Event 37 – Jesus at the Festival of Dedication
John 10:22-39
Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but 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 they shall never perish; no one can 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.”
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
“We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods’? If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken—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’? Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
Comments and Commentary by JB Myers and Lonnie Davis
Note: In this text, Jesus presents himself in two great ways: (1) As the Messiah (22-30), and (2) as the Son of God (31-39). For any who doubt that Jesus professed to be deity it would be refuted by reading these verses.
Feast of Dedication – The Feast of Dedication occurred for eight days in December to commemorate the rededication of the temple after it had been desecrated during the period between the testaments. This feast is sometimes called Hanukkah. Hanukkah is a Hebrew word which means “dedication.”
I did tell you, but you do not believe – Jesus did not say that they did not understand. The real problem was that they “did not believe.” Jesus performed miracles before them, but even a miracle cannot convince those who do not want to believe.
No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand – Many see in these words a teaching of once saved always saved. Jesus does not say that a man in his hand can never be lost, but rather that one can snatch a man away from God. Jesus does not say that man cannot himself leave the Father’s hand. A saved man who becomes lost does so only because of his own actions and not because someone snatched him away from God.
The Jews picked up stones to stone him – In this area of the temple there are no loose stones lying on the ground. These Jews had obviously picked them up somewhere else and brought them with them. They had already made up their mind about Jesus and were seeking a pretense to stone him.
Because you, a mere man, claim to be God – Some liberals argue that Jesus never claimed to be God or a part of deity, but notice that the Jewish authorities inferred this from his statements about himself. The deity of the Messiah was contrary to Jewish expectations in Jesus’ day. On other occasions he argues this concept has foundations in the Old Testament. For an example, see Mark 12:35-37.
I have said you are gods – Jesus cites Psalms 82:6 to show that the Old Testament itself says of those other than the Father that they were “gods” (Plural). If the Bible used that term in that way, why would they stone him for doing the same thing? He is defeating their false logic.