John 10:31-42 Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus
“Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
Jesus answered them, “Is it not 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, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.
And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” And many believed in Him there.
People are weird! Sometimes the people who should most readily accept you and believe in you refuse to listen while those least likely to do so believe you.
“Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
The Jewish religious leaders have asked a question, and Jesus has answered honestly. But because Jesus has told them that he is the Son of God, they are certain that he is blaspheming. And nothing gets these guys’ blood up like the chance to STONE A BLASPHEMER!!! WOO HOO!
But there’s a tiny problem. “Jesus answered them, “Is it not 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, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”
Jesus knows these men love to split legal hairs, so he puts out an argument that will engage their love of debating legalities. The accusers are stuck, for Jesus has quoted Scripture quite accurately and succinctly, and they have no answer. As these men are attempting to seize Jesus, he walks through the crowd and disappears, walking on to the Jordan River where John the Baptist first baptized.
“And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” And many believed in Him there.” Forget the religious authorities, the common people follow Jesus and listen to him. Remembering everything that John the Baptist has spoken about Jesus and the miracles Jesus has done, these people have no problems believing in him.
Two different groups of people and two totally different responses: religious authorities can think of nothing but incriminating Jesus while the common people recognize him for what he truly is, namely, the Son of God, the Messiah.
Throughout the history of the Christian Church, there have been repeated cases of religious authorities rejecting someone whom God has sent. John Wesley was an Oxford-educated Anglican cleric and a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford when he encountered the Holy Spirit during a Moravian prayer meeting in 1738. Wesley left the Moravian prayer group, founding his own movement, Methodism. The Methodist movement spoke to the lower classes, with Methodist societies and study groups springing up throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Not only did these groups emphasize Bible study, prayer, and personal accountability, but they also served as educational centers in which many working people learned to read the Bible for themselves. Wesley preached wherever he could, frequently speaking to thousands of people in the open air. The Methodists also led in many different movements that transformed the face of British society, including the abolitionist movement, support for un-ordained preachers of both sexes, improved working conditions in factories, etc. It has been argued that Britain would have suffered the same bloody revolt against the monarchy that convulsed France had it not been for the Methodists. Although eventually Wesley was considered one of the best-loved men in England, at the beginning of his ministry he faced severe persecution, much of it from the established church.
We are called to be faithful to God’s Word and to his Will for our lives. God does not call us to be popular, as the stories of Jesus and Wesley amply illustrate. May God help us so that we will be faithful to Him, no matter what!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives and to love You more each day than we did the day before. Help us to look to You for approval and not to men. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment