John 10:1-9
THE ALLEGORY OF THE DOOR OF THE FOLD... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ALLEGORY OF THE DOOR OF THE FOLD... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΜῊΝ�. This double affirmation, peculiar to this Gospel (see on John 1:51), never occurs at the beginning of a discourse, but either in continuation, to introduce some deep truth, or in reply. This verse is no exception. There is no break between the Chapter s, which should perhaps have been divided... [ Continue Reading ]
1–18. “The form of the discourse in the first half of chap. 10 is remarkable. It resembles the Synoptic parables, but not exactly. The parable is a short narrative, which is kept wholly separate from the ideal facts which it signifies. But this discourse is not a narrative; and the figure and its ap... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΟΙΜΉΝ ἘΣΤΙΝ Τ. ΠΡ. _Is a shepherd of the sheep_. There is more than one flock in the fold, and therefore more than one shepherd to visit the fold. The Good Shepherd has not yet appeared in the allegory. The allegory indeed is twofold, or even threefold; in the first part (1–5), which is repeated (7... [ Continue Reading ]
ΦΩΝΕΙ͂ (all the best MSS.) for καλεῖ. 3. Ὁ ΘΥΡΩΡΌΣ. _Ostiarius_. The ‘porter’ is the door-keeper or gate-keeper, who fastens and opens the one door into the fold. In the allegory the fold is the Church, the Door is Christ, the sheep are the elect, the shepherds are God’s ministers. What does the por... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΆΝΤΑ (BDLX) for πρόβατα (A). 4. ὍΤΑΝ ΤᾺ ἼΔΙΑ ΠΆΝΤΑ ἘΚΒ. WHEN HE HATH PUT FORTH ALL HIS OWN. ‘There shall not an hoof be left behind’ (Exodus 10:26). Ἐκβάλῃ is remarkable, as being the very word used in John 9:34-35 of the Pharisees putting forth the man born blind: here we might have expected ἐξάγε... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΚΟΛΟΥΘΉΣΟΥΣΙΝ for -σωσιν (correction to more usual construction, comp. John 4:14; Luke 10:19). 5. ἈΛΛΟΤΡΊΩΙ ΔῈ ΟΥ̓ ΜΉ. BUT _a stranger they will_ IN NO WISE _follow_: strong negative, as in John 4:14; John 4:48; John 6:35; John 6:37; John 8:12; John 8:51-52. The ἀλλότριος is anyone whom they do not... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΑΡΟΙΜΊΑΝ. ALLEGORY OR SIMILITUDE. The Synoptists never use παροιμία; S. John never uses παραβολή; and this should be preserved in translation. A.V. renders both words sometimes ‘parable’ and sometimes ‘proverb.’ In LXX. both are used to represent the Hebrew _mashal;_ in the title to the Book of Pro... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἾΠΕΝ ΟΥ̓͂Ν. _Jesus_ THEREFORE _said again_. Because they did not understand He went through it again, explaining the main features. ἈΜῊΝ�. This is _the_ important point: the one Door, through which both sheep and shepherds enter, is Christ. Ἐγώ is very emphatic; _I_ (and no other) _am the Door:_ c... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΆΝΤΕΣ ὍΣΟΙ ἯΛΘΟΝ ΠΡῸ ἘΜΟΥ͂. These words are difficult, and some copyists seem to have tried to avoid the difficulty by omitting either πάντες or πρὸ ἐμοῦ. But the balance of authority leaves no doubt that both are genuine. Some commentators would translate πρὸ ἐμοῦ ‘instead of Me.’ But this meaning... [ Continue Reading ]
There is a very clear reference to this verse in the Ignatian Epistles, _Philad_. 9: αὐτὸς ὢν θύρα τοῦ πατρός, δι' ἧς εἰσέρχονται Ἀβραὸμ κ. Ἰσαὰκ κ. Ἰακὼβ κ. οἱ προφῆται κ. οἱ�. ἡ ἐκκλησία. In the message to the Philadelphian Church (Revelation 3:8) we find ἰδοὺ δέδωκα ἐνώπιόν σου θύραν�. For other... [ Continue Reading ]
