Good morning, Bereans. In our last study, we looked at Psalm 82 and the Judgment of the gods. I received several questions about Yeshua's quoting from this Psalm in John 10, so, this morning we are going to look at Yeshua's quote of this Psalm and what it means.
Before we look at these verses, let's get a little context. The literary structure of John 10:22-39 is built around two basic questions dealing with the identity of Yeshua. Verse 24 asks whether Yeshua is the Messiah.
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." John 10:24 ESV
Verses 25-30 contain Yeshua's response. Then verse 33 raises the question of whether Yeshua declares Himself to be God.
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." John 10:33 ESV
Verses 34-38 present Yeshua's answer to that question. Verses 40-42 provide Lazarus' summary to this section of Yeshua's ministry. This section is strongly Christological and focuses on Yeshua's deity. Context is king and the context here is Yeshua's deity, so please keep that in mind as we look at this text. How could he defend his deity from this Psalm if this Psalm were talking about human judges?
Yeshua concluded His discourse on the shepherd/sheep analogy with this statement:
"I and the Father are one." John 10:30 ESV
Four times in this text, Yeshua has called God "My Father" thus making Himself equal with God—just as He did in John 5:17-18. Not only has He described the security believers have in His hand in the same terms in which He describes the security His sheep have in His Father's hand, he has also comes straight out and expresses His equality, unity, and identity with God in terms that cannot be misconstrued: "I and the Father are one." Notice the Jews reaction to this.
The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. John 10:31 ESV
The word "picked" here is the Greek word bastazo, which means "to carry stones." The Jews carried from a distance some stones in order to kill Yeshua. They want to kill Him because of His claim to deity.
Yeshua answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?" John 10:32 ESV
Yeshua is not denying that He claims to be God. He is seeking to show His adversaries that His works give substance to His words. He claims to be God while doing works that only God can do (e.g., giving sight to the blind).
Yeshua was also seeking clarification here as to why they wanted to stone him. The Jews told Him exactly why when they said:
"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." John 10:33 ESV
Why did they want to kill Yeshua? "For blasphemy—You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God"—the Jews understand Yeshua to be saying that He is God and they interpret His words as blasphemy. From their perspective, He has spoken blasphemy, He, a mere mortal, literally "makes Himself God." The punishment for blasphemy under the Sinai Covenant is death by stoning according to Leviticus 24:16.
Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death. Leviticus 24:16 ESV
If Yeshua was not really claiming to be God, He could have easily corrected the Jews' misunderstanding here. The fact that He did not is further proof that the Jews correctly understood that He was claiming to be God.
The Jews say that Yeshua has committed blasphemy because being a mere man makes Himself out to be God. To which Yeshua responds:
"Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'? John 10:34 ESV
Remember that the focus of this section is the deity of Christ. He defends that truth by boldly declaring: "Is it not written in your Law, 'I SAID, YOU ARE GODS'?" So, whatever your interpretation is of this quotation, it has to reinforce Yeshua's claim in John 10:30 and 38 that He is equal with God.
"Is it not written in your Law"—some commentators make a big deal about the word "your" here, but this word is omitted in some manuscripts. One early manuscript has, "Is it not written in the scripture, in the law, that." "Law"—is most often used of the Pentateuch, the Torah, but it is also used at times to refer to the entire Tanakh. We know that Yeshua is quoting Psalm 82:6. No one questions that. But Yeshua calls it the Law. Similar usage is found in John 15.
But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.' John 15:25 ESV
Here He quotes from Psalm 69:4 and calls it the Law. So, by Law He means the Scriptures.
"I SAID, YOU ARE GODS"—here Yeshua quotes Psalm 82:6.
I said, "You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; Psalms 82:6 ESV
Who is the "I" here? The "I" in the Psalm is Yahweh. Yahweh is saying, "You are gods." The big question is whom is He calling gods? If you do a study on John 10:34 or Psalm 82, you will quickly find out that the majority of commentators, scholars, and preachers do not believe in divine plurality. They do not believe in a divine council; they do not believe that there are other gods. They see Psalm 82 as speaking to men whom Yahweh calls gods.
The predominant view of Psalm 82 is that it is talking about Yahweh's judging Israel's leaders. As I noted last week, bad translations support this view. Elohim is incorrectly translated as "judges." There is NO justification for this. None! We also saw in our last study that elohim is never used of humans unless they are dead and in the spirit realm. Elohim is a place of residence locator. All elohim live in the spirit world. There is never a time in Scripture where a man is called "elohim." This is very important because it makes it clear that Psalm 82 is talking about gods, not men.
