Commentary on the Four Gospel Books
The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
G092 The Lord Jesus at the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem,
The Jews Seek to Stone Jesus Again
John 10:22-42

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All New Testament verses quoted in this article are from the English Majority Text Version, and Old Testament verses are from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

John 10:22-42

22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.

23 And Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s Porch.

24 Then the Jews encircled Him and said to Him, “How long will You hold us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, these things testify about Me.

26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, just as I said to you.

27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

28 And I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

30 I and the Father are one.”

31 Therefore the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.

32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”

33 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.”

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ‘?

35 If He called those gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),

36 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’?

37 If I am not doing the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

38 but if I am doing them, even if you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and believe that the Father [is] in Me, and I in Him.”

39 Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, but He escaped from their hand.

40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He stayed there.

41 And many came to Him and said, “John indeed performed no sign, but everything which John said about this Man was true.”

42 And many believed in Him there.

In this lesson, we will study the final exchanges of the Lord Jesus with the Jews at the Temple during the Feast of Dedication, before He crossed to the eastern side of the Jordan River. He may have stayed there temporarily until a few days before the Passover. It was the Passover of the year 27, the day He was crucified on the cross to accomplish the redemption of humanity, according to the holy will of the God.

John 10:22-23

22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.

23 And Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s Porch.

The noun “ἐγκαίνια” (egkainia) /eng-kah’-ee-nee-ah/ (G1456) in Greek means dedication or consecration. This noun is used to translate the Hebrew noun “חֲנֻכָּה” (ḥănukâ) /khan-ook-kaw’/ (H2598), which carries the same meaning.

The Feast of Dedication mentioned in verse 22 refers to the festival of rededicating the Temple to God. This festival lasts for eight days, beginning on the 25th day of Kislev, according to the Hebrew Calendar. This date can correspond to any day between November 28 and December 27 in the Gregorian Calendar.

In the 2nd century BC, after the Israelites recaptured the Holy City of Jerusalem and the Temple from the Seleucid Empire, they cleansed the Temple and performed the rededication ceremony to God. This event took place on the 25th day of Kislev in 165 BCE (some historical records state 164 BCE). When they lit the seven-branched lampstand in the Temple, they found only enough olive oil to keep the lamp burning for one night. However, a miracle occurred, and the lamp remained lit for eight consecutive nights until new oil could be pressed, purified, and brought into the Temple. From that time forward, the Israelites have celebrated the dedication of the Temple annually for eight days.

During the eight days of the feast, a nine-branched menorah is lit. The central lamp, known as the “servant lamp,” is used to light the other eight lamps. On the first night, only the first lamp is lit. On the second night, the second lamp is lit, along with the first lamp. This continues until all eight lamps are lit on the eighth night. The nine-branched menorah is lit in every household, sometimes even in each individual room, as well as in workplaces, synagogues, and public spaces. Blessings are sung before the lighting, and hymns are sung afterward.

Today, this festival is known in English as “Hanukkah,” and it is also called the Festival of Lights [1].

We do not know on which day of the Feast of Dedication the Lord Jesus walked in the Temple under Solomon’s Colonnade. However, we can understand that in the year 26, from the time the Lord Jesus returned to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, He remained in Jerusalem until the Feast of Dedication. The time between these two feasts was about two months.

John 10:24-25

24 Then the Jews encircled Him and said to Him, “How long will You hold us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, these things testify about Me.

“The Jews,” including the people and some of the Pharisees, witnessed the Lord Jesus healing the man born blind and saw the man worship Him. They also heard the exchanges between Him and the Pharisees who opposed Him and listened to His teachings about the Good Shepherd. Now, encountering the Lord Jesus walking in the Temple courts, they surrounded Him to ask for confirmation that He was the Christ.

The phrase “hold us in suspense” means to cause the mind to be tense, awaiting something.

