John 10:14

Verse 14. I - know my sheep] I know, ταεμα, them that are mine: I know their hearts, their wishes, their purposes, their circumstances; and I approve of them; for in this sense the word to know is often taken in the Scriptures. Homer represents the goatherds as being so well acquainted with their own, though mixed with others, as easily to distinguish them.

Τους δ', ὡς' αιπολια πλατε' αιγων αιπολοι ανδρες

Ῥεια διακρινεωσιν, επει κε νομῳ μιγεωσιν.

Iliad. 2. 474.

"As goat-herds separate their numerous flocks

With ease, though fed promiscuous."

And am known of mine.] They know me as their father, protector, and Saviour; they acknowledge me and my truth before the world; and they approve of me, my word, my ordinances, and my people, and manifest this by their attachment to me, and their zeal for my glory. The first clause of the 15th verse should be joined to the fourteenth. Joh 10:14-15

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

John

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Joh 10:14 - Joh 10:15.

‘I am the Good Shepherd.’ Perhaps even Christ never spoke more fruitful words than these. Just think how many solitary, wearied hearts they have cheered, and what a wealth of encouragement and comfort there has been in them for all generations. The little child as it lays itself down to sleep, cries-

‘Jesus, tender Shepherd, hear me,

Bless Thy little lamb to-night,’

and the old man lays himself down to die murmuring to himself, ‘Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.’ ‘I am the Good Shepherd.’ No preaching can do anything but weaken and dilute the force of such words, and yet, though in all their sweet, homely simplicity they appeal to every heart, there are great depths in them that are worth pondering, and profound thoughts that need some elucidation.

There are three points to be noticed-First, the general force of the metaphor, and then the two specific applications of it which our Lord Himself makes.

I. First of all, then, let me say a few words as to the general application of the metaphor.

The usual notion of these words confines itself to the natural meaning, and runs out into very true, but perhaps a little sentimental, considerations, laying hold of what is so plain on the very surface that I need not spend any time in speaking about it. Christ’s pattern is my law; Christ’s providence is my guidance and defence-which in the present case means Christ’s companionship-is my safety, my sustenance-which in the present case means that Christ Himself is the bread of my soul. The Good Shepherd exercises care, which absolves the sheep from care, and in the present case means that my only duty is meek following and quiet trust. ‘I am the Good Shepherd’-here is guidance, guardianship, companionship, sustenance-all responsibility laid upon His broad shoulders, and all tenderness in His deep heart, and so for us simple obedience and quiet trust.

Another way by which we get the whole significance of this symbol is by noticing how the idea is strengthened by the word that accompanies it. Christ does not say ‘I am a Shepherd,’ but He says, ‘I am the good Shepherd.’ At first sight that word ‘good’ is interpreted, as I have said, in a kind of sentimental, poetic way, as expressing our Lord’s tenderness and love and care; but I do not think that is the full meaning here. You find up and down this Gospel of St. John phrases such as, ‘I am the true bread,’ ‘I am the true vine,’ and the meaning of the word that is here translated ‘good’ is very nearly parallel with that idea. The true bread, the true vine, the true Shepherd-which comes to this, to use modern phraseology, that Jesus Christ, in His relation to you and me, fulfils all that in figure and shadow is represented to the meditative eye by that lower relationship between the material shepherd and his sheep. That is the picture, this the reality. There is another point to be made clear, and that is, that whilst the word ‘good’ is perhaps a fair enough representation of that which is employed by our Lord, there is a special force and significance attached to the original, which is lost in our Bible. I do not know that it could have been preserved; but still it is necessary to state it. The expression here is the one that is generally rendered ‘fair,’ or ‘lovely,’ or ‘beautiful,’ and it belongs to the genius of that wonderful tongue in which the New Testament is written that it has a name for moral purity, considered as being lovely, the highest goodness, and the serenest beauty, which was what the old Greeks taught, howsoever little they may have practised it in their lives. And so here the thought is that the Shepherd stands before us, the realisation of all which that name means, set forth in such a fashion as to be infinitely lovely and perfectly fair, and to draw the admiration of any man who can appreciate that which is beautiful, and can admire that which is of good report.

