verse 30. I and the Father are One.
Martin Luther said this means "one being, one God, one Lord. While They are two in person, They are a unit in essence. Jesus was saying also that They have the same unity of purpose, will and work. Jesus’ will is identical to the Father’s. The absolute identity of wills involves identity of nature. Jesus and the Father are One in will and in nature for both are God (20:28; Phil. 2:6; Col. 2:9).
Jesus is not merely a righteous man, a prophet, or a divine spokesman. Jesus is the instrument of divine revelation and salvation. He is the visual image of God for the world.
Such statements by Jesus demand a response. We see the Jews response in verse 31. The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.
The hostile crowd reacted and attempted to stone Jesus because they understood the implications of His claim. This is not a man saying he has joined his efforts with God. This Man is saying something dangerous, something more, something blasphemous. He is saying He is God in human flesh.
Again refers back to chapter 8 (8:59) and Jesus’ disclosure of His relationship to Abraham which also ended in an attempt to stone Him.
Jesus’ courage was displayed in His calm question of verse 32. Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?"
Before they could throw their stones Jesus answered them with a fair question. Which of His many great miracles ("works"; 10:25, 38) from the Father was their reason for wanting to stone Him? Note He says from the Father. He is not acting alone.
In verse 33 the Jews answer like most people they don’t stand against good works. The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God."
Their problem is not Jesus’ miracles (10:32) but His words (6:42, 60; 7:29 – 30).
They claimed that they found no objection in His works. (Yet His healings on the Sabbath had angered them [5:18; 9:16].) But they had finally found a justifiable cause for standing against Him and His words. They said they objected because He, a mere man, claimed to be God. This, they said, was blasphemy. Ironically, Jesus is God who become Man (1:1, 14, 18).
II. THE SON OF GOD, 34-36.
Jesus defends Himself in verse 34 by citing Psalm 82:6. Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?
Psalm 82 was well known and provided a critique of Israel’s failure to respond to God (82:5 – 7): "They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. "I said, ‘You are "gods"; you are all sons (Heb. beni) of the Most High.’ But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler."
The relevance of the passage is striking. The absence of knowledge and understanding is a fitting description of Jesus’ audience. They do not know the shepherd’s voice.
Jesus unfolds the implications of the passage in verse 35. "If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
Psalm 82 speaks of God as the true Judge (Ps. 82:1, 8) and of men or gods, appointed as judges, who were failing to provide true judgment for God (Ps. 82:2-7). [The Hebrew word for God or gods is elohîm.] This word is used elsewhere (Ex. 21:6; 22:8) to mean human judges. "Gods" in Psalm 82:1, 6 also refers to these human judges. In this sense, God said to the Jews, You are gods. In no way does this speak of a divine nature in man.
Jesus thus argued that in certain situations (as in Ps. 82:1, 6) men were called "gods." If there is a sense in which the term "gods" can be applied legitimately to those other than God Himself in the Scripture, then much more may Jesus use this term to assert His unity with the Father. If others can be called a "gods" here in God’s unbreakable word — why are Jesus’ words blasphemy?
Note Jesus added to His argument the words, and the Scripture cannot be broken. He did so that no one could evade its force by saying an error was in the Scriptures. This important text clearly points to at least the inerrancy of the Bible. [Bible Knowledge Com., Walvoord & Zuck, ]
In verse 36 Jesus asks them to reconsider their accusation in the light of Scripture. "do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?"
Jesus says since the inerrant Bible called their judges "gods," the Jews could not logically accuse Him of blasphemy for calling Himself God’s Son since He was under divine orders and on God’s mission (sent into the world).
Jesus is the one whom God "sanctified" (Gk. hagiazo; "set apart, separated"). The Greek verb hagiazo means to consecrate or make something holy. Jesus has been distinguished by God from all other men. He is the divine Son of God, again leaving no doubt of His claim of special relationship with the Father.
III. THE WORKS OF GOD, 37-39.
Jesus calls attention to His works again in verse 37. "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
Jesus says His works show the reality of who He is. If He does not do the works of God then He says don’t believe.
