John 10:35

Context

The episode takes place in the latter part of chapter 10 of the Gospel of John. During the Feast of Dedication (a winter festival commemorating the dedication of the Temple) in Jerusalem, Jesus was walking in the Temple in Solomon's porch when the Jews pressed him: "If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly" (John 10:22-24). When Jesus answered, "I and my Father are one" (v. 30), they took up stones to stone him. They gave blasphemy as their reason: "because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God" (v. 33).

In reply, Jesus quotes Psalm 82:6, "I said, Ye are gods," in verse 34, presenting it as a word from "your law." In verse 35 he states that those to whom the word of God came were also called gods, and that the scripture cannot be broken. In verse 36 he then asks how they can charge with blasphemy the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, because he said he is the Son of God. His reference to a psalm as "law" is understood to reflect the usage of the time, in which the entire Old Testament could be called the law.

Interpretation

Interpretation centers on two questions: who were those called "gods," and what role does the statement "the scripture cannot be broken" play in the argument?

• The judges reading: This view takes the "gods" of Psalm 82 to be the judges and rulers of Israel who judged on God's behalf. They bore the title "gods" because they had been entrusted with God's authority. This view has been widely accepted in Protestant commentary, including that of John Calvin.
• The Israel-at-Sinai reading: This view holds that the phrase refers to the whole people of Israel who received the Law. This interpretation is known to appear in rabbinic literature. Its proponents argue that it fits well with the expression "unto whom the word of God came."
• The divine council reading: Some modern Old Testament scholars hold that Psalm 82 originally referred to beings belonging to God's heavenly council. On this view, how the psalm connects with John's phrase "unto whom the word of God came" remains an open question.
• The form of the argument: Whichever reading is adopted, most commentators understand the verse as an argument from the lesser to the greater. If Scripture applied the title "gods" even to human beings, then it cannot be blasphemy for the one whom the Father sent to say that he is the Son of God. The statement is read not as a claim that human beings can become gods but as a demonstration that, in light of Scripture, the charge of blasphemy does not stand.

Controversies and Issues

• As a basis for the authority of Scripture: The Greek verb rendered "cannot be broken" means "to loose, to break, to annul." The same verb is used in John 5:18, where Jesus is said to have "broken the sabbath." Evangelical and Reformed theology regards the verse as an instance of Jesus affirming the binding force of even a single word of a psalm ("gods"), and cites it in support of biblical inerrancy. Some scholars, by contrast, hold that because the statement is part of an argument appealing to the Scriptures his opponents accepted, an entire doctrine of Scripture can hardly be derived from it. Proponents of inerrancy respond that the statement expresses Jesus' own conviction.
• Connection with the doctrine of deification: In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, some of the Church Fathers read this verse and Psalm 82 in connection with deification (theosis). Deification is the teaching that human beings do not become God by nature but participate by grace in the life of God.
• Claims that human beings become gods: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is known to cite this passage as one of the bases for its doctrine of exaltation, the teaching that human beings can be exalted to become beings like God. Most Protestant denominations regard this as a citation taken out of context. They point out that Psalm 82:7 says to those "gods," "But ye shall die like men."

In the Korean Church

The phrase "the scripture cannot be broken" is often quoted on its own, apart from its surrounding context. It is used chiefly in sermons and catechetical instruction that emphasize the authority and immutability of Scripture.

Related Passages

• Psalm 82:6-7
• John 10:30
• Matthew 5:18
• 2 Peter 1:20-21