"I am God's Son." -John 10:36

I received a comment two posts ago, which I'd like to discuss more thoroughly here.  It has to do with Jesus' use of the Divine title, "I AM," or "εγω ειμι," at which the Jews then moved to stone Jesus.  My reader pointed out that Jesus did not claim to be God, but to be God's Son. 

This claim actually comes from a separate incident.  The Jews tried to stone Jesus several times; in the first one, He supposedly blasphemed by saying "I AM."  There was no follow-up clarification about Him being the Son.  

The second time occurs two chapters after "I AM."  This time, Jesus DID claim to be God's Son, again infurating the Jewish leaders.  Let's read the entire story.   

John 10:22-39: 

²²Then came the Feast of Dedication^[b] at Jerusalem. It was winter,²³and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. ²⁴The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ,^[c] tell us plainly."

 ²⁵Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, ²⁶but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^[d]; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. ³⁰I and the Father are one."

 ³¹Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, ³²but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"

 ³³"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

 ³⁴Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'^[e]?³⁵If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— ³⁶what 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'? ³⁷Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. ³⁸But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." ³⁹Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

There are three things here that are very important to notice.  First, the Jews reacted directly to Jesus' words, "I and the Father are one," and they moved to stone him.  Second, when Jesus defended Himself with His works, they showed that they interpreted "I and the Father are one" to mean that "you, a mere man, claim to be God."  Third, Jesus uses the words of Psalm 82:6 to defend His claim to be one with God... by saying that He is indeed God's Son!  However, He does not dumb down the argument by saying He is "just" God's Son--i.e., by saying He did not really claim to be God.  Rather, He seems to be asserting that His claim to be one with the Father is legitimate, because He is "the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world," i.e., His Son.  Furthermore, He reemphasizes the fact that that Sonship implies that "the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father."  Again they try to seize Him for blasphemy.  

So, there seem to be three parallel claims here: 

"I and the Father are One." 

="You... claim to be God." 

="I am God's Son."  

="The Father is in Me, and I am in the Father."  

 

The puzzling thing to modern ears is how these four are equated both in Jesus' mind and in that of His audience.  

I believe the key lies in Psalm 82, where God [Elohim] says, "ye are gods [elohim]":

Psalm 82

A psalm of Asaph.

 ¹ God presides in the great assembly; 
       he gives judgment among the "gods":

 ² "How long will you^[a] defend the unjust 
       and show partiality to the wicked? 
       Selah

 ³ Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; 
       maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

 ⁴ Rescue the weak and needy; 
       deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

 ⁵ "They know nothing, they understand nothing. 
       They walk about in darkness; 
       all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

 ⁶ "I said, 'You are "gods"; 
       you are all sons of the Most High.'

 ⁷ But you will die like mere men; 
       you will fall like every other ruler."

 ⁸ Rise up, O God, judge the earth, 
       for all the nations are your inheritance.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 82:2 The Hebrew is plural.

 

Having studied the commentaries that are out there, there are two possible interpretations of the word "elohim" or "gods" in this passage.  One is that the OT frequently refers to human ruling agents as "gods" or "elohim," in that they are ministers of Elohim's justice.  The second is that the "gods" refer to spiritual principalities, which have dominion over the nations until Christ sets up His reign.  Both are equally possible and make sense at face value.  

For two reasons, I believe that the first interpretation is the correct one.  First, Jesus described the "gods" of Psalm 82 as "them... to whom the word of God came."  The Scriptures were written for a human, not angelic, audience.  Second, Jesus' audience consisted of the ruling class of Jews.  They were not the underdogs who believed in Him, but those with religious and political power who felt threatened by Him.  

Now that we've established that, we can better understand what Jesus was saying.  Whenever He quotes from the Old Testament to the scribes and Pharisees, it's implied that His Jewish audience will call to mind the entire passage, not just the few quoted words.  Remember that these people were Biblical scholars.  The message of Psalm 82 is that God will judge the nations.  It specifically says at the end, "Rise up, O God [Elohim] and judge the earth, for all the nations are Your inheritance."  

 

Most study Bibles provide a cross reference on these words.  They will take you to a previous Psalm, Psalm 2, written by David:  

⁷ I will proclaim the decree of the LORD : 
       He said to me, "You are my Son^[d] ; 
       today I have become your Father.^[e]

 ⁸ Ask of me, 
       and I will make the nations your inheritance, 
       the ends of the earth your possession.

