Did Jesus Claim to Be God (Part Two – The Reaction) (John 10: 26-42)

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Study Notes: "Did Jesus Claim to Be God?" (Part Two – The Reaction)

Scripture Passage: John 10:26-42

Key Points:

1. Different Reactions to Jesus' Claim:
   • People react differently to Jesus' claim of divinity.
   • These reactions are the same today as they were during Jesus' time.
2. The Problem of Unbelief:
   • Jesus clearly identifies the problem as a lack of belief, not a lack of evidence.
   • In verses 26-27, Jesus states, "You do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."
3. Eternal Life and Security:
   • Jesus promises eternal life and security to His followers: "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand" (verses 28-29).
   • The double negative in "they shall never perish" emphasizes absolute security in Greek.
4. Unity with the Father:
   • Jesus declares, "I and the Father are one" (verse 30), affirming their unity in essence and purpose.
   • This claim prompts the Jewish opponents to accuse Jesus of blasphemy.
5. The Accusation of Blasphemy:
   • The Jewish leaders react with hostility, ready to stone Jesus for claiming to be God (verses 31-33).
   • Jesus responds by citing Psalm 82:6, explaining that if human judges can be called "gods" (small g), His claim to be the Son of God is justified (verses 34-36).
6. Evidence through Works:
   • Jesus appeals to His works as evidence of His divine mission: "Even though you do not believe me, believe the works" (verse 38).
   • Despite this, the Jewish leaders attempt to seize Him again, but He escapes (verse 39).
7. Belief and Rejection:
   • The passage illustrates various levels of rejection: intellectual disagreement, emotional agitation, verbal accusations, and physical violence.
   • This escalating conflict ultimately leads to Jesus' crucifixion.
8. Faith in Jesus' Identity:
   • While some rejected Jesus, others believed in Him through His words and works.
   • This highlights the essence of faith—trusting in Jesus' identity and mission.
9. The Doctrine of Eternal Security:
   • Jesus' words assure believers of their eternal security in God's hands.
   • "No one will snatch them out of my hand... No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand" (verses 28-29).

Conclusion:

• The Essence of the Passage:
  • Jes

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Transcript

Did Jesus Claim to Be God (Part Two – The Reaction)

 (John 10:26-42)

Transcript

Last time we saw Jesus Christ tell them quite clearly that He was God. So, when they said, "Tell us plainly," He legitimately said to them, "I have already told you."

But there’s a problem. When Jesus tells us that people react to the revelation in different ways. And that problem but useful to know because those reactions to that claim are the same today, as they were seen here in John’s gospel.  

What's the reaction, well let’s look at the next verses.

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; 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.

(John 10: 26-42)

In the opening verses we see Jesus say, "You do not believe because you are not my sheep.  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”."

This is an incredible passage, and I wish we had about two days to talk about it, but we don’t. So let me sum up what I believe He is saying. Jesus Christ turns to these men and says, "I told you who I am. The problem is not a lack of evidence or witness; the problem is a lack of belief on your part." In effect He says to them, "You are the problem, not me." Now that’s critical because that’s is why they didn’t get it, and that is still the main reason people don’t get Him today.

Let me illustrate this with the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus Christ came along, just like in the Gospel of John, and said in essence, "I am the Messiah," and He worked miracles to demonstrate that He was the Messiah. In Matthew 12, He works a miracle, and the people say, "Is not this the son of David?" But the leaders say, "No, it isn’t. He did it by the power of the Devil." In the flow of the Gospel of Matthew, it is at that point that Jesus Christ turns from His public ministry to His private ministry with the disciples.

The number one question at this point in the disciples' minds is, "If you are who you claim to be, then why don’t they believe it? Why don’t they accept it? Why are you being rejected?" So, Jesus then immediately responds by telling them the famous parable of the Sower. 

He talks about a sower who went forth to sow. When he took seed and sowed it, some fell by the wayside on the pavement, some fell on stony ground, some on thorny ground, and some on good soil, where it took root and grew.

What Jesus is teaching in that parable, in the context of the Gospel of Matthew, is simply this: The reason I am being rejected is because of the soil in which I’m sowing the seed. In other words, the problem is not the sower; the problem is not the seed, the Word of God; the problem is the soil that is supposed to receive it.

Now here, in John 10, Jesus is answering the Jewish leaderships question by saying, "I told you, already, I demonstrated it already and you didn’t believe me. The problem is not me; it’s you." Then He gives this short discourse to say that those who hear Him, heed Him, and they thus have eternal life and are secure.

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." The shepherd would come to the door, call his sheep by name, and they would recognize his voice and follow him. That's the imagery here. Jesus is saying, "The problem is not me; it’s you. When I speak, my sheep hear my voice."