There is another point still in reference to this first view of the text. Our Lord not only declares that He is the reality of which the earthly shepherd is the shadow, and that He as such is the flawless, perfect One, but that He alone is the reality. ‘I am the Good Shepherd; in Me and in Me alone is that which men need.’ And that leads me to another point which must just be mentioned, that we shall not reach the full meaning of these great words without taking into account the history of the metaphor in the Old Testament. Christ gives a second edition of the figure, and we are to remember all that went before. ‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want’; ‘Thou leddest Thy people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.’ These are but specimens of a continuous series of utterances in the old Revelation in which Jehovah Himself is the Shepherd of mankind; and there is also another class of passages of which I will quote one or two. ‘He shall feed His flock like a shepherd, and carry them in His arms.’ ‘Awake, O sword, against the Man who is my fellow; smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’ There were, we should remember, two streams of representation, according to the one of which God Himself was the Shepherd of Israel, and according to the other of which the Messiah was the Shepherd; and here, as I believe, Jesus lays His hand on both the one and the other, and says: ‘They are Mine, and they testify of Me.’ So sweet, so gracious are the words, that we lose the sense of the grandeur of them, and need to think before we are able to understand how great and immense the claim that is made here upon our faith, and that this Man stands before us and arrogates to Himself the divine prerogative witnessed from of old by psalmist and prophet, and says that for Him were meant the prophecies of ancient times that spake of a human shepherd, and asserts that all the sustenance, care, authority, command, which the emblem suggests meet in Him in perfect measure.

II. Now let us turn to the two special points which our Lord emphasises here, as being those in which His relation as the Good Shepherd is most conspicuously given.

The language of my text runs: ‘I am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father.’ Our Western ways fail to bring out the full meaning of the emblem; but all Eastern travellers tell us what a strange bond of sympathy and loving regard, and docile recognition, springs up between the shepherd and his sheep away there in the Eastern pastures and deserts; and how he knows every one, though to a stranger’s eye they are so like each other; and how even the dumb instincts and the narrow intelligence of the silly sheep recognise the shepherd, and will not be deceived by shepherd’s garments worn to deceive, and will not follow the voice of a stranger.

But we must further note that Christ lays hold of the dumb instincts of the animal, as illustrating, at the one end of the scale, the relation between Him and His followers, and lays hold of the communion between the Father and the Son at the other end of the scale, as illustrating the same thing. ‘I know My sheep.’ That is a knowledge like the knowledge of the shepherd, a bond of close intimacy. But He does not know them by reason of looking at them and thinking about them. It is something far more blessed than that. He knows me because He loves me; He knows me because He has sympathy with me, and I know Him, if I know Him at all, by my love, and I know Him by my sympathy, and I know Him by my communion. A loveless heart does not know the Shepherd, and unless the Shepherd’s heart was all love He would not know His sheep. The Shepherd’s love is an individualised love. He knows His flock as a flock because He knows the units of it, and we can rest ourselves upon the personal knowledge, which is personal love and sympathy, of Jesus Christ. ‘And My sheep know Me’-not by force of intellect, not by understanding certain truths, all-important as that may be, but by having our hearts harmonised in Him, and our spirits put into sympathy and communion with Him. ‘They know Me,’ and rest comes with the knowledge; ‘they know Me,’ and in that knowing is the best answer to all doubt and fear. They are exposed to danger, but in the fold they can go quietly to rest, for they know that He is at the door watching through all dangers.

III. Turn for a moment to the last point, ‘I lay down My life for the sheep.’

I have said that our Western ways fail to bring out fully the element of the metaphor which refers to the kind of sympathy between the shepherd and the sheep; and our Western life also fails to bring out this other element also. Shepherds in England never have need to lay down their life for the sheep. Shepherds in Palestine often did, and sometimes do. You remember David with the lion and the bear, which is but an illustration of the reality which underlies this metaphor. So, then, in some profound way, the shepherd’s death is the sheep’s safety. First of all, look at that most unmistakable, emphatic-I was going to say vehement, at any rate, intense-expression of the absolute voluntariness of Christ’s death, ‘I lay down My life,’ as a man might strip off a vesture. And this application of the metaphor is made all the stronger by the words which follow: ‘Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.’ We read, ‘Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered,’ but here, somehow or other, the smiting of the Shepherd is not the scattering but the gathering of the flock. Here, somehow or other, the dead Shepherd has power to guard, to guide, to defend them. Here, somehow or other, the death of the Shepherd is the security of the sheep; and I say to you, the flock, that for every soul the entrance into the flock of God is through the door of the dying Christ, who laid down His life for the sheep, and makes them His sheep who trust in Him.

