So why did the Jews try to stone him in John 8:58???? If he was not clear on his comments, then they had no reason to stone him. Unless he was clear, in which case they had no reason to later ask him to be clear. Take your pick, you can't have it both ways!
"If thou be the Christ tell us plainly"
why would they ask that question ? Jesus told them he had already told them and they didn't believe him.
Because they knew he was claiming to be the christ but they wanted him to say it plainly, straight out. Notice in john 10 Jesus didn't tell them plainly that he was the christ even when they asked him to. He told them the reasons why he was the christ.
John 10:24-25 The Jews therefore came round about him, and said unto him,
How long dost thou hold us in suspense? If thou art the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believe not: the works that I do in my Father's name, these bear witness of me.
Jesus told them that the works he did were in his Father's name in response to their request for a plain statement that he was the christ. to me it says plainly that he wouldn't give them a legal reason to stone him. At Jesus trial, as I said earlier, Jesus was put to death when he plainly said he was the christ .
Mark 14:61-62 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and saith unto him,
Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.
I also pointed out to you earlier that Jesus forbad any of his disciples from telling others that he was the Christ.
Jesus only told the non apostles that he was the christ at his trial for which he was put to death. So I conclude, and have heard from bible classes I've taken, that they had a law then, a non biblically legal law, that anyone claiming to be the christ was to be put to death. the facts of the bible that I've put forth here proove it as well.
I don't find your explanaton to be true, as I'm sure you don't mine.
Paranoid said:
Oh, as an aside, is claims of Messiahship grounds for stoning in Jewish law? In the decades before Jesus (and some after) there were several people who came and claimed to be the Messiah, however these were actually military attempts to overthrow the Roman government - this was why Jesus hid the fact that he was the Christ, so that he could first establish his purpose - of peace, and of salvation, and of the coming kingdom of God, rather than the overthrow of Roman rule. If he came right out and claimed status as the Christ, the people would think, "right let's gather up our swords and spears and march on the Romans".
well it's just your opinon, nothing in the bible says that. Ifind that reasoning faulty for this reason. the whole purpose of Christs mission was to save usfrom our sins, aka the christ. I find it faulty for this reason, Jesus explained how he was the christ in great detail in john 8 and john 10 without directly stateing he was the christ. So he wasn't hidding the fact that he was the christ, he was explaining how he was the christ without saying directly that he was the christ. Someone explaining in great detail how he is the christ isn't hiding the fact that he is the christ, he is just refusing to give them something to hang him with.
my interpretation makes more sense to me, and I suppose vice versa.
Paranoid said:
Jesus had to get his message of peace, salvation, and God's Kingdom out before his message as the Christ.
I take your meaning, and perhaps concede somewhat. However, could I suggest a further consideration?
As I read my Study Bible next to me, the passage of verse 24 reads: "If you do not believe that I am [the one that I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins".
The parenthesis show that the original Greek does not necessarily include this latter bit, but within the context of this sentence, it may be appropriate. Meanwhile, verse 58 has no such context - since there is no continuation of a thought process. Thus the Greek may allow the addition of "I am [the one that i claim to be]", or perhaps "I am [he]", in the middle of a sentence, when the character speaking has more to say, but does the same Greek principle apply to the end of a sentence? Is it akin to the grammatical convention of ending a sentence with a proposition?
Just a thought,
~ PA
of course it does. Example, Suppose you ask me this question.
"2ducklow, are you an american?"
I respond with
"I am "
He is understood, just as he is understood in Jesus statement "Before Abraham was I am (he).
Am is not a preposition it is a verb, and all anyone needs for a complete sentence is a subject and a verb. I ran. I walk. I am. He cusses, she swims. etc.