The Chosen and John 10: “The Scripture Cannot Be Broken”

In John 10, men are standing around Jesus in the temple with stones in their hands. And they tell Him the law of Moses says a blasphemer dies.

In The Chosen, how does their Jesus answer? “You know little of the law of Moses.”

But in your Bible, how does Jesus answer? He quotes the Bible. And right in the middle of that answer, He says the strongest thing anybody says about Scripture anywhere in Scripture:

"If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;" — John 10:35 (KJV)

Five words. And they’re not in the show. The Jesus of the Bible argued from the scriptures. The show’s Jesus dismisses their knowledge of it.

They Kept Almost All of It

We have to say this first, because this scene is faithful nearly the whole way through, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise.

• Verse 24“How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.”
• Verse 25The works He does in His Father’s name bear witness of Him.
• Verse 26“ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep.” That’s hard doctrine, and it survived.
• Verses 27–29His sheep hear His voice, He gives them eternal life, and no one can pluck them out of His hand or the Father’s hand.
• Verse 30“I and my Father are one.”
• Verse 33They stone Him “because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”
• Verses 37–38Believe the works, “that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.”

So somebody knew this chapter, didn’t they? Election. Preservation. His deity. The blasphemy charge. All intact. And that’s exactly why the gap in the middle is worth our time.

What’s Missing

Verses 34 and 35. Men are in front of Jesus holding stones, accusing Him of blasphemy. And what does the real Jesus reach for?

"Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" — John 10:34 (KJV)

He’s quoting Psalm 82:6, where God rebukes the judges of Israel. They were the men who had His word committed to them, and they stood in His place to judge. And read the very next verse of that psalm:

"But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes." — Psalm 82:7 (KJV)

Now John 10:35: “If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken.”

Follow the argument, because it’s airtight. Scripture called mere men gods, and corrupt ones at that. So if God’s word can say that about them without blasphemy, on what grounds do you charge the One the Father sanctified and sent? Is He backing away from His claim? No. He’s showing them their own Bible undercuts their own charge.

Now, the show does keep the back half of verse 36, where Jesus says they call Him a blasphemer because He said, “I am the Son of God.” So they kept the conclusion. But what did they remove? The argument that got Him there.

Why Those Five Words Are the Whole Thing

Think about what He just staked His life on, with men holding rocks while He says it. His entire defense hangs on one word, in one verse, of one psalm. The word “gods.” Not the theme of the psalm. Not the spirit of it. One word.

And how does He justify leaning on it that hard? The scripture cannot be broken. Not one line of it. Not one word of it. Not even a word in a psalm about crooked judges.

And this is how He always argues, isn’t it? In Matthew 22:32, He proves the resurrection to the Sadducees from the tense of a verb: “I am the God of Abraham.” Not was. Am. So Abraham lives.

Paul does the same thing:

"He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." — Galatians 3:16 (KJV)

The whole promise turns on a singular noun.

Jesus said it Himself:

"Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." — Matthew 5:18 (KJV)

So if the Son of God will hang an argument on one word, then the words matter. All of them. Every time.

And look at what else is resting on those five words. Back up to verse 28, the verse the show kept.

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." — John 10:28 (KJV)

Never perish. How strong is that promise? Only as strong as the word it’s written in. And the scripture cannot be broken.

So the show kept the promise, but cut the part that guarantees it.

What Went in Its Place

Now here’s what makes this more than a missing verse. Something fills that space. In the show, the men cite the law and its death penalty, and their Jesus answers, “You know little of the law of Moses.”

To be fair, did the real Jesus ever tell people they didn’t know their Bibles? He did. Matthew 22:29: “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” But watch what He does in the very next breath. Verse 31: “have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God?” And then He quotes it.

With the Jesus of the Bible, the rebuke and the proof always come together. Anybody in that crowd could go home, open the book, and check whether He was right. But the show kept the rebuke and cut the proof.

And can anybody check a rebuke with no proof? No. It isn’t a claim about the text anymore. It’s a claim about them. You just have to take His word that they don’t measure up. “You know little of the law” sounds formidable. “Is it not written in your law” has to be right.

Who Gets the Final Word

And this reaches way past one scene. Whether the scripture can be broken is the dividing line between the simple gospel and every system built on top of it.

Remember 2 Corinthians 11:3. Paul feared minds being “corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Did the serpent deny God’s word to Eve? No. He mixed it with a lie.

Because once Scripture can be broken, something else has to step in and hold it together, doesn’t it?

• Catholic teachingPlaces Scripture alongside Sacred Tradition, and says the task of authentically interpreting God’s word belongs to the Church’s teaching office alone.
• Latter Day Saint teachingAccepts the Bible “as far as it is translated correctly,” then adds further scripture and living prophets to complete it.

Two very different systems, making the same move. The Bible by itself can’t settle it. Somebody else has to tell you what it means, or what it’s missing.

Now, we’re not saying the show’s writers set out to teach either one. But cut “the scripture cannot be broken,” put in “you know little of the law,” and you’ve built a scene that fits right into both dogmas. Where does the authority go? Off the page anybody can check, and onto the speaker who tells you whether you understand it.

Jesus did the opposite. “Is it not written in your law.” He put the authority right back on the Scriptures and pointed at it.

Can You Know?

And here’s where it stops being about authority and starts being about you. If the words can be broken, then what? The promise can be broken.

The Council of Trent, which still defines Catholic doctrine, taught that no one can know with the certainty of faith that he has received God’s grace. It also condemned anyone who claims certainty that he will persevere to the end, unless by special revelation.

The Book of Mormon says in 2 Nephi 25:23, “it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” After all we can do. So how would you ever know you’ve done all you can? You wouldn’t. Both systems leave you hoping. Neither one lets you know.

Now listen to your Bible.

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life," — 1 John 5:13 (KJV)

That ye may what? Know. Not hope. Know.

Because it rests on John 10:28: “they shall never perish.” Is that a reward for doing all you can? No. It’s a promise from Someone who can’t lie.

"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;" — Titus 1:2 (KJV)

That’s the best news in the gospel. And it’s the first thing to go if the scriptures can be broken.

When the Question Comes at Night

Maybe you’ve lain awake wondering whether you’re really saved. Maybe you messed up again and thought, “Surely God’s done with me this time.” We’ve all been there, haven’t we? So when that question comes, where do you look? Not at your feelings. Not at your track record. Not at a church’s verdict. You look at the word that cannot be broken.

Read John 10:27–29 out loud. Write 1 John 5:13 somewhere you’ll see it every morning. Because your assurance doesn’t come from how strong your grip is. It comes from whose hand you’re in.

With Stones in the Air

And here’s the proof that it holds. At the cross, the soldiers broke the legs of the men on both sides of Him. When they came to Jesus, He was dead already.

"For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken." — John 19:36 (KJV)

The scripture said it, and the scripture held. Even there.

And it’s the same word that reaches you.

"But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." — 1 Peter 1:25 (KJV)

And Paul is clear about what to do next.

"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." — Romans 16:17–18 (KJV)

Keep Reading the Series

• Previous · Part 5The Chosen’s Mary and Joseph vs. What Scripture Records
• Next · Part 7The Chosen and the Woman at the Well: The Verse They Skipped (coming soon)
• Related · Part 3“I Am the Law of Moses”: The Line in The Chosen That Is Not in Your Bible
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