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Chapter 7 - Good Shepherd
John 10:31-33
31 Then [oun] the Jews [Ioudaios] took up [bastazo] stones [lithos] again [palin] to [hina] stone [lithazo] him [autos] .
32 Jesus [Iesous] answered [apokrinomai] them [autos] , Many [polus] good [kalos] works [ergon] have I shewed [deiknuo] you [humin] from [ek] my [mou] Father [pater] ; for [dia] which [poios] of those [autos] works [ergon] do ye stone [lithazo] me [me] ?
33 The Jews [Ioudaios] answered [apokrinomai] him [autos] , saying [lego] , For [peri] a good [kalos] work [ergon] we stone [lithazo] thee [se] not [ou] ; but [alla] for [peri] blasphemy [blasphemia] ; and [kai] because [hoti] that thou [su] , being [on] a man [anthropos] , makest [poieo] thyself [seautou] God [theos] . KJV-Interlinear
31 The Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, 'I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?' 33 The Jews answered Him, 'For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.' NASB
Jesus words were not misunderstood. He did not simply state that He was close to God in some euphoric sense, or that He had, had conversations with God (the Father), and knew Him personally as a personal friend or an acquaintance. Jesus was not dropping names in order to impress them. His statements were clear and they knew exactly what He meant.
Jesus herein states that it is He who is God. He is equal with the Father and therefore He was God Himself.
The Israelites have long accepted the concept of the Trinity. They have known that there was the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. These three are mentioned many times throughout the scriptures. What they did not accept was that the Son was going to come in the form of a humble man. They expected a powerful and dynamic manifestation as their Messiah. One who was worthy of their imaginations.
Of course if God had come down from heaven and selected one of them, the High Priest for example, then many would have accepted that appointment fully expecting themselves to receive some comparable appointment in the Kingdom to come. But then, many would be jealous of Gods selection and they would do just as they are doing now. Politics drives wedges between individuals and lays the groundwork for competition for position and power. The needs of the constituents and the principles of leadership often take a back seat to political egos.
When power and position is threatened, or perceived to be threatened, then hate and revenge come into the picture. The Pharisees were not interested in the truth even though the proof of it was overwhelming. They anticipated a loss of their influence over the people, and that means a loss in the prestige of their positions in society. That also means that the people would not look to them for help nor rely on them for the answers to their problems.
Leaders who reject truth, define their positions as requiring the dependence of the masses , not to find real solutions for the problems which people face everyday, but to perpetuate those problems, even to define additional problems in order to keep the people in a dependent state. The approbation requirements of false leadership (the liars, the thieves, the robbers as they have been described) send them into extreme delusion.
They self righteously reject Jesus' claim to be God Himself. Yet they claim to be the spokesman for God themselves, even to the extent of defending Gods reputation from blasphemers, and they fabricate volumes of regulations which they say are authorized by God. Their claims in fact have no basis in fact.
The leadership had no proof for their arguments, only their witty interpretations of the scriptures which had long ago been replaced by regulations and fabricated church law.
Jesus on the other hand had numerous miracles (which no man could duplicate). He had prophecy written centuries before which spoke of His life. The proof of Christ was overwhelming. Who among the leadership could raise the dead? Who could walk on the water? Who could turn water into wine? Who could cure disease? Who could correct sight and hearing and restore missing limbs with merely a touch of the hand or the instance of a thought? No one.
The picking up of stones must first follow a hearing and a trial. So what are the charges? What was the offense? Which of the good deeds were the basis for the accusation against Jesus? And if the charges are for simply saying that one was God, then either treat the man as a crazy man and ignore him (being crazy was not a capital offense), or recognize the proofs of His claim through the works which no other human being could do, and bow down to Him.
Of course the Pharisees would not bow down, because they refused to believe in His identity.
Now Jesus makes one more argument, and that will come from the scriptures, and that will be covered in tomorrow's study.
End of Lesson
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Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
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