Troublesome Topic: JOHN 10

Lesson 14 of 19

John 10:24

Translation

Therefore, the Jews surrounded Him and they were saying to Him, “until when are you holding our souls in suspense? If you are the CHRIST, tell us freely.”

Paraphrase

The Jewish leaders gathered around Him and asked Him, “How long will you keep us in suspense about your true identity? If you are the ANOINTED MESSIAH, tell us plainly.”

John 10:25

Translation

JESUS answered them, “I told you and you did not believe. The works I do in the name of my Father, these bear witness concerning me.”

Paraphrase

THE SALVATION SENT BY YHVH answered them, “I have already told you, but you did not believe me, so why should I tell you again. Rather, I will let the miracles I have done in my Father’s name be the evidence you need about me.”

John 10:26

Translation

“But you do not believe because you are not from the sheep of me.”

Paraphrase

“But even with the miracles I have done you do not believe in me; that is because you are not my sheep.”

John 10:27

Translation

“The sheep of me hear the voice of me and I know them, and they follow me,”

Paraphrase

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me faithfully,”

John 10:28

Translation

“And I give them age-like life, and to the age, no not shall they be destroyed, and never will anyone snatch them out of the hand of me.”

Paraphrase

“and I give them eternal life, and for eternity, they shall definitely not die, and no one will ever be able to snatch them out of my hand.”

John 10:29

Translation

“The Father of me who has given [them] to me is greater than all, and none is able to snatch [them] out of the hand of the Father.

Paraphrase

“My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than any and all supposed competition, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

John 10:30

Translation

“I and the Father are one.”

Paraphrase

(The same as the translation) “I and the Father are one.”

John 10:31

Translation

Therefore, the Jews took up stones so that they might stone Him.

Paraphrase

Because of what He had just said, the Jewish leaders picked up big stones in order to execute Him by stoning.

John 10:32

Translation

JESUS answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father, on account of which of these do you stone me?”

Paraphrase

THE SALVATION SENT BY YHVH responded by saying, “I have shown you many miraculous acts which demonstrated my Father’s power. Which of these are you using as evidence that I need to be stoned to death?”

John 10:33

Translation

The Jews answered Him, “Not for a good work do we stone you, but on account of blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself the Mighty One.”

Paraphrase

THE SALVATION SENT BY YHVH answered them, “Don’t you find written in the Holy book you revere, the following quote: ‘I said, You are Mighty ones. You are imbued with power and authority to act on behalf of the one true God’”?

John 10:34

Translation

JESUS answered them, “Is it not written in the law

of you, ‘I said, You are mighty ones”?

Paraphrase

John 10:35

Translation

if He called [the ones] to whom the word

of the Mighty One became

______ ‘mighty ones’, and the writings are not able to be loosened and removed,

Paraphrase

if He called [the ones] to whom [and then through whom] the commands of the True Mighty One became [established and applied in the life of the people] ‘mighty ones’, (and remember that the Scriptures cannot able to be annulled or set aside just because you don’t like something, even the parts about me),

ALL OF SCRIPTURE IS TRUE AND WILL COME TO PASS

Jesus said that their “writings” (Scriptures) could not to be loosened or removed because He wanted them to acknowledge the parts of the Old Testament that testified about Him. If they believed the parts about human judges being “mighty ones” because they had received authority over other men, they should believe that He was a “mighty one” on a higher level because he had authority to command demons and He had power to act as no human could act.

John 10:36

Translation

are you saying of the one whom the Father set apart as holy and sent into the world, ‘you blaspheme’ because I said ‘I am the son of the Mighty One’?

Paraphrase

are you saying I, the one whom the Father set apart as holy and sent into the world [to represent Him], am a blasphemer because I said ‘I am the son of the True Mighty One’?

A MIGHTY ONE IS PROVED MIGHTY BY HIS DEEDS

For an entity to be considered a “mighty one” he needed to have authority granted to him to rule or preside over other people, or he had to prove he possessed unusual powers to perform mighty deeds (miracles). The judges of Psalm 82 were called “mighty ones” because they had been granted authority to make decisions based on the Law given by God through Moses. The fact that Jesus was not born with authority, and neither was he granted authority by any human institution, made His miracles stand as proofs that He had power that was beyond human means.

This whole passages is focused on Jesus’ deeds. Jesus was forcing the religious leaders to confront the question – Did the miracles of Jesus proof He was one with God and the Son of God, or not?

John 10:37

Translation

If I am not doing the works of the Father of me, do not believe me,

Paraphrase

Do not believe me unless I am doing the works of the Father of me,

John 10:38

Translation

But if I am doing [them], even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and know

that the Father [is] in me and I in the Father.

Paraphrase

But if I am doing [the works of my Father], even if you do not believe what I say, believe what my miracles prove, so that you may know, I mean fully know, that the Father is directly connected to me and fulfilling His will through me, and that I am directly connected to the Father and fulfilling the Father’s will on His behalf.

ONCE AGAIN THE EMPHASIS IS ON MIGHTY DEEDS

Here He said clearly that they should not believe just His words alone, but His deeds, His miracles.

There is no need to think that this proves that other gods existed and were, or are, part of a council of gods. It makes perfect sense without that other stuff. Even the clause about the Scriptures not being annulled fits well with the ministry of Jesus and His emphasis on miracles in this passage.

John 10:39

Translation

Again they were seeking to squeeze Him, but He escaped from the hand of them.

Paraphrase

Again they tried to arrest Him, but He got away from them.

Footnotes

1

Here being “one” referred primarily to having the same power to act, for the miracles of Jesus keep coming up in this passage. It may also imply other ways in which they are united or the same.

2

Keep in mind that this conversation was most likely in Hebrew, the language of religious leaders such as Priests, Rabbis, Pharisees, Sadducees, teachers of the law, and scribes. The notion that Jesus spoke and taught in either Aramaic or Greek is coming under scrutiny and is not holding up well. The Hebrew word they would have used here was Elohim, which meant “mighty ones”. Jesus used the same Hebrew name in His response.

3

While the Law in a strict sense referred to the Pentateuch, the first 5 books of the Old Testament, the term “torah” was sometimes used to refer to the entire Old Testament since the law was the highly revered part of the Old Testament. This quote comes from Psalm 82, which I am convinced has to do with human judges who were appointed and given authority to act under God’s authority.

4

The emphasis of this passage continues to be on the power to act, the power to make things happen. In the case of Jesus, that power was demonstrated through things like miracles. The judges Jesus referred to in His quote of Psalm 82 did not perform miracles, they only exercised the authority given them by making judicial decisions.

5

The Hebrew word which was likely used here in His spoken form was written with the Hebrew consonants DBR, which meant “a speech, saying, word, command, promise, issue, matter, theme, cause, business deal, or act.”

6: "became"

This, and its Hebrew equivalent, are interesting choices of words. We would expect the verb “came” not “became.” It appears that something is missing; see the paraphrase.

7

Two forms of the word “know” are used here for emphasis.