Although the Lord Jesus never explicitly declared, “I am the Christ,” through His words and deeds, anyone could recognize that He was indeed the Christ. In fact, many had already confessed Him as the Christ and had become His disciples. Therefore, the Lord Jesus’ response highlighted the hardness of heart of those who refused to believe His teachings or acknowledge that the works He performed in the name of the God were the works of the Christ.

John 10:26-27

26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, just as I said to you.

27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

The Lord Jesus revealed another truth: those who heard His teachings and witnessed His miracles but still did not believe in Him were not His sheep. He was not their shepherd. Those who believed in Him were His sheep. They recognized His teachings; He knew them, and they followed Him.

At that time, the majority of the Israelites were still awaiting the appearance of the Christ. However, most of them could not accept a Christ who came from such humble origins, as the son of a carpenter in Nazareth, who had not studied under any teacher in Israel. The most hardened skeptics even attributed the miracles of the Lord Jesus to the power of demons.

Today, many people do not believe in the Lord Jesus or His teachings because they worship false gods in various religions or adhere to philosophies that deny the existence of God. Some accept certain moral teachings of the Lord Jesus but do not acknowledge Him as the Savior of humanity. They regard Him as merely the founder of a religion teaching people to do good and avoid evil. Many believe in Him as the Savior but do not accept Him as God. Others believe that He is both the Savior and God but do not live according to His teachings. They have not truly repented of their sins. They continue to violate the Ten Commandments of the God, the New Commandment of the Lord Jesus, and the Commandment of Holiness given by the Holy Spirit.

In every era, only a small number of people truly believe in the Lord Jesus and live according to His teachings. On one occasion, the Lord Jesus referred to His disciples as a “little flock” (Luke 12:32), implying that the number of those who believe in Him is not large. In another instance, He said, when He returns, “Will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8), suggesting that when He comes to take the Church out of the world, there will not be many who genuinely have faith in Him.

As of April 2024, statistics show that there are approximately 2.4 billion people worldwide who identify as disciples of Christ. Among them, about 1.2 billion belong to the Catholic Church, approximately 800 million are Protestant, about 300 million belong to the Orthodox Church, and around 100 million are part of other denominations. However, the number of people who are truly disciples of Christ and live lives that reflect Christ-like character is undoubtedly small.

True disciples of Christ are those who sincerely repent of their sins and cease violating the Ten Commandments of the God. They obey the New Commandment of the Lord Jesus and the Commandment of Holiness given by the Holy Spirit. They are the sheep of the Lord Jesus, and He is their Shepherd. They belong to the Church that He established.

John 10:28-29

28 And I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

The affirmation of the Lord Jesus in verses 28 and 29 serves as comfort and encouragement for the true people of God.

“Eternal life” is a life of eternal happiness in the love and grace of God, without end.

“Perish” is to “pay a penalty – eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might,” confined in hell for eternity (2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 20:10-15).

No one can snatch the true people of God out of the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ or out of the hand of the God, for the Lord Jesus Christ and the God are the Almighty God. The God calls and chooses them, giving them to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus shepherds them forever.

Only one who, after receiving the gift of salvation, chooses to fall away in faith and return to a life of sin will be cut off by the God and spat out by the Lord Jesus Christ.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me which does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch which bears fruit He prunes, so that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1-2).

“Therefore, since you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth.” (Revelation 3:16).

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and became partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powerful deeds of the age to come, and having fallen away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and hold Him up to contempt.” (Hebrews 6:4-6).

“For if we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery zeal being about to devour the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:26-27).

“For it was better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than knowing it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the saying of the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “A sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”” (2 Peter 2:21-22).

Many people tend to blame others and even the devil for their own downfall and sin. Although the one who causes temptation will be judged by God, each person is still responsible for their own sin. For each person, they will be judged for what they have done and will bear the punishment for their own wrongdoing (Revelation 20:11-15).

“But each one is tempted by his own lusts, being drawn away and being seduced by them. Then lust, when it conceives, gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:14-15).

