Follow the Logic - Your Daily Forward Devotional

Follow the Logic

February 18

Read John 10:34-42 (ESV)

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming, because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. He went away across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.

Reflect

What challenge does Jesus issue to those who accused Him of blasphemy?

Picture the scene: the Jews had Jesus surrounded with rocks in their hands ready to stone Him to death! But Jesus didn’t run off right away. Amazingly, Jesus continued to reason with these people—or at least tried to.

The Jews accused Him of blasphemy because they understood completely that Jesus was claiming to be God. So, Jesus appealed to Old Testament Scripture, the Law, which they studied and revered so much.

He referred to Psalm 82:6-7 which reads: “I said, ‘You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die and fall like any prince.’” In this psalm, the author, Asaph, was lamenting that human rulers were oppressing the people and prayed that God would rescue them and righteously judge the earth. Asaph wrote: “God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment” (Psalm 82:1).

Jesus’ point was that even the Old Testament Scripture used the term “gods” to refer to others besides God. In the case of Psalm 82, Asaph used “gods” to denote the unjust rulers of Israel. The rulers of Israel were God’s representatives, “sons of the Most High,” and yet they were corrupt.

Jesus knew the Jews would rightly never consider Scripture to be blasphemous—it is God’s Word and “cannot be broken.” So why could God refer to human rulers as lesser gods and not be guilty of blasphemy? But when the Son of God, God in the flesh, rightly calls Himself God, they consider it blasphemy and want to stone Him immediately?

But as the wheels in their heads were likely turning about this, Jesus issued a challenge to them. It was pretty straightforward. If He’s not doing the works of the Father, then don’t believe in Him. But if He is doing the works of the Father, then they should believe that those works confirm that He is One with the Father. In other words, they should follow the logic here. If He says He’s God and He acts like God and He fulfills the Word of God then…He’s God. But if He says He’s God and He doesn’t do the works of God and He doesn’t fulfill the Word of God then He’s either lying or demon-possessed or crazy. Again, Jesus wasn’t asking anyone to believe in Him without good reasons and solid evidence.

Tragically, the Jewish religious leaders refused to see reason in this and just got even more mad. They attempted to arrest Him, but He slipped away from them. It was not yet His time. He stayed for a while by the Jordan River where John the Baptist began baptizing and many of the people there did follow the logic about Jesus. After all, everything John the Baptist had said about Jesus was dead on. John didn’t perform any miracles or give the people any signs because he didn’t come to confirm Himself. He came to pave the way for Jesus the Christ. And that is exactly what He did. Everything John had said about Jesus so far had been correct. So, many of the people put their faith and trust in Jesus there. Praise God!

Friends, Jesus said He was God, He did the works of God, and He fulfilled the Words of God. Follow the logic…Jesus is God!

Respond

Lord, thank You for being patient with us and providing us with logical evidence that You are who You say You are. We can trust You and believe that what You said about Yourself is true. You are the Son of God, my Lord and Savior. Amen.

Reveal: Who can you share the logical evidence that Jesus is God with?

~ Pastor Nat Crawford