Despite the clear evidence of divine plurality that we looked at last week and the fact that elohim is never used of men in the Scriptures, the majority of commentators, scholars, and preachers see Psalm 82 as a reference to Yahweh's judgment on human beings. This is because they deny divine plurality.
Hopefully from our last study you see that the Bible teaches a divine plurality. Technically the Jews were not monotheistic. "Monotheism" is the belief that there is only one God. The Jews believed in other gods. The first commandment implies that there are other gods.
You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3 ESV
Most mainstream, Old Testament scholars believe that the religion of the early Israelites was neither monotheistic nor polytheistic but was, rather, "monolatrous." Monolatry is the belief in the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one deity. The Jews were monolatrous and not monotheistic.
"Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the LORD alone, shall be devoted to destruction. Exodus 22:20 ESV
They believed in many gods, but they worshiped ONE God who exists in three persons. Despite this, most people today deny divine plurality.
Dr. Thomas L. Constable
"The identity of the people whom God addressed as 'gods' in Psalm 82:6 is debatable. The most popular and probable view is that they were Israel's judges, who were functioning as God's representatives, and so were in that sense 'little gods.'"
Who was it that functioned as God's representatives in the Old Covenant? Old Covenant Israel was a theocracy—a government ruled by God. Not symbolically or metaphorically, but actually ruled by God.
Deuteronomy 17:14–18:22 tells us that there were three theocratic offices established in the Sinai covenant. Staffed by human representatives, these were the prophet, the priest, and the king. The job description of the priest was to represent the people to God via mediation and sacrifice. The prophet spoke for God to the people, essentially as Yahweh's messenger to his vassal nation. The king's job was to keep the people of Israel on track in their adherence to the covenant and to live his life as the ideal, covenant-keeping Israelite. Which of these three officers was the most powerful? It was the prophet (whose job was to speak for Yahweh) who held the ultimate authority.
I bring that up to say that none of the people in these very important offices were ever called Elohim, and neither were the judges. If any of God's representatives were to be called Elohim, it would be the prophet, priest, or king. But none of them ever were.
D.A. Carson
"Although this much is clear, uncertainty abounds as to the identity of those whom God is addressing in Psalm 82. The chief options are: (1) God is addressing Israel's judges, who are corrupting justice in the courts of the land (Ps. 82:1-4). They are called 'gods' because to exercise justice is fundamentally a divine prerogative vouchsafed to certain individuals (Dt. 1:17)."
Let's look at his proof text. In this verse, Yahweh is talking to Israel's judges (Hebrew word, shaphat, which means "to judge"). To the judges, Yahweh says:
You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God's. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.' Deuteronomy 1:17 ESV
It tells us that the judges are to judge for elohim. But the judges are never called elohim. They are men who are representing elohim for the people. Nowhere in the Hebrew Bible are the judges who were appointed by Moses called elohim.
The Faith Life Study Bible says: "You are gods, a quotation of Psalm 82:6, which refers either to the divine council or to human judges as God's representatives administering justice on earth."
Hall Harris
"The Psalm was understood in rabbinic circles as an attack on unjust judges, who, though they have been given the title 'gods' because of their quasi-divine function of exercising judgment, they will die just like other men."
Really? What rabbis? This view wasn't held by the rabbis until the tenth century AD.
John MacArthur
"Jesus says, 'Corrupt judges were called gods.' Maybe sarcastically, maybe ironically. But the word was used for them because they received the Word of God, and they were the instruments of God, and the agents of God."
"Got Questions.org"
"Psalm 82:1 says, 'God presides in the great assembly; He gives judgment among the gods.' It is clear from the next three verses that the word 'gods' refers to magistrates, judges, and other people who hold positions of authority and rule."
As a proof text that Psalm 82 is talking about human judges, some offer these verses:
Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people, from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers. He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, "Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the LORD. He is with you in giving judgment. Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes." 2 Chronicles 19:4-7 ESV
Judges in verse 6 is from the Hebrew shaphat. These judges were to judge for Yahweh. The word elohim is used in these verses of Yahweh, but NEVER of the judges. Men are never in Scripture called elohim. These men are to judge for elohim but they are not elohim.
