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John 10

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The Parable of the Sheepfold 1–6

1
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ​
2
But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3
To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. ​
4
When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5
And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
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This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. ​

I Am the Good Shepherd 7–18

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Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. ​
8
All that came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. ​
9
I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture.
10
The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. ​
11
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. ​
12
He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth them, and scattereth them: ​
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he fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
14
I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me,
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even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. ​
16
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd. ​
17
Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.
18
No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment received I from my Father. ​

Division Among the Jews 19–21

19
There arose a division again among the Jews because of these words. ​
20
And many of them said, He hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him?
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Others said, These are not the sayings of one possessed with a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? ​

Confrontation at the Feast of Dedication 22–38

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And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem: ​
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it was winter; and Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s porch.
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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. ​
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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.
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But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. ​
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My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
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and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. ​
29
My Father, who hath given them unto me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
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I and the Father are one. ​
31
The Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32
Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from the Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33
The Jews answered him, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. ​
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Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? ​
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If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken),
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say ye of him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? ​
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If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
38
But if I do them, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father. ​

Retreat to Perea and Growing Belief 39–42

39
They sought again to take him: and he went forth out of their hand.
40
And he went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was at the first baptizing; and there he abode. ​
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And many came unto him; and they said, John indeed did no sign: but all things whatsoever John spake of this man were true. ​
42
And many believed on him there.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for John 10

Verse 1

a thief and a robber — Two Greek words are used: kleptes, one who steals, and lestes, a brigand who plunders by force. They are the opposite of one who enters 'by the door', which Christ names as himself in v.7; the false shepherds of Ezek 34:2 are the Old Testament background.

Verse 3

the porter openeth — Thyroros, the doorkeeper, who admits the shepherd alone. The shepherd 'calleth his own sheep by name', and the LORD's own words in Ezek 34:11, 'I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out', stand behind the picture; 'his own' (idios) marks them as his.

Verse 6

This parable — Paroimia, a figure of speech or dark saying; the same word is rendered 'proverbs' in John 16:25 and 'proverb' in John 16:29. 'They understood not' recalls the Pharisees of 9:40–41, to whom the discourse is addressed; Jesus therefore restates the figure plainly in v.7.

Verse 7

I am the door of the sheep — Having described the shepherd who enters by the door (v.2), Christ now makes himself the door itself: the way in for the sheep. The thought returns in John 14:6, 'no man cometh unto the Father, but by me', and in Eph 2:18, 'through him we both have access'.

Verse 8

All that ever came before me — These are not the prophets, whom the sheep did hear, but self-appointed deliverers such as Theudas, who 'boasting himself to be somebody' drew about four hundred men and was slain (Acts 5:36). Coming in one's own name is the contrast Christ draws in John 5:43.

Verse 10

more abundantly — Perissos, over and above, more than enough. The thief's three verbs, steal, kill, destroy, are answered by one purpose: 'that they might have life' (zoe). The same Greek verb apollymi, 'destroy', is 'perish' in v.28, where the sheep 'shall never perish'.

Verse 11

the good shepherd — Kalos is good in the sense of fair and true to its kind, the genuine shepherd as against the hireling. The shepherd's office was the LORD's own in Ps 23:1 and Isa 40:11. 'Giveth his life' uses tithemi, to lay down, repeated in vv.15, 17, 18; 'for' (huper) means on behalf of.

Verse 12

an hireling — Misthotos, one paid for service, 'whose own the sheep are not'. He leaves at the sight of the wolf, while the shepherd stays. The wolf 'catcheth' (harpazo, seizes) and 'scattereth'; Paul foresees 'grievous wolves' entering among the flock (Acts 20:29), and Ezek 34:5–6 describes the scattering.

Verse 15

As the Father knoweth me — The knowledge between shepherd and sheep (v.14) is set beside that between the Son and the Father, using the same verb, ginosko: 'even so know I the Father'. 'I lay down my life for the sheep' repeats v.11; the Father's love for the Son is tied to it in v.17.

