---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  John 10"
description: "CHAPTER 10   :-. THE GOOD
SHEPHERD. This discourse seems plainly to be
a continuation of the closing verses of the ninth chapter. The figure
was familiar"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/john/10"
---

CHAPTER 10

. THE GOOD
SHEPHERD.
This discourse seems plainly to be
a continuation of the closing verses of the ninth chapter. The figure
was familiar to the Jewish ear (from [Jeremiah 23:1-40](../../../kjv/jeremiah/23/1-40);
[Ezekiel 34:1-31](../../../kjv/ezekiel/34/1-31); [Zechariah 11:1-17](../../../kjv/zechariah/11/1-17),
&c.). "This simple creature [the sheep] has this special
note among all animals, that it quickly hears the voice of the
shepherd, follows no one else, depends entirely on him, and seeks
help from him alone—cannot help itself, but is shut up to another's
aid" [LUTHER in
STIER].

**1, 2. He that entereth not by the
door**—the legitimate way (without saying what that was, as yet).
**into the sheepfold**—the
sacred enclosure of God's true people.
**climbeth up some other
way**—not referring to the assumption of ecclesiastical office
without an external call, for those Jewish rulers, specially aimed
at, had this ([Matthew 23:2](../../../kjv/matthew/23/2)), but to
the want of a true spiritual commission, the seal of heaven going
along with the outward authority; it is the assumption of the
spiritual guidance of the people *without this* that is meant.

**2. he that entereth in by the door
is the shepherd of the sheep**—a true, divinely recognized
shepherd.

**3. To him the porter openeth**—that
is, *right of free access* is given, by order of Him to whom the
sheep belong; for it is better not to give the allusion a more
specific interpretation [CALVIN,
MEYER, LUTHARDT].
**and the sheep hear his
voice**—This and all that follows, though it admits of important
*application* to every faithful shepherd of God's flock, is in
its direct and highest sense true only of "the great Shepherd of
the sheep," who in the first five verses seems plainly, under
the simple character of a true shepherd, to be drawing His own
portrait [LAMPE, STIER,
&c.].

**7-14. I am the door of the
sheep**—that is, *the way in* to the fold, with all blessed
privileges, both for shepherds and sheep (compare [John 14:6](../../../kjv/john/14/6);
[Ephesians 2:18](../../../kjv/ephesians/2/18)).

**8. All that ever came before me**—the
false prophets; not as claiming the prerogatives of Messiah, but as
perverters of the people from the way of life, all pointing to Him
[OLSHAUSEN].
**the sheep did not hear
them**—the instinct of their divinely taught hearts preserving
them from seducers, and attaching them to the heaven-sent prophets,
of whom it is said that "the Spirit of Christ was in them"
([1 Peter 1:11](../../../kjv/1-peter/1/11)).

**9. by me if any man enter in**—whether
shepherd or sheep.
**shall be saved**—the
great object of the pastoral office, as of all the divine
arrangements towards mankind.
**and shall go in and out and
find pasture**—*in,* as to a place of *safety* and
*repose; out,* as to "green pastures and still waters"
([Psalms 23:2](../../../kjv/psalms/23/2)) for nourishment and
refreshing, and all this only transferred to another clime, and
enjoyed in another manner, at the close of this earthly scene ([Psalms 23:2](../../../kjv/psalms/23/2)).

**10. I am come that they might have
life, and . . . more abundantly**—not merely to *preserve*
but *impart* LIFE,
and communicate it in rich and unfailing exuberance. What a claim!
Yet it is only an echo of all His teaching; and He who uttered these
and like words must be either a blasphemer, all worthy of the death
He died, or "God with us"—there can be no middle course.

**11. I am the good
shepherd**—emphatically, and, in the sense intended, exclusively
so ([Isaiah 40:11](../../../kjv/isaiah/40/11); [Ezekiel 34:23](../../../kjv/ezekiel/34/23);
[Ezekiel 37:24](../../../kjv/ezekiel/37/24); [Zechariah 13:7](../../../kjv/zechariah/13/7)).
**the good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep**—Though this may be said of literal
shepherds, who, even for their brute flock, have, like David,
encountered "the lion and the bear" at the risk of their
own lives, and still more of faithful pastors who, like the early
bishops of Rome, have been the foremost to brave the fury of their
enemies against the flock committed to their care; yet here, beyond
doubt, it points to the struggle which was to issue in the willing
surrender of the Redeemer's own life, to save His sheep from
destruction.