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10:14-17 I sacrifice my life for the sheep: Jesus was alluding to his crucifixion (ch 19).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh_10:14 f. After the description of the hireling, there now follows again that of the opposite,the characterization of Himself as the good shepherd, first specifying His intimate acquaintance with His sheep, and then repeating His readiness to sacrifice Himself on their behalf. The latter point constitutes the refrain of the characterization (Joh_10:17-18), being here concretely expressed (it is different in Joh_10:11, where it was predicated of the good shepherd in abstracto).

καθὼς γινώσκει με, etc.] The nature and mode, the holy nature of that reciprocal acquaintanceship. Compare Joh_14:20, Joh_15:10, Joh_17:8; Joh_17:21. As between God and Christ, so also between Christ and His people, the reciprocal knowledge is a knowledge growing out of the most intimate fellowship of love and life,that fellowship which directly involves γινώσκειν; comp. on Mat_7:23.

τίθημι] near and certain future. The clause κ. τ. ψ. is not dependent on καθώς.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 10:14 . The second mark of the good shepherd is introduced by a repetition of the announcement: ἐγώ … καλός . And this second mark is not stated in general terms applicable to all good shepherds, but directly of Himself: ἐγώ εἰμι … καὶ γινώσκω τὰ ἐμά , καὶ γινώσκομαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἐμῶν . There is a mutually reciprocal knowledge between Jesus and His sheep. And the existence of this knowledge is the proof that He is the Shepherd. The shepherd’s claim is authenticated by his knowledge of the marks and ways of the sheep, and by its knowledge of him as shown in its coming to his voice and submission to his hand. Augustine says: “They sometimes do not know themselves, but the shepherd knows them”.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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 Joh 10:14-15, is remarkable for beautiful simplicity of structure: the parallelism of Hebrew poetry is very marked. There should be no full stop at the end of Joh 10:14: I know Mine, and Mine know Me, even as the Father knoweth Me and I know the Father. So intimate is the relation between the Good Shepherd and His sheep that it may be compared and likened (not merely ὥσπερ, but καθώς) to the relation between the Father and the Son. The same thought runs through the discourses in the latter half of the Gospel: Joh 14:20, Joh 15:10, Joh 17:8; Joh 17:10; Joh 17:18; Joh 17:21. Note that γίνωσκω, not οἷδα, is used: it is knowledge resulting from experience and appreciation. Contrast Mat 7:23, ‘I never knew you’ (ἔγνων) with Luk 4:34, ‘I know Thee who Thou art’ (οἶδα).

14. γινώσκουσίν με τὰ ἐμά for γινώσκομαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἐμῶν.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep--in the peculiar sense of Ti2 2:19.

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.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

14. And I know my sheep, and am known by mine. In the former clause, he again holds out his love towards us; for knowledge proceeds from love, and is accompanied by care. But it means also that he utterly disregards all who do not obey the Gospel, as he repeats in the second clause, and confirms what he had formerly said, that — on the other hand — he is known by the sheep

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(14) And know my sheep, and am known of mine.—Better, and know those who are Mine, and those who are Mine know Me. The thought of the Good Shepherd is repeated to show that it expresses the closest communion between the shepherd and the sheep. It is not simply that the sheep know the Shepherd’s voice, but they partake of His nature, and the solemn form in which He expresses this union is in likening it to that between His Father and Himself.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. and know my sheep, and am known of mine] Better, and I know Mine, and Mine know Me.

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 Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I am the good shepherd,.... See Gill on Joh 10:11.

And know my sheep; so as to call them all by their names: Christ has an universal, special, distinct, and exact knowledge of all his sheep, as they are the choice of his Father, as his Father's gift to him; and as his own purchase; he bears an affectionate love to them, and takes special care of them; indulges them with intimate communion with himself; and owns and acknowledges them as his, both here and hereafter:

and I am known of mine; not in a general way, as devils and external professors may know him, but with a special, spiritual, and saving knowledge: Christ's own approve of him, as their shepherd and their Saviour, and desire no other; they love him above all, in the sincerity of their souls, and with a love as strong as death; they trust in him as their shepherd, believing they shall not want; and appropriate him to themselves, as their own; and care for him, his cause and interest, his Gospel, ordinances, and ministers; and are not ashamed to own him as theirs, in the most public manner.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

Ver. 14. And know my sheep] With a knowledge of approbation and delight. Verba notitiae apud Hebraeos secum trahunt affectum, Psa 1:6.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Know my sheep - Know my people, or my church. The word “know” here is used in the sense of affectionate regard or love. It implies such a knowledge of their wants, their dangers, and their characters, as to result in a deep interest in their welfare. Thus the word “knoweth,” in Joh 10:15, is in Joh 10:17 explained by the word “loveth.” Jesus knows the hearts, the dangers, and the wants of his people, and his kindness as their shepherd prompts him to defend and aid them.