Though the Jews were reluctant to believe Jesus’ words, God was giving them miracles ("works," erga; 25, 32), which He was doing through Jesus. These signs were given for their learning so that by pondering their significance they might recognize Jesus’ oneness with the Father (the Father is in Me, and I in the Father). Nicodemus had recognized this for he said, "No one could perform [those] miraculous signs . . . if God were not with Him" (3:2).
In verse 38 Jesus again asks them to open their mind to verifiable truth. but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father."
If they are not prepared to believe His words, believe His works. Were His works demonstrating divine compassion, divine authority, and divine power? If so the Father was behind them.
If they would believe His works the way of understanding is opened to gain insight into His relation with the Father. It is a relationship of mutual indwelling. Such works could not be done by a mere man acting out of himself, as the man born blind has so clearly stated in 9:30ff.
Again Jesus states His special relationship with God in the words the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. The accusation of blasphemy seemed utterly unreasonable to Jesus because of His relationship with the Father.
Verse 39 reveals that Jesus words and appeal were utter failures. Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.
Jesus last claim of mutual indwelling brought the discussion to an end. But instead of seriously mediating on what He said they tried to seize Him. Once again, since it was not God’s time, He escaped (5:13; 8:59; 12:36). The hand of God to protect is more powerful than the hand of man to grasp. They refused to grasp the truth of the word so God did not let them grasp the person of truth either.
IV. WHERE THEY BELIEVE IN GOD, 40-42.
In verse 40 Jesus leaves Jerusalem and will not return until Palm Sunday (3 or 4 months later). And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there.
Because of their hostility, Jesus went . . . across the Jordan to Perea where the rulers of Jerusalem had no authority (Herod Antipas’ domain). This area had been the location of John the Baptist’s activity (1:28). Jesus’ ministry here was received much more favorably, because the Baptist had prepared the people there.
When God’s labors go somewhere and experiences people placing their faith in Jesus it is because someone has planted, watered, cultivated the field and God has given increase to their labor. When a man of God goes someplace and people are not save, it is because the field has not been prepared to receive God’s word and respond to it. The Lord of the Harvest must send forth labors into His harvest before there is a harvest.
The enduring testimony of the Baptist is referred to in verse 41. Many came to Him and were saying, "While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true."
John, even though dead, was still having influence in people’s lives as they remembered his witness. Though John never performed a miraculous sign (smeion), the people believed his witness about Jesus. By contrast, the hostile Jerusalem crowd had seen His signs and yet disobeyed.
Like John, we don’t need to perform miracles to tell people about Jesus. We can tell what we have learned about Him from the Bible, what He has done to change our hearts and lives, and what He has done for others. If we faithfully pass on the good news about Jesus, we will have served our life’s purpose well.
Even long after we’re dead and gone, our words may come to the minds of those to whom we’ve witnessed and may be the means of bringing them to faith in the Lord Jesus. Like seed buried in the ground, God’s Word that we’ve sown can lie dormant for many years and then spring up to eternal life. It’s a great epitaph for one’s life: "He did no miracles, but everything he said about Jesus was true." Sow the seed and God will produce a harvest.
Verse 42 gives the result them mutual ministry of John and Jesus. Many believed in Him there.
In Perea many trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior. "There" is significant. It implies a contrast.
Jesus finds faith not among the "religious" in the holy city of Jerusalem. Rather, He finds it when He moves to the desert and works among those who must travel at some hardship to find Him. "Many people came to him" in the desert by the Jordan and believed in Him, recognizing that God’s hand was behind Jesus’ works and God’s voice within His words. But the leaders of Jerusalem will not see Him again until they are given an opportunity to crucify Him.
CONCLUSION /
Most of us live fairly unremarkable lives. We’re not miracle workers. We’re not noted for anything in particular. We’re ordinary and common place. But we can tell people about Jesus wherever we go. We can point to Him and say, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29).
Our duty is to tell people what we have come to know about Jesus and then leave the results with God. If we do so, we will have served one of life’s essential purposes. Like seed buried in the ground, God’s Word may seem to lie dormant for years and then spring up to eternal life.
So let us be faithful in pointing others to Jesus. Then, after we are gone, the epitaph on our gravestone could read, "He did no miracles, but everything he said about Jesus was true."
Lord, help me make my witness clear, and labor faithfully,
So friends and neighbors turn to Christ through what they hear from me. -Anon.
Walking with Jesus leaves footprints for others to follow.
