John 10:37
in John 10If I am not doing the works of My Father, then do not believe Me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
KJV
If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
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This verse in John 10
Commentary
13 notes on this verseA commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of John, Book 7 (Fragments) · Written before 444.
What He says is this. Though it is easy for any one to call God Father, yet to demonstrate the fact by works is hard and impossible to a creature. By works however of a God-befitting character, He says, I am seen to be equal to God the Father: and there is no defence for your unbelief since you have learnt that I am equal to the Father by the evidence of the God-befitting works which I do, although as regards the flesh I seemed to be one among you like an ordinary man.
This site's exposition
the works of My Father
on John 10:37-38
Jesus puts the works forward as the test. Where the person is refused, the works themselves are still offered as the way in, so a man may begin there. The aim is the Father in the Son, and the Son in the Father.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
" And in another place it is thus said through the prophet: "The King with His glory ye shall see,"-that is, Christ, doing deeds of power in the glory of God the Father; "and your eyes shall see the land from afar," -which is what you do, being prohibited, in reward of your deserts, since the storming of Jerusalem, to enter into your land; it is permitted you merely to see it with your eyes from afar: "your soul," he says, "shall meditate terror," -namely, at the time when they suffered the ruin of themselves.
What He saith is of this kind: "If those who have received this honor by grace, are not found fault with for calling themselves gods, how can He who hath this by nature deserve to be rebuked?" Yet He spake not so, but proved it at a later time, having first relaxed and yielded somewhat in His discourse, and said, "Whom the Father hath sanctified and sent." And when He had softened their anger, He bringeth forward the plain assertion. For a while, that His speech might be received, He spoke in a humbler strain, but afterwards He raised it higher, saying, "If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not; but if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the works." Seest thou how He proveth what I said, that He is in nothing inferior to the Father, but in every way equal to Him? For since it was impossible to see His Essence, from the equality and sameness of the works He affordeth a proof of unvaryingness as to Power. And what, tell me, shall we believe? "That I am in the Father, and the Father in Me." "For I am nothing other than what the Father is, yet still Son; He nothing other than what I am, yet still Father. And if any man know Me, he knoweth the Father, and if he knoweth the Father, he hath learnt also the Son." Now were the power inferior, then also what relateth to the knowledge would be false, for it is not possible to become acquainted with one substance or power by means of another.
"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye will not believe me, believe the works; that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in Him." The Son says not, "the Father is in me, and I in Him," as men can say it. For if we think well, we are in God; and if we live well, God is in us: believers, by participating in His grace, and being illuminated by Himself, are in Him, and He in us. But not so is it with the only-begotten Son: He is in the Father, and the Father in Him; as one who is equal is in him whose equal he is. Recognize the prerogative of the Lord, and the privilege of the servant. The prerogative of the Lord is equality with the Father: the privilege of the servant is fellowship with the Saviour.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Then when he says, If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me, he proves the truth of the foregoing. This is like saying: Although in your opinion I am only human, yet I am not blaspheming when I …
"Do you wish," He says, "to know My equality with the Father?" You cannot know the equality according to Essence, because it is impossible to know the Essence of God; but accept the equality and identity of works as proof of the identity of power, …
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
"If I do not do the works of my Father," namely works of omnipotence; "do not believe me," that is, when I say that I am equal to the Father; Exodus four, Moses said: "They will not believe me and will not hear my voice, …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
If I do not the works of my Father,.... Not only what the Father had given him to finish, and which he wrought by him as man, but such as were as great as the Father had done, and were equal to them; and which could not be done by any, but by the Father, or by one that is equal with him: believe me not: Christ appeals to his miracles as proofs of his deity, sonship, and Messiahship, and desires no other credit than what they demand; see Mat 11:3.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
If I do not the works, etc. - I desire you to believe only on the evidence of my works: if I do not do such works as God only can perform, then believe me not.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
We should observe, in these verses, the extreme wickedness of human nature. The unbelieving Jews at Jerusalem was neither moved by our Lord's miracles, nor by His preaching. They were determined not to receive Him as their Messiah. Once more it is written that "they took up stones to stone Him." Our Lord had done the Jews no injury. He was no robber, murderer, or rebel against the law of the land. He was one whose whole life was love, and who "went about doing good." (Acts 10:38.) There was no fault or inconsistency in His character.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
though ye believe not me, believe the works--There was in Christ's words, independently of any miracles, a self-evidencing truth, majesty and grace, which those who had any spiritual susceptibility were unable to resist (Joh 7:46; But, for those who wanted this, "the works" were a mighty help.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
We should observe, in these verses, the extreme wickedness of human nature. The unbelieving Jews at Jerusalem was neither moved by our Lord's miracles, nor by His preaching. They were determined not to receive Him as their Messiah. Once more it is written that "they took up stones to stone Him." Our Lord had done the Jews no injury. He was no robber, murderer, or rebel against the law of the land. He was one whose whole life was love, and who "went about doing good." (Acts 10:38.) There was no fault or inconsistency in His character. There was no crime that could be laid to His charge. So perfect and spotless a man had never walked on the face of this earth. But yet the Jews hated Him, and thirsted for His blood. How true are the words of Scripture—"They hated Him without a cause." (John 15:25.) How just the remark of an old divine—"Unconverted men would kill God Himself if they could only get at Him." The true Christian has surely no right to wonder if he meets with the same kind of treatment as our blessed Lord. In fact, the more like he is to his Master, and the more holy and spiritual his life, the more probable is it that he will have to endure hatred and persecution. Let him not suppose that any degree of consistency will deliver him from this cross. It is not his faults, but his graces, which call forth the enmity of men. The world hates to see anything of God's image. The children of the world are vexed and pierced in conscience when they see others better than themselves. Why did Cain hate his brother Abel, and slay him? "Because," says John, "his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." (1 John 3:12.) Why did the Jews hate Christ? Because He exposed their sins and false doctrines; and they knew in their own hearts that he was right and they were wrong.