Am known of mine - That is, he is known and loved as their Saviour and Friend. They have seen their sins, and dangers: and wants; they have felt their need of a Saviour; they have come to him, and they have found him and his doctrines to be such as they need, and they have loved him. And as a flock follows and obeys its kind shepherd, so they follow and obey him who leads them beside the still waters, and makes them to lie down in green pastures.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

I know mine, and mine know me. To know, in the style of the holy Scriptures, is to love and approve. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I am no hireling; the sheep are mine own; I have a true love and affection for them, which obliges me to a just and true care of them; I know them by name, (as was said before), by a particular distinct knowledge; or I love them, and have tender bowels for them. And as I know them, so I am mutually known, and owned, and acknowledged by them; they have heard my voice, and discerned between my voice and the voice of such as are strangers, refusing to follow them, but following me, going before them. Thus our Saviour in the same parable giveth us both notes to know a true and good shepherd, and particularly to know that himself was the true, good, and most excellent Shepherd; and also notes by which we might know who they are that are the true sheep of Christ.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. I am the good shepherd—THE—in whom all the true sub-pastors are summed up and embodied. There is an unfortunate division of verses here. Read thus: I… know my sheep, and am known of mine; as the Father knoweth me and I know the Father. And this knowing is a loving acknowledgment. He might know even the sheep of the stranger; but these he knows as his own.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 14, 15. The Lord resumes: I am the good Shepherd. He now makes his discourse more explicit. He almost drops the allegory, and merely adopts the sacred metaphor. His self-revelation becomes more full of promise and suggestion for all time. He takes up one of the characteristics of the shepherd which discriminated him from "hireling," "thief," or "robber." And I know mine own, and my own know me, even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father. This more accurate text, translation, and punctuation of the Revised Version brings into living comparison the mutual knowledge of Christ and his own sheep, with the mutual knowledge of Christ and the Father. Christ"s personal knowledge of his people is that which comes into their religious consciousness. They know his knowledge of them. They know him to be what he is to be their Lord God, as they realize his personal recognition and care. The one involves the other. (see Gal_4:9 1Co_8:3) The particle of transition is more than a mere illustration. (kaywv is more than wsper ; kaywv introduces not infrequently an explanation, sometimes a causal consideration, or an illustration which accounts for the previous statement; see Joh_15:12 Joh_17:21, Joh_17:23) The knowledge which the sheep have of the Shepherd corresponds with the Son"s knowledge of the Father, and the Shepherd"s knowledge of the sheep answers to the Father"s knowledge of the Son; but more than this, the relation of the Son to the Father, thus expressed, is the real ground of the Divine intimacies between the sheep and the Shepherd. (cf. Joh_15:10 Joh_17:8) Then the Lord repeats and renews the solemn statement made at the commencement of the sentence, And I lay down my life for the sheep. Such knowledge of the peril of "his own" involves him in sacrifice. Whereas in ver. 11 this is attributed to the "good Shepherd," now he drops the first part of the figure, and says, "I am laying down my life.

Mutual knowledge.

If the Lord Jesus came to earth to seek and to save the lost sheep of the flock, it is not wonderful that he should know those in whom he has displayed an interest so compassionate and deep. If the members of the flock owe to the great and good Shepherd their safety, their pasture, their all, it is not wonderful that they should know him to whom they are so immeasurably indebted. Hence the natural simplicity of the language in which Christ says, "I know mine own, and mine own know me.

I CHRIST, THE GOOD SHEPHERD, KNOWS HIS SHEEP.

1. This fact is an incidental proof of our Lord"s Deity. Not only did Jesus know every one of his disciples during his earthly ministry; his knowledge extends to all who are his. No one of them is lost and overlooked in the crowd; each one is individually known and named. Throughout the long generations of human history, in all the lands where the Christian faith has been planted, the omniscient Shepherd and Bishop of souls has recognized and cared for every sheep of the flock.

2. This fact is a proof of our Lord"s special and affectionate interest in the several members of his Church. To know, in this as in many other passages, means to regard with favor and attachment. The Savior"s knowledge of his people is something more and better than mere recognition; it is the knowledge of friendship and affection. His capacious heart has a place for every one whom he has purchased with his blood, whom he has sealed with his Spirit.