Verse 16

other sheep… one fold, and one shepherd — Sheep 'not of this fold' are those outside Israel, whom the LORD promised to gather: 'Yet will I gather others to him' (Isa 56:8). The KJV renders two Greek words as 'fold': first aule, the enclosure, then poimne, a flock; John 11:52 gives the same purpose.

Verse 18

I have power — Exousia, authority. Christ's death is neither seized by men nor forced: 'I lay it down of myself', and he has the same authority 'to take it again'. This answers 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up' (John 2:19–21). 'Commandment' ties the act to the Father's will (John 14:31).

Verse 19

a division — Schisma, a split; the word recurs of the crowd in John 7:43, 'there was a division among the people because of him', and the 'again' here also looks back to John 9:16. The saying about laying down his life and taking it again (v.18) provokes it.

Verse 21

Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? — The reply points to the healing of the man born blind in chapter 9. Opening blind eyes is the LORD's own work in the Psalms, 'The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind' (Ps 146:8), and a mark of the coming deliverance in Isa 35:5.

Verse 22

the feast of the dedication — Enkainia, 'renewal'; the winter feast of the rededication of the temple, kept at Jerusalem. 'It was winter' (cheimon) fixes the season. The scene in Solomon's porch (v.23) follows directly.

Verse 24

How long dost thou make us to doubt? — The Greek is literally to lift up the soul, that is, keep in suspense. 'Plainly' is parrhesia, open speech. Jesus had already spoken of his works and his Father; the Jews put the demand as they came 'round about him', and he answers by pointing to his works (v.25).

Verse 26

ye are not of my sheep — The cause of unbelief is stated plainly: they do not belong to the flock. The same reasoning is given in John 8:47, 'He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God'. The marks of the sheep follow in v.27.

Verse 28

they shall never perish — The Greek is ou me eis ton aiona, the strongest negative, literally 'by no means, to the age'. 'Pluck' is harpazo, to seize by force, the verb used of the wolf in v.12. The security rests on 'my hand' here and 'my Father's hand' in v.29.

Verse 30

I and my Father are one — 'One' (hen) is neuter, one thing, not one person; it is unity of nature and work. The Jews took it as a claim of equality with God (John 5:18; 10:33), and the stones of v.31 follow. In John 17:21 the same word is used of the oneness believers are to share.

Verse 33

for blasphemy — The penalty named in Lev 24:16 is stoning: 'he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death'. The Jews read v.30 as a claim to deity: 'thou, being a man, makest thyself God'. Their charge is the same as in John 5:18.

Verse 34

Ye are gods — Quoted from Ps 82:6, called 'your law' as part of the Scriptures. There, men who judged in God's name were called 'gods'; Moses was likewise made 'a god to Pharaoh' (Ex 7:1). Christ argues from lesser to greater: if they bore the title, he whom the Father sent may call himself the Son of God.

Verse 36

sanctified, and sent into the world — Hagiazo, to set apart, and apostello, to send. Both acts belong to the Father and precede the coming. 'I am the Son of God' is Christ's own wording of the claim the Jews called blasphemy in v.33; 'sent into the world' is echoed in John 3:17.

Verse 38

the Father is in me, and I in him — The works are the evidence for the mutual indwelling, as in John 14:11, 'believe me for the very works' sake'. 'Know, and believe' gives knowledge first, then faith. The same teaching, that Father and Son are in one another, is repeated in John 17:21, 'thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee'.

Verse 40

beyond Jordan — The place is where 'John was baptizing' at Bethabara 'beyond Jordan' (John 1:28), the scene of his first testimony to Christ. Jesus goes there after those who 'sought again to take him' (v.39) are left behind; 'abode' (meno) means he stayed.

Verse 41

John did no miracle — The word is semeion, sign. John's witness had been spoken, not shown in signs; the crowd now sees the fulfilment: 'all things that John spake of this man were true'. John had said, 'Behold the Lamb of God' (John 1:29), and 'this is the Son of God' (John 1:34).