Jesus is the most profoundly interesting person I have ever read about. The Bible tells us details about His birth story and family dynamics, His death and resurrection also. But in the scriptures, we read so much more about how Jesus lived His life.
We see Him as a carpenter, a leader, a friend to the broken, a healer, a mind of wisdom, and someone who loves well. There are many lessons that can be learned by seeing how Jesus lived, and it is well worth delving into.
But one thing Jesus also did was often make bold claims and ask for bold things to take place. These moments are incredible as it shows up the religiosity that was brewing in the Jewish people, and the Pharisees did not like Jesus one bit because of it.
They held so tightly to their laws and their religion that they missed the messiah when he stood in front of them.
As a result, the Pharisees and Sadducees often came against him in public places, purposely asking questions in the hope of tripping Jesus up or trapping Him by His own words.
What Is the Context of John 10:30?
These verses we are delving into today, found in John 10, come shortly after Jesus has healed a blind man. The disciples, with curiosity, have asked Jesus who sinned to cause his blindness — him or his parents.
But Jesus’ response is beautiful. He announces to them in John 9:3 this happened so “that the works of God might be displayed in him.” This healing was brought to the attention of the Pharisees, who proceeded to investigate the healing as it was performed on a Sabbath.
Jesus, they claimed, could not be of God, for He didn’t keep the Sabbath (John 9:16). Little did they realize that Jesus was the Son of God and created the Sabbath!
This led Jesus to a teaching lesson where he shares famous words about the good shepherd. Kenneth Bailey and Timothy Keller share incredible insights on these words. But here in John 10:14, Jesus declares, “I am the good Shepherd.”
These words left such a divide between the Jews. They couldn’t work out who Jesus was. One strain of thinking was that he was demonic, but as demons do not perform miracles, it must mean Jesus is from God.
But the other thought was that God is the one Holy God, and therefore Jesus must be a blasphemer if He is equating Himself with God so boldly. They were literally divided and confused. Nothing about Jesus lined up with their thinking of the Bible or God as they knew Him.
At the feast of Dedication, more conflict arose; the Jews who gathered there told him, “If you are the messiah tell us plainly,” but Jesus replied, “I have told you, but you do not believe, because you are not my sheep” (John 10:26).
Again, Jesus goes back to the analogy or Parable of the Good Shepherd. It is in these words Jesus declares, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
These Jews were infuriated. They found his words to be arrogant. As we read the next verse, we see that they were so angry they picked up stones to kill him because He wasn’t claiming to be a prophet or messenger but was actually claiming equality with God. This, to them, was simply blasphemous.
However barbaric as that seems to us in our culture and place in history, I feel it is worth remembering and pointing out that the law written down by Moses tells us that “anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name, they are to be put to death” (Leviticus 24:16).
The Jews were doing as they believed was right based on the Law, but they were completely blinded to the true person of Jesus.
How Are God the Father and Jesus One?
The beauty of Jesus’ words here in John 10:30 is lost in translation. In our English-written Bibles, we read the words “I and the father are one.” However, in the Greek, we see Jesus uses neuter, a form of the word for “one.”
This means that Jesus is saying He and God are in unity. Rather than declaring they are the same being or person, Jesus is saying they are the same essence, the same power, the same nature, and have the same intentions.
They are unified as one. This is a perfect depiction of the Trinity in the Bible. Two parts of the three-headed trinity are associated. This is God’s very own begotten son declaring with bold conviction that He is united with Almighty God. He is revealing Himself clearly as the Messiah.
If we go back just a few short chapters, we see Jesus at the Feast of The Tabernacles, where he says: “Now is not the right time for me to go.” (John 7:6, NLT) when he is urged to go to Judea to show Himself to the world by his brothers.
But here in John 10, Jesus is no longer behind the door. He is openly declaring who He is and His connection to the Almighty Father God.
Jesus doesn’t just declare that He and God are one, but He also makes other bold declarations in this same passage of Scripture. For here He also calls himself a “good shepherd,” He calls Himself “the gate and says whoever enters through Him will be saved” (10:9).
He talks about being able “to give people life to the full and compares himself here to the thief (devil) who comes only to steal, kill and destroy” (10:10).
Even here, we see Jesus foretelling His death. After saying, “I am the good shepherd in verse 11, He finishes His sentence by saying, “The good shepherd lays his life down for the sheep.” The Jews found these words hard to hear; they again wondered if He was demon-possessed.
What kind of man talks about laying down His life, offering life to the full and eternal life? The Jews thought He was mad.
How Does This Apply Today?
But isn’t it lovely today to know that God doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6). That Jesus is the same yesterday as He is today (Hebrews 13:8); that the Jesus who was the Good Shepherd then is the Good Shepherd now; that He is still offering eternal life to the lost, still opening the eyes of the blind. Still battling on our behalf.
No matter what wolf, financial trouble, illness, depression, problem, faith shaking moment you will ever face, King Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is already lying at the gate of your life protecting you.
If you are a believer, He knows your voice; He knows when you need His help, guidance, and protection. Just listen for His. As we see in Leviticus 24, Moses waited for the voice of God before He acted. We should do the same.
You are not alone, friend; Jesus is the Holy son of God interceding for you at the right hand of the Father (Romans 8:34).
But if you don’t know Jesus, and you don’t know what it feels like to be loved that deeply, to be protected that fiercely, to be forgiven that mercifully… oh friend, get connected in with a church and ask them about Jesus.
Read the words of John 3:16 that say, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” An everlasting, holy, and joy-filled life awaits you! What have you to lose?!
For further reading:
What Should Christians Know about the Trinity?
Why Is God Known as Our Father?
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