Transcription
This is that moment where Jesus is challenged by the Jews because they say that he's making himself out to be God. But then he says this: “Uh, is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’?” How many of you read this verse and your brain broke? Right? You just scratched your head over what Jesus was really getting at, because it's not very clear. Well, let me propose to you my interpretation of this passage.
And here's what's going to happen: You're either going to hear this and go, "No way, Nate! You're absolutely crazy," or you're going to realize that yes, Jesus was claiming divinity in a manner that no one could dispute. So pull out your Bible and buckle up, cuz here we go.
Welcome back to Wise Disciple. My name is Nate, and I'm helping you become the effective Christian that you are meant to be, which means understanding the difficult passages of scripture. Amen. Don't forget to like, sub, and share this one around, but only if it blesses you. All right. All right.
What I'm about to tell you hinges on whether or not you've seen some of my other videos where I talk about demons, where I talk about the Benet Elohim, which are the sons of God. Uh, which also means that you should have a bit of background in the works of Michael Heiser. If you haven't, and this is the first video, uh, you know, I've linked a couple of videos in the notes below. I encourage you to start there, and then you can come back to this video. For the rest of you, let's jump right in.
At that time the feast of dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the colony of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Now notice here they don't have stones in their hands. Right?
Jesus answered them, "Well, I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. Wait, what? Okay. I give them eternal life, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. Hm. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one." Wait a second. Jesus just got done claiming that he can bestow eternal life upon whomever he pleases.
Okay, the Old Testament teaches that only God can do this kind of thing. Look at, uh, Daniel 12:2: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Okay, that's the clearest passage of the Old Testament, uh, where the prophet receives this eschatological promise from God. But it's not just here. It's also Isaiah 25, uh, verse 8: "He will swallow up—God will swallow up death forever—and the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces." Right, Jesus is saying, "I'm going to do that." Now, in this moment, this should have immediately caused the Jews to perk up and listen, you know. Um, but not just to that, but to this claim to be one with the Father as well.
Let me say it one more time. Verse 29: "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. I and the Father are one." So you see how the claim of unity, uh, with the Father comes directly after Jesus saying that the Father is greater than all—greater than all beings on the earth. You know, that's that's how he has the power to provide this kind of eternal life. You see that Jesus is saying, "I'm just like the Father. I'm greater than all as well." And notice that is precisely the moment that the Jews pick up stones to end Jesus. It's because he said he is greater than all, just like God. So what I'm doing now is I'm I'm showing you precisely where the blasphemy is in this conversation in the minds of the Jews.
Now, in the backdrop of this are previous videos, right? I'm thinking of the Alex Okconor, uh, David Wood debate recently, where it was as if, uh, well, no, Jesus isn't doing all that; like he's he's being misunderstood. He's trying to he's trying to, uh, say something else entirely, but people are misunderstanding him. It's what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to show you the Jews understood what Jesus was saying when they picked up stones. They understood the claim that he was making. What I'm trying to show you is that when they pick up stones to stone Jesus, he's not running away from that. He's actually going to double down. All right, so stick with me. Um, but but for now, I'm just pointing out it's the moment that Jesus, uh, implicitly says, "I and the Father are one. We are greater than all." And because of that, I give eternal life, just like God. Right? That's when they pick up the stones. So it's not when Jesus claims to be the Messiah. It's when he claims to be divine.
Verse 31: "The Jews picked up the stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, 'Well, I've shown you many good works from the Father. For which of them are you going to stone me?' The Jews answered him, 'It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy because you, being a man, make yourself God.'" They understood perfectly.
Now notice something else here. They can't impugn Jesus based on his good works. Why? Because he's done nothing wrong. It's because of the claim that he just made—to be divine, to be on the same level as God. "My Father is greater than all. I and the Father are one." Um, and as Christians, you know, we recognize that Jesus is of the same substance as the Father. Right? By the way, Jesus keeps tipping his hat, so to speak, to this reality by calling God his Father, you know, by accepting the the title of Son of God from others—he accepts it.
Now I have to press pause here and point something out, or or else none of this is going to make sense to you. Um, so so pop quiz, right? Here's a question for you: In the gospel accounts, at what point does Jesus start referring to himself as being sent by the Father, uh, to doing the Father's will and also accepting the title of the Son of God? When does that start happening? Do you know? As you're thinking, uh, let me know in the comments. I'd love to get your thoughts.
