73 John 10:30-42 JESUS DEITY GOD IN HUMAN FLESH Introduction: You will remember that the Jewish leaders had demanded of Jesus that He inform them whether or not He is the Christ of God. You will also recall that Jesus said that Jesus had repeatedly told them that He is the Christ and yet never in those exact words. He had never said to them or in their presence, "I am the Christ." Yet He had told them in many positive ways that He is the Christ. He did this in our text last Sunday. In that text He told them that He is the One who gives eternal life and that He and God the Father together keep the individual to whom eternal life has been given safe and secure throughout eternity. In our text today Jesus continues to answer their question. He still does not directly say, "I am the Christ," yet what He does say tells them in no uncertain terms that He is the Christ. He tells them that He is equal with God the Heavenly Father and that He is the Son of God. I. Jesus claiming that He is one with God the Father V. 30, "I and my Father are one." It is in this statement that Jesus claims to be equal with God the Father. This statement is very closely connected with the previous statement made back in verses 28 and 29 in which Jesus said that He and the Father together hold the saved person safely in their hands. Jesus holds him safely in His hand and also God the Father holds him safely in His hand. Now He adds to that the statement that both He and the Father are one. It is interesting to note that Webster's dictionary lists five different senses in which the word "one" may be used. It may be used to mean "One unit" as "one penny, one dime, one marble, etc. This is a single unit. It may be used to mean "One in unity" such as "They all spoke as one voice." This is one in unity and denotes harmony and purpose. The word "one" may be used to mean "one particular person or thing" such as "The one with the red handle" or "The one who gets the most votes." This helps to distinguish this person or thing from another. The word, one, may be used to refer to "an indefinite person or thing." For example: "Hand me one of those glasses." This does not denote any particular glass --- just any of them. It is indefinite. The word "one" may be used to denote "One in kind," such as "These two keys are made of one metal." It denotes the same kind of metal. As Jesus used the word in this verse, it most certainly means "One in unity." Jesus holds His sheep in His hand to keep the sheep safely. Also God the Father holds the sheep in His hand also for the purpose of keeping the sheep safely. They are one in unity --- one in harmony and purpose. They are one in harmony and purpose in keeping the sheep safe. They are, in reality, one in harmony and purpose in everything. They are never opposed to one another. They are always in perfect harmony. Yet Jesus and the Father are also "One in kind." They are both Deity God. They are both Eternal beings. They are both Almighty beings. They are exactly alike in all their attributes. They are equal in all their attributes. II. The move by the Jews to stone Jesus V. 31, "Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him." The Jews understood that Jesus was claiming equality with God the Father and this angered them. They immediately picked up stones with every intention of throwing stones at Him until He was dead. No doubt they would have begun immediately to throw those stones at Jesus, but Jesus very calmly asked them a question that took them aback. V. 32, "Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?" "Do you stone me for giving sight to the blind? Do you stone me for causing the dumb to speak? Do you stone me for enabling the deaf to hear or the lame to walk or stopping the hands of the palsied man from shaking? Do you stone me for miraculously feeding a multitude? Do you stone me for curing one with leprosy? Do you stone me for casting demons out of the man who was demon possessed? Remember that this was a man who would often cast himself in the fire. Do you stone me for healing a man with withered hands? Do you stone me for stopping a funeral procession and raising the dead back to life again? Tell me for which of these deeds which God the Father had me do do you stone me?" John does not say so, but I strongly suspect that they were a long time in answering that question. Finally somebody answered and they all agreed with his answer. V. 33, "The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." They knew that He was a man. They knew also that by claiming to be one with God the Father He was claiming to be God. They just did not think that it was possible for Him to be both man and God. They thought He was lying. They thought He was blaspheming God by claiming to be equal with God the Father, thus making Himself to be God. I could understand that if it were not for the fact that these men were learned in Old Testament prophecy. You see, they were familiar with Isaiah 9:6 which reads, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God..." They knew that the Prophet Isaiah had foretold that a child would be born in human flesh who would be the Mighty God. From the fleshly point of view He would be an ordinary man. He would look like a man. He would walk like a man. He would be a man in every respect. Yet He would also be Deity God in every respect; He would be Almighty God in human flesh. These men knew that this was what Isaiah had said would happen and they had no reason what-so-ever, in denying His Deity just because He was a man. III. The Lord's justification for His claim to Deity Jesus knew this prophecy also and could have easily quoted it to them, but He didn't. Instead He chose to refer them to Psalm 82:6. V. 34, "Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" If we were to take time to go back and read this entire psalm, we would find that God was talking to the people of Israel about the many princes and judges of Israel who were unjust in their judgments of court cases and in their other dealings with the people over whom they officiated. God had set them up in governmental offices which gave them God-like power over the people. Their word was law. Whatever