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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
In yesterday's reading, we begin while Jesus is still at the Feast of Tabernacles: There was a division again among the leadership because of Jesus' sayings. 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?" Chapter 10 then moves to the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, in winter, about three months after the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Dedication is also known as the Festival of Lights (or Hanukkah). And Jesus walked in the temple, in 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 told 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." The accusation of blasphemy follows Jesus' statement of His divinity, "I and My Father are one." As we noted in yesterday's reading, "One means one in nature or essence. He is God before all ages, and He remains God after the Incarnation and for all eternity. The plural verb are indicates two distinct Persons, while confirming a continuous unity." The leadership clearly recognize this claim of divinity; therefore they accuse 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 says of the quotation "I said, 'You are gods'" (Psalm 82:6): "People who receive God's grace in faith will partake of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and can rightly be called gods. Christ is effectively saying, 'If those who have received this honor by grace are not guilty for calling themselves gods, how can He who has this by nature deserve to be rebuked?" (quoting St. John Chrysostom).
"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. My study bible says, "Because Christ is going to His Passion voluntarily and according to His own will, His accusers cannot arrest Him until He is ready (7:30; 8:20; see Luke 4:28-30)."
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. It seems to me we see a kind of increasing "withdrawal" on Jesus' part, even as His ministry increases, becomes more public, and more of a threat to the leadership. Earlier we were told that He remained in Galilee; here He withdraws to the place where John was first baptizing. It is still nearer Jerusalem than Galilee, but the ministry has come almost full circle: now there are many who believe in Him, and who see in Him the fulfillment of the Baptist's promises about Him.
The stage is set, really, for Jesus' seventh and final sign in the Gospel of John. We'll begin reading about that in tomorrow's reading. But for now, Jesus has plainly and clearly defined and declared His divinity, and the leadership have understood it well. Their response is to accuse Him of blasphemy. His defense, His witness, in a sense, becomes the works He has done. And the greatest work, the seventh sign, is now about to unfold. As His works have become more and more powerful, we see the great challenge to the role of the leadership. The sixth sign occurred at the Feast of Tabernacles, when Jesus, declaring Himself to be the light of the world, gave a man sight who had been blind since birth. Jesus' statement, "I and My Father are one," isn't just a statement that we read in the Gospels, and it isn't just a statement that inflames the leadership, as they clearly understand what He is saying. It is a statement that has defined, and continues to define, the history of the theology of the Church. It isn't just a simple statement of fact about Jesus' relationship to the Father. Rather it is a powerful definition of the spiritual reality He has brought to our awareness. It continues to shape and form theological dialogue and discussion in our world today, and to define for us an understanding of how we are to practice and think about our faith in all kinds of situations, and as response to all kinds of problems. Those minds trained in all the abstracts and understanding of the philosophy of each age or generation since have also pondered this problem, this great mystery. And yet, what we understand is the power that is behind it, and especially the promise, the covenant, that is backed up by this statement. When Jesus says, "I and My Father are one," it is in the context of the promise of life to each one of us, His sheep. This is life that is defined by the power and absolute reality of God. It's not life as we understand it, but something exponentially, infinitely greater, longer, deeper. It is an abundance we can't calculate. But in this declaration of the "consubstantiality" (and united will) of Father and Son, we are made a promise: a promise that we will be kept with Him, He and His Father will not lose a single one of us, and we will be kept together into the kind of life and transformation beyond the ages of time as we understand it into an eternity we can't foresee in its abundance of this life. The theologians may forever debate this problem, while even the scientists of our time debate the nature of time, even as the ancient fathers of the church have understood time to be "multi-dimensional" in the promises of the Church (see here, esp. Sections VII and VIII), and to the present day expand upon our understanding of time (for example, this book) in the light of this promise. Jesus' statements invite us into mystery, a deepening and greater mystery that will not lose its promises nor potentials for us. But we must remember that we are each sheep who are called by name, and whether or not we can delve into such mysteries at the depth of philosophy and/or theoretical physics, we know and are known by Him, and we are each given our own understanding of our faith and where and how it leads us. The promise is to each of us. Held in His hand, we go in faith.