Matthew 3:16 says, "When Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'" There it is. The moment that God says this—by the way, who is God speaking to? Look at the word "this," uh, in the phrase, right? Matthew wants us to see this is not some private confirmation of God. This is a public confirmation to all who were there that Jesus is the Son of God. Okay.
Now we know later in John chapter 1 that John the Baptist confirmed publicly, uh, to others that he witnessed the Holy Spirit come out of heaven at Jesus' baptism. As a matter of fact, uh, before John baptizes Jesus, God spoke to John. Okay, look at this. John 1:32: "John bore witness: 'I saw the Spirit descend from heaven…'" This is John the Baptist speaking. "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and it remained on Jesus. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water—the Lord said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." There's the title.
Now this is all going to become important in a moment. So let me say this one more time, okay? It seems clear to me that when God the Father spoke out of heaven, right, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove, that the crowd witnessed this. To what degree? How much of that they witnessed, we don't know. Uh, but the way that Matthew writes the account, um, and the testimony of John shows that there was a public confirmation of God upon Jesus at the moment that he was baptized. Okay, you with me so far? Good.
Because what I'm about to tell you trades on Jesus relying on this public confirmation from God. In other words, um, Jesus knows that others have witnessed the supernatural event at his baptism, and he's going to rely on that knowledge. He's going to rely on that, um, that the word has traveled about what has happened at his baptism in his response to the Jews when they try to stone him in John chapter 10. Okay, remember, they're not they're not stoning him for claiming to be the Messiah, but for claiming to be divine.
Look at verse 34: "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 consecrated and sent into the world, “You are blaspheming,” because I said, “I am the Son of God?”’" Okay. All right. Buckle up here, ladies and gentlemen. Okay. Because here's where it gets interesting. All right. Uh, for reference, Jesus is quoting from Psalm 82 where it says this. So this is the Lord speaking: "I said, you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you. Nevertheless, like men you shall die and fall like any prince."
Now, uh, Dr. Michael Heiser has pointed out that this phrase "sons of the Most High," right, so right here, uh, Ben Elon, right, it cannot refer to mere human judges. Why does he say that? Well, because then it makes no sense for God to say, "like men you shall die" in verse 7. Right? You see that? So so so God is saying, yeah, uh, you're mere men, but the consequence of your corruption is that you're going to do what men do anyway. No, friends, these were not mere men. These were the Benet Elohim. These were the sons of God who were the divine beings that comprised God's divine counsel. They were there at the foundation of the world. You know, uh, in Job they present themselves to the Lord. It's in the first, uh, couple chapters there, you know. Um, they are in his presence. They are also referred to as morning stars that sing songs as God created all things. You know, and in Psalm 82, God is upset with these beings because he appointed them as rulers over the nations. That's why he calls them gods. He appointed them to judge or to rule over the nations.
Now, at this point, we have to bring in Deuteronomy 32:8. Okay, uh, and I'll let you do that on your own because we're going to get into these weird rabbit trails. The point is, here's the takeaway. You ready? The Lord divided the nations and told the Benet Elohim to rule and to judge the other nations. Uh, Yahweh will guide the nation of Israel. The other nations will be guided by the sons of God. And they all turn corrupt. Instead of guiding these nations to worship Yahweh, they turn the nations to worship themselves. And so God said in Psalm 82, "I said you are gods, but you will die like men."
Now why does Jesus bring this up? Okay. Now Alex O'Conor and others like him are going to say, "Well, it's because Jesus is trying to correct people from thinking that he's claiming to be God." On the contrary, Jesus is utilizing a rabbinical, uh, teaching technique, and it's called, uh, kal va chomer. This is not the only time that Jesus, uh, utilizes this method of teaching, by the way. He actually appears to be fond of using this method, um, in the gospels. But the point is, this method trades on pointing out that if something is true in the lesser case, okay, how much more can it be true in the greater case? The lesser case in this instance are, uh, the Benet Elohim, or the sons of God. Why are they the lesser case? Because they went corrupt. Because they disobeyed the Lord. But nevertheless, you know, the Lord still called them gods at one time. They were part of God's divine council as members of his heavenly host. And by the way, the reason that the Lord called them gods is because of their special function as judges and rulers over the nations. It's meant to point to their special role that they clearly abused and corrupted. And that's why God judges these divine beings and treats them like mere men.