Ultimately, sin, which is the violation of God’s commandments, is a personal decision made by each individual. Those who belong to the Lord would rather lose their lives than break God’s commandments.

John 10:30

30 I and the Father are one.”

This is the statement of the Lord Jesus affirming that, although He is human, He is also God, just as the God is God.

In terms of divinity, the Lord Jesus and the God are “one” in existence, nature, power, authority, will, words, and actions of God.

In existence: He is self-existent and eternal in the same state as the God.

In nature: He is complete in love, holiness, righteousness, truth, goodness, and beauty, just like the God.

In power: He is omnipotent, capable of doing all things; omniscient, knowing all things; omnipresent, present everywhere and at all times, just like the God.

In authority: He shares the same power to judge, forgive sins, and govern all things as the God.

In His will, His words, and His actions, there is no contradiction with the God.

John 10:31-33

31 Therefore the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.

32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”

33 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 Jews clearly understood the meaning of the words of the Lord Jesus, that He was claiming to be God. Therefore, those who did not believe in Him and opposed Him picked up stones to throw at Him.

The Lord Jesus asked them a question that made them confess that the works He had done before them were good works. At the same time, He also made them acknowledge that they understood His declaration.

In fact, the declaration “I and the Father are one,” meaning “I am God,” also implied “I am the Christ.” For the prophecies about the Christ implied that He would be God.

“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Psalms 45:6-7).

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).

It was because the Jews clearly understood the meaning of the Lord Jesus’ declaration that they accused Him of blasphemy and wanted to stone Him.

John 10:34-36

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ‘?

35 If He called those gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),

36 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’?

The Lord Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6 in His statement.

“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.” (Psalms 82:6).

Psalm 82 speaks about how God will judge those who are given the responsibility to judge His people. These individuals are called by the title “לֹהִים” (‘ĕlōhîm) /el-o-heem’/ (H430), a title of God, which is translated as “gods.” This title is also used to refer to “judges” in Exodus 21:6.

The point Jesus made is that in Psalm 82, God, with the title “Elohim,” called the judges in Israel “gods,” elevating them to a status akin to God in His civil judgment over His people. Therefore, Jesus’ claim to be the Christ, born of the Virgin Mary by the will of the God, calling Himself the “Son of God,” cannot be considered blasphemy.

“Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world” refers to the Messiah, the Christ.

Even if Jesus were not God, but in His role as the Christ, if He raised Himself to equality with God, it would not be blasphemy. Because in His role as the Christ, He speaks what He hears from the God, and He does what the God commands Him to do. Therefore, He said: “He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me” (John 12:45).

John 10:37-38

37 If I am not doing the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

38 but if I am doing them, even if you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and believe that the Father [is] in Me, and I in Him.”

“The works of My Father” refer to the tasks that the God entrusted to Jesus to carry out in His human form. These works include teaching about the God and the Kingdom of God to mankind; calling people to repentance; healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead; offering Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind; interceding for those who accept the God’s salvation, etc.

If Jesus’ teachings do not lead someone to believe that He is the Christ, His deeds alone are more than enough to prove to that person that He is the Christ. Never in the history of Israel has any prophet performed as many miracles as He did. Believing that Jesus is the Christ also means believing that the God is in Him and He is in the God.

The statement “The Father [is] in Me, and I in Him” is idiomatic, referring to the unity of the God with Jesus. Therefore, we see that there is no verb “to be” in the phrase. In English translation, the verb [is] was added by the translator.

“The Father is in Me and I am in the Father” is completely different from “The Father in Me and I in the Father.”

In Jesus’ prayer before He was crucified, He prayed for the Church to be one, just as the unity between the God and Himself.

“so that they all may be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21).

The “oneness” or “unity” of the Church has been taught by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul:

“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and acts of compassion, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit, intending the same purpose…” (Philippians 2:1-2).

