What is the meaning of John 10:31? At this Jesus has just said, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30). That simple, majestic claim lands with explosive force. • Earlier, when Jesus healed on the Sabbath, He was already “making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18). • Moments before, He declared that no one can snatch His sheep from His hand or the Father’s hand (John 10:28-29), language reserved for God alone (Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 43:13). • The unity of Son and Father foretold in Psalm 2:7 and Proverbs 30:4 now stands in living flesh before them. the Jews The phrase identifies the religious leadership gathered in Solomon’s Colonnade (John 10:23). • These men know the Law, yet their hearts mirror the stiff-necked forefathers who “always resist the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51). • They have already agreed that anyone confessing Jesus as Messiah will be put out of the synagogue (John 9:22). • Their response fulfills Isaiah 6:9-10—seeing but not perceiving, hearing but not understanding. again picked up stones The word “again” reaches back to John 8:59, where they tried the same tactic after He used the divine name “I AM.” • Stoning is the prescribed penalty for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16). • Their readiness with stones reveals willful blindness: instead of examining His works (John 10:25), they grasp weapons. • This escalating hostility foreshadows the council’s later plot in John 11:53 and the raging mob in Acts 7:57-58. to stone Him Their motive is crystal clear: silence the claim of deity. • They soon admit it outright—“because You, a man, declare Yourself to be God” (John 10:33). • Yet the very act of attempting to stone the Cornerstone (Psalm 118:22; Acts 4:11) advances God’s redemptive plan (Acts 2:23). • The Lamb will not die by stoning; Scripture points to the cross (Psalm 22:16; John 3:14). Jesus remains in sovereign control, “for His hour had not yet come” (John 7:30). summary John 10:31 captures a pivotal flash of hostility: confronted with the unmistakable claim of Christ’s deity, the religious leaders choose stones over faith. Their reaction exposes hardened hearts, fulfills prophecy, and sets the stage for the cross. The verse reminds us that Jesus is indeed one with the Father, and every attempt to silence Him only magnifies His glory and advances God’s sovereign plan. |
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