3. This fact is a proof that there is a special character in the sheep of Christ"s flock which the Shepherd recognizes with pleasure. "The Lord knoweth them that are his;" for they possess certain spiritual marks which indicate his property in them.

II THE SHEEP OF CHRIST"S FLOCK KNOW THE GOOD SHEPHERD, WHO OWNS AND CANES FOR THEM.

1. Their knowledge of their Savior is based upon his knowledge of them.

2. It is a knowledge which is associated with gratitude and affection.

3. It is a knowledge which leads to cheerful obedience. The sheep who know the form and the voice of the Shepherd follow him whithersoever he goeth; and the law of the Christian"s life is obedience to the Master.

4. It is a knowledge which prompts to witness. Those who know the qualities of the Shepherd, his power to save and bless, will not fail to make him known to those who need his love and care. T.

Vers. 14, 15. "The same yesterday, and today, and forever.

"I am the good Shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me, even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father" (Revised Version). Our Lord Jesus Christ, as he has on his head many crowns, so throughout the Scriptures he is invoked and celebrated by many a name. These names unveil his being, they describe his relations to us, and they serve for his memorials throughout all generations. Indeed, you can scarcely have a right or fitting thought concerning him but you find it already expressed by one or another of his Scripture titles. Here he calls himself "the good Shepherd," using an image which needs no explanation. Every child knows the allegory at the beginning of this chapter, and has learned from books of travel how the shepherds in the lands of the Bible know their sheep one by one, and go before them, and run risks for them; and, on the other hand, how the sheep follow their leader, and will not go after a stranger. There is abundant evidence how dear this conception of Christ was to the heart of the early Church. Among the pictures so strangely preserved on the walls of the Roman catacombs, where, as far back as the days of pagan persecution, the Christians were wont to bury their dead, the good Shepherd is one of the emblems oftenest portrayed. Fit and cheering emblem for the cloudy and dark day! (Stanley"s "Christ. Inst.," 100. 13.). But to understand the significance of this image in our Savior"s lips, think of its hallowed associations in the Old Testament, and of its deep prophetic meaning there. From time immemorial Jehovah himself had been loved and trusted as the Shepherd of Israel, and the greatest earthly guides whom he gave to his people were described as under-shepherds who fulfilled his will. "Thou leadest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron; (Psa_67:2) "He chose also David his servant," etc. (Psa_78:70, Psa_78:71) But more, when the great days of Jewish prophecy came round, how wondrously was the advent of a Divine Shepherd foretold who should never cease to feed the flock of God. Isaiah cried, "The Lord God... shall feed his flock like a shepherd." Ezekiel echoed and prolonged the cry. (Eze_34:12) Thus prophetic visions were realized and prophetic voices were fulfilled when Christ said, "I am," etc. On many grounds Christ could claim this title, but his own words in the text give prominence to a special and mutual tie between the good Shepherd and his flock. "I know my own, and my own know me," etc.

I THESE WORDS WERE FULFILLED IN THE DAYS OF OUR LORD"S FLESH. Even then it was with a sure and Divine intuition that he looked into the hearts of men. This was more than the strange gift of discernment which men of genius have sometimes shown in choosing followers. "He knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him;" and, on the other hand, he recognized those whom the Father had given him, and whose souls were prepared or preparing to receive the good seed of the kingdom. Do any say, "How was this?" seeing he had emptied himself even of his omniscience, and was found in fashion as a man? Enough to reply that the Spirit that was given to him without measure was "a spirit of wisdom and understanding," so that "he did not judge after the sight of his eyes, nor reprove after the hearing of his ears." And hence he never was mistaken in his estimate of human character never met with a refusal when he said authoritatively to one and another, "Follow me!" When he saw Nathanael coming to him he said, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." When he beheld Simon the son of Jonas, he gave him a new name, which Peter in the long run justified. And when he found Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom he counted on that publican"s obedience, and made him a disciple with a word. And so he gathered about him a flock it was in those days but a little flock which continued faithful to him to the end; and though there was a wolf among them in sheep"s clothing, it was Judas himself, and not his Master, who was deceived. And he adds, "My own know me, even as I know the Father." Not, indeed, with an absolutely pure and unclouded knowledge such as-his was, unimpaired by occasional error or mistake, but with a knowledge which was real and true and spiritual. According to the measure of theft faith Christ"s own disciples knew him, even as he knew the Father. As they heard his words and saw his mighty works and marked his steps, there flashed on their minds, shining through the veil of his flesh, a light that carried its own evidence along with it, at once awe-inspiring and attractive. In the language of John, "They beheld his glory". (Joh_1:14) Hence they regarded him as One immeasurably above themselves, never questioning his authority, or doubting his faithfulness, or presuming to weigh in their petty balances his mighty claims. And when he said to them on one occasion, "Will ye also go away?" Peter, making himself the spokesman of the rest, replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." Thus the flock knew its Shepherd.