their judgment was -- it stood. He had made them to be like little gods over the people and God called them gods in that sense. He most certainly did not mean that they were in reality deity gods because there is but one God. But that they held positions which were somewhat like the positions of gods over men. So God did call men gods in Psalm 82:6. All those men who were about to stone Jesus knew about this verse of Scripture. They were familiar with it. It was written in their own law book. It was written in a book that they knew to be inspired of God. God had called these men gods. Here is His point: V. 35-36, "If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" If God Himself in any sense, called those unjust princes and judges "gods," how could they challenge the One whom God had sent directly from heaven to earth just because He claimed to be God in the flesh? But I want you to note something important right here. Numerous times prior to this Jesus in their presence had referred to God the Father in Heaven as "My Father." Even then this could have easily been understood to be a claim that He is the very Son of God and that He is Deity God. Yet in all those previous times Jesus never came right out and said, "I am the Son of God." He implied it, but He did not directly say so. But now, for the first time, Jesus clearly in plain words says that He is the Son of God. That is really what He was indirectly claiming all along. That is what He now clearly says to them. He makes the bold claim before them all that He is equal with God the Father and that He is the Son of God. If that did not tell them that He is claiming also to be the Christ, I do not know what it would take to make that claim. It could not have been clearer or plainer if He had said, "Absolutely, positively, I am the Christ of God." But Jesus also added this. V. 37, "If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not." Jesus said, "If you cannot look at my life and see by the deeds that I have done the proof that I am the Son of God, then don't believe me. Don't believe me just because I say that I am the Son of God. If the things that I have done do not prove that I am who I say that I am, then don't believe me." V. 38, "But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him." But if you look at my life and you can see the evidence --- if you see the proof --- then you are duty bound to believe that I am the Son of God as I have claimed to be. But do not believe me just because I have made the claim. Believe me because you see the evidence which proves beyond any reasonable doubt that I am the Son of God." IV. A renewed effort to stone Jesus V. 39, "Therefore they sought again to take him..." By this time the Jewish leaders woke up to the fact that they still had the stones in their hands which they had picked up for the purpose of stoning Him. But they must have also woke up to where they were. They did not start throwing stones right there in the temple. Instead, they sought to take hold of Him to drag Him out of the temple so that they could stone Him outside of the temple grounds. (V. 39), "...but he escaped out of their hand." It was still not yet time for Jesus to die and He was not to die by being stoned. The prophecies of old had said that the nail scars would be in His hands. Those prophecies must be fulfilled and Jesus easily escaped out of their hands. But what I want you to see is that even after Jesus told them plainly and made it clear that He is the Son of God and even though He had shown them the proof by the works that He had done, they still would not believe and they still sought to put Him to death. But even though those Jewish leaders refused to believe in Him, there were many of the common people who did believe. V. 40-42, "And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. And many believed on him there." In other words, "John did not show us by miracles that he was telling us the truth about Jesus, but, never-the-less, we know that John was telling the truth." You will remember that John had said, "I saw and bare record that He is the Son of God." V. A decision that men must make today Today it is not the Jewish leaders who must make a decision concerning Jesus. Today the ball stands in our court. Let it be known that there is nothing that we can do or say to change who He really is. All we can do is to decide who we think He is. But consider this: Jesus plainly said that He is the Son of God. Furthermore, He plainly showed us by the great miracles of His life that He is the Son of God. If you still have trouble believing that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ of God, the Savior of the world, then by what deed of His life do you reject Him? If you condemn Him as being a liar and a deceiver, then for what deed do you condemn Him? Is it for helping the poor and need? Is it for healing the sick and afflicted? Is it because He fed a multitude with five loaves of bread and two fishes? Is it because He raised Lazarus from the dead after he had been dead for four days? Is it because He lay down His life that we might have eternal life? Is it because He, Himself, came out of the grave after three days and three nights? What deed of His life causes you to reject Him? You can reject Jesus if you will, but let me tell you this! Your eternal destiny depends on Jesus Christ to save you --- and it depends on whether or not you accept Him as your Savior. "He that believeth on Him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already," John 3:18. Conclusion: God has called me to preach His word and has given me the opportunity to preach to you. Through me God is calling upon unsaved men, women, boys and girls to be saved. Through me He is calling upon every saved person to yield his life to Him. That is why I am going to call upon every person in this auditorium to respond to the call of God. If you are unsaved, I am calling on you to come and to trust Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you are saved, I am calling on you to yield your life to the Master and let Him have His way with your life. Won't you come while our people stand and sing this invitation hymn?