 ⁹ You will rule them with an iron scepter^[f] ; 
       you will dash them to pieces like pottery."

Whoa!  

Whose inheritance is the nations?  This Psalm concurs with all the Messianic prophecies about the Son of God inheriting the nations, from Genesis to Revelation.  But Psalm 82 ascribes this inheritance to Elohim.  

Can't this be saying that the nations are rightfully Jehovah's (or, the Father's) inheritance?  And then He gives them to His Son?  No, I think the very definition of "inheritance" makes this impossible.  "Possession," maybe.  But an inheritance is something you have passed on to you by someone else.  The act of giving is implied.  

In Psalm 82, Elohim inherits the nations.  In Psalm 2, it's the Son.  If we truly believe that God will not contradict Himself, then it logically follows that Elohim who receives the inheritance is the Son.  Yet we know from Genesis 1:1 that Elohim is the one who created the heavens and the earth.  This backs up Justin Martyr's argument that "another is called God and Lord by the Holy Spirit besides Him who is the maker of all things" (Dialogue, ch. LVI).  (Incidentally, I would encourage my readers to read Dialogue with Trypho; in the context, he is arguing that Jesus Christ is indeed God and not a "created angel," as Watchtower publications will claim.   Justin Martyr was an early apologist for the Triune God.)  Elohim, the Father, gives the nations to Elohim, the Son, as an inheritance.  

Let's look back at Psalm 82, to see whether this argument hangs together if it's applied to the whole Psalm.  

Verse 1: "God [Elohim] presides in the great assembly; He gives judgment amongst the 'gods' [elohim]." 

Before we jump to Revelation and see Jesus dividing the sheep from the goats, let's make sure that we know what the "great assembly" is.  According to this source, the Great Assembly was "an assembly of 120 rabbis that ruled in the period after the time of the prophets up to the time of the development of rabbinic Judaism in 70 CE.  These Rabbis were responsible for canonizing the Prophets along with the older books, and for making Torah available to the masses, rather than just priestly education.  This article on Targums further supports the fact that the Aramaic interpretation of "great assembly" was "the assembly of the righteous who are strong in the Torah," and the "gods" as "the righteous judges."  While the Targum is a very loose paraphrase, it gives us a clue as to how the religious leaders of Jesus' day understood that passage (the Septuagint and Masoretic Text are better sources for a literal translation).  It also supports the idea that they would that term, "gods," to... themselves and their superiors!  

Read down to verses 3-6, and you will see a perfect parallel to Jesus' accusations against the religious leaders of His day.  They did indeed show partiality to the wicked, failed to defend the weak and fatherless, and deny rights to the poor and oppressed.  They failed to rescue the weak; though they were teachers, spiritually, they understood nothing (John 3:3), and Jesus said they were blind, walking in darkness (John 9:39).  

Now, if Psalm 82 is talking about the Great Assembly still present in Jesus' day, then Asaph is prophesying in the fullest sense from the beginning of the Psalm to its end.  So, my next question is: Who is the Elohim in this Psalm, who presides in the Great Assembly?  

It has to be Jesus.  

He claims to be the Son, and the Son will inherit the nations, according to Psalm 2.  

And according to Psalm 82, Elohim will inherit the nations.  

So, by applying Psalm 82, Jesus assumes both the designation of "The Son of God" and of "Elohim."  I believe that in this passage, he does indeed make Himself equal to God as the Jews accused Him.  By quoting Psalm 82, He isn't denying that claim, but rather confirming it and backing it up with Scripture!  "Do not believe Me if I do not do the works of My Father," He says, insisting that he, being a member of the Godhead, proves His divinity by sharing in the works of God the Father--referring to the "many great miracles" which He has performed.  

When the "gods" of Psalm 82 crucified Jesus, they accepted judgment for it.  They said, "His blood be upon us and on our children," (Matt. 27:25).  Within their generation--less than four decades being enough time for any of them to repent and believe--Jerusalem was sacked and their system brought down upon them.  In 70 A.D. the prophecy of God judging the nations in Psalm 82:8 came true on earth; meanwhile, the gospel of Christ went out to all the Gentile nations.  I believe that the final judgment will determine the eternal destiny of those who rejected Jesus and those who believed in Him, and in that time, He will truly inherit all the nations as He sets up His reign on earth.