Just as John 10:9 refers back to John 10:2, so this refers back to John 10:1. It is the same allegory more fully expounded. Note the climax; κλέψῃ, steal and carry off; θύσῃ, slaughter as if for sacrifice (LXX. in Isaiah 22:13; 1Ma 7:19); ἀπολέσῃ utterly consume and destroy. In what follows ζωὴν ἔχ.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ALLEGORY OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΓΏ ΕἸΜΙ Ὁ Π. Ὁ Κ. see on John 6:35 : καλός cannot be adequately translated: it means ‘beautiful, noble, good,’ as opposed to ‘foul, mean, wicked.’ It sums up the chief attributes of ideal perfection; comp. John 10:32; John 2:10. Christ is the Perfect Shepherd, as opposed to His own imperfect minist... [ Continue Reading ]
ἜΣΤΙΝ for εἰσί (comp. ἤκουσαν, John 10:8). Omit τὰ πρόβατα ὁ δὲ μισθωτὸς φεύγει after ΣΚΟΡΠΊΖΕΙ with אBDL against A. 12. Ὁ ΜΙΣΘΩΤΌΣ. The word occurs nowhere else in N.T. excepting of the ‘hired servants’ of Zebedee (Mark 1:20). The Good Shepherd was introduced in contrast to the thief. Now we have a... [ Continue Reading ]
ΓΙΝΏΣΚΟΥΣΊΝ ΜΕ ΤᾺ ἘΜΆ for γινώσκομαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἐμῶν.... [ Continue Reading ]
14–18. Further description of the True Shepherd. (1) His intimate knowledge of His sheep; (2) His readiness to die for them. This latter point recurs repeatedly as a sort of refrain, like ‘I will raise him up at the last day,’ in chap. 6. The passage, especially John 10:14-15, is remarkable for beau... [ Continue Reading ]
ἌΛΛΑ ΠΡΌΒΑΤΑ. Not the Jews in heathen lands, but Gentiles, for even among them He had sheep. The Jews had asked in derision, ‘Will He go and teach the Gentiles?’ (John 7:35). He declares here that among the despised heathen He has sheep. He was going to lay down His life, ‘not for that nation only’... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΙᾺ ΤΟΥ͂ΤΟ. FOR THIS CAUSE: see on John 5:16; John 7:21. The Father’s love for the incarnate Son is intensified by the self-sacrifice of the Son, which was a προσφορὰ κ. θυσία τῷ θεῷ εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας (Ephesians 5:2). ἽΝΑ Π. ΛΆΒΩ ΑΥ̓. IN ORDER THAT I MAY _take it again_. This clause is closely conne... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓ΔΕῚΣ ΑἼΡΕΙ. _No_ ONE _taketh it from Me;_ not even God. See on John 10:28. Two points are insisted on; (1) that the Death is entirely voluntary: this is stated both negatively and positively: see on John 1:3; (2) that both Death and Resurrection are in accordance with a commission received from t... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΧΊΣΜΑ ΠΆΛΙΝ ἘΓ. _There_ AROSE (John 1:6) _a division_ (John 7:43) _again among the Jews_, as among the Pharisees about the blind man (John 9:16), and among the multitude at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:43). Here we see that some even of the hostile party are impressed, and doubt the correctness... [ Continue Reading ]
OPPOSITE RESULTS OF THE TEACHING... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΑΙΜ. ἜΧΕΙ. See last note on John 8:48 and comp. John 7:20. ΤΊ ΑΥ̓. ἈΚ. They are uneasy at the impression produced by these discourses and seek to discredit their Author,—‘poisoning the wells.’ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΙΖ. OF ONE POSSESSED WITH A DEMON. see on John 3:34. ΜῊ Δ. Δ. SURELY A DEMON CANNOT: comp. John 10... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DISCOURSE AT THE FEAST OF THE DEDICATION Again we seem to have a gap in the narrative. Between John 10:21-22 (but see below) there is an interval of about two months; for the Feast of Tabernacles would be about the middle of October, and that of the Dedication towards the end of December. In thi... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΓΈΝΕΤΟ ΔῈ Τ. ἘΓΚ. This is the reading of א A D X and the bulk of MSS., with the Syriac and some old Latin texts: the best Latin texts have _neither_ τότε nor δέ: the Memphitic gives both τότε and δέ. It is possible that -το δε produced τοτε. NOW THERE TOOK PLACE _at Jerusalem the Feast of the Dedic... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝ Τ. ΣΤ. Σ.] This was a cloister or colonnade in the Temple-Courts, apparently on the east side. Tradition said that it was a part of the original building which had survived the various destructions. No such cloister is mentioned in the account of Solomon’s Temple, and perhaps the name was derived... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΚΥΚΛ. ΟὟΝ] THE JEWS THEREFORE COMPASSED HIM ABOUT (Luke 21:20; Hebrews 11:30; Revelation 20:9) _and_ KEPT SAYING _to Him_. For change of tense comp. John 4:27; John 4:30. They encircled Him in an urgent manner, indicating that they were determined to have an answer. ‘Therefore’ means ‘because of th... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἾΠΟΝ … ΠΙΣΤΕΎΕΤΕ. The change of tense is significant: His declaration is past; their unbelief still continues. To a few, the woman at the well, the man born blind, and the Apostles, Jesus had explicitly declared Himself to be the Messiah; to all He had implicitly declared Himself by His works and t... [ Continue Reading ]
26 Omit. καθὼς εἶπον ὑμῖν with אBKLM1.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΚΟΎΟΥΣΙΝ for ἀκούει (grammatical correction) with אBLX against AD. 27. ‘I know Mine, and Mine know Me’ (John 10:14). Winer, p. 646.... [ Continue Reading ]
27, 28. Note the simple but very impressive coupling of the clauses merely by καί and comp. John 10:3; John 10:12. The series forms a climax and seems to fall into two triplets, as A. V., rather than three pairs.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΊΔΩΜΙ. Not δώσω. Here as in John 3:15; John 5:24 and often, the gift of eternal life is regarded as already possessed by the faithful. It is not a _promise_, the _fulfilment_ of which depends upon man’s conduct, but a _gift_, the _retention_ of which depends upon ourselves. ΟΥ̓ ΜῊ�. ΕἸΣ Τ. ΑἸ. Lite... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὅ (אB1L) for ὅς (AB2), and ΠΆΝΤΩΝ ΜΙΕ͂ΖΟΝ for μείζων πάντων. 29. ΔΈΔΩΚΕΝ. see on John 3:35 and comp. John 17:6; John 17:24. THAT WHICH THE FATHER HATH GIVEN ME _is greater than all_. The unity of the Church is invincible. But the reading is doubtful: ὃ δ. μ. μεῖζον has the most ancient authority (B1... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΓῺ Κ. Ὁ Π. ἝΝ ἘΣΜΕΝ. _I and_ the _Father are one;_ one Substance, not one Person (εἶς). Comp. John 17:22-23, and contrast ἅπαντες γὰρ ὑμεῖς εἶς ἐστε ἐν χρ. Ἰ.,—‘are one man, one conscious agent’ (Galatians 3:28); and τοὺς δύο κτίσῃ ἐν ἑαυτῷ εἰς ἝΝΑ καινὸν ἄνθρωπον (Ephesians 2:15). Christ has just... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΒΆΣΤ. ΠΆΛΙΝ. They prepare to act on Leviticus 24:16 (comp. 1 Kings 21:10). Πάλιν refers to John 8:59, where we have ἧραν for ἐβάστασαν. The latter implies more effort; ‘lifted up, bore:’ but we cannot be sure whether it refers to raising from the ground or to carrying from a distance. The change fr... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΠΕΚΡΊΘΗ. Just as the Jews ‘answered’ His act of cleansing the Temple (John 2:18), Jesus ‘answered’ their act of preparing to stone: comp. John 5:17. The act in each case involved an assertion. ἜΡΓΑ ΚΑΛΆ. Works morally beautiful, noble and excellent (John 10:14). Comp. καλῶς πάντα πεποίηκε (Mark 7:3... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΕΡῚ Κ. ἜΡ. CONCERNING _a good work_: ‘That is not the subject-matter of our charge.’ Comp. John 8:46; John 16:8; 1 John 2:2. ΚΑῚ ὋΤΙ. Καί is epexegetic, explaining wherein the blasphemy consisted: it does not introduce a second charge. see on John 8:53.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἜΣΤΙΝ ΓΕΓΡΑΜΜΈΝΟΝ. see on John 2:17. ἘΝ Τ. ΝΌΜΩΙ ὙΜ. As in John 12:34; John 15:25 ‘the Law’ is used in its widest sense for the whole of O. T. In all three places the reference is to the Psalms: comp. Romans 3:19; 1 Corinthians 14:21. Ὑμῶν means, ‘for which you profess to have such a regard:’ comp.... [ Continue Reading ]
34–38. Christ answers a formal charge of blasphemy by a formal argument on the other side.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸ ἘΚ. ΕἾ. Θ. Probably, _If_ it _called them gods_, viz. the Law. ‘Them’ is left unexplained; a Jewish audience would at once know who were meant. But how incredible that any but a Jew should think of such an argument, or put it in this brief way! These last eight verses alone are sufficient to disc... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΝ Ὁ Π. ἩΓ. _Of Him whom the Father_ SANCTIFIED: in emphatic opposition to ‘them unto whom the word of God came.’ Men on whom God’s word has conferred a fragment of delegated authority may be called ‘gods’ (Elohim) without scruple; He, whom the Father Himself sanctified and sent, may not be called S... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸ ΟΥ̓ ΠΟΙΩ͂. Not εἰ μή, because the negative belongs to ποιῶ, not to the sentence; i_f I omit to do_: John 3:12; John 5:47; Revelation 20:15. Comp. Soph. _Ajax_, 1131. Winer, pp. 599, 600. ΜῊ ΠΙΣΤ. ΜΟΙ. A literal command: if His works are not those which His Father works, they _ought_ not (not mere... [ Continue Reading ]
37, 38. Having met their technical charge in a technical manner He now justifies the assertion of His unity with the Father by an appeal to His works. _Deum non vides, tamen Deum agnoscis ex operibus ejus_ (Cicero).... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΙΣΤΕΎΕΤΕ (אBDKLU) for πιστεύσατε, and ΓΙΝΏΣΚΗΤΕ for πιστεύσητε (to avoid apparent repetition) with BLX against A; א has πιστεύητε. CHRIST IS LOVE In Chapter s 5 and 6 two miracles, the healing of the paralytic and the feeding of the 5000, formed the introduction to two discourses in which Christ i... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΖΉΤΟΥΝ ΟΥ̓͂Ν ΠΆΛΙΝ. Both οὖν and πάλιν are of somewhat uncertain authority: the termination of ἐζήτουν might cause the omission of οὖν. Πάλιν. refers to John 7:30; John 7:32; John 7:44, and shews that πιάσαι (see on John 7:30) means ‘arrest Him’ for the Sanhedrin, not ‘take Him’ and stone Him. ἘΞΗ͂... [ Continue Reading ]
OPPOSITE RESULTS OF THE DISCOURSE... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΆΛΙΝ Π. Τ. Ἰ. Referring back to John 1:28. The hostility of the hierarchy being invincible and becoming more and more dangerous, Jesus retires into Peraea for quiet and safety before His Passion. This interval was between three and four months, from the latter part of December to the middle of Apri... [ Continue Reading ]
40–42. “The chapter ends with a note of place which is evidently and certainly historical. No forger would ever have thought of the periphrasis ‘where John at first baptized’ … ‘John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.’ It would be impossible to find a stronger inci... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΟΛΛΟῚ ἮΛΘΟΝ. The harvest (John 4:35-38). The testimony of the Baptist, and perhaps the miraculous voice at Christ’s Baptism, were still remembered there. Since then there had been the mission of the Seventy and Christ’s own work in Galilee. ἝΛΕΓΟΝ. KEPT SAYING or _used to say_: it was a common rem... [ Continue Reading ]