Let’s Talk About Jesus

John 10:30-42

This week as I studied for today’s message my heart was filled with songs about Jesus from the hymns and choruses I learned growing up in the church. “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there’s just something about that name. Master, Savior, Jesus like the fragrance after the rain.” “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong.” “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.” “I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands; I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.” “All hail the power of Jesus name let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all.” “Jesus is the sweetest name I know and He’s just the same as His lovely name.” One that I have not sung in years kept running through my mind this week goes, “Let’s talk about Jesus, the King of kings is He, the Lord of lords supreme, throughout eternity, the great I am the way, the truth the life, the door. Let’s talk about Jesus more and more.”

We’re going to talk about Jesus again this morning and I have to tell you that as a preacher, sermons about Jesus are my favorite. I’d rather talk to you about Jesus than anything else. There’s nothing higher, nothing purer, nothing more praiseworthy or life-changing than the person of Jesus Christ revealed to us in scripture.

That’s why I have loved our current study in the Gospel of John. It’s all about Jesus, who He is and what He came to do. As John wrote (John 20:31), “but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

We are in chapter 10, the wonderful chapter where Jesus reveals Himself to be the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. Last time we saw that Jesus said that His works proved that He was the Christ, the Messiah. And we saw two ways to respond to Jesus. Some did not believe because they were not of His sheep. But those who hear His voice, know Jesus, and follow Him—to them He gives eternal life. Jesus is able to do this for His sheep because of who He is: the Christ, the Son of God who is one with God the Father.

Listen the whole conversation of Jesus with those in Jerusalem in John 10:22-42,

22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. 24 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.” 25 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. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 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. 30 I and My Father are one.”

31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” 33 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.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ‘? 35 If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 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’? 37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 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.” 39 Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. 41 Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” 42 And many believed in Him there.

Looking today at verses 30-42, we’ll break the text down into four parts: 1) Jesus’ declaration (verse 30); 2) the accusation (verses 31–33); 3) Jesus’ defense (verses 34–38); and 4) the response (verses 39–42).

1. Jesus’ Declaration (John 10:30).

“I and My Father are one.” As we talked about last time, this is a short sentence, but it is loaded with theological truth. Here Jesus reveals the nature of the relationship between Himself as the Son and God and God the Father. They are different persons, but of one in essence. The statement shows the plurality of persons, “I and the Father.” It even uses the plural form of the verb meaning “we are.” These two distinct persons never become one person.

Yet these two persons are one. Literally the statement means “we are one (thing).” They are of the same essence, the same substance, but they are not the same person. John had stated this at the beginning of his Gospel (John 1:1), “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus could not be “with God” if He were the same person as the Father, and yet He “was God.” Jesus repeatedly claims to have been sent to earth by the Father, which indicates a distinction of persons. Jesus is not the Father, but He has complete equality with the Father. He is of the same substance and essence. Jesus is deity. Jesus is God.

2. Their Accusation (John 10:31-33)

The response of these Jews clearly shows that they understood Jesus was claiming to be God. See their response in John 10:31, “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.” This is the same thing they had done a couple of months previously (John 8:59). They are not picking up little pebbles here. They are taking up stones to throw at Jesus to kill Him. But Jesus does not leave and He was not hidden from them this time. Instead, He boldly faced them and questioned them (John 10:32), “Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?””

Jesus repeatedly appealed to His works, which backed up His words. Back in John 10:25 when Jesus replies to the Jews’ demand that He tell them plainly whether He was the Messiah, Jesus said, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.” Jesus’ actions backed up His claims, so He challenges them about which of His good works was causing them to stone Him. The word “good” here is the same one used earlier in the chapter when Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.” It means “beautiful, excellent, praiseworthy.” Jesus’ beautiful works displayed His excellent nature. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, even raised the dead!

They could not argue against the beautiful goodness of Jesus’ works. So they state their reason for seeking to stone Him (John 10:33), “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.””

They regarded Jesus simply as a man making a blasphemous claim to be God. They ignored the proof Jesus had given for His claim. They already had their minds made up would not be side tracked by facts and the truth.

How will Jesus defend Himself against this charge of blasphemy?

3. Jesus’ Defense (John 10:34-38)

Jesus does not give up. So here, rather than deny the Jews’ accusation, Jesus proceeds to defend His claims to be God based on scripture as well as His works. First Jesus uses a,

A. Defense by scripture – (John 10:34-36).

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ‘? 35 If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 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’?

They accuse Jesus based on the Law that it is blasphemy for Him to claim to be God. Jesus takes them back to the Law, here used as a reference to all of the Old Testament, and shows them that they are wrong. What Jesus says here can be confusing if you do not go back to the passage in Psalm 82 that Jesus is quoting from and then follow the argument that He is making.

In Psalm 82 God rebukes those He had placed in authority in Israel for their unjust judgments and warns them that though they have been given a high position, they are yet just men who will face His judgment. In Psalm 82:6, in speaking to these judges of Israel, God says, “I said, “You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High.” The psalmist referred to them as “gods,” not because they were divine in some sense, but because they were acting as God in their role as judges. There are several places in the Old Testament where the word god, or gods is used of men in this sense (Exod. 4:16; 7:1; 21:6; 22:8; 1 Sam. 2:25).

