The Gospel of John: John 10.19-33

Read and meditate on John 10.33.
In one sense, these Jews had it right. Doing good works does not on its own give one the right to claim to be one with the Father. That’s why, as we have seen, Jesus did not rely only on good works to justify His claims. He also pointed to the Scriptures – Abraham, Moses, the Law, and the prophets.

                                                                    ³³They said,
“For no good work do we stone You; instead,
because of blasphemy. You are a Man,
but You insist that You are God.”

- John 10.33

Reflect
1. Christians are called to do good works, as Jesus and all the apostles taught. Doing good works does not justify any claim we might like to make about being the Messiah. However, since they are expected of us (Eph. 2.8-10; Matt. 5.13-16; 7.20), what purpose do they serve? Complete the following brief prayer: I know You have saved me for good works, Lord, and I want to fulfill that expectation. Today I will have many opportunities for…

2.  I suspect that one objection to Jesus’ claims ran along this line: “He did good works, so He thinks He’s the Messiah? I’m not the Messiah, but I try to be a good person. Does He mean to suggest that I don’t do any good works? That none of the works I do each day qualify as good works? Who is He to suggest I don’t do good works, or I’m not good?” What about this? Can unbelievers do good works? Can you give any examples? How is it possible for unbelievers to do good works (cf. Matt. 5.43-46)? Does that mean that they are good? Was Jesus saying to these Jews that their works were not good? None of them? I’m sure people can do works which are good, but this is only because of the grace You extend to them, Lord. I should be more aware of any good works I see in others, so that…

3.  Ultimately, Jesus’ good works were not the issue. What Jesus claimed – that was the problem. The Jews insisted that He blasphemed. What does it mean to blaspheme? How did those who objected to Jesus’ claim understand what it means to blaspheme? Why did they consider Jesus’ claim to be blasphemous? Did this say as much about their understanding of God as of their perception of Jesus? Did they hold as a basic assumption about God that He could not become a Man? Explain. Lord, many people today have faulty ideas about You and what You can or should do. Help me to listen well, so that I can…

4.  The Jews reasoned, “No one who is a man can be God. God cannot be both God and a man.” Jesus’ claim was blasphemous because, in the mind of His detractors, it dragged God down from His holiness and polluted Him with man’s finiteness and sinfulness. There is a certain logic to this view, but the logic was wrong. Why? Is unbelief logical to unbelievers? But that make their reasoning it right? Explain. Lord, I really need to understand the way my unbelieving friends think, so that…

5.  Here we can see the wisdom of Jesus’ standing His ground and teasing out a bit more perspective from His detractors (v. 32). In the next few verses, Jesus will take their view of God and hoist them on Scripture and their own petard. He will expose the folly of their reasoning, and show it to be out of line with the teaching of Scripture. How can we use questions to help our unbelieving friends explain their objections to Jesus? Why should we do so? Bring together your prayers from questions 1-4 into one prayer.

Summary
“But since they did not know the divine nature, they crucified [what they saw as] the human nature. Or didn’t you hear them say, ‘We are not stoning you because of a good work but because of blasphemy, since you, who are a man, make yourself God.’ Through these words they show that they recognized the nature that they saw but had absolutely no knowledge of the invisible nature. If they had known that nature, however, ‘they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.’” Cyril of Alexandria (375-444 AD)

These exchanges between Jesus and His detractors are very important. We need to study them carefully, both to observe the way Jesus’ enemies think, and to see how Jesus used their arguments to His advantage. We are called to be witnesses for Christ, and we must be ready to engage the unbelievers of our day in similar ways. If we are not willing to learn from Jesus about our call to be witnesses, what can we expect?

Closing Prayer
The LORD reigns;
Let the earth rejoice;
Let the multitude of isles be glad!
Clouds and darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
A fire goes before Him,
And burns up His enemies round about.
His lightnings light the world;
The earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples see His glory.
Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,
Who boast of idols.
Worship Him, all you gods.
Zion hears and is glad,
And the daughters of Judah rejoice
Because of Your judgments, O LORD.
For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.
You who love the LORD, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

Psalm 97.1-10

Psalm 97.1, 6, 9-12 (Darwall: Rejoice, the Lord is King!)
Rejoice, the Lord is King! O earth, lift up your voice;
Be glad, you islands, shout and sing: Rejoice! Rejoice!
    Beyond, above all gods and nations be exalted, God of love!

The heav’ns above declare His glorious righteousness;
And tribes and peoples everywhere His Name confess.
    Beyond, above all gods and nations be exalted, God of love!

All you who love the Lord, despise sin’s wicked ways!
Praise Him Who guides us by His Word through all our days.
    Beyond, above all gods and nations be exalted, God of love!
T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.