The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
In John 10:31-39, the people clearly understand Jesus to be claiming deity. They threaten to stone him, not because of any good workes he has done, but because he claims to be God. Jesus asks a brief question which could distract the crowd. In his observation, the Scripture does call people “divine.” The term used can be applied to a deity or simply to someone who is powerful and respected.
Jesus goes on to distinguish between the average powerful person and himself. He is doing the works of his Father, God. Yet if the people won’t believe his claims, maybe they would believe his works?
Sadly, this is not going to happen either. The people try to take Jesus by force but he escapes from them. By and large, people in our day will reject God the Son as well. They want divine works on their own terms, according to their own definition, rather than those which Jesus does. May the Lord have mercy upon us all.
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