@Naomi25
Let me just answer the first paragraph for now of John 10:33-36. It will be enough to chew on, believe me.
Unfortunately, Naomi, we do have to look at the translation of verse John 10:33 into English, carefully.
We cannot get around it. Translators made a big mistake here. It will alter what you believe the verse means, and apparently today you believe what is translated here. The translators did do a great job on verses 34 -36, and not verse 33.
You do understand you have to read verses 34-26 with verse 33 to get the entire meaning? Because what I’ve already said about verse 33 already makes perfect sense when you read verses 34-36 with it. Verse 34-36 make no sense when you view it as it is translated in most Bibles.
(Joh 10:33) The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
(Joh 10:34) Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?
(Joh 10:35) If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—
(Joh 10:36) do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? (ALL ESV)
The KEY word in verse 33 that is not correct is the uppercase ‘God.’ The use of Theos/theos in verses 34-36 were translated CORRECTLY.
(Joh 10:33) Απεκρίθησαν προς αυτόν οι Ιουδαίοι, λέγοντες· Περί καλού έργου δεν σε λιθοβολούμεν, αλλά περί βλασφημίας, και διότι συ άνθρωπος ων κάμνεις σεαυτόν Θεόν. (modern Greek)
Even though this modern Greek version of verse 33 had a capitalized Theos it has no definite article before it (English ‘the’) which would make it ‘God.’ THIS IS A BLATENT MISTRANSLATION.
Since it does not, it should be a lower cased Theos or theos or ‘god.’
In John 1:1 we have the definite article (Greek ‘he/hay’) and it is translated correctly as ‘the Theos’ or ‘God.’ And not theos or ‘god’.
(Joh 1:1) Εν αρχή ήτο ο Λόγος, και ο Λόγος ήτο παρά τω Θεώ, και Θεός ήτο ο Λόγος. (modern Greek)
Two NT examples of where they used ‘god’ correctly instead of God.
(Act 12:22) And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!”
(Act 12:22) Ο δε λαός επεφώνει· Θεού φωνή και ουχί ανθρώπου.
(Act 28:6) They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
(Act 28:6) εκείνοι δε επρόσμενον ότι έμελλε να πρησθή ή εξαίφνης να πέση κάτω νεκρός. Αφού όμως επρόσμενον πολλήν ώραν και έβλεπον ότι ουδέν κακόν εγίνετο εις αυτόν, μεταβαλόντες στοχασμόν έλεγον ότι είναι Θεός. (Modern Greek)
John 10:33 should have been translated as ‘a god’ or ‘god.’
Now what did Jesus immediately say to the Pharisees once he knew they called him ‘a god?’ ,
“Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
Jesus was lecturing them of being hypocrites and taking the easy way out. He said in the OT, prophets and other in the service of God Almighty were called ‘gods’ and they have no problem believing that, because it was in scripture. So Jesus, already knowing the answer, said to them, are you then blaspheming me because I say I'm the son of God Almighty, higher than the prophets that were called 'gods?' The Pharisees knew they were doing just that....
Naomi, the Pharisees NEVER considered him God Almighty in this passage of text. It is crystal clear. They understood what Jesus was saying to them, do you?
You must read all the verses collectively to know what is being said here. You cannot discard any of them and hone in on ONE mistranslated word and say eureka this is the only meaning here and then the erroneous snowball effect soon ensues.
It would make NO SENSE if the Pharisees called him the God Almighty with Jesus’ reply. Jesus’ response was a reflect of what others in the OT were called. If we are to have break thought in understanding here Naomi, you have to at least consider what I’m saying here.
Now verse 36 is correctly translated as the son of the God with a definite article in front of Theos.
(Joh 10:36) εκείνον, τον οποίον ο Πατήρ ηγίασε και απέστειλεν εις τον κόσμον, σεις λέγετε ότι βλασφημείς, διότι είπον, Υιός του Θεού είμαι; (Modern Greek)
There was no waving done here, or just my own opinion voiced here. It is what scripture says to me.
Naomi, I cannot make my case any clearer for you regarding John 10:33
Bless you,
APAK