**12. an hireling . . . whose own the
sheep are not**—who has no *property,* in them. By this He
points to His own peculiar relation to the sheep, the same as His
Father's, the great Proprietor and Lord of the flock, who styles Him
"My Shepherd, *the Man that is My Fellow*" (), and though faithful under-shepherds are so in their
Master's interest, that they feel a measure of His own concern for
their charge, the language is strictly applicable only to "the
Son over His own house" ().
**seeth the wolf coming**—not
*the devil* distinctively, as some take it [STIER,
ALFORD, &c.], but
generally whoever comes upon the flock with hostile intent, in
whatever form: though the wicked one, no doubt, is *at the bottom*
of such movements [LUTHARDT].

**7-14. I am the door of the
sheep**—that is, *the way in* to the fold, with all blessed
privileges, both for shepherds and sheep (compare [John 14:6](../../../kjv/john/14/6);
[Ephesians 2:18](../../../kjv/ephesians/2/18)).

**14. I am the good shepherd, and know
my sheep**—in the peculiar sense of .
**am known of mine**—the
soul's response to the voice that has inwardly and efficaciously
called it; for of this mutual loving acquaintance ours is the *effect*
of His. "The Redeemer's knowledge of us is the *active*
element, penetrating us with His power and life; that of believers is
the *passive* principle, the reception of His life and light. In
this reception, however, an assimilation of the soul to the sublime
object of its knowledge and love takes place; and thus an activity,
though a derived one, is unfolded, which shows itself in obedience to
His commands" [OLSHAUSEN].
From this mutual knowledge Jesus rises to another and loftier
reciprocity of knowledge.

**15-18. As the Father knoweth me,
even so know I the Father**—What claim to absolute equality with
the Father could exceed this? (See on ).
**and I lay down my life for
the sheep**—How sublime this, immediately following the lofty
claim of the preceding clause! It is the riches and the poverty of
"the Word made flesh"—one glorious Person reaching at
once up to the Throne and down even to the dust of death, "that
we might live through Him." A candid interpretation of the
words, "*for the sheep,*" ought to go far to establish
the special relation of the vicarious death of Christ to the Church.

**16. other sheep I have . . . not of
this fold: them also I must bring**—He means the perishing
Gentiles, *already His* "*sheep*" in the love of
His heart and the purpose of His grace to "*bring* them"
in due time.
**they shall hear my voice**—*This
is not the language of mere foresight that they would believe, but
the expression of a purpose to draw them to Himself by an inward and
efficacious call, which would* *infallibly issue in their
spontaneous accession to Him.*
**and there shall be one
fold**—rather "one flock" (for the word for "fold,"
as in the foregoing verses, is quite different).

**17. Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life,** &c.—As the highest act of
the Son's love to the Father was the laying down of His life for the
sheep at His "commandment," so the Father's love to Him as
His *incarnate* Son reaches its consummation, and finds its
highest justification, in that sublimest and most affecting of all
acts.
**that I might take it
again**—His resurrection-life being indispensable to the
accomplishment of the fruit of His death.

**18. No man taketh it from me, but I
lay it down myself: I have power to lay it down, and I have power to
take it again**—It is impossible for language more plainly and
emphatically to express the *absolute voluntariness* of Christ's
death, such a voluntariness as it would be manifest presumption in
any mere *creature* to affirm of his own death. It is beyond all
doubt the language of One who was conscious that *His life was His
own* (which no creature's is), and therefore His to surrender or
retain *at will.* Here lay the glory of His sacrifice, that it
was *purely* voluntary. The claim of "power to take it
again" is no less important, as showing that His resurrection,
though ascribed to the Father, in the sense we shall presently see,
was nevertheless *His own assertion of His own right to life* as
soon as the purposes of His voluntary death were accomplished.
**This commandment**—to
"lay down His—life, that He might take it again."
**have I received of my
Father**—So that Christ died at once by "command" of
His Father, and by such a voluntary obedience to that command as has
made Him (so to speak) infinitely dear to the Father. The *necessity*
of Christ's death, in the light of these profound sayings, must be
manifest to all but the superficial student.

**19-21. There was a division . . .
again among the Jews for these sayings**—the light and the
darkness revealing themselves with increasing clearness in the
separation of the teachable from the obstinately prejudiced. The one
saw in Him only "a devil and a madman"; the other revolted
at the thought that *such words* could come from one possessed,
and sight be given to the blind by a demoniac; showing clearly that a
deeper impression had been made upon them than their words expressed.
. DISCOURSE AT THE
FEAST OF DEDICATION—FROM
THE FURY OF HIS
ENEMIES JESUS
ESCAPES BEYOND JORDAN,
WHERE MANY
BELIEVE ON HIM.

