The Good Shepherd
At this, the Jews again picked up stones to stone Him. John 10:31 · Berean Standard Bible
The Jewish leaders pick up stones again, ready to kill Him right there in the Temple.
They understood exactly what Jesus was claiming. In their minds, a man claiming to be one with God deserved death for blasphemy.
The narrator describes the leaders' violent reaction to Jesus' divine claim.
The tension explodes. They heard it clearly—Jesus just claimed to be God—and they're ready to execute Him on the spot.
The Jewish leaders respond by picking up stones (lithasōsin) again, recognizing Jesus' claim as blasphemy worthy of death under Leviticus 24:16.
This is the second attempted stoning in John (cf. 8:59). The 'again' (palin) connects to the previous attempt, showing an escalating pattern of violent rejection in response to Jesus' divine claims.
The narrator reports the leaders' violent reaction to Jesus' claim of unity with the Father.
Jesus' declaration of oneness with the Father provokes an immediate lethal response: the leaders understand exactly what He is claiming and reach for the stones prescribed for blasphemy.
29My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
30I and the Father are one.”
31At this, the Jews again picked up stones to stone Him.
32But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?”
33“We are not stoning You for any good work,” said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because You, who are a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
Read all of John 10 — Jesus describes a shepherd who knows every sheep by name and lays down his life for them. The hired hand runs; the good shepherd stays.
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