“Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?”
The full verse · John 10:36 · KJV
of him, the hath , the , Thou ; I , I the of ?
Asked by
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, charged with blasphemy for saying, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30, 33)
Asked to
Jews: the Jews in Solomon's porch who took up stones to stone Jesus for blasphemy (John 10:23, 31, 33)
The Scene
In Solomon's porch at the feast of the dedication, the Jews have taken up stones against Jesus, saying, "thou, being a man, makest thyself God" (John 10:22-23, 31, 33).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionJesus is finishing the argument He began in John 10:34-35. If Scripture called men "gods" because the word of God came to them, how could anyone call Him a blasphemer for saying, "I am the Son of God"? He is not a man reaching upward to make Himself God (John 10:33). He is the One the Father set apart and sent. Barnes says He was sent "As the Messiah, an office far more exalted than that of magistrates." The question presses His accusers to look at who sent Him, not only at what He said. Barnes adds that the Jews "evidently understood" the title Son of God as a claim to be equal with God, and Jesus does not take it back.
The Response
What Scripture recordsJesus carries His own question forward by pointing to His works: "If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him" (John 10:37-38). His accusers give no answer in words. "Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand" (John 10:39). He went away beyond Jordan, and "many believed on him there" (John 10:40-42).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe word "sanctified" translates hagiazo. Barnes explains that here it does not mean to make holy, since the Son was always holy, but "to set apart from a common to a sacred use" and to consecrate to a holy office. Thayer's lexicon defines it as "to separate from things profane and dedicate to God," and on this verse says God selected Christ for His service. That is why the ESV says "consecrated." "Sent" is apesteilen, sent out on a mission.
The Law of Moses commanded that whoever "blasphemeth the name of the LORD" should be stoned (Leviticus 24:16). That explains why the Jews took up stones when they judged His words to be blasphemy (John 10:31, 33).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question shows how Jesus understood Himself: as the Son whom the Father consecrated and sent. John's Gospel returns to this again and again. God "sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world" (John 3:17), and at Lazarus' tomb Jesus prays "that they may believe that thou hast sent me" (John 11:42). Matthew Henry puts it simply: "Whom the Father sends, he sanctifies."
Jesus did not soften His claim to escape the stones. Barnes notes that they still understood Him to be claiming equality with God, and "under this impression Jesus left them" (John 10:39). He escaped, Matthew Henry says, "not because he was afraid to suffer, but because his hour was not come."
Look Closer
What did Jesus say should have kept them from calling Him a blasphemer?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, You set apart Your Son and sent Him into the world; what do You want me to see in His works that I have overlooked?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- The Jews heard Jesus' words but would not consider who had sent Him. What makes it hard for you to receive a truth that challenges what you already think?
- Jesus said, "believe the works." Share something Jesus has done, in Scripture or in your own life, that helped you trust what He says about Himself.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
When questions come about who Jesus is, look where He pointed: to the Father who sent Him and to the works He did (John 10:36-38). You don't have to settle it by feelings alone. John wrote his Gospel so that readers "might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" (John 20:31).
This doesn't mean you must win every argument about Jesus. He reasoned from Scripture, and when they sought to take Him, He escaped and went away beyond Jordan (John 10:39-40). Speak the truth plainly, and leave hearts to God. There, many believed on Him (John 10:42).
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources