NLT Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 31
John 10:13
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coming. He will abandon the sheep because
they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their
i
shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them
and scatters the flock. 13The hired hand
runs away because he’s working only for
the money and doesn’t really care about the
sheep.
14“I am the good shepherd; I know my
own sheep, and they know me, 15just as my
Father knows me and I know the Father. So
I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16I have
other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen
to my voice, and there will be one flock with
one shepherd.
17“The Father loves me because I sacri
fice my life so I may take it back again. 18No
one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it
voluntarily. For I have the authorit y to lay it
down when I want to and also to take it up
again. For this is what my Father has com
manded.”
19When he said these things, the people
were again div ided in their opinions about
him. 20Some said, “He’s demon possessed
and out of his mind. Why listen to a man
had many predators. When a wolf or
other predators attacked, the hired
hand would run rather than defend the
sheep. Jesus will never do this; he will
always stand between his sheep and
danger.
10:14-17 I sacrifice my life for the
sheep: Jesus was alluding to his crucifixion (ch 19).
10:15 The Father and the Son share a
profound intimacy, which Jesus shares
with his sheep through the Holy Spirit
(14:23-31; 15:1-11).
10:16 other sheep: Believers outside
Judaism would one day join Jesus’
sheepfold (see 11:52). In Jesus’ vision for
his people, Jewish and Gentile believers
from diverse cultures would become
one flock with one shepherd (17:20-23).
10:18 No one can take my life from
me: The Son’s death was voluntary.
Jesus was not a martyr or a victim. His
decision to die was freely given in obedience and intimate relationship with
his Father (see Acts 2:23-24). Jesus’
resurrection was not an afterthought in
which God rescued his Son from tragedy.
God could not be contained by a tomb,
and since Jesus and the Father are one,
Jesus possessed the authority to rise
from death.
10:19-21 Jesus divided his audience yet
again (see also 6:66-69; 7:43; 9:16), inspiring either opposition or faith. He’s
demon possessed: Cp. 7:20; 8:48-49, 52.
people: Literally Jewish people; also in
10:24, 31.
like that?” 21Others said, “This doesn’t
sound like a man possessed by a demon!
Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Jesus at Hanukkah
22It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jer usa
lem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of
Dedication. 23He was in the Temple, walking
through the section known as Solomon’s
Colonnade. 24The people surrounded him
and asked, “How long are you going to keep
us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell
us plainly.”
25Jesus replied, “I have already told you,
and you don’t believe me. The proof is
the work I do in my Father’s name. 26But
you don’t believe me because you are not
my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice;
I know them, and they follow me. 28I give
them eternal life, and they will never per
ish. No one can snatch them away from
me, 29for my Father has given them to me,
and he is more powerful than anyone else.
No one can snatch them from the Father’s
hand. 30The Father and I are one.”
31Once again the people picked up
10:22 Hanukkah was a winter festival
that commemorated the rededication
of the Temple after it had been defiled
by Antiochus IV (175–163 BC). Two
hundred years before Christ, Greek
soldiers captured and pillaged the
Jerusalem Temple, took its treasures
and artifacts, and made it unusable for
worship. In the winter of 165–164 BC,
a Jewish army led by Judas Maccabeus
reclaimed the Temple and rededicated
it to the Lord. The Festival of Hanukkah
(“dedication”) marked this dedication
(see 1 Maccabees 3–4; 2 Maccabees
8:1–10:8). During the festival, priests
examined their commitment to service,
using Ezek 34 as their principal text for
reflection (also Jer 23:1-4; 25:32-38;
Zech 11). At this Hanukkah celebration,
Jesus used the shepherd theme from
Ezek 34 to distinguish between himself
as the good shepherd (10:11) and
Israel’s current religious leaders as bad
shepherds (10:10, 12-13).
10:23 Massive covered colonnades
surrounded the four sides of the central
courtyard of the Temple. Solomon’s Colonnade, on the east, provided shelter
from winter weather.
10:24 The people who surrounded Jesus
might have been seeking clarity, or
they might have been hostile. In Luke
21:20 and Heb 11:30, the same word
describes how Jerusalem and Jericho
were surrounded before being destroyed; in Acts 14:20 it refers to Paul’s
disciples rallying around him after he
was injured.
10:12
ipoimen (4166)
John 21:16
10:14
2 Tim 2:19
10:15
Matt 11:27
10:16
Isa 56:8
Ezek 37:24
John 11:52
Eph 2:14-18
10:17-18
Phil 2:8-9
Heb 5:8; 7:16
10:23
Acts 3:11; 5:12
10:24
Luke 22:67
10:25
John 5:36; 10:38;
14:11
10:26
John 8:47
10:28
John 6:37, 39; 17:12
10:29
John 14:28
17:2, 6, 24
10:30
John 1:1; 10:38; 14:811; 17:21-24
10:25-42 In Jesus’ final public presentation of evidence about himself in this
Gospel, he gives an exhaustive statement of his identity (10:30).
10:25 Jesus had already provided the
Jewish people and their religious leaders with sufficient proof that he is the
Son of God. The problem was not lack
of information, but their unwillingness
to believe him.
10:27-29 As the good shepherd, Jesus
would die for his sheep and secure
them from all predators and thieves
(10:1, 8, 11; cp. Ezek 34:22-23). The
power of the Father, appearing in Christ,
keeps his sheep safe. Believers cannot
be taken from Jesus because no one is
more powerful than he is. Their security
is not sustained by their own efforts,
but by Christ. The word snatch implies
violence (as in 6:15).
10:29 for my Father has given them
to me, and he is more powerful than
anyone else: Other manuscripts read
for what my Father has given me is
more powerful than anything; still
others read for regarding that which
my Father has given me, he is greater
than all.
10:30 The Father and the Son are two
separate persons with one purpose and
nature (1:1, 14; 14:9; 20:28). This is the
basis of Jesus’ power to protect God’s
flock (10:28-29) and a stunning expression of Jesus’ divinity.
10:31-33 The people realized Jesus’
meaning (see 10:33) and wanted to
