Ch. 10:1-21. THE PARABLE OF THE SHEEPFOLD AND THE SHEPHERD.--THE
CHURCH OF CHRIST AS ONE FLOCK.--TO THIS FLOCK THERE IS BUT ONE
DOOR, JESUS CHRIST.--THIS DOOR IS OPENED TO THE SOUL BY THE HOLY
SPIRIT OF GOD.--EVERY ONE WHO ENTERS IN BY THIS DOOR IS SAVED.--AND
BECOMES A MINISTER OF GRACE (A SHEPHERD) TO OTHERS.--THE PATTERN IS
JESUS CHRIST, THE GOOD SHEPHERD.--EVERY TRUE SHEPHERD LIVES FOR THE
FLOCK.--HE WHO DOES NOT IS A HIRELING, AND IS RECREANT IN TIME OF
DANGER.--THE LIFE OF THE FLOCK IS ASSURED BY THE DEATH OF THE GOOD
SHEPHERD.--THAT DEATH WAS NOT COMPELLED; IT WAS VOLUNTARY.
This parable was probably uttered in Judea, and in the immediate
vicinity of Jerusalem. The figure is drawn from the spectacle, likely
at any evening to be witnessed on the hillsides of Judea, a flock
of sheep gathered from the different fields in which they had been
wandering, and _following_ their shepherd, who conducts them to the
sheepfold, which they enter, one by one, for protection, the shepherd
going before and leading them in. To understand aright its meaning, two
facts, often forgotten, must be borne in mind: (1) that the metaphor
is used in the O. T., and for a double purpose; sometimes the shepherd
is the religious teacher of Israel, whose unfaithfulness is rebuked
in the prophets (Jer. 23:1-4; Ezek., ch. 34); sometimes the
shepherd is the Lord, who leads, defends, and feeds the soul which
trusts in him (Ps. 23; Isaiah 40:11); (2) the parable is closely
connected with the discourse concerning blindness, growing out of the
cure of the blind man, and is given for the purpose of emphasizing
and carrying out the warnings therein contained against the Pharisees
as blind leaders of the blind (Matt. 15:14). I understand, then, that
it is a parable with a double application. First, Christ compares the
Pharisees to shepherds, himself to the door, and declares that they
alone are true shepherds who enter into Israel through, _i. e._, under
command from, and with the authority of, Christ as the Messiah--all
others are thieves and robbers (vers. 7-10); he then changes the
application, retaining the figure, declares himself to be the shepherd,
whose praises David and Isaiah sang, and indicates the nature of the
service which he will render to his sheep, namely, giving his life for
them. The parable itself embraces verses 1-6; the first application, a
lesson against the false Pharisaical teachers, verses 7-10; the second
application, a lesson concerning himself as the good shepherd, verses
11-18. The first application is interpreted by Ezekiel, ch. 34; the
second, by Psalm 23 and Isaiah 40:11. The ordinary interpretation,
which regards Christ as referring to himself throughout as shepherd,
necessarily supposes that he employs a mixed metaphor, in which,
without any apparent reason, he alternately represents himself as the
door and the shepherd.
1 Verily, verily, I say unto you,[388] He that entereth
not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some
other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
[388] Rom. 10:15; Heb. 5:4.
=1. He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold.= Sheepfolds,
as usually constructed in the East, are low, flat buildings, erected
on the sheltered side of the valleys, and when the nights are cold,
the flocks are shut up in them, but in ordinary weather they are
merely kept within the yard. During the day, of course, they are led
forth to pasture by the shepherds. The folds are defended by a wide
stone wall, crowned by sharp thorns which the wolf will rarely attempt
to scale. The leopard and panther, however, when pressed with hunger,
will overleap the thorny hedge, and make havoc of the flock. In
Greece, folds are sometimes built merely of a parapet of bushes or
branches, placed at the entrance of caves, natural or made for the
purpose, in the side of hills or rocky ledges. A porter guards the
door of the larger sheepfolds. See _Thompson’s Land and Book_, I, 299,
and _Smith’s Bible Dict._, Art. _Sheepfold_. The sheepfold, in this
parable, answers primarily to Israel, the then visible and organic
church of God, but secondarily to the church of Christ in all ages,
the visible and external organization, in which the professed
disciples of Christ, his sheep, are gathered for better protection. He
that enters not by the door, but furtively climbs up some other way,
marks himself thereby as evil disposed.
[Illustration: AN EASTERN SHEEPFOLD.]
2 But he that entereth in by the[389] door is the shepherd
of the sheep.
[389] Verse 7, 9.
=2. He that entereth in by the door the same is a shepherd of the
sheep.= Not, as in our English version, _the_ shepherd. The definite
article is wanting. Christ does not declare that the evidence that he
is the Shepherd consists in the fact that he entered through the door,
for he is himself the door. He declares to the Pharisees, who reject
him as their Messiah, that there is a double test of the religious
teacher: (1) he must enter into the church by the way by which
he directs the sheep to enter. There is not one salvation for the
teacher and another for the taught; the door is the same to all; and
(2) he must enter by the one only door, Jesus Christ. Whoever comes in
the name and with the authority of Jesus Christ is a shepherd of the
sheep; whoever comes to preach any other Gospel, comes to rob the sheep
of their Saviour and salvation (Gal. 1:8, 9; 2 John, ver. 10).
3 To him[390] the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his
voice: and he calleth[391] his own sheep by name and
leadeth[392] them out.
[390] Rev. 3:20.
[391] Ezek. 34:11; Rom. 8: 30.
[392] Isa. 40:11.
