John 10:27

Joh 10:27-31. My sheep hear my voice, &c. — Our Lord still alludes to the discourse he had had before this festival. As if he had said, My sheep are those who, 1st, Hear my voice by faith; 2d, Are known (that is, approved) by me as loving me; and, 3d, Follow me, keep my commandments, with a believing, loving heart. And to those who, 1st, Truly believe, (observe three promises annexed to three conditions,) I give eternal life. He does not say, I will give, but I give. For he that believeth, hath everlasting life. Those whom, 2d, I know truly to love me, shall never perish, provided they abide in my love. 3d, Those who follow me, neither men nor devils can pluck out of my hand. My Father — Who hath, by an unchangeable decree, given me all that believe, love, and obey, is greater than all in heaven or earth, and none is able to pluck them out of his hand. I and the Father are one — Not by consent of will only, but by unity of power, and consequently of nature. Are — This word confutes Sabellius, proving the plurality of persons; one — This word confutes Arius, proving the unity of nature in God. Never did any prophet before, from the beginning of the world, use any one expression of himself which could possibly be so interpreted, as this and other expressions were, by all that heard our Lord speak. Indeed, his hearers were provoked to such a degree by what he now said, that they took up stones, and were going to kill him outright, imagining that he had spoken blasphemy.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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 translated snatch implies violence (as in John 6:15).

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

Joh 10:27-28. Τὰ πρόβατα—ἐκ τῆς χειρός μου, the sheep—out of My hand) Three pairs of sentences, of which the several parts express both the faith of the sheep and the goodness of the Shepherd, by means of correlatives.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh_10:27-28. Description of the relation of the πρόβατα to Him (comp. Joh_10:4; Joh_10:14), which brings clearly to view that the Ἰουδαῖοι cannot belong to them. Notice in Joh_10:27 the climactic parallelism of the two halves of the verse as far as δίδωμι αὐτοῖς (Joh_10:28), after which, commencing with καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπόλ., etc., the discourse goes on to express in a double form the inseparableness of the blessed relationship. On the emphatic polysyndeton, compare Joh_10:3; Joh_10:12.

τὰ πρόβ. τὰ ἐμά] the sheep which belong to me.

ζωὴν αἰών.] also conceived already in its temporal development, Joh_3:15, Joh_5:24, and repeatedly.

καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπόλ.] The negation belongs to the verb; this declaration: they shall certainly not perish, will be accomplished in eternity. The lost sheep, i.e. the sheep which has been separated, and wandered away from the flock (Mat_10:6; Luk_15:4), typifies him who is separated from the protection and gracious leading of Christ, who has fallen into unbelief. Compare the following καὶ οὐχ ἁρπάσει, etc., where this protection and gracious leading is set forth with still more concrete tenderness by the words ἐκ τῆς χειρός μου. His hand protects, bears, cherishes, leads them. Liberty and the possibility of apostasy are not thus excluded (in answer to Augustine and the teaching of the Reformed Church); he who has fallen away is no longer a πρόβατον, but on the part of Christ everything is promised by which preserving grace is secured, and this is the ground of the Certitudo salutis.

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.

Vv. 27, 28. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them; and they follow me 28 and I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.”

Luthardt has divided the six clauses of these verses into two groups of three: on one side, the faith of the believer, his personal union with the Lord, and the fidelity with which he persists in this union (Joh 10:27); on the other, the gift of life which Jesus makes, the salvation which He assures to him, and the divine protection which He causes him to enjoy (Joh 10:28). But this division into two groups does not accord with the two κἀγώ, and I, at the beginning of the second and fourth clauses. These two pronouns indicate a repeated reciprocity between the conduct of the believer and that of Jesus, and thus speak in favor of the division of Bengel, who divides into three groups of two: 1st pair: faith of the believer in the word preached (“hear my voice”) and personal testimony of Christ given to the believer (“I know them”). 2d pair: practical fidelity of the believer thus known and loved (“they follow me”), and, on Christ’s part, communication of the highest good, eternal life (“I give them ...”). The 3d pair states the indestructible character of the salvation which the believer thus possesses (“they shall never perish”), and the cause of this certainty, the fidelity of Jesus which will preserve them from every enemy (“no one shall seize them ...”). The first pair refers rather, like the first similitude, Joh 10:1-6, to the formation of the bond; the second, like the second similitude, Joh 10:7-10, to the life in this position; the third, like the picture, Joh 10:11-18, to the indestructible nature of this relation. The hand is here less the emblem of power, than that of property: “They shall not cease to be mine.”

