John 10:30

• key quotation

  'I and the Father are one'- John 10:30
• this was Jesus' response to those who asked him if he was the messiah
• there are two possible ways of understanding the word 'one' in this text:

  • 'one' as referring to common essence; 'of one Being with the Father' is the phrase used in the Nicene Creed
  • 'one' as referring to unity of purpose; God's purpose for humanity and Jesus' mission were in harmony
• biblical support for unity of essence (common essence)

  • the idea of pre existence is present in John 8:58 where Jesus states 'Before Abraham was, I am'
  • the jewish people who had asked the question regarded his answer as blasphemous and wanted to stone him to death
• biblical support for unity of purpose

  • John 18: where Jesus prays that he and his disciples might be one
  • in part of his discussion with the jewish people, Jesus said that he was simply doing god's work
• Jesus himself spoke Aramaic, so what he said might have been distorted in the translation to greek
• John's gospel was written probably over 60 years after the crucifixion, which gives another possible reason for distortion
• many scholars think john's gospel was an interpretation of the life and teaching of Jesus as recorded in earlier traditions and gospels
• one of the reasons for john's gospel was the need to combat heresy, so this might have 'slanted' the text