These judges are rendering decisions for the nation of Israel—not the nations of the world as is the case in Psalm 82 and Deuteronomy 32.
Michael Heiser, explaining the human view
"Scholars will say we know that Jesus is quoting Psalm 82:6 and that technically isn't in the Law of Moses. It's not in the Torah, the Pentateuch. So, when Yeshua says is it not written in your law, even though He's quoting Psalm 82:6, Yeshua is probably connecting that thought with something in the Torah. And then they say that something in the Torah is Exodus 18."
Let's look at Exodus 18 and see if their argument makes sense.
Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. Exodus 18:1 ESV
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people." Exodus 18:11 ESV
Jethro is saying here that Yahweh is greater than all elohim. Is he saying that Yahweh is greater than all human judges? No, that's obvious. He is saying that Yahweh is greater than all other elohim/spirit beings.
The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?" And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws." Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good. Exodus 18:13-17 ESV
You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, Exodus 18:18-19 ESV
Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. Exodus 18:21-22 ESV
So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. Exodus 18:24-26 ESV
So, in Exodus 18, Moses appoints judges who will later become identified as the Jewish elders. They are judging the people. Now, I hope you're wondering what this has to do with Psalm 82. I have no idea! There is nothing in Psalm 82 about Exodus 18. But here is how their argument goes. It's built around verse15.
And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God; Exodus 18:15 ESV
Heiser explains their argument
"So, the logic here is that when Moses said earlier in the chapter that people come to ask questions of God and they're really asking me and I give them answers, the logic is when Moses appoints these people, these elders to judge the people then that basically means that when they come to those judges, they're coming to elohim as well. So, the judges are sort of viewed as elohim. And then we take that back to Psalm 82 and we say the elohim in Psalm 82, those are just people, the Israelite judges from way back in Exodus 18. Now if you're thinking what a convoluted strange hermeneutic, I agree with you."
But people who deny divine plurality can't have Elohim mean "god." These human judges that are appointed in Exodus 18 are never called elohim in Exodus or anywhere else. I can't say this enough: Nowhere in Scripture are human judges called elohim.
A similar view along this same idea is that the "gods" referred to in Psalm 82 are Israelites in general. The commentators will say, "to whom the word of God came," that's obviously a reference to the giving of the law to the Israelites at Sinai. Therefore, the gods are the Israelites. But again, what does Psalm 82 have to do with events at Sinai? There is nothing in the Psalm that points to the gathering at Sinai?
This human view that says that the gods of Psalm 82 are Israelite judges or Israelites in general is the predominate view today. But to a Second Temple Hebrew who would have believed in divine plurality, Psalm 82 was talking about gods not men.
Let me give you another quote from Michael S. Heiser, who is a Bible scholar with a Ph.D. in "Hebrew Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages." Heiser says:
Ninety-nine percent of Second Temple Judaism believed that the reason wickedness so permeates the earth is not just an extension and is in large part not even linked to what happened with Adam and Eve, but the reason that people are always and universally thoroughly wicked is because of what the Watchers did. Everybody in Paul's circle, everybody in Second Temple Judaism with the exception of four intertestamental references in intertestamental literature, everything says that the reason for the proliferation of evil is the sin of the Watchers, everything? (Michael S. Heiser, "The Naked Bible Podcast" 2.0, Episode 94)
So, Second Temple Judaism, which is the context of the New Testament, believed in divine plurality. They believed that these other gods, the Watchers, were the reason that the world was so wicked. Second Temple Literature is filled with divine plurality. Second Temple Literature (often called the "Pseudepigrapha") refers to the books written by Jews between Malachi and the time of Yeshua. In case you think that these writings serve no importance to us, let me read you a passage from The Lexham Bible Dictionary.
Although they are called the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, these texts are important for New Testament scholarship as well, because the books of the New Testament were not written in isolation from the history, literature, and culture of their time. In fact, New Testament authors were familiar with portions of this literature; for example, the Epistle of Jude contains references to two writings from the Pseudepigrapha (1 Enoch and the Testament of Moses). Second Peter, which was written after Jude (and borrows many elements from Jude), alludes to the Pseudepigrapha, but without explicit reference. This relates directly to issues in canon development and hermeneutics, offering a glimpse into the New Testament world's use of sources outside of Scripture. [The Lexham Bible Dictionary].
