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Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?" The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 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'? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him." Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.
And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this man were true." And many believed in Him there.
- John 10:31-42
Yesterday, we read that, after the events of the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot (John chapters 7, 8 and 9), the healing of the man blind from birth, and Jesus' expression of Himself as the Good Shepherd, there was a division again among the leadership in the temple. They have tried to arrest Him twice and continue to question Him. And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?" Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" Several months later, it was the Feast of Dedication (or Hanukkah) in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, on Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."
Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?" The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God." My study bible says here that in response to the leadership's question (and here we remember that "the Jews" is a term used to denote the religious leadership), Jesus reveals Himself here as fully God (I and My Father are one). It says that "one means one in nature. He was God before the Incarnation, and He remains fully God after that union of God and man in His one Person. The verb are indicates the Father and the Son are two Persons. They are always distinct, but united in essence, will and action. Jesus' bold claim causes a violent reaction" they attempt to stone Him, accusing Him of blasphemy."
Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 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'?" My study bible quotes St. John Chrysostom's commentary here: "If those who have received this honor by grace are not found with fault for calling themselves gods, how can He who has this by nature deserve to be rebuked?" Jesus is quoting from Psalm 82:6. The psalm is one whose topic is injustice, and the blindness of those who judge unjustly in "the congregation of the mighty."
"If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him." Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this man were true." And many believed in Him there. Again, Jesus turns to witnessing, who and what are His witnesses? True to His teaching, He gives His own "fruits" as the way to know Him: His works. Are they not the works of the Father, such as healing a man who was blind from birth? (See readings from Monday and Tuesday.) Jesus once again goes away from Jerusalem, to the place where John the Baptist was first ministering in baptism, preaching repentance for the preparation of the coming of the Messiah. And we see an example of faith here: although John himself performed no sign, people believe what he said about Jesus. Away from Jerusalem, those who listened to John have faith in Jesus. Once again, the author of this Gospel is very careful to note the myriad divisions among the people about Jesus, believers and non-believers. Not even the leadership is united in its opinion about Him.
If we look carefully at the Psalm from which Jesus quotes here, it's a very powerful thing. We look carefully at Psalm 82, and it tells us that God stands in the congregation of the mighty ones, and judges among the gods. But these gods practice injustice and they are not judging correctly. They walk in darkness. They do not provide justice for the outsiders: the poor and the fatherless, the afflicted and the needy. They do not "free them from the hand of the wicked." Jesus' particular quotation from verse 6 is a reminder that “you are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” It's a warning about judgment leading to Judgment. While we are created in the image and likeness of God, our ungodly behavior, our practice of unjust judgment must necessarily lead to God's judgment. The "princes" here are the "princes" of this world. In some potently ironic sense, these men standing in judgment of Jesus are acting as gods who would judge God. Jesus knows they are on a road of deepening darkness, as the psalm indicates (They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable). They are walking toward the practice of an extreme injustice, and they don't understand what they're doing nor the consequences of their judgment. But Jesus is perfectly aware of what is happening, and of what is going to happen. Scripture echoes Scripture here, in a mirrored reflection of what is truly happening, what He's here for, and of the results of His revelation in the world. We're reminded of His teachings. From the Sermon on the Mount, we read: "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." In John's Gospel, Jesus tells us (speaking to the Pharisees): "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" (7:24). Let us remember that we've been told, "You are gods." But the practice of godly behavior has everything to do with light and salt, and righteous judgment.