II THESE WORDS HAVE A PERMANENT APPLICATION, FOR IN THEIR FULNESS OF MEANING THEY BELONG TO OUR LORD IN HIS GLORIFIED STATE. It was as the great Shepherd of the sheep that he was brought again from the dead, and when he ascended into heaven he only left behind him the limitations of his earthly life. Already he had promised to be with his disciples array, even to the end of the world. He was to be their Shepherd still. Hence in the subsequent Scriptures we never read of any of his flock deploring his departure as a loss, or saying, like the sisters of Bethany, "Lord, if thou hadst been here," etc.; on the contrary, we find them rejoicing more in his spiritual presence than they had ever done in his bodily presence.

1. In how many senses may it be said that he knows his own! Their number is within the ken of his omniscience, and there are hidden ones among them unperceived by man, but precious in his sight, because he sees the mark of God in their foreheads. He has a smile of recognition for their "works, and charity, and service, and faith, and patience," well pleased that they have not received the grace of God in vain. And when their spirit is overwhelmed within them, and their path is lonely and their burden such as friends cannot lift, perhaps cannot understand for who can sound all the depths of a brother"s heart? then he knoweth their way, and his perfect knowledge takes the form of tender sympathy and help from above. Verily the Lord knoweth them that are his!

2. On the other hand, it is still a faithful saying that his own know him. Not indeed after the flesh, as was the privilege, if we should not rather say the perplexing ordeal, of his first disciples, but in spirit and in truth. They have had experience of his guidance, sometimes very wonderful, always very real; how he has done for them what no man or angel can do, and more than they can well describe, "leading them by the right way," giving them his Spirit mind of Christ." They know his many-toned voice in the Scriptures, sometimes "still and small," as Elijah heard it at Horeb, at other times "like the sound of many waters," as John heard it at Patmos; so that they have no need to say, "Who shall ascend into heaven, to bring Christ down from above?" etc., (Rom_10:6, Rom_10:7) no need to cross land and sea to explore the places where he dwelt, or to travel back in thought these eighteen hundred years to realize the days of his flesh. "When his Word is nigh them, in their mouth and in their heart," then is their Savior nigh to them also. And besides all this, they can in some measure trace his footsteps throughout the ages; for what is the history of the Church I mean her sacred and internal history but a long series of testimonies to our Shepherd"s power and grace, to his patience and long-suffering? So that these words are as true now as they were on the day they were uttered. Christ has a widespread flock here below. It is for him, not for us, to define its limits. No lines that man can draw will ever avail to do this. Has he not said that "many that are first shall be last, and the last first"? But he knows his own, and his own know him. The fruits of their fellowship are indeed visible and tangible, and may be counterfeited, but not its roots. The strong ties that bind the Shepherd to his flock are among the things that are unseen and eternal. The world cannot break them, nor even understand them. Time does not impair them, death will not destroy them. "He gives to his sheep eternal life," etc. (ver. 28). Blessed are those who can set to their seal that these words are true who can say, "Yes, Lord! thou knowest my weakness, and I know thy strength; thou knowest my folly, and I know thy wisdom; thou knowest my poverty, and I know thine unsearchable riches. Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee; and can I doubt this, that thou first lovedst me?

Learn from this subject:

1. That the faith of the gospel is a personal matter. Its object is not a principle, or an abstraction, or an unknown and unknowable first cause or "a stream of tendency;" but God revealed in Christ, whose presence can be sought and realized, who stoops and humbles himself to admit us into his friendship. The text breathes the very language of communion and fellowship. "The God of the Bible is heart to heart" (Bunsen).

2. The deep repose of the Christian life. There is peace in believing. Faith can rest in the thought of an Almighty Shepherd who takes an interest in each of his flock. It is true that Christ "gives to every man his work," and summons his disciples to war the good warfare, and put on the whole armor of God. But at the same time it is written, "We that have believed do enter into rest". (Heb_4:3) Deeper than all the conflicts of the life of faith, there may be the peace of God which passeth understanding. Underneath the manifold endeavors of our active nature there is room for quiet trust in an unseen Helper. Nay, the unfailing springs of courage and of patience have their source within the veil. Try to realize this. Surely the words of the text fully imply it. Look up to him who said, as never man said, "Fear not;" "Peace be unto you." Go to him, listen to him, follow him, and the old psalm will be like a new song in your mouth, "The Lord is my Shepherd," etc.

