The Claim

The Claim

John 10:19, 24-33, NLT

When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. . . . 24The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. 26But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. 30The Father and I are one.” 31Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?” 33They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Setting the Scene

With all that Jesus was teaching and doing, the Jews were divided in their ideas about his identity. So they gathered around and asked Jesus to clear up the controversy—was he the Messiah or not? A straightforward declaration probably would not have convinced them, however, because they had already made up their minds. So Jesus said, in effect, “What I say won’t make a difference because you won’t hear it. And that’s because you don’t believe in me—you’re not my sheep.” Next, Jesus stated who he was by summarizing the effects of the gospel. Those who know him personally have eternal life, will “never perish,” and are secure in his care. Then Jesus closed by giving one of the clearest affirmations of his divinity in the whole Bible, saying, “The Father and I are one.”

The Jews who were against Jesus got the point—his claim to be God was unmistakable. The religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus because their laws said that anyone claiming to be God should die. Nothing could persuade them that Jesus’ claim was true. So as they picked up stones to kill him, they asserted, “We’re stoning you . . . for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Getting Personal

What difference does Christ’s divinity make in how you think? In how you act?

What could you say to someone who says, “I believe Jesus was a great moral example and teacher, but he was just a man”?

How do you know that Jesus is more than a man—that he is, in fact, God?

The Jews in Jesus’ audience understood what Jesus’ words meant. Though they didn’t believe him, they knew he asserted equality with God. Jesus’ greatest critics have considered him to be nothing more than a man and say that he never claimed to be divine—the idea of his divinity was added later. Yet the greatest enemies of Jesus’ time recognized that he was definitely claiming to be God.

Talking to God

In your worship today, affirm that Jesus is God. Praise him for his incredible sacrifice of becoming like you in order to save you. Ascribe to him the glory due his name (1 Chronicles 16:29, NIV).