How the passage was read
On John 10:22-39On John 10:22-39
The feast Jesus was keeping
“The Feast of Dedication” is the festival modern Jews call Hanukkah: an eight-day winter feast, beginning on the 25th of the month Kislev (falling in December), that remembers the cleansing and rededication of the Temple in 164 BC. Antiochus IV, the Greek-Syrian king, had defiled the altar; Judas Maccabeus and his brothers retook Jerusalem, rebuilt the altar, and ordained the annual celebration (1 Maccabees 4:36–59). Today it is kept by lighting one more candle each night on a nine-branched lampstand, which is why it is also called the Festival of Lights; the lamp-lighting custom is discussed in the Talmud (Shabbat 21b).
Two things follow for the reader. This feast is not commanded anywhere in the Law of Moses: it was instituted between the Testaments, and John records Jesus walking in the Temple courts during it without a word of censure. And the setting is loaded: at the feast that celebrates the Temple's rescue from a ruler who claimed divine honors, the crowd asks Jesus plainly whether He is the Messiah (John 10:24).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: 1 Maccabees 4:36–59 (the feast's institution; studied on this site) · Shabbat 21b (Babylonian Talmud, the lamp-lighting custom) · The Maccabean Revolt (this site's study of the history)
The words behind it
11 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εἰ | ei | If | G1487 → | 508 times |
| οὐ | ou | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ποιῶ | poio | I do | G4160 → | 569 times |
| τὰ | ta | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἔργα | erga | works | G2041 → | 168 times |
| τοῦ | tou | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πατρός | patros | Father | G3962 → | 410 times |
| μου, | mou | of Mine, | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| μὴ | me | [then] not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| πιστεύετέ | pisteuete | do believe | G4100 → | 237 times |
| μοι· | moi | Me; | G3165 → | 1936 times |
εἰIf
eiG1487 →508 times
οὐnot
ouG3756 →1664 times
ποιῶI do
poioG4160 →569 times
τὰthe
taG3588 →19766 times
ἔργαworks
ergaG2041 →168 times
τοῦof the
touG3588 →19766 times
πατρόςFather
patrosG3962 →410 times
μου,of Mine,
mouG3165 →1936 times
μὴ[then] not
meG3361 →1066 times
πιστεύετέdo believe
pisteueteG4100 →237 times
μοι·Me;
moiG3165 →1936 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 14:10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father…
it leads to
- John 10:38
But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 5:19
So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
- John 8:28
So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father…
- John 10:30
I and the Father are one.”
- Acts 10:38
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
- John 10:38
Through
John 15:24If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father.
it leads to
- John 5:36
But I have testimony more substantial than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works I am doing—testify about Me that the Father has sent Me.
- John 14:9
Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the…
- John 9:32
Never before has anyone heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.
- John 5:36
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies35
- The Animal Apocalypse
- Hanukkah: the Feast the Revolt Made
- The Apocrypha
- The Major Prophets
- David
- The Divine Council
Show the next 6 titles
- Eternal Life
- Eternal Security, and the Five Warnings of Hebrews
- The Fall Feasts
- The Words Tov and Agathosyne
- Hearing God
- Jesus on Himself
Show the next 6 titles
Show the next 6 titles
About John
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 48; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 10; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 7 (Fragments); J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Gospel according to John; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 61; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.