Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
Parallel Translations
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Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
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Iesus answered them: many good workes have I shewed you from my father: for which of them will ye stone me?
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Iesus answered them, Many good workes haue I shewed you from my Father: for which of these workes doe ye stone me?
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to John 10:32 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Samuel 19:4-6 Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, “Don’t let the king sin against his servant, against David; because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you; for he put his life in his hand, and struck the Philistine, and Yahweh worked a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?” Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan: and Saul swore, “As Yahweh lives, he shall not be put to death.”
- 2 Chronicles 24:20-22 The Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, “God says, ‘Why do you disobey Yahweh’s commandments, so that you can’t prosper? Because you have forsaken Yahweh, he has also forsaken you.’ ” They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of Yahweh’s house. Thus Joash the king didn’t remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. When he died, he said, “May Yahweh look at it, and repay it.”
- Psalms 35:12 They reward me evil for good, to the bereaving of my soul.
- Psalms 109:4-5 In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer. They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
- Ecclesiastes 4:4 Then I saw all the labor and achievement that is the envy of a man’s neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
- Matthew 11:5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
- John 5:19-20 Jesus therefore answered them, “Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
- John 5:36 But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John, for the works which the Father gave me to accomplish, the very works that I do, testify about me, that the Father has sent me.
- John 10:37 If I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me.
- Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know,
- Acts 10:38 even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
- 1 John 3:12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
- John 10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you don’t believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify about me.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 32. Many good works I have shown you. Here…
32. Many good works I have shown you. Here Christ not only says that they have no reason for their cruelty, but accuses them of ingratitude, in making so unjust a requital for God’s favors. Nor does he only state that he has done them a service by one or two works, but that in many ways he has been kind to them. Next, he upbraids them with being ungrateful, not only to himself, but rather to God, when he says that he is the minister of the Father, who openly manifested his power, that it might be known and attested to them. For when he says that the good works were from the Father, he means that God was the Author of them. The meaning may be thus summed up, “God intended to make known to you, by me, distinguished benefits; he has conferred them upon you by my hand. Banish me as much as you please, I have done nothing that does not deserve praise and good-will. In persecuting me, therefore, you must show your rage against the gifts of God.” But the question has greater force to pierce their consciences than if he had made a direct assertion.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Through my Father’s authority and power.
Through my Father’s authority and power.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I…
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
Ver. 32. From my Father] i.e. Eius authoritate fretus. (Beza.) All our works must be done in God, and for God; then they are of the right stamp, and carry heaven in them, Heb 6:9. Besides that, they are unanswerable syllogisms, invincible demonstrations, to confute and convert even pagans, saith Chrysostom.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The word translated good is of a very large…
The word translated good is of a very large signification; signifying excellent, useful, profitable, beauteous, &c., whatsoever in common speech cometh under the notion of good. I (saith our Saviour) never did harm to any of you, but I have been the instrument of a great deal of good to you. I have given sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, healed many that were sick of grievous diseases, cast out many devils out of those which were infested with or possessed by them. Do any of these deserve any such usage at your hands? What maketh you in such a rage against me?
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain The Jews answered him, saying,.... As follows;
The Jews answered him, saying,.... As follows;
for a good work we stone thee not: they could not deny, that he had done many good works; this was too barefaced to be contradicted; yet they cared not to own them; and though they industriously concealed their resentment at them, yet they were very much gravelled and made uneasy by them, but chose to give another reason for their stoning him:
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but for blasphemy; which required death by stoning, according to Lev 24:16, and according to the Jews' oral law (q):
and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God; which they concluded very rightly, from his saying, Joh 10:30, that God was his Father, and that he and his Father were one; that is, in nature and essence, and therefore he must be God; but then this was no blasphemy, but a real truth, as is hereafter made to appear; nor is there any contradiction between his being man, and being God; he is truly and really man, but then he is not a mere man, as the Jews suggested; but is truly God, as well as man, and is both God and man in one person, the divine and human nature being united in him, of which they were ignorant: two mistakes they seem to be guilty of in this account; one that Christ was a mere man, the other that he made himself God, or assumed deity to himself, which did not belong to him, and therefore must be guilty of blasphemy; neither of which were true: the phrase is used by the Jews, of others who have taken upon them the name and title of God; as of Hiram king of Tyre, of whom they say, , "that he made himself God" (r); the same they say of Nebuchadnezzar; and the modern Jews still continue the same charge against Jesus, as their ancestors did, and express it in the same language, and say of him, that he was a man, and set himself up for God (s).
