Read John 10:25-42. Circle the words that stand out to you. What is the Lord saying to you?
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[a]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.
Digging Deeper
As a writer on Quora, I find that many people are not oppose to Jesus being a good, moral teacher. No one would dispute His teaching of loving your neighbor as yourself or avoid being a hypocrite. He’s like another “Enlightened Buddha,” a good person or even a great prophet of God.
If Jesus was to declare that He was a prophet of God, the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the agnostics and maybe even atheists could accept that statement. It’s not that offense. However, Jesus makes an exclusive claim about himself. That is controversial.
Jesus said this, “28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
Jesus doesn’t say that God gives them eternal life, but that He gives them eternal life. Jesus doesn’t say that no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand, but that no one can snatch them out of His hand! He even makes the astonishing statement that He and the Father are one.
If Jesus is God incarnated in the flesh, then one would expect that Jesus’ words and actions would reflect that of God. Is there any conduct of Jesus that would discredit His claim of being God? Does His works affirm His exclusive claim? Are there any words that contradict the teaching of the Old Testament or does His words and works fulfill it?
Jesus declares that He and the Father are one. The Father lives in Him and He is in the Father. If Jesus is less than God, then He can’t offer us salvation and eternal life. That is something only God can give to us. Do you believe that?
-Kingston