What Jesus said in John 10:37-38
"“If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; “but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”"
What Dopn K Preston claims Jesus said after he misquotes Him.
""Do Not believe me for my word's sake, believe me for my works. If I do not do what I say I'm going to do, do not believe me.""
Preston misquotes Jesus and takes the verse out of context to go on in each of his "challenge of Christ" videos to falsely claim if you don't believe the resurrection and judgement and new heaven and new earth didn't come with Jesus in A.D. 70, you are not to believe in Him.
It doesn't take a great deal of study to see what "the works of the Father" is. Jesus did the works of the Father and showed us the way to do the works of the Father we're told in Ephesians 2:10 were created for us that we should walk in them.
""For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them""
Jesus miraculous works and signs were done to prove He is the son of God. John 20:30
""And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.""
And we know Jesus Himself said He finished the work the Father gave Him to do long before A.D. 70.
""“I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.
“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."""
Do you notice Jesus saying He said Himself He finished the works The Father gave Him and now He wanted to go back to the Father and be glorified as He once was when He was with the Father? Again, remember Ephesians 2:10, the works created before the foundation of the world that we should walk in them?
Jesus gave us the pattern, He did the works of the Father. The miraculous works were done to prove Himself and He gave His Apostles the ability to prove they were His witnesses through gifts and signs. A.D. 70 was a prophesy to be fulfilled, but that was judgement on an unbelieving people but not a sign of "now you can believe" ridiculousness that Preston teaches.
The works of the Father are the same ones Jesus did. He did them perfectly and was worthy to be the final sacrifice once for all. Roman 6:10, Hebrews 10:10. A.D. 70 didn't sanctify us, Jesus sacrifice on the cross did. ONCE for ALL. All in the Greek means "All".
Preston has been doing this misquoting and misrepresenting Jesus on this verse for years now and when I post the verse and play Preston quoting it I still get asked "How did he misquote it?".
I don't know what else to say. A quote is a word for word verbatim. I have looked at all the translations I can find and have not found one yet that says what Preston claims. And the misquote he uses absolutely changes the meaning of John 10:37. It's a cunning thing he has taken up when you think about it. People want proof, want physical evidence for things. And it at first sounds good, our Lord issuing a challenge to all unbelievers for all time as if he was needing to prove anything. Archaeology and geology and all that is fine. But what saves us from our sins, the Word or those ruins of Jerusalem? Who has ever looked at the ruins and said "Now I believe Jesus is the son of God"? What does the scriptures say? "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." The Word lasts forever, ruins made with hands don't. They're fascinating but unnecessary for our souls. Preston claims the exact opposite. He say Jesus gave us a command. "Do not believe me for my words sake, believe me for my works". Think of it. Just because Jesus said something Preston says we are not to believe it if there's no works to back it up.
Here's an example. When Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me". John 14:6
As of yet not one of us has seen the Father John 1:18. and we are told that once Jesus is revealed as He is we will be like Him. 1 John 3:2
How do we know then, without proof through some work, that Jesus is the only way to the Father? The ruins of Jerusalem? The writings of Josephus or some other "scholar" as Preston claims in his "Challenge of Christ" videos?
We have the word by which we are saved. 1 Corinthians 15:2. A verse written to those in Corinth who never saw Christ, who never witnessed the resurrection, but believed the gospel, the word, by which they were saved! Again Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. Remember what Jesus told Thomas. John 20:27-29
"""Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”""
Every Christian today did not see but we still believe. Why? Because the ever lasting Word, by which we are saved, tells us.
Don's going to debate another atheist coming up this month. He cannot just say "A.D.70", or "Daniel 9" and convince an atheist of anything. It's the Word of God that sends the call of God, not the ruins of Jerusalem! God calls ALL to repentance through His word, not through all the scholars Don K Preston can quote from. And the one verse I've been harping on, John 10:37, that Preston misquotes the Lord with, he might add to his cult following, but the misquoted word is no longer from God and therefore does not lead to Faith and therefore will not add souls to the Church. Acts 2: 44-47