Smarter Than God?

Have you heard the phrase, “Richer than God?” I have heard some people described, erroneously, in those terms. Anyone who says that is merely displaying their ignorance. In that same line, sometimes we think we are smarter than God. (Hands up, Jim.)

There is an exchange in John 10 that, at one time, drove me crazy. Jesus had a great opportunity to proclaim, once and for all, that He was God. (Spoiler alert. Wake up, Jimbo. You missed it.)

Let’s look at the passage and spike a few cannons. By way of background, Jesus has just healed the man born blind. Some believed that He must be the Messiah while others argued that since He did it on the Sabbath, He could not be from God. The controversy continued on in the celebration of the feast of Dedication. The Jews specifically demanded that He tell them whether He was the Messiah or not. John 10:24-30

The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. 26 But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

This is pretty self-explanatory. “I told you that I am the Messiah and you will not believe. Check out My “works.” (This is a clear appeal to the Old Testament that prophesied that the Messiah would make the lame walk, the blind see, and the deaf hear. (Isaiah 35:5, 6) The “Worker” of those things is here. They could see with their own eyes these miracles. Pardon the contextual pun.

We will skip the little segue into His sheep. Not because it is not important, but because it does not apply to our thought. His sheep are as secure as if they were in the Father’s hand: Because they are. But I digress.

Then Jesus dropped the bombshell. (An anachronism if there ever was one.) “I and the Father are one.” He did not mean “one in purpose,” as some cults have tried to reinterpret this. He meant that He, Jesus, and the Father were literally the same Being. Later on (John 14:9) He explained to Phillip that “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” And we can be assured that the Jews understood this explicitly. They took up stones to execute Him.

They would not do this if Jesus had said that He was merely trying to accomplish the work of God, as did Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all of the prophets. He could have included John the Baptist in the list as well. No one was stoned because he claimed to extend or repeat the work of anyone on this list.

Jesus challenged their impending attack immediately. (V. 31, 32)

The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 

Their answer is clear, concise, and conclusive. (V. 33)

The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” 

And here is where I thought that I was smarter than God-Jesus. I wished that Jesus had merely said, “Yes, I am God. And your stones will bounce off, proving My point and shutting your mouths permanently–along with those of many subsequent cults to follow.” But He didn’t. (34-36)

Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 

“No!” I screamed. That is exactly the wrong answer. Now You have empowered all the “little ‘g’ cults” when they claim that You merely equated Yourself with those who heard God’s Word in the past.

“Granted,” their argument goes, “Jesus is probably a level or two above those prophets, but He is not on the same level as God.”

And if we stop reading at this point, the point is won by the negative. “Jesus is not THE God. Big ‘G’ God.” He is merely an elevated being, like a super-angel or something.

But Jesus did not stop there, and John recorded it for us. J and J were definitely smarter than Jim.

37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” 39 Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.

Jesus could have corrected their incorrect perception of Him if that had been the error. “No, guys, I am not The God. Back off.”

Instead, He twisted the knife even deeper. The works testify to the fact that Jesus was, in His words, “in the Father, and the Father was in Him.” This was clearly not a denial of equality with God, as evidenced by the reaction of His opponents. They continued their quest to execute Him for blasphemy, for claiming to be God. But they failed–again.

But what about that verse? Let’s look at it. Ps 82:2-6

How long will you judge unjustly And show partiality to the wicked? Selah. 3 Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. 4 Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. 5 They do not know nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

The LORD is addressing the leaders of Israel, that is the priests and leaders. (No Scribes and Pharisees, yet.) And look at their works. If the Jews recognized this passage, they knew that Jesus was parroting and redirecting the charges against the ancient leaders. The Psalmist, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit continued quoting the Lord.

6 I said, “You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High.

Now Jesus’ intent is clear. God called those leaders, “gods” and they certainly earned the scorn. Conversely, Jesus did redemptive miracles, releasing people from plagues. And He was literally fulfilling the prophecies for when the Messiah would walk on earth. Messiah equals God. And the leaders knew that. Look at their response. V. 39 tells us that they were doubly convinced that He was blaspheming.

And what about my brilliant analysis of Jesus’ “mistake?” Well, had He not used that verse, some current cult could have seized on it to “downgrade” His claim. He was aligned with Jehovah as were the leaders in Psalm 82, they could claim. Jesus would also have been relegated to the “little g” designation as merely one who heard from Jehovah and carried out His designs.

By usurping that argument, and letting the Jewish leaders verify it’s failure to “corral Him” in the little g remuda, this argument was effectively countered. Cannon spiked, to utilize a nice anachronism, the second or third one of the day. But that was not the complete purpose. Read on in John.

40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there. 41 Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.” 42 Many believed in Him there.

Remember those “works” that Jesus cited? They were the calling card (anachronism number four) of the Messiah. John (the Baptist) did not do miracles. He was not the Messiah. But This ONE did! John had pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God and many understood that this was also the Messiah. And the results? V. 42, “Many believed in Him there.”

Message received and acted upon. They accepted Him as the, their, Messiah. The “nattering nabobs of negativism” (not sure what that is) had failed to dissuade a large number of listeners. (Many believed.)

Was Jesus’ line of argumentation a mistake? Me genoito (Paul’s favorite negation. Absolutely, positively, not! May it never be.) And Jimmy boy is glad to admit the error of trying to correct Him. Jesus did not make a mistake. He perfectly responded to the question at hand, and deftly deflected any future ones that may arise.

We just have to blurt Romans 11:33-35.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!  (And arguments: Editor) 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? 35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever.

Who has taught Him something or anything? Who has added to or aided His arguments? Who is smarter than He? We all, with Paul, repeat the implied, “Nobody!”

And I am so glad that is true. Glory.