**22, 23. it was . . . the feast of
the dedication**—celebrated rather more than *two months*
after the feast of tabernacles, during which intermediate period our
Lord seems to have remained in the neighborhood of Jerusalem. It was
instituted by Jude Maccabeus, to commemorate the purification of the
temple from the profanations to which it had been subjected by
Antiochus Epiphanes 165 B.C.,
and kept for eight days, from the twenty-fifth Chisleu (December),
the day on which Judas began the first joyous celebration of it (1
Maccabees 4:52,56,59; and JOSEPHUS,
*Antiquities,* 7.7.7).
**it was winter**—implying
some *inclemency.* Therefore,

**23. Jesus walked . . . in Solomon's
porch**—for shelter. This portico was on the east side of the
temple, and JOSEPHUS says
it was part of the original structure of Solomon [*Antiquities,*
20.9.7].

**24. Then came the Jews**—*the
rulers.* (See on [John 1:19](../../../kjv/john/1/19)).
**How long dost thou make us to
doubt?**—"hold us in suspense" (*Margin*).
**If thou be the Christ, tell
us plainly**—But when the plainest *evidence* of it was
resisted, what weight could a mere *assertion* of it have?

**25, 26. Jesus answered them, I told
you**—that is, in substance, what I am (for example [John 7:37](../../../kjv/john/7/37);
[John 7:38](../../../kjv/john/7/38); [John 8:12](../../../kjv/john/8/12);
[John 8:35](../../../kjv/john/8/35); [John 8:36](../../../kjv/john/8/36);
[John 8:58](../../../kjv/john/8/58)).

**26. ye believe not, because ye are
not of my sheep, as I said**—referring to the whole strain of the
Parable of the Sheep, ([John 10:1](../../../kjv/john/10/1),
&c.).

**27-30. My sheep hear my voice,**
&c.—(See on [John 10:1](../../../kjv/john/10/1)).

**28. I give unto them eternal
life**—not "will give them"; for it is a present gift.
(See on [John 3:36](../../../kjv/john/3/36); [John 3:36](../../../kjv/john/3/36)). It is a very grand utterance, couched in the language of
majestic authority.

**29. My Father, which gave them
me**—(See on [John 6:37](../../../kjv/john/6/37)).
**is greater than all**—with
whom no adverse power can contend. It is a general expression of an
admitted truth, and what follows shows for what purpose it was
uttered, "and none is able to pluck them out of My Father's
hand." The impossibility of true believers being lost, in the
midst of all the temptations which they may encounter, does not
consist in their fidelity and decision, but is founded upon the *power
of God.* Here the doctrine of predestination is presented in its
sublime and sacred aspect; there is a predestination of the holy,
which is taught from one end of the Scriptures to the other; not,
indeed, of such a nature that an "irresistible grace"
*compels* the opposing will of man (of course not), but so that
that will of man which receives and loves the commands of God is
*produced* only by God's grace (OLSHAUSEN—a
testimony all the more valuable, being given in spite of *Lutheran*
prejudice).

**30. I and my Father are one**—Our
language admits not of the precision of the original in this great
saying. "*Are*" is in the *masculine* gender—"we
(two persons) are"; while "*one*" is *neuter*—"*one
thing.*" Perhaps "*one interest*" expresses,
as nearly as may be, the purport of the saying. There seemed to be
some contradiction between His saying they had been given by His
Father into *His own* hands, out of which they could not be
plucked, and then saying that none could pluck them out of *His
Father's* hands, as if they had not been given out of them.
"*Neither have they,*" says He; "though He has
given them to Me, they are as much in His own almighty hands as
ever—they *cannot be,* and when given to Me they are not,
given away from Himself; for HE
AND I HAVE ALL IN COMMON."
Thus it will be seen, that, though *oneness of essence* is not
the precise thing here affirmed, that truth is *the basis of what
is affirmed,* without which it would not be true. And AUGUSTINE
was right in saying the "*We are*" condemns the
*Sabellians* (who denied the *distinction of Persons* in
the Godhead), while the "*one*" (as explained)
condemns the *Arians* (who denied the unity of their essence).

**31. Then the Jews took up stones
again to stone Him**—and for precisely the same thing as before
([John 8:58](../../../kjv/john/8/58); [John 8:59](../../../kjv/john/8/59)).

