Alex O’Connor claims that Jesus explicitly denies being God in John 10:34 by quoting Psalm 82. Tim Barnett unpacks what this passage really says.
Transcript
Alex: Jesus is talking to his Jewish opponents, and this time he says, “I and the Father are one.” And the Jewish opponents, they pick up stones again. They go to stone him to death. And he goes, like, “I’ve been telling you things of my Father. For which of those do you stone me?” And they say, “We’re not stoning you for any good works. We’re stoning you because you, a mere human, claim to be God.” So, they accuse him. Here it is—the most dramatic, most important moment of the Gospels for Christology. You’re claiming to be God. What does Jesus say? Does he go, “Yeah, you’re right”? No. He says to them, “Have you not read your Scriptures? Is it not written that you shall be called gods? If God was willing to give those people that title, then why wouldn’t he give that title to me?” He then says, “So, why are you then accusing me of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God?” So, he clarifies. So, Christians again will interpret this and say he’s probably answering in this way because he’s being intentionally unclear because it’s not his time to die yet. Whatever. I read this as him denying that he’s identical to God.
Tim: Does Jesus deny being God? Alex O’Connor thinks so, and he cites Jesus’ words in John 10 to prove it.
Now, if we want to understand this passage, we should actually read the passage in its context. Earlier in John 10, Jesus identifies himself as the good shepherd, a title that already echoes Psalm 23—”The Lord is my shepherd.” But if we pick up in verse 27, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
What happens next? Well, the Jews pick up stones to kill him. Why? Because they understood exactly what he was claiming—that he was making himself equal with God. By the way, this wasn’t the first time the Jews understood Jesus to be claiming equality with God. In John 5, Jesus not only heals a man on the Sabbath, but he also claims he can work on the Sabbath because his Father works on the Sabbath, implying he shares in the Father’s divine authority. On that occasion, the leaders wanted to kill him because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. Sound familiar? I wonder why Jesus keeps finding himself in this situation.
Okay. Back to John 10. Watch carefully how Jesus responds to their charge. Jesus says, “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 Scripture cannot be broken—do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?”
Pay very close attention to what Jesus does and doesn’t do. He doesn’t answer them directly. He doesn’t respond, “Yes, I’m God. You got me.” If he had, as Alex pointed out, they would have stoned him on the spot. But Jesus’ mission isn’t to be stoned. It’s to go to the cross. He needs to avoid being stoned here.
He also doesn’t say, “No, I’m not God. You got me all wrong.” Instead, Jesus responds with a brilliant question meant to get them thinking about his unique sonship. Here’s his logic. If the divine beings in Psalm 82 are called gods, then how much more appropriate is it for the one whom the Father himself has consecrated and sent into the world to be called the Son of God.
This is what philosophers call an “a fortiori” argument. This is when a conclusion is drawn that is even more convincing than the previously accepted point. Let me give you an example. If you can carry a 25-pound backpack to school, then a fortiori you can carry a 10-pound backpack to school. You see how that works? Likewise, if the lesser divine beings of Psalm 82 are called gods, then how much more the greater, unique Son of God, who is set apart, consecrated, and sent from the Father? In other words, if the Jews have no trouble applying the title god to lesser divine beings, then they should have no problem when the title is applied to Jesus, who has an absolutely unique relationship with the Father.
Notice Jesus isn’t saying, “I’m not equal with God.” He’s not even equating himself with the gods of Psalm 82. Instead, he’s contrasting himself with the gods of Psalm 82 and showing his superiority because of his role and relationship to the Father. And just to drive home this point, he adds, “The Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”
This is not a denial of divinity. Far from it. This is entirely consistent with the rest of John’s Gospel. From the very beginning, John tells us “the Word was God” (John 1:1) and later explains, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18).
Jesus’ claims repeatedly highlight his divine identity. The Jews sought to kill him because he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God (John 5:18). He declares, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), and he affirms, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). He tells his disciples, “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). He prays, “Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed” (John 17:5). And after Jesus’ resurrection, Thomas confesses, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28) without any rebuke from Jesus.
So, no, Jesus doesn’t deny being God. Rather, he uses this occasion to affirm his unique sonship—the one set apart and sent into the world by the Father—while brilliantly delaying the timing of his death until the cross.
But what do you think?