=3. To him the porter openeth.= “The Holy Spirit is especially He
who opens the door to the shepherds; see frequent uses of this
symbolism by the apostles (Acts 14:27; 1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2:12;
Col. 4:3); and instances of the porter shutting the door (Acts
16:6, 7).”--(_Alford._) There is the implication here of a truth
elsewhere abundantly taught in Scripture, that the teacher has access
to the heart of the church only through the influence of the Spirit of
God, who opens and closes the heart of the hearer (1 Thess. 1:5;
2:1), and the door of opportunity (Acts 4:7, 8; 16:9; 17:10,
11).--=And he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out.=
This figure exactly corresponds with the actual facts of shepherd life
in the East. “As we eat and looked, almost spell-bound, the silent
hillsides around us were in a moment filled with life and sound. The
shepherds led their flocks forth from the gates of the city. They were
in full view, and we watched them and listened to them with no little
interest. Thousands of sheep and goats were there, grouped in dense,
confused masses. The shepherds stood together until all came out. Then
they separated, each shepherd taking a different path, and uttering, as
he advanced, a shrill, peculiar call. The sheep heard them. At first
the masses swayed and moved, as if shaken by some internal convulsion;
then points struck out in the direction taken by the shepherds; these
became longer and longer, until the confused masses were resolved into
long, living streams, flowing after their leaders. Such a sight was not
new to me, still it had lost none of its interest. It was, perhaps, one
of the most vivid illustrations which human eyes could witness of that
beautiful discourse of our Lord recorded by John.”--(_Porter._)
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before
them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his
voice.[393]
[393] Cant. 2:8; 5:2.
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee[394]
from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
[394] 2 Tim. 3:5; Rev. 2:2.
=4, 5. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them,
and the sheep follow him.= The true pastor is an example and leader as
well as a teacher of his people (1 Cor. 11:1; Gal. 4:12; Phil. 3:17;
1 Thess. 1:6).--=A stranger will they not follow.= The stranger is not
the shepherd of another flock, but one who is a stranger and a
foreigner, outside the fold and separated from the great flock of the
Israel of God. The true Christian is never a stranger to the disciples
of Jesus Christ (Ephes. 2:19).--=They know not the voice of
strangers.= The shepherd knows his own sheep by name, and they know
his voice; but the stranger’s voice they do not know. The figure is
all true to the life. “The shepherd calls sharply to them from time to
time to remind them (the sheep) of his presence. They know his voice
and follow on; but if a stranger calls, they stop short, lift up their
heads in alarm, and if it is repeated, they turn and flee, because
they know not the voice of a stranger. This is not the fanciful
costume of a parable; it is a simple fact.”--(_Thompson’s Land and
Book_, I, 301.) This personality of relation between the true
religious teacher and the taught, abundantly illustrated by Christ’s
personal love for his disciples, and by Paul’s love for the converts
gathered under his ministry, is in strong contrast to the distance
which was maintained between the Pharisees and the common people. It
is not then a fanciful deduction that, under ordinary circumstances,
the pastor should have a personal acquaintance with his people, should
not have so large a charge that he cannot know his people by name, and
should ordinarily depend for his influence upon his personal
acquaintance with them, and their personal confidence in him.
6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood
not what things they were which he spake unto them.
=6. This parable spake Jesus unto them.= Rather _allegory_ or
_obscure saying_. The original word (παροιμία) is different from
that in the other Evangelists translated _parable_, and the
structure of the teaching is somewhat different from that of the
parables narrated by the other Evangelists. See on the nature of the
parable, Matthew, ch. 13, Prel. Note. This, however, more nearly
approximates a true parable than any other of Christ’s instructions
reported by John.--=But they understood not what things they were
which he spake unto them.= That is, the Pharisees to whom he was
speaking did not understand the meaning and application of his
imagery. “They did not feel the application of it; they did not see
what shepherds and sheepfolds had to do with them. They could hardly
have given a greater proof how little they understood the things which
were written in the books they prized most--how their worship of the
divine letter had destroyed all commerce between their minds and the
realities which it set forth.”--(_Maurice._)
7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, I[395] am the door of the sheep.
[395] Eph. 2:18.
=7.= Verses 7-10 inclusive, contain the first application of the
parable, primarily to the Pharisees as religious teachers of Israel,
and secondarily to all that claim to be shepherds of God’s people,
then or now.--=I am the door.= “That is, through me all the truths and
blessings of religion are to be communicated to the flock, or people of
God. Whoever addresses them as an authorized teacher must enter through
me.”--(_Norton._) It is the Holy Spirit (the porter, ver. 3)
who opens Christ to the heart and the heart to Christ, and makes it
possible for either the sheep (the learners) or the under-shepherd (the
teacher) to enter into the fold through him (chaps. 6:37, 44; 14:26;
15:26).
8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but
the sheep did not hear them.
=8. All whosoever came before me are thieves and robbers.= This verse
is declared by Tholuck to be “one of the most difficult sentences in
the N. T.” If _before_ (πρό) be taken as an adverb of time, as is
generally done, then Christ’s declaration is that all religious
teachers who preceded him were thieves and robbers, and this would on
its face include the long line of prophets from Moses to Malachi; or
if the sentence is modified, as some propose, by the fact that the
verb is in the present tense, _are_ thieves and robbers, so that
Christ embraces only the then living teachers, still this would
include such instructors as Gamaliel and Nicodemus, if not John the
Baptist, who belonged to that generation. The qualification of this,
by the supposition that Christ did not include true teachers but only
the false, not only falsifies his declaration which points out the way
in which the true may be distinguished from the false, but reduces the
sentence to a truism, viz., All false religious teachers who came
before me, are thieves and robbers, _i. e._, teachers of falsehood,
depriving men of the truth. The other proposed qualification, All who
have come claiming to be Messiah, are thieves, etc., not only adds an
important qualification to Christ’s declaration, but is historically
an anachronism, inasmuch as there is no historical evidence that any
false Messiah preceded the time of Christ. I am inclined, therefore,
to take _before_ (πρό) as an adverb signifying precedence in rank or
authority, as it does in Col. 1:17, James 5:12, and 1 Pet. 4:8, and to
understand the passage, _All whosoever come claiming precedence above
me are thieves and robbers_. The verb _come_ (ἦλθον) is in the aorist
tense, and does not necessarily indicate a coming in the past only,
but would be properly used for the enunciation of a general principle.
