Are there any alternative / emergent views on John 10:22-ff?
Upvote:1
Let's take a look at John chapter 10 in the original language. Here is a PDF of John 10 in Greek with interlineal English.
John 10:30 is written:
ΕΓω καί ό πατΗρ εν εσμεν
Ego kai ho pater en esmen
I and the father one are.
The final word, "εσμεν" (esmen) is a plural conjugation, as compared with "εστιν" (estin) would be the singular. This may be an indication that the sense in which Jesus meant this statement relates to the preceding context. In the 10:28, Jesus states that no man shall remove His sheep from His hand. In 10:29, Jesus states that His Father gave the sheep to Him, and no man is able to snatch them from His Father's hand. Thus, 10:30 may indicate that Jesus and His Father are united in abilities and purpose.
In 10:31-10:33, Jesus' audience begins to stone him for blasphemy, accusing him of claiming to be God.
In 10:34 and 10:35, Jesus responds to his their assertion that he is blaspheming by calling himself God. He responds that scripture calls gods all of those unto whom His Word was given.
In 10:36, Jesus says, "...you are saying that you are blaspheming that I said, 'The Son of God I am.'"
Finally, in 10:38, Jesus says, "...and you should be believing: that in Me the Father, and I in Him."
In the context of the discussion Jesus is having with his audience, he says that all the people who have been given the Word are gods, that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus and the Father are in each other, that Jesus has some of the powers of the Father, that the goals of Jesus and the Father are one.
This is consistent with other statements by Jesus, for example, John 6:38, "That down I am stepping out of the heaven, that not I may be doing the will of Me, but the will of the One sending Me."
In considering what Jesus meant in the quote of John 10:30 and why God would cause us to receive this particular wording, it seems that Jesus and God are telling us that Jesus and the Father are effectively the same thing from the perspective of the judgment which will be applied to the humans. This is consistent with John 14:6, "... I am the way and the truth and the life; no one is coming to the Father if not through Me."
In this sense, John 10:27-10:30 seems to mean something similar to: There is one flock, which God gave to Jesus. No man shall remove a sheep from Their flock. Together they are one Shepherd of the sheep.
Upvote:2
I believe this generally refers to the purposes of God the Father and God the Son (Jesus). Jesus was sent to do the will of the Father, so in their purpose they are one. This is similar to the reference in John 17:21.
"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."
The intent is not to describe Himself as the same Being as God, but to demonstrate unity in purpose. Similar statements might be a general saying "Let us fight as one!" or a president saying "The country must come together as one." Neither infer to coming together into one physical mass, but to be unified in desire, effort, and purpose.
More post
- 📝 Can Satan read our minds?
- 📝 Who can move Easter celebrations in the Orthodox Churches?
- 📝 What is the connection between Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, etc?
- 📝 Do all believers receive the Holy Spirit at conversion but only a few are filled with the Holy Spirit post conversion?
- 📝 In the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist, is the body and blood of Christ his living body or his deceased body?
- 📝 Are Matthew, Mark and Luke the same book in different version?
- 📝 Is the Holy Spirit the combining of God the Father and God the Son's Spirit's
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for Christian denominations to believe in a visible appearance of Christ Jesus when he returns?
- 📝 Why was having concubines not a sin like adultery?
- 📝 How does a full preterist interpret the 'Thousand-years reign' in Revelation 20
- 📝 How do Jehovah's Witnesses justify their interpretation of Daniel chapter 4 given the specificity of the text?
- 📝 There is more to know than that which is written
- 📝 According to pre-tribulation pre-millenialists, when would and will Christians be persecuted for their faith as a sign to the world?
- 📝 What is the difference between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven?
- 📝 Why were the apostles still going to the temple for prayer and rituals?
- 📝 Was a Unitarian understanding of God present in the Early Church prior to 400 AD?
- 📝 How, according to the Catholic Church, can God order genocide even though the Church has declared such a situation impossible?
- 📝 The Pope is resigning. How does a living pope confer his authority?
- 📝 What is a good beginner reading-level Bible book for adults?
- 📝 Can the belief of Jesus' listeners be considered belief unto salvation?
- 📝 Veracity of Carte Blanche in The Three Muskateers
- 📝 Did the Annunciation and Good Friday coincide?
- 📝 Do Western Christians confuse Mysticism with Emotionalism?
- 📝 Is there a significance of the "Christian name"?
- 📝 Who is the American Catholic Church?
- 📝 Does the phrasing in Nicene Creed cast doubt on the eternality of The Son of God?
- 📝 Why did Our Lady of Lourdes say "I am the Immaculate Conception" and not "I am immaculately conceived" or "I am the Mother of God"?
- 📝 What religious order do these nuns belong to?
- 📝 What do Reformed Christians understand by God's foreordination?
- 📝 Is there a way to prove the God of the Bible?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Are there any alternative / emergent views on John 10:22-ff?
- 📝 Are there any examples of sarcasm in the bible?
- 📝 Are there any writings from the church fathers teaching Original Sin before Augustine?
- 📝 Are there any statistics that show how many scientists are Christians or otherwise believe in a personal God?
- 📝 Are there any specific food / slaughter / butchery / preparation rites in Christianity?
- 📝 Are there any surviving hymns from the Valdensian movement?
- 📝 Are there any secular historical references to the natural phenomena that occurred at the crucifixion and resurrection?
- 📝 Are there any English Bible translations whose primary text for the OT is the Septuagint?
- 📝 Are there any Catholic sects which disagree with the sinlessness of Mary?
- 📝 Are there any Christian denominations that consider LDS (Mormons) to be Christians?
- 📝 Are there any conflicts between how Jesus is described in the Book of Mormon vs how He is described in the Bible?
- 📝 Are there any Christian groups that follow Matthew 23:9?
- 📝 Are there any Protestant beliefs which have their roots in Mormon doctrines?
- 📝 Are there any churches that do not accept the teachings of Paul?
- 📝 Are there any biblical incidents of people condemned for consensual premarital sex?
- 📝 Are there any modern churches that subscribe to the Donatist heresy?
- 📝 Are there any sects of Christianity that still practice animal sacrifice?
- 📝 Are there any Christian denominations that don't believe Jesus is the only way to salvation?
- 📝 Are there any examples of Jesus praying publicly?
- 📝 Are there any references to "four canonical Gospels" prior to 100 AD?
- 📝 Are there any passages in Sacred Scripture that explicitly describe apocalyptic weather patterns?
- 📝 Are there any well-known Christian nihilists?
- 📝 Are there any Christian denominations that deny the existence of an afterlife?
- 📝 Are there any biblical examples of Early Church disciples praying to deceased saints in order to request their intercessory prayer?
- 📝 Are there any examples of married, male, non-martyred (white crown), non-royal, canonized Catholic Saints excluding Saint Joseph?
- 📝 Are there any atheists in the Bible?
- 📝 Are there any real statistics on how many people fall away?
- 📝 Are there any scholars or doctrinal schools that address the conspicuous dearth of needy people in Jesus' sayings and stories?
- 📝 Are there any followers of Catharism today?
- 📝 Are there any Protestant denominations or churches that reject penal substitution?