John 10 (WEB)

John 10:1–10

The door of the sheep

“Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, is a thief and a robber. But one who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.” Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they didn’t understand what he was telling them.

Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out and will find pasture. The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.

Jesus describes a sheepfold: the shepherd enters by the door, the sheep know his voice, and he leads them out, while thieves climb in another way. When his hearers do not understand, Jesus explains: "I am the door." Those who enter through him will find pasture; he came so that they may have life in abundance.

What does this mean?

"Parable" in both translations renders a Greek word for a figure of speech or riddle, not the story-parables of the other Gospels. "Porter" (KJV) means gatekeeper. "More abundantly" means life in full measure.

Historical context

Sheep were often kept at night in walled pens, and a shepherd might lie across the entrance. Several flocks could share a fold, each recognising its own shepherd's call. In the Old Testament, Israel's leaders are often called shepherds, and Ezekiel 34 condemns bad shepherds who exploit the flock.

Why does it matter?

The discourse follows directly from chapter 9 with no break, so the "thieves" may hint at the leaders who threw out the healed man. "I am the door" is the third of John's "I am" sayings with an image.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

John 10:11–21

The good shepherd

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own; even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd. Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father.”

Therefore a division arose again among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon and is insane! Why do you listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the sayings of one possessed by a demon. It isn’t possible for a demon to open the eyes of the blind, is it?”

Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep, unlike a hired hand who runs when the wolf comes. He knows his sheep and they know him, and he has other sheep, not of this fold, whom he will bring so there will be one flock. His hearers are divided again.

What does this mean?

"Hireling" (KJV) means a hired hand. "Fold" means sheep pen. In verse 16 the KJV has "one fold", but the Greek says one "flock", as in the WEB.

Historical context

Shepherding was a common occupation; flocks of sheep and goats grazed the hills of Judea, and wolves and other predators were real dangers. Kings and God himself are pictured as shepherds in the Old Testament, as in Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34.

Why does it matter?

The "other sheep" are commonly understood to mean non-Jewish believers who would later join Jesus' followers. Jesus' insistence that he lays down his life freely, and will take it up again, prepares for the account of his death. The division of opinion echoes the healing of the blind man.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

John 10:22–30

"I and the Father are one"

It was the Feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. The Jews therefore came around him and said to him, “How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you don’t believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify about me. But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

In winter, at the Feast of Dedication, Jesus is walking in the temple when people surround him and demand that he say plainly whether he is the Christ. He answers that his works testify for him, that his sheep hear his voice, that no one can snatch them from his or the Father's hand, and that "I and the Father are one."

What does this mean?

"One" in verse 30 is neuter in Greek, literally "one thing". Interpreters discuss whether it means unity of purpose and action, or unity of being as well; later Christian teaching about the Trinity drew on this verse.

Historical context

The Feast of Dedication is Hanukkah. It celebrated the rededication of the temple in 164 BC by Judas Maccabeus after the Greek ruler Antiochus IV had desecrated it. Solomon's porch was a covered colonnade along the east side of the temple courts, sheltered in winter.

Why does it matter?

A festival remembering the reconsecration of the temple is a fitting setting for Jesus' claim, in the next verses, to be the one the Father "sanctified" or set apart. John's account moves from one Jewish festival to another, with Jesus presented as fulfilling their meaning.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

John 10:31–42

Accused of blasphemy

Therefore the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”

The Jews answered him, “We don’t stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken), do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me. But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand. He went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was baptizing at first, and he stayed there. Many came to him. They said, “John indeed did no sign, but everything that John said about this man is true.” Many believed in him there.

His hearers pick up stones, saying he, a man, makes himself God. Jesus answers with Psalm 82, where Scripture calls others "gods", and asks why he should be charged with blasphemy for calling himself God's Son. They try to seize him, but he escapes and goes back across the Jordan, where many believe in him.

Scripture connection · Quotation

John 10:34 quotes Psalm 82:6

I said, “You are gods, all of you are sons of the Most High.
Psalm 82:6 · WEB

Psalm 82 addresses rulers or heavenly beings as 'gods'. Interpreters differ on who is meant; Jesus uses the verse to answer a charge of blasphemy.

What does this mean?

"Blasphemy" means speaking against God or claiming what belongs to God. "Sanctified" means set apart for a holy purpose. "The scripture cannot be broken" means it cannot be set aside or annulled.

Historical context

Jesus' argument uses a pattern familiar from Jewish interpretation: if something is true in a lesser case, it is even more true in a greater one. The place "beyond Jordan" where John first baptized is the site mentioned in 1:28.

Why does it matter?

This scene ends Jesus' public ministry in Jerusalem until his final entry. By returning to where John the Baptist began, the narrative closes a circle, and the comment that everything John said about Jesus was true confirms the Baptist's role as witness.

Editorial notes, not scripture.