The prophets of the O. T. claimed no such precedence above Christ; on
the contrary, they were but his heralds; and John the Baptist
distinctly disavowed such precedence (Matt. 3:14; chaps. 1:26, 27;
3:30). The Pharisees, on the other hand, denied Christ’s right to
teach, because he did not belong to their schools (ch. 7:15), and in
their conference with the blind man had put themselves above Christ
(ch. 9:16, 24). Where there is no general agreement among scholars, I
hesitate to offer an interpretation which differs from all, but this
appears to me on the whole more consistent with the context, and with
the teaching of the N. T. elsewhere, than any other, and not
inconsistent with the original. If this be a correct interpretation,
Christ’s claim here is directly antagonistic to those who would make
an eclectic religion, by selecting truth from all the world’s
religious teachers, including Christ among the rest. For he declares
all to be robbing the world of truth, not imparting it, who deny him
the pre-eminent rank as a religious teacher. On the other hand, he
does not stigmatize genuine moral teachers, such as Buddha or
Socrates, as thieves and robbers, for they had no knowledge of Christ,
and claimed no precedence above him.--=But the sheep did not hear
them.= This has been eminently true of all teachers in the church who
have put themselves above Christ; it is the preachers of Christ who
alone have secured the world’s attention. This is illustrated by the
history of Paul (2 Cor. 4:5), Luther, Wesley, and in our own times
Spurgeon, Moody, and others.
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be
saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
=9. I am the door; by me if any enter in, he shall be safe.= Christ is
not only the door by whom the shepherd (the teacher) can alone enter
in to feed the flock, he is also the door by which alone the sheep
(the disciples) can enter into the church and into security (Acts
4:12). The extent and assurance of this safety is expressed below
(vers. 28, 29). And observe, the promise is not merely _shall be
saved_ in the future, but _shall be safe_, _i. e._, from the time of
entering the door (ch. 3:18, 36; Rom. 8:1, 28, 31, etc.)--=And shall
go in and out and find pasture.= To “go in and out” was a common
Hebraistic phrase to denote the whole life and action of man (Deut.
28:6; Psalm 121:8). Here, therefore, the meaning is that he who thus
enters the door, shall be blessed in all his ways. His pasture is the
bread of life and water of life, promised in chaps. 4:14; 6:48-51. So
that Christ is at once the door, the shepherd, and the pasture; the
entrance, the guardian and guide, and the food of the disciple.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and
to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that
they might have _it_ more abundantly.
=10. The thief cometh not but for to steal * * * * I am come that they
might have life=, etc. A contrast between false religion and the true,
heathenism or Pharisaism and Christianity. The false religion comes to
deprive men of their liberty, their property, their earthly happiness,
to kill their natural and free life, and to destroy, finally, the
soul. The true religion comes first to give this present life more
abundant development, and then through that to give eternal life.
Hence, whatever form of religion tends to deprive mankind of its free,
natural, and joyous life is anti-Christian; the constant tendency of
Christ’s teaching and influence is to make the whole life, social,
intellectual, moral, and spiritual, more abundant.
11 I[396] am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth
his life for the sheep.
[396] Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 2:25.
12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd,
whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and
leaveth[397] the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth
them, and scattereth the sheep.
[397] Ezek. 34:2-6; Zech. 11:17.
=11, 12.= With these verses Christ gives a new direction to the
preceding parable. He has thus far spoken of religious teachers
in general, and of himself as the _door_ by which they alone can
enter in to feed the flock, and by which alone the flock can enter
in to find safety. He now speaks of himself as the Great Shepherd
and Bishop of souls (1 Pet. 2:25), under whom are all the shepherds,
and in contrast with whom are the hirelings.--=I am the Good
Shepherd=, more literally the _beautiful_ Shepherd; but this word
(καλός), though strictly speaking esthetic, was used by the Greeks to
designate moral beauty, and referred to the most symmetrical and
perfect goodness. Throughout the O. T. the church of God is regarded
as a fold, Israel as a flock, and Jehovah himself as the Shepherd (Ps.
23; Isa. 40:11; Ezek., ch. 34; Jer., ch. 23; Micah 5:3; Zech., ch.
11). It is impossible but that Christ’s auditors should have
understood him as claiming to be this Shepherd of Israel. Observe the
difference between the phraseology here and in verse 2; here _the_
good Shepherd; there _a_ Shepherd.--=The good shepherd layeth down his
life for the sheep.= This is not a prophecy, equivalent to, I am about
to die for my sheep; it is the enunciation of a general principle by
which every good shepherd can be distinguished from the hireling; for
every good shepherd is ready to sacrifice his life for his sheep
because they are his; the hireling flees when danger threatens,
because he is an hireling and has no real interest in the sheep.
