any good works have I
showed you from My Father; for which of these do you stone Me? You
question whether I am the Father's Agent: does not the benignity of the
works I have done prove Me such? Do not My works evince the indwelling
power of the Father?" The Jews reply, and from their point of view quite
reasonably: "For a good work we stone Thee not; but because Thou, being
a man, makest Thyself God." How far they were justified in this charge
we must inquire.

In this conversation two points are of the utmost significance.

1. The comparative equanimity with which they consider the claim of
Jesus to be the Messiah is changed into fury when they imagine that He
claims also equality with God. Their first appeal, "If Thou be the
Christ, tell us plainly," is calm; and His answer, though it distinctly
involved an affirmation that He was the Christ, was received without any
violent demonstration of rage or of excitement. But their attitude
towards Him changes in a moment and their calmness gives place to
uncontrollable indignation as soon as it appears that He believes
Himself to be one with the Father. They themselves would not have
dreamed of putting such a question to Him: the idea of any man being
equal with God was too abhorrent to the rigid monotheism of the Jewish
mind. And when it dawned upon them that this was what Jesus claimed,
they could do nothing but stop their ears and lift stones to end such
blasphemy. No incident could more distinctly prove that the claim to be
the Messiah was in their judgment one thing, the claim to be Divine
another thing.

2. The contrast our Lord draws between Himself and those who had in
Scripture been called "gods" is significant. It is the eighty-second
Psalm He cites; and in it the judges of Israel are rebuked for abusing
their office. It is of these unjust judges the psalm represents God as
saying, "I have said, Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the
Most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes."
To these judges this word of God, "Ye are gods," had come at their
consecration to their office. Having been occupied with other work they
were now set apart to represent to men the authority and justice of God.
But, argues our Lord, if men were called gods, to whom God's word
came,--and they are so called in Scripture, which cannot be
broken,--appointing them to their office, may He not rightly be called
Son of God who is Himself sent to men; whose or