Think about it: for a shepherd to stand at the sheepfold and call his sheep, the sheep must exercise faith to follow him. Jesus is saying, "I know who my sheep are; they are the ones who believe me and follow me."

Jesus continues, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never die." He’s talking about the eternal security of His sheep in the most emphatic way. In the phrase "they shall never perish," there is a double negative. In English, a double negative is grammatically incorrect and becomes a positive, but in Greek, it is used to strengthens the assertion. Sio the original text emphatically states, "They shall never, no, never perish." Expresses absolute security.

Jesus adds, "No one will snatch them out of my hand." The word "snatch or pluck" in verse 28 is the same word used in verse 12, where the wolf snatches away the sheep. Jesus is saying, "They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." Then He adds, "No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand." 

There is double security here. The image here is one of Jesus with His hand around us, and the Father has His hand around us also.

Finally, Jesus says, "I and my Father are one," meaning they are one in essence. Jesus is stating that He and the Father are unified in their purpose and power to protect and secure the believers. 

So, He’s making two points to the people listening: 

First, the reason some don’t believe is that you are out of sympathy with me, they all ill disposed towards jesus from the outset. 

Second, my sheep have eternal life and absolute security.

Jesus’ words in John 10 assure us that God holds on to us. When we trust in Him, we are secure in His and the Father’s hands, never to be lost or snatched away. We are not clinging on to Him, he is holding on to us, keeping us safe and secure.

This passage is one of the finest teachings on the doctrine of eternal security, emphasizing that our salvation is safe and secure in God's powerful and loving grasp.

Jesus asserts that His sheep—the believers—have eternal life and are secure in His protection. This is a powerful assurance of the safety and security provided by Jesus to those who believe in Him.

The passage continues to describe the reaction we see to Jesus' declaration. In John 10:31, it says, "The Jews took up stones again to stone Him." 

They were reacting to Jesus' claim of unity with the Father, which they perceived as blasphemy. Jesus responded again by saying, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; and because of that you want to stone me?" 

The Jews answered in verse 33, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, it’s for the blasphemy, because you, a man, claimed to be God."

Jesus then quoted Psalm 82:6, saying, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'?" (small g). This is a reference to a passage where judges in Israel were called "gods" because they represented God's authority in their judicial decisions. 

Jesus argued that if human judges could be called "gods (Small g)" in a limited sense. Why then to they considered it blasphemy for Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, to claim to be the Son of God.

Jesus appeals to His works as evidence of His divine identity and mission, urging the people to believe based on the miracles He performed.

Despite Jesus' defence, the Jews again try to grab hold of Him to kill Him, but He escaped from their hands.

The conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders reached its height, illustrating the various the levels of rejection and conflict that they have gone through: intellectual disagreement, emotional agitation, verbal accusations, and finally, physical violence. 

This escalating conflict we know will ultimately led to Jesus' crucifixion.

This passage today underscores for us the importance of faith in Jesus' identity and mission. While some rejected Him despite witnessing His miracles, others believed in Him through His words alone. This highlights the essence of faith—trusting in Jesus' words and works, are dual ways of recognizing Him as the Son of God, and finding eternal security in Him.

Let me sum all this up. What I’m saying to you this time. 

What I believe is the essence of these verses, is that Jesus Christ clearly claimed to be God. I do not think there is any question about that. When some challenged Him to state that clearly, He told them the real problem is not His claim it’s their reaction to it.

Jesus Christ clearly claimed to be God. That is not the issue at all. The real issue is whether people accept it.

I believe this is a life-or-death issue for all of us.

According to this passage and many others, if you do believe that Jesus is God, you will be given eternal life. If you do not, you will experience eternal separation from God. 

So our lives are at stake here, not just your beliefs. You can be told the truth, but if you won’t receive it, you will end up rejecting Christ just as those in His time did, leading to His crucifixion. 

Some people get emotional or even physically violent about it, but rejecting the truth doesn’t change the truth.

There have been many times in history when someone tried to tell people the truth, and instead of believing it, they rejected both the truth and the bearer of the news. 

The truth never is the issue; whether or not people received is the real issue. If what was said was true, it was up to the people hearing it to accept it or reject it.

Let me give you an illustration. There was a time in the practice of medicine when surgeons did not wash their hands. It was a Hungarian physician named Ignaz Semmelweis discovered that handwashing dramatically reduced mortality rates among patients. 

However, when he tried to introduce this practice, many of his contemporaries rejected his findings and ridiculed him as wasting their time.

They dismissed the truth because it was inconvenient and challenged their established practices. It wasn’t until much later that his advice was accepted and became a standard practice, saving countless lives.

In the same way, the truth of Jesus Christ’s deity is presented to you. The question is, will you accept it? Will you believe and receive eternal life, or will you reject it and face the consequences? 

This is the ultimate decision each person must make, and it has eternal implications.