“Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?”
The full verse · John 10:34 · KJV
, Is , , Ye ?
Asked by
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, accused of blasphemy for saying He is one with the Father (John 10:30, 33)
Asked to
Jews: the Jews in Solomon's porch who were ready to stone Jesus for blasphemy (John 10:31-33)
The Scene
The Jews have just told Jesus they will stone Him "for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God" (John 10:33).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionJesus asked to show from their own Scriptures that their charge of blasphemy did not stand. He quoted Psalm 82:6, where God says to those in authority, "Ye are gods." If Scripture, which "cannot be broken," gave that title to men "unto whom the word of God came," how could they call Him a blasphemer for saying, "I am the Son of God"? (John 10:35-36). Keil & Delitzsch describe this as an argument from the lesser to the greater. The question expects the answer "Yes, it is written."
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe answer is plainly yes; the words are in Psalm 82:6. Jesus carries the question forward Himself: "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?" (John 10:36). He urges them to believe the works (John 10:37-38). They give no answer in words. Instead, "they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand" (John 10:39).
Historical Context
The world behind the words"Your law" here means the Scriptures more broadly, since the quote comes from the Psalms; Barnes explains that the word includes the Old Testament. In Psalm 82, God stands "in the congregation of the mighty" and judges "among the gods" (Psalm 82:1). Barnes says the title was given to magistrates "on account of the dignity and honor of their office," and Gill says it was spoken "to civil magistrates." Keil & Delitzsch explain that "those in authority are God's delegates and the bearers of His image," and so are called elohim, the Hebrew word for God or gods. The same psalm warns them, "ye shall die like men" (Psalm 82:7).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyJesus did not claim to be one of many "gods" like the judges of Psalm 82. He argued that if mere men who received God's word could bear that title, how much more the One "whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world" (John 10:36). Barnes explains "sanctified" as God having "consecrated or appointed his Son to be his Messenger or Messiah to mankind." Keil & Delitzsch say that by this psalm Jesus proves He does not blaspheme when He calls Himself the Son of God.
The question shows Jesus' deep respect for Scripture. He builds His defense on a single line of a psalm, because "the scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35).
Look Closer
Who were called "gods" in Psalm 82:6?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, You sanctified and sent Your Son into the world; what do You want me to understand about who He is?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Jesus trusted that "the scripture cannot be broken." How does that shape the way you read and handle God's Word?
- Share a time when a single verse helped you understand something about Jesus more clearly.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Jesus answered false charges with Scripture, read carefully. You can do the same: let God's Word, rightly understood, settle questions about who Jesus is.
This verse does not teach that people are divine. The rulers of Psalm 82 were called "gods" because of their office, and the psalm reminds them they "shall die like men" (Psalm 82:7). Jesus is different in kind: the One the Father sanctified and sent.
Treat Scripture as Jesus did. It "cannot be broken" (John 10:35), so it is worth reading closely and trusting fully.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“How long dost thou make us to doubt?”
“For which of those works do ye stone me?”
“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?”
“Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?”