If he called *them* gods to whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken),
Read Full Chapter →Commentary for this Verse
Stones are already in the hands of the men listening to Him, and the charge is blasphemy: a man making Himself God. Jesus answers with one line from an old psalm, not a fresh claim. He rests the whole reply on a statement about the Bible itself.
Fighting on their own ground
Jesus makes His case from Israel's own Scriptures. If Scripture can hand God's own name to ordinary officials, the charge against Him collapses.
William KellyHe meets them on their own ground with an argument from the lesser to the greater. That argument left His personal glory untouched... Every Jew knew that their inspired books call judges elohim (gods) — Psalm 82, for instance. God commissioned these men, and they were responsible to judge in His name. If Scripture could use such a title of a mere magistrate, the charge against Him makes no sense. And the authority of Scripture cannot be undone. He said He was God's Son. The Father had set Him apart and sent Him into the world. To call that blasphemy is unreasonable.
Who the "gods" were
The men in Psalm 82 were Israel's judges. The title was not flattery. It marked the office they held and the word God sent to them.
J. N. DarbyThis quotation of the elohim shows, I think, that it applies to Jews in the strict sense. The law there calls the judges elohim in so many words. That makes the Lord's rebuke most powerful... It also shows what that word elohim means in the law, and how foolish the dispute is between judges and God. The law calls judges "gods" because they stood as sent in God's place and acted for God in their office.
A small verse no one can set aside
The line He picks is not a famous prophecy. It is a passing explanation of a title. That is what makes His comment so strong.
Samuel RidoutOur Lord is quoting what some might be tempted to call an obscure passage from the Psalms (Psalm 82:6)... Our Lord says this Scripture cannot be broken — it cannot be set aside. Men might say it is only an obvious explanation of no great importance. Yet our Lord declares that no one can ignore it. It is part of a perfect whole... Every word and syllable is woven into this Scripture, and you cannot tear out one part without tearing the whole.
The word "Scripture" here comes with no limits and no exceptions.
Frederick W. GrantNothing can be more definite, nothing wider in reach, than this. He does not say that one passage or another is guided or guarded because it matters more. He says "Scripture," as Scripture — "Scripture cannot be broken." Take the statement that "In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them." Take any other statement, however small it looks to us. If Scripture makes it, its truth is certain.
Everything turning on one word
The base of His argument is narrow. He does not appeal to a chapter or a theme, but to one noun.
A. J. PollockIn John 10:34-36 the argument depends on a single word — gods. The Lord Himself appeals to that word as settling the point. He treats one word in the Old Testament as authoritative and final.
The claim He never withdrew
His hearers had understood Him to be claiming to be God. He lets that reading stand.
Hamilton SmithIf their interpretation had been wrong, the Lord would surely have corrected such a terrible mistake at once. He would have rejected the claim to Deity. He does neither. Instead He confirms His claim by appealing to their own Scriptures. He condemns them out of their own mouths for refusing His claim to Deity.
There is a limit to what He is doing here. He answers a charge; He does not open a discussion.
J. N. DarbyThey took up stones to stone Him. And you see, He does not reason with the Jews to convince them, but to silence them.
Christ tied to the written Word
His use of Scripture here was no isolated debating move. It was how He lived.
Samuel RidoutIt is as if our Lord declared that He stood or fell with the word of God. If it were not true, neither was He. And so indeed it must be. He who is holy and true has given His approval to all Scripture as true. By it He met Satan and defeated him. He appealed to it in His teaching. He quoted from it again and again in all His conflicts with the unbelieving Pharisees and others.
Summary
- Word came. God's word reached the judges of Israel, and they stood in His place in office. That alone is why Scripture calls them "gods" — a borrowed name, not a shared nature.
- Word written. Jesus treats that small, passing line as impossible to set aside. Every word is woven into Scripture; pull one thread and the whole tears.
- Word enough. One noun in one verse carries the whole argument. The Lord treats a single word as authoritative and final.
- Word in person. Men who only received the word could carry that title. So the charge of blasphemy against the One the Father set apart and sent is unjust. He never takes the claim back.
- Word trusted. Christ staked Himself on the written Word. He used it against Satan, in His teaching, and in every dispute. If Scripture were not true, neither was He.