Second Temple non-canonical Jewish texts illustrate an ancient tradition of understanding this interpretation of the gods of the nations as real spirit beings that rule over those nations.
(There are) many nations and many people, and they all belong to Him, but over all of them He caused spirits to rule so that they might lead them astray from following Him. But over Israel He did not cause any angel or spirit to rule because He alone is their ruler and He will protect them. Jubilees 15: 31-32
Second Temple literature (11Q Melchizedek) uses Psalm 82 to talk about the judgment of the gods. This translation is from García Martínez and Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar: "The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition."
it is the time for the "year of grace" of Melchizedek, and of [his] armies, the nation of the holy ones of God, of the rule of judgment, as is written,10 about him in the songs of David, who said: Ps 82:1"Elohim will stand in the [assembly of God,] in the midst of the gods He judges". And about Him He said: [Ps 7:8-9 "And] above [it,] 11 to the heights, return: God will judge the peoples". As for what he said: Ps 82:2 "How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? [Selah.]
The writer of 11Q Melchizedek associates Melchizedek with being the Christ. It is Christ who is standing in the assembly of God in the midst of the gods and judging them. No Israelite would have been thinking that Psalm 82 is talking about human judges or Israelites.
An argument that is often raised against divine plurality is verses like those found in Deuteronomy 32:39 and Isaiah 45:5.
"See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand." Deuteronomy 32:39 ESV
"I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me," Isaiah 45:5 ESV
"I am Yahweh, and there is no other"—was an ancient biblical slogan of incomparability of sovereignty, not exclusivity of existence. It was a way of saying that a certain authority was the most powerful compared to all other authorities. It did not mean that there were no other authorities that existed. We see this same phrase in Isaiah 47.
Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, "I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children": Isaiah 47:8 ESV
Here the ruling power of Babylon is proudly claiming in her heart, "I am, and there is no one beside me." The power of Babylon is not saying that there are no other powers or cities that exist beside her, but that she was the ruling power. Yahweh uses that phrase, "I am Yahweh, and there is no other," not to deny the existence of other gods, but to express His absolute sovereignty over them. Yahweh is "God of gods and Lord of lords":
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. Deuteronomy 10:17 ESV
Notice Yeshua's argument in John 10.
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'? John 10:35-36 ESV
"If He called them gods to whom the word of God came"—this is not a reference to the Israelites receiving the Law at Sinai. It is about Yahweh's word of judgment coming to the lesser gods, who were ruling corruptly.
He's reminding His Jewish opponents that the Scripture, their own law, actually teaches the idea that there are other divine beings that are called god. They're equal in the sense that they're spirit beings. They are not mere humans. He is affirming the divine view of Psalm 82.
"The Scripture cannot be broken"—this means "made invalid, subverted." The word for broken, is "luo" in the Greek. Luo means: "dismissed, dissolved, removed, released, annihilated, eliminated." So, what is our Lord saying? Scripture cannot be changed. Scripture cannot be loosed, released, removed, dismissed, nullified.
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'? John 10:36 ESV
"I am the Son of God"—the Hebrews, first-century Christians, and early church leaders all understood that the term "sons of God"—ben Elohim—speaks of beings in the spiritual realm. In fact, the term Elohim is never used in Scripture to speak of any being except those in the spirit realm; never about a man or worldly creature.
"Son of God"—is a title that unambiguously claims deity. Son of God means "He is God."
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. John 5:18 ESV
Yeshua is equal with God; He is God.
Is Yeshua saying that it's OK if he calls himself God because Yahweh calls other men god? How does that support His claim to deity? Is He backing away from His claim to deity? Not at all. In verse 38 He follows it by saying, "the Father is in me and I am in the Father."
John MacArthur writes: "The passage itself in Psalm 82 has no connection to His deity, but He uses that word, "gods," there to make a point from the lesser to the greater, as very often rabbis did, and He did."
Those who hold the human view say that Yeshua's argument is that if corrupt leaders of Israel, who are mere mortals, can be given the title "gods" in Scripture when they serve in their duties as God's representatives, how can they bring charges of blasphemy against Him when it is in His position as the consecrated envoy of Yahweh that He calls Himself "Son of God"?
They claim that Yeshua is using an a fortiori argument. "If mere men can be called 'gods' because of their position as judges, then how much more should I, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, be called the Son of God?" That's not a very convincing argument if that were our Lord's argument because, after all, they're accusing Him of claiming to be deity and not of simply declaring himself to be God like other men are gods.