Neither is the expression _to lay down the life_ a circumlocution for
_die_. Christ rarely uses circumlocution of any kind. The good
shepherd may or may not be called on to die for his sheep; but he
always lays down his life for them. To lay down the life is to
consecrate it, devote it to the flock; as a mother, who is always
ready to die for her children, but who, living or dying, belongs to
her children and surrenders herself to them. So we ought also to lay
down our lives for the brethren (1 John 3:16), though comparatively
few are ever called on to die for them. Wickliffe and Luther as truly
laid down their lives for the flock as Huss and Tyndale. The sacrifice
of Christ consisted not merely in his death--which was indeed in its
mere physical aspects the least part of it--but in his whole
incarnation. His entire life from his advent to the grave was laid
down for his sheep. This laying down of his life includes his death;
but it includes much more. The whole thirty years was a living
sacrifice for sinful humanity (Phil. 2:5-8).--=But he that is an
hireling, not being a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the
wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep and fleeth.= Every clause in this
sentence must be carefully weighed by the student; for every clause is
full of weighty significance. There is nothing in the sentence, if the
whole be considered, adverse to a paid ministry. Not every one who is
hired is an hireling (1 Tim. 5:18); only he who _serves for hire_,
whether emoluments or reputation; who accordingly is not a shepherd,
_i. e._, has none of the shepherd’s instincts and none of the
shepherd’s love for his flock; _whose own the sheep are not_, _i. e._,
who has none of that sense of ownership in his flock which Paul
experienced and expressed (1 Cor. 4:14, 15; 1 Thess. 2:11; 1 Tim. 1:2;
Titus 1:4; Philemon 10); who, therefore, _careth not for the sheep_
(ver. 13), but only for himself. Here, as everywhere in Christ’s
instructions, it is the evil spirit which he condemns and the right
spirit which he exalts. The hirelings of Christ’s day were those among
the chief rulers and the priests, the religious teachers of Israel,
who believed on Jesus, but would not confess their faith for fear of
the hierarchy (ch. 9:22; 12:42, 43; 19:38). The hirelings ever since
have been those in the church, whether paid preachers or no, who have
feared to withstand falsehood and danger, and have suffered popular
sins to pass unrebuked lest they should bring obloquy upon themselves,
or loss of friends, or personal peril, or any martyrdom, large or
small. The hireling, too, does not merely _flee_; the true shepherd
has sometimes to do this (Matt. 10:23); Christ himself did this
repeatedly (Matt. 14:13; Luke 4:30; John 8:59; 10:39). It is
characteristic of the hireling that he _leaveth the sheep_ and fleeth.
Caution may lead the true pastor to avoid a conflict which will bring
greater disaster on the flock than battle; but his caution is always
to be exercised for the sheep, not for himself. It is caring for one’s
self more than for the church that marks the hireling.--=The wolf
catcheth them and scattereth the sheep.= Any and every willful and
determined opponent to truth and righteousness is a wolf; whether he
is a persecuting power like that of pagan and papal Rome, or a false
teacher, a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15; Acts 20:29). The wolf
at this particular juncture was the Pharisaic party, which was
ravaging the church of God, and binding heavy burdens on the people,
whom Christ denounced, and in battle with whom he suffered death.
13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and
careth not for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd, and[398] know my _sheep_, and am
known[399] of mine.
[398] 2 Tim. 2:19.
[399] 1 John 5:20.
15 As[400] the Father knoweth me, even so know I the
Father: and[401] I lay down my life for the sheep.
[400] Matt. 11:27.
[401] ch. 15:13; Isa. 53:4,5.
=13-15. The hireling * * * careth not for the sheep * * *=--=I know my
sheep.= Christ reiterates the contrast between the hireling and the
good shepherd; and indicates anew points of distinction between the
two. The hireling careth not for the sheep; he cares only for his
wages; the good shepherd knows his sheep and is known by them. In a
limited way this is true of the good pastor or shepherd; he knows his
flock personally and sympathizingly; he is not merely a preacher to
them; he is their best friend and adviser (ver. 3, note). But this
knowledge is never perfect, and never can be, in the under shepherd.
His insight is imperfect; his sympathy is partial. It is only Christ
who can say I _know_ my sheep. “If you would think rightly of the Son
of Man, think of the Person who knows thoroughly everything that each
one of you is feeling, and cannot utter to others or to himself--every
temptation from riches, from poverty, from solicitude, from society,
from gifts of intellect, from the want of them, from the gladness of
the spirit, from the barrenness and dreariness of it, from the warmth
of affection and from the drying up of affection, from the anguish of
doubt and the dulness of indifference, from the whirlwind of passion
and the calm which succeeds it, from the vile thoughts which spring
out of fleshly appetites and indulgences, from the darker, more
terrible suggestions which are presented to the inner will. Believe
that he knows all these, that he knows _you_. And then believe this
also, that all he knows is through intense, inmost sympathy, not with
the evil that is assaulting you, but with you who are assaulted by it.
Believe that knowledge, in this the Scriptural sense of it--the human
as well as the divine sense of it--is absolutely inseparable from
sympathy.”--(_Maurice._)--=And am known of mine.= Christ’s knowledge
of the Christian is the basis of the Christian’s knowledge of Christ.
Both are sympathetic and personal, the knowledge of love. It is
because the Good Shepherd knows his sheep that he is known of them. It
is because by his knowledge he is able to enter into our innermost
experience, and to give us comfort and strength when all human helpers
fail, that we come to know him as our Helper and our Strength. We know
him as the Good Shepherd only as we follow his guidance, accept the
food and water he gives us, are restored by him when wandering, and
delivered by him from danger and death.--=As the Father knoweth me,
even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.= The
connection is not very clear between this sentence and the preceding
one, or between the different clauses of this sentence. It seems to
me, however, that Christ refers to this knowledge between himself and
the Father, not merely to illustrate the knowledge between himself and
his disciples, but to turn their thoughts from himself to the Father.
Christ has been accused of blasphemy by the Jews; that is, of
endeavoring to deflect the reverence and allegiance of the people from
God to himself. It must be confessed that there has often been a
tendency in his disciples to substitute the Saviour for the Father, to
believe in the sympathy of Christ, but not in the sympathy of God, to
believe in the love of the Redeemer, but to attribute justice and
wrath to Jehovah. Christ guards against this tendency, and refutes
this accusation, by the declaration that he knows perfectly every wish
and will of the Father, and in the whole course of his self-sacrifice,
in all the laying down of his life for humanity, he is carrying out
that will. Thus the declaration of this verse leads one to that of
verse 17: “Therefore doth my Father love me because I lay down my
life.”
16 And[402] other sheep I have, which are not of this fold;
them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice;
and[403] there shall be one fold, _and_ one shepherd.
[402] Isa. 49:6; 56:8.
[403] Ezek. 37:22; Ephes. 2:14.
17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because[404] I lay
down my life, that I might take it again.
[404] Isa. 53:7-12; Heb. 2:9.
18 No man taketh it from me, but[405] I lay it down of
myself. I have power to lay it down, and I[406] have power
to take it again. This[407] commandment have I received of
my Father.