(q) Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 4. (r) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 96. fol. 83. 4. & Tzeror Hammor, fol. 134. 4. (s) Aben Ezra in Gen. xxvii. 39. & Abarbinel Mashmia Jeshua, fol. 5. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 32. Many good works have I showed you]…
Verse 32. Many good works have I showed you] I have healed your sick, delivered those of you who were possessed from the power of demons; I have fed multitudes of your poor, and I have taught you in all places, at all times, without expense, with patience; and is this my reward?
To show good works or good things is a Hebraism, which signifies to do them really, to give good things liberally. The phrase is similar to the following: Who will SHOW us any good? Ps 4:6; i.e. who shall give us good things. SHOW us thy mercy, Ps 85:7; i.e. give us to feel the effects of thy mercy. Thou hast SHOWED thy people hard things, Ps 60:3; i.e. thou hast treated them with rigour. Thou hast SHOWED me great and sore troubles, Ps 71:20; i.e. thou hast exposed me to terrible hardships.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Joh 10:32-36. Jesus answered, Many good works have I…
Joh 10:32-36. Jesus answered, Many good works have I showed you from my Father — That is, in confirmation of my mission from my Father I have wrought many miracles, all of a beneficent kind, and most becoming the perfections of my Father, who sent me. I have fed the hungry, I have healed the lame, I have cured the sick, I have given sight to the blind, I have cast out devils, and I have raised the dead: for which of all these are you going to stone me? The Jews answered, For a good work we stone thee not — We are going to punish thee with death, not for a good work, but for blasphemy; for, though thou art a man, weak and mortal as we ourselves are, thou arrogantly assumest to thyself the power and majesty of God; and by laying claim to the incommunicable attributes of the Deity, makest thyself God. This they took to be the plain meaning of his assertion, that he and the Father were one. Jesus — Not judging it proper, at that time, to bring the sublime doctrine of his Deity into further debate; answered them, Is it not written in your law — Or, in those sacred books which you own to be of divine original, (see Psa 82:6,) where it is plain the persons that are spoken of are princes and magistrates; I said, Ye are gods? — “The Jewish magistrates were God’s deputies in an especial manner, because the people whom they governed were his peculiar people, and because, in many instances, they were expressly called by him to undertake the fatigues of government, and had an afflatus, or inspiration of the Spirit, for that end. Thus the high-priests derived their dignity from God, and were possessed of the Urim and Thummim, by which they inquired of the Lord. When Moses chose the seventy elders to assist him in the distribution of justice, God put his Spirit upon them, and they prophesied, Num 11:17. Joshua, who succeeded Moses by divine appointment, is said to have been a man in whom was the Spirit, Num 27:18. Many of the judges were raised up by God, and had his Spirit. When Saul was anointed, the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied, 1Sa 10:6; 1Sa 10:10.” — Macknight. If he (God) called them gods, to whom the word of God came — That is, to whom God was then speaking; and the Scripture cannot be broken — That is, nothing that is written therein can be censured or rejected. Dr. Campbell translates this clause, And if the language of Scripture is unexceptionable; observing, “Our Lord defends what he had said from the charge of blasphemy, by showing its conformity to the style of Scripture in less urgent cases; insomuch, that if the propriety of Scripture language were admitted, the propriety of his must be admitted also.” “This,” adds he, “is one of those instances wherein, though it is very easy for the translator to discover the meaning, it is very difficult to express it in words which shall appear to correspond to those of his author.” Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified — Hath set apart for the great work of redeeming and saving the human race; and sent into the world — For that purpose; Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God? — If the Scripture, which cannot err, gives the title of gods to mortal and sinful men, why should you reckon guilty of blasphemy, me, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world on so grand a design, because I assume to myself a title which so justly belongs to me, namely, that of the Son of God? Some set the argument in another light, thus: If they, to whom the word of God, and the revelation of his will came, are called gods in Scripture, how dare you say to the Word of God himself, by whom all the various revelations of the divine will have been made to men; how dare you say to such a person, on such an occasion, Thou blasphemest! Jesus, it must be observed, was charged here by the Jews with ascribing divinity to his human nature; and in reply to this he shows, that, calling himself the Son of God, did not imply that, and that his works proved such a union of the human nature with the divine as he had before asserted, than which no answer could have been more wise and pertinent.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Many good works - Many miracles of benevolence healing…
Many good works - Many miracles of benevolence healing the sick, etc. His miracles were good works, as they tended to promote the happiness of men, and were proofs of his benevolence. He had performed no other works than those of benevolence; he knew that they could charge him with no other, and he confidently appealed to them as witnesses of that. Happy would it be if all, when they are opposed and persecuted, could appeal even to their persecutors in proof of their own innocence.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Many good works have I showed you--that is, works…
Many good works have I showed you--that is, works of pure benevolence (as in Act 10:38, "Who went about doing good," &c.; see Mar 7:37).
from my Father--not so much by His power, but as directly commissioned by Him to do them. This He says to meet the imputation of unwarrantable assumption of the divine prerogatives [LUTHARDT].
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for which of those works do ye stone me?--"are ye stoning (that is, going to stone) me?"
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 32. Many good works—The assumption that they were stoning…
32. Many good works—The assumption that they were stoning him for a good work is at once sarcastic, gentle, and true. Nothing but good works (including words) had he done.
From my Father; for which… stone me?— The gentle question firmly repeats the claim of Sonship of God.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 32. Many good works] It is the same word…
32. Many good works] It is the same word as is used Joh_10:14 of the Good Shepherd: many beautiful, noble, excellent works. Comp. ‘He hath done all things well’ (Mar_7:37) and ‘God saw that it was good’ (Gen_1:8; Gen_1:10; Gen_1:12, &c.). These excellent works proceed from the Father and are manifested by the Son.
for which of those] Literally, for what kind of work among these; i.e. ‘what is the character of the work for which ye are in the act of stoning me?’ It was precisely the character of the works which shewed that they were Divine, as some of them were disposed to think (Joh_10:21, Joh_7:26). Comp. Mat_22:36, where the literal meaning is, ‘what kind of a commandment is great in the law?’ and 1Co_15:35, ‘with what kind of body do they come?’ See on Joh_12:33, Joh_18:32, Joh_21:19.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (32) Jesus answered them—i.e., answered the thought which He…
(32) Jesus answered them—i.e., answered the thought which He read in their hearts, and the intention which was expressed by their act.
Many good works have I shewed you from my Father.—For the idea of “good” expressed here, comp. Note on Joh_10:14. We have no better word in English; but “excellent,” “distinguished,” approach the sense. It is not the nature of the works as beneficent that is made prominent, but their moral excellence. They are works from the Father manifested in the visible world by the Son. (Comp. Notes on Joh_5:19-20.) Jesus speaks of “many” such works. John has recorded but few, but he has given hints that many more were done (Joh_2:23; Joh_3:2; Joh_5:36), and he afterwards expressly asserts this (Joh_20:30).