3. Beware of murmuring at your Shepherds guidance, or rebelling against it. The path which you know is his path may be rough and steep for a time, perhaps monotonous and weary. False guides, pretended "leaders of thought," may point to alluring prospects on the right hand or on the left, and try to persuade you to turn your back on Christ; but they will only conduct you to some mirage of the desert. Rebels dwell in a dry land. Is this your experience? Has the spirit of the world beguiled you away from "the simplicity that is in Christ," and has your love grown cold, and has your hope of glory died away? Take with you words and say, "I will return to my first Shepherd, for then was it better with me than it is now." Believe in his infinite grace and goodness. He will restore your soul, and lead you in the paths of righteousness, even for his own Name"s sake. G.B.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I know my sheep - With a tender regard and special care: and am known of mine - With a holy confidence and affection.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

I am the good shepherd

Here the "good shepherd" is a metaphor for Jesus. AT: "I am like a good shepherd" (See: Metaphor)

The Father knows me, and I know the Father

God the Father and God the Son know each other unlike anyone else knows them. "Father" is an important title for God. (See: Translating Son and Father)

I lay down my life for the sheep

This is a mild way for Jesus to say that he will die to protect his sheep. AT: "I die for the sheep" (See: Euphemism)

I have other sheep

Here "other sheep" is a metaphor for followers of Jesus who are not Jews. (See: Metaphor)

one flock and one shepherd

Here "flock" and "shepherd" are metaphors. All of Jesus's followers, Jews and non-Jews, will be like one flock of sheep. He will be like a shepherd who cares for all of them. (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

shepherd

know

God the Father

life

ewe

voice

flocks

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

14. ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, repeated after the Johannine manner. Cf. v. 9 for the repetition of “I am the Door”; and see on 3:16.

καὶ γινώσκω τὰ ἐμά. This has been said already, v. 27, κἀγὼ γινώσκω αὐτά. It is one of the marks of a good shepherd; cf. v. 3, where it is noted as a habit of the shepherd to have individual names for his sheep. “The Lord knoweth them who are His” is a sentence of judgment (Num 16:5); but it may also be taken as a benediction (2Ti 2:19). Cf. Nah 1:7.

The rec. proceeds καὶ γινώσκομαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἐμῶν (see on 14:21), following AΓΔΘ, but אBDLW read καὶ γινώσκουσί με τὰ ἐμά. This, too, has been said or implied before; cf. vv. 27, 3, 4. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Am known of mine [γινωσκομαι υπο των εμων] . The best texts read, ginwskousi me ta ejma, mine own know me. So Rev.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vv. 14-16. “As for me, I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep, and I am known by my sheep; 15 as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I give my life for the sheep. 16. And I have other sheep which are not of this fold; these also I must bring; and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one flock, one shepherd.”

The repetition of these words of Joh 10:11 : I am the good shepherd, is introduced through the contrast with the figure of the hireling (comp. Joh 10:9); and the epithet good is explained here by a new point, that of the relation full of tenderness which unites Jesus and His sheep. It is on this second point that the first—the self-devotion thus far described— rests. The word to know does not mean: I distinguish them from the rest of the Jews (Weiss). The import of this word is much more profound; and the meaning distinguish is not suitable in the three following sayings. Jesus penetrates with the eye of His loving knowledge the entire interior being of each one of the sheep, and perfectly discerns all which He possesses in them. For there is a close relation between this verb “I know,” and the possessive “my sheep.” This knowledge is reciprocal. The believers also know what their shepherd is, all that He feels and all that He is willing to do for them. They thus live in the untroubled light of a perfect mutual knoweldge.

