You, a man, are making yourself God

18 MARCH (Jn 10,31-42)

Jesus is going through a delicate, very fragile moment. It would suffice adding yet another gram of truth about his person and he could be stoned immediately. Deuteronomy did not tolerate any idolatry. As soon as an idolater came out among the people, he was immediately eradicated with a stoning.

“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer who promises you a sign or wonder, urging you to follow other gods, whom you have not known, and to serve them: even though the sign or wonder he has foretold you comes to pass, pay no attention to the words of that prophet or that dreamer; for the Lord, your God, is testing you to learn whether you really love him with all your heart and with all your soul. But that prophet or that dreamer shall be put to death, because he has preached apostasy from the Lord. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. “If your own full brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or your intimate friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers have not known, gods of any other nations, near at hand or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, but kill him. Your hand shall be the first raised to slay him; the rest of the people shall join in with you. “If, in any of the cities which the Lord, your God, gives you to dwell in, you hear it said that certain scoundrels have sprung up among you and have led astray the inhabitants of their city to serve other gods whom you have not known, you must inquire carefully into the matter and investigate it thoroughly. If you find that it is true and an established fact that this abomination has been committed in your midst, you shall put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, dooming the city and all life that is in it, even its cattle, to the sword. Having heaped up all its spoils in the middle of its square, you shall burn the city with all its spoils as a whole burnt offering to the Lord, your God (Cf. Dt 13,1-19).

The circumstances are difficult and the Holy Spirit with all the divine power of his wisdom, intelligence and knowledge comes to Jesus’ help. Jesus uses the psalm to ensure that accusations and suspicions of idolatry drift away from Him. They are all children of God.

God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in the midst of the rulers. How long will you judge unjustly And show partiality to the wicked? Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. They do not know nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, “You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High. “Nevertheless you will die like men And fall like any one of the princes.” Arise, O God, judge the earth! For it is You who possesses all the nations (Psalm 82,1-8).

The wisdom of Jesus is divinely high and insuperable. No one might ever compete with him. However, the danger has not vanished completely. He has to flee, abandoning the field. Tempers are too agitated, hearts in turmoil, the stones already in hand.

The Jews again picked up rocks to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”‘? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize (and understand) that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (Then) they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power. He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” And many there began to believe in him.

Now Jesus knows that the hatred of the Jews to his person is rooted in the hearts. The quotation of Scripture is not enough to eradicate it. His fate is sealed.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints, save us from all folly.