The argument Jesus makes is this. God Himself calls these judges “gods” because the word of God had come to them. They had received their position as God’s representatives as judges in the Theocracy by divine appointment. Jesus is not comparing Himself to these judges. Instead He shows the great constrast between Himself and them. Leon Morris (The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans], p. 528) adds, “Jesus is not classing Himself among men…. He separates and distinguishes Himself from men.”

Jesus’ argument is from the lesser to the greater: “If mere men can be called ‘gods’ because of their position as judges, then how much more should I, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, be called the Son of God?” This is infinitely greater. Jesus is from God Himself. He is the Word of God in human flesh (John 1).

Jesus only quotes the first part here, but these Jews probably knew the rest of it. The next verse in the Psalm (Ps. 82:7) states, “But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes.” They will be judged by God for their unjust judgment. I believe this is an implied warning that these Jews who are rejecting Jesus will also have to face God’s judgment. In fact, Jesus Himself will be their judge.

Notice that Jesus emphasizes here in an objective and absolute manner that “the Scriptures cannot be broken.” This is a remarkable, comment! Morris (p. 527) says, “It means that Scripture cannot be emptied of its force by being shown to be erroneous.” Think about it. Jesus picks a rather obscure psalm and then picks a single word in the psalm, “gods,” to make His point. This means that the very words of Scripture are true and authoritative. Some argue that only the ideas in Scripture are inspired, but not the exact words. But Jesus believed the very words of Scripture to be authoritative.

Jesus often appealed to Scripture as the final, infallible authority, sometimes basing His argument on a verb tense (Matt. 22:31-32). He defeated Satan by quoting Scripture three times (Matt. 4:1-11). He often cited Scripture as the basis for His actions (Matt. 13:14-15; 21:13, 16, 42; Mark 7:6-13; 14:27; Luke 4:18-19; etc.). Jesus said that the Scriptures testify about Him (John 5:39, 46; Luke 24:25-26, 44-47). Jesus said (Matt. 5:18), “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Jesus believed the scripture, even the smallest letter or stroke of the pen would be fulfilled. The inspired, inerrant, authoritative Scriptures show Jesus to be God.

So Jesus defends His statement to be one with the Father by scripture and secondly Jesus offers a,

B. Defense by His Works (John 10:37-38).

37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 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.”

This is not only a defense of His claim, but a wonderful invitation to those who are accusing Him. He could have just condemned them, but instead He once again explains the truth and invites them to believe. Essentially Jesus argues that if He did not do the works of the Father they should reject Him, but even if they do not believe what He is saying to them, they ought to believe the works that He has done. This belief might then lead them to understand that His claims are true that the Father is in Him and He is in the Father. He cannot be guilty of blasphemy because His works show Him to be one with the Father. He is the Son of God. He is the Messiah.

As you might have guessed John will show us two different responses to Jesus:

4. The Response (John 10:39-42)

The response of these Jews in Jerusalem is to reject Jesus’ claims and seek again to arrest Him (John 10:39) “Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.” Instead of stoning Jesus on the spot, they now at least try to respect the Law of Moses and bring Jesus to trial. That is what is meant by their effort to seize Him. But Jesus’ time was not yet come, so He eluded their grasp though He had been surrounded and cornered in a restrictive area of the Temple. It would be another four months before Jesus’ time would come. Then they would seize Him while He was praying in secret and bring Him to an unjust trial where He would once again be accused of blasphemy.

But that is not the only response. John concludes this section by showing that not everyone in Israel was rejecting Jesus. The religious leaders had rejected Jesus and so would the majority of the people, but God always has His remnant that will follow Him in faith. So we read (John 10:40-42),

Jesus left Jerusalem and went to the place where John the Baptist had first been doing his work in Bethany, beyond the Jordan, which was about 50 miles away to the Northeast. While He was there, many were coming to Him and they recognized the truth of John’s testimony about Him and then believed themselves.

John’s testimony is recorded in John 1:29-30, 34:

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 “This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.‘ … 34 “And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

I could not think of a better phrase to be uttered about someone than… all the things that John spoke about this Man were true. We can see how important a faithful witness’ testimony can be. Even though John the Baptist had not done miracles himself, and even after John is gone, the Holy Spirit moves through his testimony and belief is the result, “And many believed in Him there.” I pray this is an encouragement to those who seek to be faithful and at times there is very little visible fruit. Never forget that God is in control and He moves whenever it is the right time to gather sheep for His own. We never know when a word of encouragement or word of truth can return and be used by God to cause belief to take place within the heart of a person.

I have talked about Jesus today. How will you respond? John wrote at the beginning of this Gospel (John 1:11-12), “11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” Have you received Jesus? Have you believed that He is the Christ, the Son of God, the Good Shepherd who died for you and rose again?

Does this new life in Christ Jesus fill you with such joy and peace in believing that you abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit who gave you new birth (Rom. 15:13)? It does for me. That is why by heart is filled with taling about Jesus and singing about Jesus. Is yours?