[405] Phil. 2:6-8.
[406] ch. 2:19.
[407] ch. 6:38.
=16-18. Other sheep I have which are not from= (ἐκ) =this fold=. Not,
Which are in other worlds; for the Bible does not anywhere recognize
this world as the fold of God: nor, Others from among the dispersed
Jews scattered among the Gentiles; for these were already in “this
fold,” none the less belonging to Israel because they were
geographically separated from their brethren. The reference is to
those whom Christ has among the Gentiles, and, as I believe, still has
among the heathen (Acts 10:35; 18:10). They are not, however, in a
flock or fold, but scattered (ch. 11:52). Observe, Christ does not say
_I am to have_--the present is not used in lieu of the future. He
already has them; they are his sheep; he recognizes as his own those
whose spirit is akin to his, though they do not recognize him as
theirs (Matt. 25:37-40).--=Them also I must lead.= Not _bring_, _i.
e._, to the Jewish nation, but _lead_ as a shepherd. He must be leader
to all who will follow him, whether Jew or Gentile.--=And there shall
be one flock, one Shepherd.= Not one _fold_, as unfortunately
translated in our English version (μία ποίμνη, not μία αὐλή). “Not
_one fold_, but _one flock_; no one exclusive enclosure of an outward
church--but one flock, all knowing the one Shepherd, and known of
Him.”--(_Alford._) And one flock because one Shepherd; one not in
creed, or organization, or method of worship, but one in Christ Jesus
(see ver. 30).--=Therefore doth my Father love me because I lay down
my life.= Not because I _have_ laid it down, as though the love of the
Father were caused by the earthly love and sacrifice of Christ, but
because I _lay_ it down. That is, because Christ’s Spirit is one of
self-sacrificing love, manifested by, but not alone embodied in the
incarnation, he is loved by the Father. See Phil. 2:9; Heb. 1:9.--=In
order that I may take it again.= Beware of understanding this, as many
of the commentators seem to do, as equivalent to, _I die in order that
I may rise from the dead_. The meaning is interpreted by Christ’s
declaration to his disciples: “He that loseth his life for my sake
shall find it.” Christ lays down his life by his humiliation, his
incarnation, his passion and his crucifixion, that he may take it
again in the life of the myriads whom he has redeemed from death by
his own death. He takes it again when he sees of the travail of his
soul and is satisfied (Isa. 53:11), which he does when those who have
been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb stand before him
(Rev. 7:14, 15). So every mother, laying down her life in continued
self-sacrifice for her children, takes it again in their developed
manhood and womanhood.--=No one taketh it from me, but I lay it down
of myself.= _No one_ is not equivalent to _no man_, a translation
which weakens if it does not destroy the sense. The sacrifice of
Christ, the whole experience of humiliation and suffering, commencing
with the laying aside of the glory which he had with the Father and
culminating in the crucifixion, was not imposed upon him by any one,
neither by man, nor by Satan, nor even by the Father; it was
self-assumed. This fact is the answer to all those objections to the
N. T. doctrine of the atonement, which misrepresent it as portraying a
God who inflicts on an innocent victim the punishment which was
deserved by others.--=I have power to lay it down and I have power to
take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.= The
word rendered _power_ (ἐξουσία), includes both _power_ and _right_
(see ch. 1:12, note); the word rendered _commandment_ (ἐντολὴ), is
not equivalent to authority; the original word always means _law_
or _command_. Christ’s disciples have no authority to frame
self-sacrifices for themselves; doing this is always characteristic of
a corrupt and _quasi_ pagan religion. They are to bear with cheerful
heroism whatever self-sacrifice the providence of God may lay upon
them. So also they have never a right to seek death, but are always to
seek to _live_ to the glory of God and for their fellow-men. But
Christ voluntarily chose his life of humiliation and cross-bearing;
voluntarily sought its privations; and finally went, not to an
inevitable death, but to one which he might easily have avoided by
flight, if he had acted according to the directions which he gave his
followers, and on which the apostle subsequently acted. He might have
fled from Jerusalem on the fatal night of his arrest, as he had done
before, and this without leaving his sheep to be seized or scattered
by the wolf; or he might have been protected by supernatural power
(Matt. 26:53). He did not because he had a peculiar authority given to
him, which his followers do not possess, to lay down his own life,
both in the self-assumed humiliation of the incarnation, and in the
final tragedy of his death. And this peculiar authority he possessed
because in all his incarnation and passion and death he was carrying
out the will and obeying the command of his Father. To us the
divine command is interpreted by providence; Christ needed no such
interpreter, for he knew the Father’s will, knowing the Father even as
he was known by the Father.
19 There was a division therefore again among the Jews for
these sayings.
20 And many of them said, He[408] hath a devil, and is mad;
why hear ye him?
[408] ch. 7:20.
21 Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a
devil. Can a devil open[409] the eyes of the blind?
[409] ch. 9:6, etc.
=19-21. There was a division therefore again among theJews.=--Christ’s
fan was in his hand. His teachings were tests of the character of his
auditors.--=He hath a devil.= Rather _an evil spirit_ (see ch. 8:52,
note).--=Why hear ye him?= Why listen to him at all? The words were
addressed by the opponents of Jesus to those who were inclined to
believe on him, and indicate the uneasiness with which the Pharisees
observed the impression which Christ was making on the less prejudiced
and better disposed among the people (comp. ch. 7:46-49).--=These are
not the words of one possessed by an evil spirit.= A pregnant saying.
Infidelity must afford some explanation of the teachings and life of
Christ; and they are not the teachings and life of either a fanatic or
a deceiver.--=Can an evil spirit open the eyes of the blind?= These
words show that the whole discourse of this chapter was not distant in
time from the healing of the blind man narrated in Chapter IX, and was
probably closely connected with it.
* * * * *
Ch. 10:22-42. DISCOURSE AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.--THE GIFT
OF CHRIST: ETERNAL LIFE.--THE POWER OF CHRIST: THE POWER OF THE
FATHER.--THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE O. T. PROPHETS AND CHRIST.--THE
EVIDENCE OF CHRIST’S DIVINITY; HIS WORKS.
