John 10 (TNIV)

John 10
1 "Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 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. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20 Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" 21 But others said, "These are not the sayings of someone possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon's Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."
25 Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one."
31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" 33 "We are not stoning you for any good work," they replied, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." 34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are "gods"? 35 If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed 41 and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true." 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.

NOTE: Assuming this message is given by Jesus at the Feast of Dedication, takes this story to a whole new level. At this celebration of the dedication of the temple, they [the Jews] would have been celebrating the military victory of the Maccabees and the recovery of the Holy City. Then Jesus shows up and begins to tell a story that draws them in, a story about true leadership, and how it is not about the lifting up of self, but rather the laying down of one’s life for those they are leading – which the Maccabees did. At this point Jesus has probably deconstructed their defenses because they would have thought he was talking about the Maccabees. So once he drew them into the conversation, he then basically says, there is only one true shepherd for God’s people; and when he then speaks of his death he is saying that it is only his death that gives life to his sheep. These sorts of claims would have had both social and political implications due to the fact they implied that the existing or preexisting leadership in Jerusalem was illegitimate, involving robbers, thieves, and hirelings. This is more evident when you read this text in light of its Old Testament background in Ezekiel 34 [please read Ezekiel 34 before reading John 10 in order to understand what the Pharisees heard when they heard Jesus say what he said in John 10, for they knew Ezekiel 34 by heart], which speaks not only of Israel’s false shepherds but of God as the true shepherd of Israel.

John 10:1-21: 1 "Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone (based on the fact that he is specifically speaking to the Pharisees, would tell us that the ‘anyone’ mentioned here is referring to anyone would be in competition for the loyalty of the sheep, we find out later that the way this thief leads them will be death, but the real shepherd leads into life) who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd (In this Parable, Jesus paints himself with double-imagery, here he puts himself in the role of the shepherd, down in verse 7 Jesus refers to himself as the gate. What we have going on with the Jesus being the two images is a huge contrast to the Judaic system of righteousness – To the Jews, the shepherd may be the patriarchs, the national leader, or even God himself. But the gate, or the way to being with the shepherd was the law – Jesus is saying, I am both, I am the shepherd and I am the way…) of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep (it doesn’t say all the sheep, therefore this could refer to the possibility that some of the sheep are not his, but rather only those who he calls out…) by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them (This portion of the parable is vague enough that the Pharisees may only recognize that Jesus was calling himself the true leader/shepherd of Israel, not them and not the currently celebrated Maccabees).

7 Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep (John 14:6-7). 8 All who have come before me (We can use a little logic here, this is not talking about Abraham, Moses and the God ordained leaders of Israel, but rather this can probably be cross referenced to Ezekiel 34 and Zech 11:4-9, including those who were leading at the time of this message whom Jesus was in conflict with) are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved (now Jesus seems to have moved the parable from being simply about him being the real leader and shepherd, but now the way and Lord of all eternity, the way to eternal life with God). They will come in and go out (the Greek phrase eisercomai kai exercomai, “come in and go out” is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community “to live with, to live among” [cf – Acts 1:21; Numbers 27:16-17], it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers), and find pasture (When they “come in and go out” in other words, when they are in relationship with Christ, together, they will find life!). 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (Here Jesus is pointing to his substitutionary death. He starts out in verse 10 by saying that the thief is coming to ‘slaughter’ [which is the real translated word for kill and destroy] the sheep. We could give many reason’s, but the main one being, that sheep can’t stop themselves from being slaughtered. The in verse 11, Jesus basically says, that he will be slaughtered in ‘substitute’ for the sheep, so another way to read verses 10-11, is that the Thief comes to slaughter the sheep, but I am coming to release the sheep into life, and the way I am going to do that is to be slaughtered instead, so that you can have life…).

12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. (1 John 4:1-6 & 2 John 7-11) 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep (On a practical level, these are men who ‘fake it’, they have are doing it for the job, the notoriety, the money, the feeling, but the truth of who they are will be shown when the ‘attacks’ the ‘hardships’ or even the enemy pours it on – his strength alone can’t take it, but a supernatural strength is needed.).