**32. Many good works have I showed
you**—that is, works of pure benevolence (as in , "Who went about doing good," c. see ).
**from my Father**—not so
much by His power, but as directly *commissioned by Him to do them.*
This He says to meet the imputation of unwarrantable assumption of
the divine prerogatives [LUTHARDT].
**for which of those works do
ye stone me?**—"are ye stoning (that is, going to stone)
me?"

**33. for a blasphemy**—whose
legal punishment was stoning ().
**thou, being a man**—that
is, a man only.
**makest thyself God**—Twice
before they understood Him to advance the same claim, and both times
they prepared themselves to avenge what they took to be the insulted
honor of God, as here, in the way directed by their law ([John 5:18](../../../kjv/john/5/18);
[John 8:59](../../../kjv/john/8/59)).

**34-36. Is it not written in your
law**—in [Psalms 82:6](../../../kjv/psalms/82/6),
respecting judges or magistrates.
**Ye are gods**—being the
*official representatives* and *commissioned agents* of
God.

**35, 36. If he called them gods unto
whom the word of God came . . . Say ye of him whom the Father hath
sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest**—The whole
force of this reasoning, which has been but in part seized by the
commentators, lies in what is said of the two parties compared. The
*comparison* of Himself with mere men, divinely commissioned, is
intended to show (as NEANDER
well expresses it) that the idea of a communication of the Divine
Majesty to human nature was by no means foreign to the revelations of
the Old Testament; but there is also a *contrast* between
Himself and all merely human representatives of God—the one
"*sanctified by the Father and sent into the world*";
the other, "*to whom the word of God* (merely) *came,*"
which is expressly designed to prevent His being massed up with them
as only one of many human officials of God. *It is never said of
Christ* that "the word of the Lord came to Him"; whereas
this is the well-known formula by which the divine commission, even
to the highest of *mere men,* is expressed, as John the Baptist
([Luke 3:2](../../../kjv/luke/3/2)). The reason is that
given by the Baptist himself (see on [Luke 3:2](../../../kjv/luke/3/2)). The contrast is between those "to whom the word of
God came"—men of the earth, earthy, who were merely privileged
to get a divine *message* to utter (if prophets), or a divine
*office* to discharge (if judges)—and "Him whom (not
being of the earth at all) *the Father sanctified* (or set
apart), and *sent into the world,*" an expression *never
used of any merely human messenger of God,* and *used only of
Himself.*
**because, I said, I am the Son
of God**—It is worthy of special notice that our Lord *had not
said,* in so many words, that He was the Son of God, on this
occasion. But He had said what beyond doubt amounted to it—namely,
that He gave His sheep eternal life, and none could pluck them out of
His hand; that He had got them from His Father, in whose hands,
though given to Him, they still remained, and out of whose hand none
could pluck them; and that they were *the indefeasible property of
both,* inasmuch as "He and His Father were one." Our
Lord considers all this as just saying of Himself, "I am the Son
of God"—*one nature* with Him, yet mysteriously *of
Him.* The parenthesis ([Luke 3:2](../../../kjv/luke/3/2)), "and the Scripture cannot be broken," referring
to the terms used of magistrates in the eighty-second Psalm, has an
important bearing on the *authority* of the living oracles. "The
Scripture, as the expressed will of the unchangeable God, is itself
unchangeable and indissoluble" [OLSHAUSEN].
(Compare [Matthew 5:17](../../../kjv/matthew/5/17)).

**37-39. 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 ([John 7:46](../../../kjv/john/7/46);
[John 8:30](../../../kjv/john/8/30)). But, for those who
wanted this, "the works" were a mighty help. When these
failed, the case was desperate indeed.
**that ye may know and believe
that the Father is in me, and I in him**—thus reiterating His
claim to essential *oneness with the Father,* which He had only
*seemed* to soften down, that He might calm their rage and get
their ear again for a moment.

**39. Therefore they sought again to
take him**—true to their original understanding of His words, for
they saw perfectly well that He *meant* to "make Himself
God" throughout all this dialogue.
**he escaped out of their
hand**—(See on ; ).

**40-42. went away again beyond Jordan
. . . the place where John at first baptized**—(See on ).

**41. many resorted to him**—on
whom the ministry of the Baptist had left permanent impressions.
**John did no miracle, but all
things John spake of this man were true**—what they now heard and
saw in Jesus only confirming in their minds the divinity of His
forerunner's mission, though unaccompanied by any of His Master's
miracles. And thus, "many believed on Him there."

**40-42. went away again beyond Jordan
. . . the place where John at first baptized**—(See on ).

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