November 7 – For Which of the Good Works Would They Stone Him?

The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?" 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." Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law, 'I SAID, YOU ARE GODS'? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 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'? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father." Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp. And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there. Many came to Him and were saying, "While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true." And many believed in Him there. John 10:31-42 

The “Law” sometimes referred to all of the Old Testament. Here Jesus is quoting Psalm 82 (particularly verse 6, underlined). God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in the midst of the rulers. How long will you judge unjustly And show partiality to the wicked? Selah. Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. They do not know nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, "You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High. Nevertheless you will die like men And fall like any one of the princes." Arise, O God, judge the earth! For it is You who possesses all the nations.  Psalm 82:1-8.

 

He has told the Jews once again that He is the Son of God—that God the Father is His Father. He challenges them to at least believe the works He has done so that they can know that God the Father sent Him and that He is in agreement with Him. The Jews are still blinded—worse than that…they want to kill Jesus. But once again Jesus “eludes” them. He stealthy slips away unseen—vanishes from their sight. Talk about blind. You can almost hear them saying to each other…Where did he go? Where indeed! This wasn’t the first time that He disappeared from their sight.

 

For what work would they have stoned Him? Healing the blind or the lame men, feeding the five thousand, or maybe walking on water? Jews put such merit in doing works—but that was not the real root of the problem here. They thought that Jesus was considering Himself equal with God and that was blasphemy. Pure and simple. Jesus red letter words put His truth right out there—but these Jews were still blind to the truth.  

Dear Jesus—Help us not to be blind—but help us to see You and Your Truth—and to encourage others, including Jews, that their eyes would be opened, too. That they would be able to say, like I do…I once was blind, but now I see.

© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).