14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep (verses 15 and 16 are fit together very weirdly, unless we can take them as an order of progression – vs. 14 is referring to his sheep in Israel, vs. 15 is referring to his death for all the sheep, and vs. 16 refers to the mission to the gentiles that will come after his earthly ministry is complete – Matthew 10:5-6 & Matthew 15:24). 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will (future tense) listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20 Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him (When you are blinded by your own paradigm, of course this sounds like a raving mad man, he first confesses to be the true savior and sacrificial lamb for Israel, when he has never sacrificed one thing for them like the Macabees, and then claims to be the only way that people will find life and eternity – CRAZY!)?" 21 But others said, "These are not the sayings of someone possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" (This second group of people still don’t get it, but they are allowing their paradigm to be deconstructed by what they are hearing and seeing…)

22 Then came the Festival of Dedication (HISTORY: Another name we may be more familiar with is the ‘Festival of Lights’ or Hanukkah. The Greek name for the feast literally means ‘renewal’ and was used to translate Hanukkah which means ‘dedication.’ This was a fest celebrating annually the Maccabean victories of 165-164 b.c., when Judas Maccabeus drove out the Syrians , rebuilt the altar, and rededicated the temple . From a historical standpoint, it was the last great deliverance the Jewish people had experience, and it came at a time when least expected. Josephus ends his account of the institution of the festival with the following statement, “And from that time to the present we observe this festival, which we call the festival of Lights, giving this name to it, I think from the fact that the right to worship appeared to us at a time when we hardly dared hope for it.”) at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon's Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly (Up to this point we know why it isn’t plain to them – simply because they are filtering the ‘acts’ of God through the lens of their paradigm along with the very damning statement made in verse 26 as to why they can’t understand)."

25 Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal (this is the word ‘aionios’ and it simply means ‘without end.’ In other words, the life that God gives us has no end to it no matter what. The point is that eternal life is different from eternal death – it is the opposite of judgment and separation from God; it is life that goes on forever in the presence of God—John 3:36) life, and they shall never perish (The promise of never perishing is for those who have been ‘given’ eternal life, they will never perish, to perish is not a single destination, but to not have salvation is to perish as well – this will never happen if God has given one eternal life); no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one (Here, Jesus is pointing to some sort of God being one, with more than one essence. The word ‘one’ here is non-masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one ‘thing’. In other words, the focus here is not in the two persons, but rather in the same essence)."

31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" 33 "We are not stoning you for any good work," they replied, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." (It is often said that Jesus himself never claims to be God – however, this isn’t true – there would be no grounds for the accusation of blasphemy) 34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are "gods"? 35 If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? (This is a quotation from Psalm 82:6. The problem in this verse concerns the meaning of Jesus’ quotation from Psalms. It is important to look at whole verse: “I said, “You are ‘gods’; you are all sons of the Most High”.” If it was an OT practice to refer to men like the judges as gods, and not blasphemy, why did the Jewish authorities object when this term was applied to Jesus. The reason the OT judges could be called gods is because they were vehicles of the word of God [v. 35]. Then if that is the case, Jesus deserves much more than they to be called God. He is the Word incarnate, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world to save the world [v. 36]. If it is permissible to call men ‘gods’ because they were the vehicles of the word of God, how much more permissible is it to use the word “God” of him who is the Word of God?”) 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed 41 and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true." 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus. (In many symbolic ways we play the role of John, in that we are not Jesus; but yet we point to him; we are not the answer to eternal life, yet we can preach the message of it; our baptism is obedience and symbolic, but Jesus’ is life changing; even thought Jesus is everywhere, it could seem we go before him, as often times he uses us to begin his work in people before they know him as Lord and Savior…But most of all our role should be like Johns, in that he said, “he must decrease, and Christ increase…” Are our lives pointed this way? Do people see us, or him? Do they hear our opinion or His truth? Do they feel our approval, or his unconditional acceptance? Are we consumed by our will or his? In other words, are we on a journey of decreasing so that through us Christ may become more obvious to those around us? I believe verses 40-42, are the result of that – when these people met and saw Jesus, they realized that John was not the all and all; they realized that John could never do what Jesus did, and it was in that meeting of Jesus that “…many believed in that place…”)