We would like to quote our commentary on Philippians 2:1-2 from the article “Commentary on Philippians 2:1-11 – God’s People Live According to the Example of Christ”.

Encouragement expresses sympathy, understanding, and a desire for the person being encouraged to succeed. Encouragement in Christ is when God’s people show care for one another, understanding and empathizing with each other’s personalities, abilities, and life circumstances; wishing each other progress and success on the path of following the Lord. When we know how to encourage one another, there will be no gossip, jealousy, or contempt among us. Through mutual encouragement, we truly have fellowship with each other and build one another up, strengthening the body of Christ, which is the Church.

Comfort expresses sympathy and bears one another’s burdens. Comfort is demonstrated through words, attitudes, and actions. It is a response of love when the one we love faces difficulties, adversity, calamity, suffering, illness, persecution… or even when they stumble and sin.

Spiritual fellowship is when God’s people are united in the spirit, that is, united in faith in God, faith in the Bible, and in the knowledge of God.

Empathy is sharing the same feeling and emotion with one another. Mercy is a sorrowful feeling before the misery or weakness caused by someone else’s sin.

Having one heart means thinking and desiring the same thing. Having one love means being in God’s love and loving one another with His love. Having one soul and mind means being united with each other and resolutely deciding to live a life in the Lord, for the Lord, and because of the Lord.

Living in the Lord means living by faith in His salvation.

Living for the Lord means living to serve the Lord, doing the good works He has prepared for His people.

Living because of the Lord means living according to His Word to exalt His name.

This is the unity of God’s people in the God and in Christ.

John 10:39-40

39 Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, but He escaped from their hand.

40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He stayed there.

After the statements of the Lord Jesus, the Jews who did not believe in Him and opposed Him were left without argument and could not accuse Him of blasphemy. Yet, they still sought a way to arrest Him, possibly to hand Him over to the Sanhedrin for trial.

The Lord Jesus escaped from their persecution and left that place, traveling to the eastern side of the Jordan River. He may have gone to the place where John the Baptist had baptized Him, before the Passover of the year 25. This was near the village of Bethany, on the eastern bank of the Jordan River, about 45 km from Jerusalem. This Bethany village is different from the Bethany where Lazarus, Mary, and Martha lived, which was only about 3 km from Jerusalem.

The Lord Jesus likely stayed there for about three months, until the approach of the Passover of the year 27.

John 10:41-42

41 And many came to Him and said, “John indeed performed no sign, but everything which John said about this Man was true.”

42 And many believed in Him there.

During the time the Lord Jesus stayed on the eastern side of the Jordan River, many people came to hear Him teach. It is also likely that many were healed and had demons cast out by Him. Because they witnessed the miracles performed by the Lord Jesus, many people believed in Him.

To believe in the Lord Jesus is to believe in every word He preached, to believe that He is the Christ, the Son of God.

The phrase “but everything which John said about this Man was true” includes the words of John the Baptist, who called Him “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

We conclude this lesson here.

May the Holy Spirit guide us into all the truths of God’s Word (John 16:13). May the Word of God sanctify us (John 17:17). May the Faithful *God of Peace Himself sanctify our spirit, soul, and body entirely, without blame (1 Thessalonians 5:23), at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Beloved Savior. Amen!

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh
12/28/2024

Notes:

[1] https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102911/jewish/What-Is-Hanukkah.htm

About Using “*God”, “the God” and “holy spirit”

Wherever the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts of the Bible use a definite article with a noun to denote GOD, we translate it into English as *God or “the God” to refer to God the Father. We understand that “God,” without a definite article, was used as a collective noun for all and any of the three Persons of the Godhead. And “God,” with a definite article, was used to refer to God the Father.

In the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the term “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) without the definite article “the” (το) is used to denote the power of God, which is given by God the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit” (το πνευματι το αγιω) is God, and “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) is the power that comes from God.