There is no reason to suppose that Christ left Judea during the time
which elapsed between the feast of Tabernacles (ch. 7:2) and
the feast of Dedication; on the contrary, the intimate connection
between the discourse here reported and the preceding parable of the
Good Shepherd (see vers. 26, 27), indicates that this discourse
followed almost immediately after that one; certainly while the latter
was still fresh in the minds of the people. I believe that the ministry
in Judea, reported in John, chapters 7, 8, 9 and 10, was a continuous
one, unbroken by any departure into Galilee or Perea.
22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and
it was winter.
23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.[410]
[410] Acts 3:11; 5:12.
24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him,
How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ,
tell us plainly.
=22-24. The feast of the Dedication.= A Jewish feast instituted by
Judas Maccabeus, in commemoration of the cleansing of the second
temple and altar, after they had been polluted by Antiochus Epiphanes.
The profanation took place B. C. 167, the purification B. C. 164. The
festival commenced on the 25th day of the ninth month, Kislev,
answering to our December, and lasted eight days. It was also called
the feast of Lights, from the fact that the Jews illuminated their
houses as long as the feast lasted. Instituted by the Maccabean
dynasty, and observed chiefly by the more rigid Judeans, it afforded
to Christ an audience only of the more narrow-minded and bigoted of
the Jews, a fact which must be borne in mind in studying his teaching
on this occasion.--=It was winter.=--The fact is stated to explain our
Lord’s walking in Solomon’s portico. For description and illustration
of this portico, see Acts 5:12, note. This minute detail, the
exact locality where he gave this instruction, is one of the many
indications which this Gospel affords of being written by an
eye-witness.--=The Judeans therefore surrounded him.= The verb
(κυκλόω) is generally used in a hostile sense, _e. g._, of armies
encompassing a city (Luke 21:20; Heb. 11:30; Rev. 20:9). This is the
meaning here; an excited and threatening crowd hedged about Jesus as
he was quietly walking in the porch. “Their fixed design was, not to
leave him at liberty till he should have uttered the decisive
word.”--(_Godet._) This was the earliest manifestation of that design
which was finally accomplished when the oath was administered to Jesus
by the High Priest, and he was adjured to say whether he was the Son
of God (Matt. 26:63, note).--=How long dost thou keep our souls in
suspense?= This English idiom almost literally answers to the Greek
idiom (τὴν ψυκὴν αἴρεις), which is still more exactly, _How long dost
thou keep our souls lifted up?_ _i. e._, with expectation and
uncertainty. Commingled and contradictory feelings in the crowd were
probably represented by this question; some hoped that Jesus was the
Messiah and desired to compel him to declare himself; others were
enraged with him, and desired to extort some utterance which would
give them the opportunity to condemn him for blasphemy, or to excite
the mob against him.
25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not;
the[411] works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear
witness of me.
[411] ch. 5:36.
26 But[412] ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep,
as I said unto you.
[412] ch. 8:47.
27 My[413] sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they
follow me:
[413] verse 4.
=25-27. I told you * * * the works * * * bear witness of me.= He had
told them (ch. 5:19; 8:36, 56, 58, etc.), not it is true as plainly as
he had told the Samaritan woman (ch. 4:26), but more plainly than he
had told his own disciples previous to Peter’s confession of faith,
“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16); and he
now answers them as he answered John the Baptist, who, in a very
different spirit, preferred the same request for a definite answer to
the question, “Art thou He that should come?” (Matt. 11:2-6.) He
refers them to his works. The evidence of Christ’s divinity is not in
his declaration about himself, nor in the declarations made concerning
him by others, but in his life, his character, and the work which he
has done and is still doing in the world. Works (ἔργα) includes his
miracles but is not equivalent to miracles. See ch. 14:12, note. The
reason why he did not answer more directly is well given by Godet: “He
could not answer ‘I am,’ for the meaning which they attached to the
word Christ had, so to speak, nothing in common with that in which he
used it. Still less could he reply, ‘I am not;’ for he was indeed the
Christ provided by God, and in that sense he whom they expected.”--=Because
ye are not of my sheep, as I said to you.= The reference is either to
the implied teaching of the parable of the Good Shepherd, or to some
specific statement not reported by the Evangelist. The genuineness of
the words _as I said to you_ is doubted by some, but they are regarded
as authentic by most critics. What does he mean by _ye are not of my
sheep_. If we look back we shall see that the sheep of Christ are
those that hear (_i. e._, accept and obey) his voice, and follow him
(_i. e._, imitate his life and example). See verses 3, 4, 14, 16, 27.
The declaration, then, _Ye believe not because ye are not of my
sheep_, is that those who do not spiritually recognize the beauty of
Christ’s teaching, and do not attempt to follow his incomparable
example, are not to be expected to be convinced of his divinity by
purely intellectual arguments.--The answer to the skeptic is
generally, You cannot believe in Christ as your personal Saviour till
you begin to recognize and to follow his teaching and example as a
prophet and a man. The declaration is the converse of John 7:17. Comp.
2 Peter 1:5-8, where the possession of the Christian virtues is
declared to be the efficient cause of a sound Christian knowledge. The
creed does not precede but follows spiritual life.
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they[414] shall
never perish, neither shall any _man_ pluck them out of my
hand.
[414] ch. 17:12; 18:9.
29 My[415] Father, which gave[416] _them_ me, is greater
than all; and no _man_ is able to pluck _them_ out of my
Father’s hand.
[415] ch. 14:28.
[416] ch. 17:2.
30 I[417] and _my_ Father are one.
[417] ch. 17:11, 22.