From this intimate relation between Him and His sheep, Jesus goes back to that which is at once the model and source of it: His relation to the Father. The term καθώς, as (literally, according as) does not express a simple comparison, as ὥσπερ, as, would do. This word characterizes the knowledge which unites Jesus with his sheep as being of the same nature as that which unites Him to God. It is as if the luminous medium in which the heart of the Son and the heart of the Father meet each other, were enlarged so as to become that in which the heart of Jesus and that of His sheep meet each other. The καί signifies: “And consequently.” It is in virtue of this relation of such intimate knowledge that He consents to give Himself for them. The words: I give my life for the sheep, form a sort of refrain (comp. Joh 10:7; Joh 10:11; Joh 10:18), as we have found several similar refrains in our Gospel, in moments when the feeling is exalted (Joh 3:15-16; Joh 4:23-24; Joh 6:39-40; Joh 6:44; Joh 6:54). In the context, the expression for the sheep must be applied to believers only; but yet this phrase does not contradict that according to which “Jesus is the propitiation, not only for our sins, but for those of the whole world” (1Jn 2:2). For the death of Jesus, in the divine intention, is for all, although in reality it profits only believers. Jesus knows full well that the ὑπέρ, on behalf of, will be realized only in these latter.

From these two points by which Jesus characterizes Himself as the perfect shepherd, springs the third, Joh 10:16. It would be impossible that the holiest and most devoted work of love should have for its object only these few believers, such as the disciples and the one born blind, who consented to separate themselves from the unbelieving people. The view of Jesus extends more widely (Joh 10:16), in proportion as He penetrates both the depth and the height (Joh 10:15). The death of a being like the Son must obtain an infinite reward. The other sheep, the possession of whom will compensate Him for the loss of those who to-day refuse to follow Him, are evidently the believing Gentiles. Jesus declares that He has them already (ἔχω, I have), and not merely that He will have them, for all that are of the truth, throughout the entire body of mankind, are His from before His coming. The question is not, I think, of a possession by reason of the divine predestination. We find here again rather one of the most profound and habitual thoughts of our Gospel, a thought which springs directly from the relation which the Prologue establishes between the Logos and the human soul (Joh 10:4 and Joh 10:10).

The life and the light of the world, the Logos did not cease, even before His incarnation, to fill this office in the midst of the sinful world; and, among the heathen themselves, all those who surrender themselves and yield obedience to this inner light, must infallibly recognize in Jesus their ideal and give themselves to Him as His sheep as soon as He shall present Himself; comp. Joh 11:52 (“the children of God who are scattered abroad”); Joh 8:47 (“he that is of God hears the words of God”); Joh 18:37 (“he that is of the truth”); Joh 3:21 (“he that does the truth, comes to the light”). The demonstrative adjective ταύτης, placed as it is after the substantive: “This fold,” implies, according to de Wette, that Jesus regards the heathen nationalities also as a sort of folds, of preparatory groupings divinely instituted in order to prepare for the Gospel. But perhaps Meyer, Weiss, etc., are right in thinking that there is here a notion introduced into the text. However, it is incorrect to set Joh 11:52 in opposition to this idea, which verse by no means declares the contrary of this. The believing heathen may very well be scattered throughout their respective nationalities, as the believing Jews are in their own (answer toWeiss). Meyer, committing here again the error which he committed in the explanation of the first allegory—that of explaining the figures of one similitude by those of another—understands the expression ἀγαγεῖν in the sense offeed, according to the figure of Joh 10:4; Joh 10:9, and he is followed by Luthardt and Weiss.

But the end of the verse (καί, “and so there shall be”) shows clearly that the Lord’s idea is an altogether different one; it is that of bringing these sheep, to join them with the former ones. The Vulgate, therefore, rightly translates adducere. The parallel passage Joh 11:52 : συναγαγεῖν εἰς ἕν, leads likewise to this explanation. When the historical application of the first similitude is missed, the meaning of the whole discourse is lost. The work of St. Paul, with the workings of the missionaries who have followed him even to our own days, is essentially what this term bring describes. This third similitude, announcing the call of the Gentiles, corresponds thus to the first, which described the going forth of the believers from the Synagogue. The words: They will hear my voice, recall the expression of the end of the Acts: “The salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles and they will also hear it” (Act 28:28). There is a solemnity in the last words simply placed in juxtaposition:one flock, one shepherd. They contain the thought which forms the text of the Epistle to the Ephesians: the breaking down of the old wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles by the death of Christ (Eph 2:14-17). This prophetic word is accomplished before our eyes by the work of missions in the heathen world. As to the final conversion of Israel, it is neither directly nor indirectly indicated.

These so new ideas of the death of the Messiah and of the call of new non-Jewish believers to participation in the Messianic salvation were fitted to raise many doubts in the minds of the hearers. Jesus clearly perceives it; this is the reason why He energetically affirms that the good pleasure of God rests upon this work and upon Him who executes it, and that it is the true aim of His mission to the world.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.