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For which of those works do ye stone me?—Again there is a fulness of meaning in the Greek which it is difficult to convey in translation. The word rendered “which” marks, not simple distinction, but quality. (Comp. “What kind of commandment,” Note on Mat_22:36.) “What is the character,” our Lord would ask, “of that one of these works on account of which ye are about to stone Me?” If they had thought out this question they must have been led to see that the quality of the works proved that they were from God, and that therefore He by whom they had been wrought, was also from God. This thought of the quality of the works had been in the minds of some of them (Joh_9:16). Its true issue would have been to worship Him as God; they are preparing to stone Him as a blasphemer.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Jesus answered them, Many good (kala) works have I…
Jesus answered them, Many good (kala) works have I shown you from the (my) Father. The works of Christ were lovely and radiant with Divine beneficence; they were revelations of the Father. "I showed you many of them," says he; "I gave you signs thus of the intimate relation between the whole of the self-revelation I am making and the Father". (cf. Joh_6:65 Joh_7:17 Joh_8:42) For which work of these (works) are ye stoning me? i.e. preparing by your gesture to carry this into effect. By these words, uttered with smiting irony and terrific though quiet indignation, Jesus answered their threat.
Vers. 32-39. The charge of blasphemy.
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There is now a second address.
I OUR LORD"S METHOD OF ELICITING THE TRUE MOTIVE OF JEWISH VIOLENCE AND ANGER. "Many good works have I showed you from the Father; for which of these works do ye stone me?
1. Jesus had wrought many more miracles which are not recorded in this Gospel.
2. They were not only works done, as visible indications of the.Father, but they were, as the word signifies, beautiful works." With a moral excellence that ought to have touched the Jewish heart.
3. Yet they excited the deepest hostility of the Jews.
II THE REPLY OF THE JEWS. "For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
1. Their interpretation of his language was perfectly just. When he said, "I and my Father are one," he asserted his true Deity. The Jews saw in the words more than our modern critics.
2. Our.Lords declaration was designed to set forth his distinctness from the Father as against Sabellianism, and his co-ordination with the Father as against Arianism.
III OUR LORD"S VINDICATION OF HIS DEITY. He appeals to their Law, in which judges are called gods, and asks, if this be so, "say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
1. He does not retract the assertion of his Divine nature, nor tower the sense of the word God," as if he were God in no higher sense than an Israelite judge. But, arguing upon the principles of their Law, he urges that he does not deserve to be treated as a blasphemer for having called himself the Son of God.
2. He argues, from the contrast between himself and the "gods" of the Jewish Law, that the charge cannot apply to himself. How could blasphemy be charged to him who was not consecrated to a mere earthly judgeship, but sent into the world to reveal the Father to men?
3. Our lord puts honor on the Scriptures of the Old Testament, when he asserts that they cannot be broken.
IV FRESH STRESS LAID UPON THE EVIDENCE OF HIS WORKS.
1. Jesus returns to the undeniable evidence of his works. To believe the works is a necessary step to believing for the works" sake.
2. He emphasizes the truth taught by the works. "That ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
(1) Mark the fact of the communication of the Divine fullness to the Son.
(2) Mark the fact of the Son"s entire self-abnegation; for he recognizes no life but that of the Father. The whole passage sets forth the Divine fellowship of the Father and the Son.
V THE BAFFLED ANGER OF THE JEWS. "Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand.
1. His arguments restrained their violence. For they did not venture to fling their stones at him, though they had a desire to arrest him.
2. Jesus used the interval of their indecision to escape beyond reach of their violence.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good…
Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father
Jesus performed the miracles by the power of God. The word "Father" is an important title for God. (See: Translating Son and Father)
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For which of those works are you stoning me?
This question uses irony. Jesus knows the Jewish leaders do not want to stone him because he has done good works. (See: Irony)
The Jews answered him
The word "Jews" is a synecdoche that represents the Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus. AT: "The Jewish opponents replied" or "The Jewish leaders answered him" (See: Synecdoche)
making yourself God
"claiming to be God"
translationWords
works
stone
blasphemy
God
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.