=28-30. And I give unto them eternal life.= Life is the _gift_ of God
through Jesus Christ (ch. 1:12; 4:10, 14; 6:27, 32, 51; Rom. 5:17;
6:23; Eph. 1:17), but the necessary condition of receiving it is
faith in his Son, _i. e._, the ability to appreciate spiritual life
in its highest and most perfect manifestation, and a readiness to
follow after it, by leaving all things else to attain it, as did Paul
(Phil. 3:13, 14).--=And they shall never perish, neither shall
any pluck them out of my hand.= The word rendered _perish_ is literally
_destroy themselves_ (ἀπόλωνται, _middle voice_); and this seems to
me to be the meaning here; otherwise there would be a repetition,
the second clause of the promise only reiterating the first clause.
The word _man_ is not in the original; _any_ includes all powers,
human and superhuman. I, then, understand Christ’s declaration to be
that the souls which trust in him _shall never destroy themselves,
and no one shall pluck them out of his hand_; _i. e._, he promises
to protect his disciples both against their own weaknesses and also
against the strength of assailants; from fears without and foes
within; from treachery in the soul, and from assaults on the soul.
See 1 Cor. 10:13; 15:10; Phil. 4:19; Col. 1:11, etc.--=My Father which
gave them to me, is greater than all.= There is some uncertainty as to
the reading, but the best critics agree in sustaining the received
text.--=No one is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my
Father are one.= Without entering into any doubtful disputations
respecting the relation of the Father and the Son, a problem which I
believe transcends human knowledge, it is evident that the connection
here requires us to understand Christ as declaring himself one with
the Father, not merely in will or desire, as the disciple is to be one
with his Lord, but also in spiritual power. The argument is, “My sheep
shall never perish, since my Father who gave them into my hand is
greater than all, and I who hold them, am one with him.” This argument
would be without force if the meaning was not that Christ’s _power_ is
equal to that of the Father. His will might be perfectly in harmony
with the divine will, he still could not be trusted as a divine
Saviour unless his power was commensurate with his will. So all the
best expositors, _Alford_, _Godet_, _Meyer_, _Luthardt_, _Tholuck_.
31 Then[418] the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
[418] ch. 8:59.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed
you from my Father; for which of those works do ye
stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone
thee not; but for blasphemy; and because[419] that thou,
being a man, makest thyself God.
[419] verse 30; ch. 5:18; Ps. 82:6; Rom. 13:1.
=31-33.= The moral power of Christ is singularly illustrated by the
manner in which he restrains the mob by his voice and compels them to
answer his question. That question implies that punishment is due only
to wrong actors, and he asks them before they execute sentence, to
designate any wrong that he has done. The question is thus analogous
to that of ch. 8:46, “Which of you convinceth me of sin.”--Blasphemy
was a regularly recognized crime under Jewish law; it consisted in any
endeavor to draw away the allegiance of the people from the one true
God, and answered to treason with us, Jehovah being under the
theocracy, the Supreme head of the nation (see Matt. 12:32, note). The
reply of the Jews to Christ’s question plainly shows how they regarded
his declaration, “I and my Father are one,” not as indicating mere
unity in spirit and purpose, but also in power and essential being.
This is not indeed conclusive, for the Jews constantly misunderstood
Christ; but it is an indication of his meaning. One practical lesson
of the unity of the Godhead, of Christ and the Spirit with the Father,
is eloquently presented by Maurice: “The unity of the Father and the
Son is the only ground of the unity between the Shepherd and the
sheep; undermine one and you undermine both * * * *. Do you think
sects would last even for an hour, if there was not in the heart of
each of them a witness for a fellowship which combinations and
shibboleths did not create, and which, thanks be to God, they cannot
destroy. The Shepherd makes his voice to be heard through all the
noise and clatter of earthly shepherds; the sheep hear his voice and
know that it is calling them to follow him into a common fold where
all may rest and dwell together; and when once they understand the
still deeper message which he is uttering here, and which the old
creeds are repeating to us, ‘I and my Father are one;’ when they
understand that the unity of the church and the unity of mankind
depends on this eternal distinction and unity in God himself, and not
upon authority or decrees of any mortal pastor, the sects will crumble
to pieces, and there will be in very deed, one flock and one
Shepherd.”
34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I
said, Ye are gods?
35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came,
and the scripture cannot be broken;
36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified,[420] and
sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I
am[421] the Son of God?
[420] ch. 6:27; Isa. 11:2, 3; 49:1, 3.
[421] Phil. 2:6.
=34-36. Is it not written in your law.= He does not say in _our_ law,
nor in _the_ law, but in _your_ law. Christ does not identify himself
with the Jews, nor regard himself as subject to the law, though made
under it, and yielding himself to it for a season. Comp. ch. 7:19;
8:17. The reference is to Psalm 82:6. There is no passage in the law,
_i. e._, in the Pentateuch, which corresponds exactly to Christ’s
words here, or to those of the Psalmist; but in Exodus 22:28, the
title of “gods” is given to the judges. The Psalm in question is
believed to have been written on the occasion of Jehosaphat’s reform
of the courts and re-establishment of the law (2 Chron., ch. 19), and
it contrasts the unjust judges of Israel, who had been called gods in
the law, with God the Judge of all the earth.--=Unto whom the word of
God came.= _The word of God_ is not the mere saying, “I have said ye
are gods” (_Meyer_); it is never used in the N. T. in so limited a
sense, to signify merely a particular phrase or utterance. It is
either, The Spirit of God, _i. e._, God revealing himself to and
through the prophet, as in ch. 1:1 (see note there) and Heb. 4:12; or
it is the word given to the prophets by the Holy Spirit and by them
repeated to the nation, _i. e._, nearly equivalent to the O. T.
Scripture, as in Mark 7:13; Luke 5:1, etc.--=And the Scripture cannot
be broken.= Literally _loosened_ (Matt. 5:19, note). This
parenthetical declaration is a very significant testimony to the
inspiration of the O. T.--=Whom the Father hath sanctified.= The
original (ἁγιάζω) may be rendered either made holy, in the sense of
made clean and pure in character, or made holy in the sense of set
apart to a holy use. It is evidently in the latter sense that it is
employed here.--=And sent into the world.= The sanctifying of Christ
preceded the sending into the world. Evidently, therefore, the
reference is not to any act recorded in the life of Christ, as the
descent of the Holy Spirit at the baptism, but to a consecration in
the will of God to the work of redemption, and which preceded the
Advent.--=Thou blasphemest.= That is, art guilty of diverting the
allegiance of the people from God to thyself.--=Because I said I am a
Son of God.= The article is wanting in the Greek, and ought not to be
added in the translation.
