Classic

              Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?

“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “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 Scripture cannot be set aside— 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 the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, 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.” (John 10:31-39)

God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”:

“How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.  

“The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’ But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.”

Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance. (Psalm 82)

 

Let’s start with the reference. The scholars say that when Jesus said, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are ‘gods’?” He was referring to Psalm 82, which technically is not part of “The Law.”  As a friend pointed out, Jesus doesn’t say “the Law” but “your Law.” It was written by Asaph, who was, effectively, a worship leader in David’s day. The psalm doesn’t paint a pretty picture of the “gods” or of the people of Israel who about which Asaph says, “You are gods…” Maybe I’m missing something, but it sounds like sarcasm to me.

Let’s get back to what Jesus said. The Jewish leaders were ready to stone Him. He didn’t submit. Didn’t check His privilege. At this point, He didn’t run. He asked for what good deed they wanted to stone Him.

They said it was because He, “a mere man,” claimed to be God.

He pointed out that one of there revered psalms applied the term to the people of Israel. If it was acceptable then, as a reference to the leadership and people of Israel, why was it unacceptable for Jesus to apply it to Himself? Sauce for the goose, but not for the gander?

The reason for the passage from John as the passage of the day is partly because it’s one of the passages in which Jesus isn’t “nice.” Of course, the folks He is not being nice to are those who consider themselves the spiritual rulers of the day. And that pleases the “anti-religion” folks immensely because they think that justifies their hatred of “arrogant religious folks.”

The problem is that the “anti-religion” folks are stepping into the role of the religious leaders: “How dare you call yourself a child of God? How dare you claim a relationship by which you will be saved, and we will not?”

Jesus’ response was (obviously) classic Jesus, with a twist. He starts with the twist: He starts by asking them which of His good works from the Father is the reason for their decision to stone Him.

And they stated that it wasn’t because of His works. They did not deny that His works were good. They did not deny that His works were from God. Those might seem like minor points, but if His works were good, and they were from God (Yes, they rejected that His works were from God at other points, but not here,) this at least opens the door to the possibility that His claim to be God should be considered.

And after getting them to effectively admit that His works were good and from God, He does His classic bit of refuting attacks by quoting Scripture. Their response is also classic. They resumed their intention to kill Him because He quoted the Word of God, effectively revealing their own evil.