The word "consecrated," (10:36) is an interesting choice of words considering the feast the people are celebrating.
At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, John 10:22 ESV
The people are celebrating the rededication of the Temple. The word "consecrated" means "to be set apart as holy." Yeshua, God the Son, is "set apart" by God the Father to consecrate the world to truth (John 17:19). This is a feast that celebrates the consecration of the Second Temple. This old sanctuary is to be replaced by the new and consecrated Temple that is Yeshua's body.
If the "gods" in Psalm 82 were merely human judges and not divine beings, then Yeshua's appeal to this text to defend His claim to deity would make no sense! They certainly would not seek to stone Him as a blasphemer if He appealed to a text about human judges. Yeshua seems to be rebuking the Jews for allowing the existence of elohim other than the Father, but would not accept His claim to be Elohim.
If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." John 10:37-38 ESV
The "works" of Yeshua are to authenticate His mission in the eyes of the people and to support His claims to divinity. Only God could heal a man who had been lame from birth. Only God can give sight to the blind.
"The Father is in Me, and I in the Father"—this has a specific Old Covenant antecedent and that is Exodus 2.
"Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. Exodus 23:20-21 ESV
This angel pardons transgression. Who can do that but God? "My name is in him"—what does this mean? The four letters, YHVH, were in the angel? The Hebrew word for "name" is shem; this comes from neshemah, which we see in Genesis 2.
then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Genesis 2:7 ESV
The word "breath" here is neshemah. Your shem is your breath. In Hebraic thought, your breath is your character; it's what makes you you. It's what makes you different from everybody else. You can replace the word "name" in the Bible with "character."
In Hebraic thought, a name is not merely an arbitrary designation or a random combination of sounds. The name conveys the nature and essence of the thing named. It represents the history and reputation of the being named. In English, we often refer to a person's reputation as his "good name." The Hebrew concept of a name is very similar to this idea. So, in Exodus 23:21, when Yahweh says of the angel, "My name is in him," He is saying, "My character, my essence is in him."
For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." Leviticus 11:45 ESV
Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, "I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, Judges 2:1 ESV
Who delivered them from Egypt? Was it Yahweh or the angel of Yahweh? Yes!
Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Yeshua, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Jude 1:5 ESV
The NASB here says, "that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt"
So, who saved the people out of Egypt and then destroyed the unbelievers? We just saw that it was Yahweh and the angel of Yahweh. The New English Translation Note states:
The reading "Iesous, 'Jesus, is deemed too hard by several scholars, since it involves the notion of Jesus acting in the early history of the nation Israel. However, not only does this reading enjoy the strongest support from a variety of early witnesses, but the plethora of variants demonstrate that scribes were uncomfortable with it, for they seemed to exchange kurios, 'Lord' or theos, 'God,' for Iesous (though P72 has the intriguing reading theos Christos, 'God Christ,' for Iesous)…As difficult as the reading Iesous is, in light of Jude 1:4 and in light of the progress of revelation (Jude being one of the last books in the NT to be composed), it is wholly appropriate. [See Jude 1:5 NET Note]
So, who delivered the Israelites out of Egypt? Was it Yahweh or was it the Angel?
Yes! The Father is in this angel. God is in this angel. That is how the Tanakh says, "This is God in human form." If we take this back to John 10 where Yeshua says, "I and the Father are one" and "the Father is in me and I am in the Father," we find that Yeshua is portraying himself as God in human form. I'm not only an Elohim, a spirit being, I'm also the Lord of the Council because Yahweh is the Lord of the Council. The Father is the Lord of the Council and the Father is in me. They understand what He is saying and it is why they reacted as they did.
Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. John 10:39 ESV
How does the human view explain the reaction of the Jewish audience here? They are trying to arrest Him, on the heels of picking up stones to stone Him in 10:30. If Yeshua is citing a text that all of them could just as well cite on their own behalf for being sons of God, why would Yeshua's use of it elicit such a response?
Remember the context here is the deity of Christ and he quotes Psalm 82:6 to support his claim of deity. How could he defend his deity from this Psalm if this Psalm was talking about human judges? If the "gods" in Psalm 82 were merely human judges and not divine beings, then Yeshua's appeal to this text to defend His claim to deity would make no sense!
Psalm 82 supports the deity of Christ and the deity of Christ supports the contention that Psalm 82 is about divine plurality.