Okay, Jesus says, uh, using the the the lesser to greater frame: "If the Lord called those divine beings gods to whom the word of the Lord came," uh, in other words, you know, everyone knew that they were identified as gods by God. And the only way everyone knows this, you know, particularly those who are trying to stone Jesus right now at this moment, is because of the testimony of Tanakh. It's because of the Old Testament, because the Jews know their scripture. That's what Jesus is appealing to. He's appealing to something that they all know. Every Jew knows, uh, that these divine sons of God were called gods, you know, given this important assignment by God because of the Old Testament. And because of this—now here's where the connection is—okay, you ready? Because of this, how can they say to the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world that he's blaspheming? Now think about this. All right, think about the connection. The connection here in the lesser to greater frame is the clear testimony of the Father speaking. Okay, stay with me. In the lesser sense, the Father had consecrated and sent the sons of God, in the sons of the Most High. Right? In the greater sense, in Jesus' case, uh, the Father also consecrated and sent his Son when—the moment that Jesus was baptized and everyone witnessed that miraculous event. That's what Jesus is pointing to. He's relying on the fact that there were eyewitnesses—public eyewitnesses—to the Father speaking out of heaven and consecrating and sending his Son from that moment of baptism into the world. Okay, you tracking me? This was a public consecration. That's what Jesus' baptism, uh, was. It was a public consecration with signs that others witnessed. And in this moment right here, Jesus is relying on that public knowledge in order to point out that he's not only divine, he's greater than all the other Benet Elohim. And by the way, I mean, that's what he said at the outset, right? Um, "I and the Father are one, but the Father is greater than all." So, in other words, Jesus isn't lowering the bar. He's raising it.
Can you see that now? At this point, um, I mean, there's for some of you, you've never heard this before. Uh, so I'll let you chew on it, right? But let me let me acknowledge this, okay? Much of this trades on whether or not there were public eyewitnesses to the Father, uh, to the Spirit at Jesus' baptism. Like I said, I think there was. I could be wrong. Okay, John clearly admits that he saw the Spirit. Um, so I think I'm on to something here. And by the way, I'm not alone. R.T. France and Craig Keener see this situation the same way that I do. At least the sort of the public, um, consecration of, uh, the miraculous signs of Jesus' baptism, right, uh, by the way, Keener and France, these are reputable New Testament scholars. But again, let me let me let you hear me say this: I could be wrong about this. I'm sharing with you how I see the text. But if I'm right, think about this: Not only does that mean that Jesus doubled down on his claim to divinity when he was pressed by the Jews, it also helps to reinforce the notion that Jesus was not merely crucified because he claimed to be the Messiah, but because he claimed to be God. So now, so right. So if you take this particular interpretation of John 10 that I've sort of given you and you work that back into, say, the debate between David Wood and Alex Okconor, right, now we can start to see a connection between John chapter 10 and Jesus' comments when he stood before the Sanhedrin the night that he was arrested. Right? It trades on similar terminology. Okay. All right.
Anyway, some food for thought, okay? But here's a takeaway for you, right? Jesus never feared the hard questions. Instead, he met challenges with the scripture. Uh, but he also pointed to public divine validation of his ministry and of his identity, uh, not merely to private expressions of faith. Think about that. And finally, um, the question that, uh, Jesus poses to the Jews thousands of years ago still applies to us today. Right? And here's the question: If the Father has spoken, and scripture cannot be broken, what will you do with Jesus? Who is he? Amen.
All right, that's enough out of me. Now it's your turn. What's your take on John chapter 10? Did Jesus claim to be God or not? Let me know in the comments below. Some of you are still on the fence about Logos. What's Logos, Nate? Thanks for asking. It's the Bible app that I use to study the scripture. I've partnered with Logos cuz I love this app, and you're going to love it too. If you go to logos.com/wisdisciple right now, uh, you can grab some awesome features, including this new beefed-up search feature that'll let you put any question into the search engine, and it'll take you immediately to the passages of scripture that apply—basically doing my job for me now that I realize that, right? Anyway, check it out. The link for Logos is below. Uh, don't forget to keep the party going over on my Patreon community. If you like the biblical insights here, you're definitely going to love the Bible study that I'm doing over on Patreon. You can get these videos before they drop on YouTube. You can join me for exclusive live streams and more. Um, go check out my Patreon for more. Hey, if you're interested in learning biblical Greek or Hebrew, go check out Bibling Lingo. Click that link below and put in my special discount Wise Disciple 10 at checkout. Hey, I got more videos for you, but in the meantime, I'll say bye for now.