These verses (34-36) have been sometimes regarded as a partial
retraction, or at least a material modification of the declaration, “I
and my Father are one;” as indicating that Jesus Christ is a Son of
God only as every obedient soul is a child of God (1 John 3:1). If
this passage stood alone, such an interpretation might possibly be
given to it; but if the audience, the circumstances, the effect, and
the other utterances of the speaker be taken into account, it cannot
be fairly so understood. This sentence is spoken to a mob for the
purpose of checking their rage. They have understood Christ to claim
divinity. He does not in terms explicitly disavow it. On the contrary,
when his explanation is ended, they resume their design (ver. 39), and
he is obliged to flee for his life. We should not look in such an
utterance for a disclosure of the profoundest truths respecting
Christ’s character, not because Christ would conceal or modify the
truth to save his life, but because an angry mob is not the sort of an
audience to whom he would choose to reveal it, or indeed could reveal
it, a certain receptiveness of soul being necessary to the
comprehension of spiritual truth. The argument of these verses seems
to me to be this: He to whom the Spirit of God comes, and who receives
it and becomes in so far an exponent and manifestation of God, is in a
sense divine; he becomes partaker of the divine nature; a sharer of
the divine life (Rom. 8:29; Heb. 12:10; 2 Pet. 1:4). This is the
testimony of the Scriptures which cannot be set aside. He, then, who
is not of this world but from above (ch. 8:23), and whom the Father
consecrated above and sent down into this world, is not guilty of
blasphemy in calling himself a Son of God. In other words, Christ
compares himself with inspired men only to contrast himself with them;
he shows that, even according to the principles of the O. T.
Scriptures, by which the Jews pretended to condemn him, he was not
guilty of blasphemy, even if, being but a man, he had made himself a
son and so a representative of God, while he, at the same time,
clearly claims to be other and higher than the O. T. prophets and
judges. But for the full disclosure of Christ’s character, we must
look to his quiet conferences with his own disciples, who were at
least willing, if not able, to understand him.
37 If[422] I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
[422] ch. 14:10, 11; 15:24.
38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the
works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father _is_
in me, and I in him.
=37, 38. If I do not the works of my Father, put no faith in me.= Works
which show forth his power and glory and are in accordance with his
will and character (ch. 17:4).--=But if I do, though ye put no faith
in me, put faith in the works.= Beware of understanding faith,
rendered in our English version by _believe_, as a mere intellectual
act. The idea is, If prejudice against the person of Christ prevents
an affectionate regard for him, the soul may still have respect and
reverence for the work he has done, and is doing in the world. =That
ye may perceive and know= (γνῶτε καὶ γινώσκητε) is the best
reading.--_Alford_, _Meyer_. To _perceive_, or recognize, denotes the
outward act; to _know_ denotes the permanent state.--=That the Father
is in me and I in the Father.= A spiritual unity, such as cannot be
predicated of any other son of God. The Father is in the Son because
he lives and moves in him; is the spirit which animates and controls
and makes divine the man Jesus. The Son is in the Father because his
thoughts, wishes, purposes, desires, all centre in Him. The argument
of these verses is substantially the same as that addressed by Christ
to the Jews in verse 25 (see note there), and that addressed to his
own disciples in ch. 14:11. The best evidence of the divinity of
Christ is his own character; next is a consideration of the divine
work which he has done and is doing in the world.
39 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped
out of their hand;
40 And went away again beyond Jordan into the place[423]
where John at first baptized: and there he abode.
[423] ch. 1:28.
41 And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no
miracle: but all things that John spake[424] of this man
were true.
[424] ch. 3:30-36; Matt. 3:11, 12.
42 And many believed on him there.
=39-42. They sought again to take him.= To arrest him. Their passion
had time to cool, and they abandoned the idea of mob violence, which
would have brought, as in Paul’s case (Acts 21:31, 32), the
interference of the Romans. Instead, they endeavored to seize Christ
and bring him before the authorities for trial.--=But he escaped out
of their hand.= There is no reason to suppose a miracle. In the throng
were some at least who believed in him, and under cover afforded by
them he could have escaped.--=Where John at first baptized.= See ch.
1:28, note.--=All things that John spake of this man were true.= Being
dead he yet spake. Gave his testimony to Christ. See ch. 1:15-34. This
was the end of Christ’s Judean ministry proper, which had lasted three
months. It had been one of continuous storm. Twice during this period
he had been mobbed (ch. 8:59; 10:31); once an attempt was made to
arrest him (ch. 7:32, 45); secret plans for his assassination
were laid (ch. 7:19, 25; 8:37). All that we know of this ministry
is contained in John, chapters 7, 8, 9 and 10; though it is not
improbable that the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Pharisee
and the Publican, and the incidents at the house of Mary and Martha
belong to the same era (Luke 10:25-42; 18:9-14).--=And many believed
on him there.= A period of a little over three months, from some time
in December to the first of April, intervened between the retreat of
Christ from Judea and his final entry into Jerusalem at the Passover
week. I believe that this time was devoted to his ministry in Perea,
the district beyond Jordan; a ministry of which John here gives a
hint, to which Matthew and Mark also refer (Matt. 19:1, 2, etc.; Mark
10:1, etc.), but of which Luke alone gives any full account. See Luke,
ch. 10, Prel. Note. Many thronged his ministry there (Luke 11:29;
12:1; 14:15, 25; 15:1). This ministry was broken in upon by the
message from the sisters of Lazarus, as recorded in the next chapter.
See Prel. Note there.