“The Father and I are one.” Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?” They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.””
John 10:30-33 NLT
Jesus made the claim “the Father and I are one”. We believers know of course the truth in that, and the impact that this statement has on our faith. We know all about the Trinitarian God we worship, or we think we do. We struggle at times to describe how our God can exist in three persons, three very distinct but totally unified individuals with very different functions and personalities. But why are we surprised about our struggles? God is a Being infinitely more intelligent and far-reaching than we are. He is an infinite God that we, with finite minds, can never fully describe or appreciate. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God—but there is only one God. That is the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. It doesn’t help in our understanding that the word “Trinity” cannot be found in the Bible. But each member of the Trinity has different functions, and each can be defined, at least to a certain extent, by a detailed Bible study. In the end, though, we have to accept that we worship the only true God and leave things there.
Jesus made the truthful statement of His unity with Father God. The Jews listening to Him were incensed by what they perceived as blasphemy, which was punishable by death from stoning in those days. Their sensitivity was perhaps increased by tales of rulers in other lands making such a claim about being a god. And they knew about the pariahs who demanded that people bowed down to them, or to an effigy made to look like them. They could read about such a situation in the days of Daniel – “King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. … When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue” (Daniel 3:1, 5). There was a later story about Herod that Luke wrote about in Acts 12. “The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!” Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died” (Acts 12:22-23). People making godly claims generally come to a sticky end. And for those who claim that this was just a historical situation existing in an ancient society, look at the situation with the leaders in North Korea today.
In 21st century Western cultures, if we asked the average man in the street about Jesus and His relationship to His Father, we would be fortunate to find anyone who knew anything about what we were asking. Most people would probably, if they were honest, admit to a belief in a “higher power”, something that is not unsurprising because God created everyone – Psalm 139:13, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb”. Within our “DNA” is something of God’s handiwork. But a knowledge of God and His Son Jesus would not be considered all that relevant today. But we pilgrims know better, and when Jesus said he was One with His Father, we feel the warmth emanating from that relationship. Rather than pick up stones to kill Him, we instead fall on our knees to worship Him. Our knowledge of Jesus and all that He did for us can never be replaced by a religion based wholly on the Law of Moses.
Dear God. Thank You for Your love and compassion. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 