John 10:35 - Printer Friendly

ESV: If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—

NIV: If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came--and Scripture cannot be set aside--

NASB: If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be nullified),

CSB: If he called those to whom the word of God came 'gods'--and the Scripture cannot be broken--

NLT: And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’

KJV: If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

NKJV: If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),

This comment by Jesus is both a crucial reference to the perfection of God's Word, and a tactical use of His critics' own methods. Jesus is under threat of immediate stoning, presumably for blasphemy. When goaded to repeat His claims by a mob, Jesus went even further and equated Himself with God (John 10:22–31). Now, Jesus is using a technique these religious leaders were familiar with. Scribes and Pharisees would often debate Scripture using various rhetorical tactics and convoluted arguments; Jesus is using one of those in this encounter.

To counter their claim that Jesus should be considered a blasphemer for saying He is "one" with God, Jesus pointed to Psalm 82. In that passage, God's own Word referred to human beings using the same literal word as used for God Himself: elohim. Other Old Testament passages use the same word in a judicial context (Exodus 21:6; 22:8).

Jesus' point is not that humans are divine, but that those who are divinely enabled to perform the will of God are, in a poetic form, referred to as "gods" in Scripture. As this retort continues, Jesus will point out that He has been proven by powerful evidence. This connection has not been lost on everyone; some others have come to the same conclusion (John 3:1–2; 10:19–21). His claim to truth is much stronger than that of anyone else. His works—His miracles—should be absolute proof that He is sent by God. As such, charges of blasphemy against Jesus in this case fall short.

Jesus also makes a point of rejecting the suggestion that the Word of God can be "broken." By this, Jesus means that the verses He quoted could not be dismissed as an error. They could not be written off as a mistake—this is the doctrine of inerrancy, which says that Scripture is perfectly accurate in everything it intends to say. Jesus, in this moment, not only implies inerrancy, He grounds His argument in it.

John 10:22–42 happens a few months after the controversy described in chapter 9 through the first half of chapter 10. Here, Jesus is cornered, in an overt threat, by the same religious leaders He has been castigating for years. He echoes the metaphors of sheep and shepherd He employed after giving sight to a blind man. Jesus points out that His teachings and miracles are all consistent with predictions of the Messiah, but these men refuse to accept Him. This culminates in another attempt on Jesus' life, which He somehow avoids. This represents the last time Jesus will publicly teach prior to His crucifixion.

This passage continues Jesus' discussion with the religious leaders of Jerusalem, seen in chapter 9. Jesus lays out three separate analogies about His ministry, using the concept of sheep and shepherds. In those statements, Jesus explains why some people refuse to accept Him, declares Himself the only means of salvation, and again predicts His sacrificial death. This leads to controversy. Later, Jesus is cornered by a mob in the temple grounds. They once again try to stone Him as He repeats His divine claims, but He escapes in some way not fully described by the text. After this, Jesus leaves the area and returns to the region where John the Baptist had once preached.

Starting in chapter 7, the gospel of John describes Jesus' preaching at the Feast of Booths in Jerusalem. Through chapters 7 and 8, He debates with critics and attempts to explain spiritual truths. On the way out of the city, Jesus gives sight to a man born blind, as shown in chapter 9. That begins an extended debate which continues in this chapter. Jesus gives analogies of His mission using shepherding as a theme. Months later, He repeats those ideas when cornered by an aggressive mob in the temple. This sets the stage for His grandest miracle, the raising of Lazarus, seen in chapter 11.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.