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.

My sheep hear my voice, &c.--(See on Joh 10:8).

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

Verse 27. My sheep hear my voice] But ye will not hear:- my sheep follow me; but ye will neither follow nor acknowledge me. Any person who reads without prejudice may easily see, that our Lord does not at all insinuate that these persons could not believe, because God had made it impossible to them; but simply because they did not hear and follow Christ, which the whole of our blessed Lord's discourse proves that they might have done. The sheep of Christ are not those who are included in any eternal decree, to the exclusion of others from the yearnings of the bowels of eternal mercy; but they are those who hear, believe in, follow, and obey the Saviour of the world.

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

27. My sheep hear my voice. He proves by an argument drawn from contraries, that they are not sheep, because they do not obey the Gospel. For God effectually calls all whom he has elected, so that the sheep of Christ are proved by their faith. And, indeed, the reason why the name of sheep is applied to believers is, that they surrender themselves to God, to be governed by the hand of the Chief Shepherd, and, laying aside the fierceness of their nature, become mild and teachable. It is no small consolation to faithful teachers, that, though the greater part of the world do not listen to Christ, yet he has his sheep whom he knows, and by whom he is also known Let them do their utmost to bring the whole world into the fold of Christ; but when they do not succeed according to their wish, let them be satisfied with this single consideration, that they who are sheep will be gathered by their agency. The rest has been already explained.

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.

(27, 28) The reference to those who believe not because they were not of His sheep, introduces the contrast between them and those who were, and the position of the true members of the flock is expanded in this pair of parallel clauses. One member of each pair refers to the act or state of the sheep; and the other to the act or gift of the Shepherd. The pairs proceed in a climax from the first response of the conscience which recognises the divine voice to the eternal home which is in the Father’s presence.

(1) “My sheep hear My voice,” . . “and I know them;”

(2) “And they follow Me” . . “and I give unto them eternal life;”

(3) “And they shall never perish” . . . “neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.”

By reading successively the clauses placed on the left side of the page, we trace the progress of the human act and state; by reading, in the same way, the clauses on the right side of the page, we trace the progress of the divine gift; by reading each pair in the order of the text, we see how at each stage the gift is proportioned to the faculty which can receive it.

The earlier clauses are familiar to us from the preceding discourse, but some expressions will need a word of explanation.

Eternal life.—Comp. Joh_10:10, where the word “eternal” is added in some readings. Here the verb is in the present, “I give (am now giving) them.” (Comp. Joh_3:15; Joh_5:24; Joh_6:47 et seq.). We cannot be too careful to observe that our Lord’s thoughts of “eternal life” is never of the future only. It is a development, rather than a simply future existence. We shall live eternally, because we now live spiritually in communion with the Spirit who is Eternal.

And they shall never perish.—Comp. Notes on Joh_8:51; Joh_11:25-26. The negative is in the strongest form—“They shall by no means perish for ever.”

Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.—Better (comp. Joh_10:18), and none shall pluck them . . . The words should not be limited by the insertion of the word man. They are to be taken as including every spiritual foe; all thieves and robbers that would break into the fold; all wolves that would rend the flock; the adversary who “as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour.” (Comp. especially for the full thought of no separation from Christ, Rom_8:38-39.) The words “out of my hand” express alike the strength which protects, and guidance which leads, and comfort which cherishes. (See Isa_40:11.) Out of this hand none shall pluck. Yet we are to bear in mind that the sheep itself may wander from the shepherd’s care, and that all the fulness of these promises depends upon the human will, which is included in the first clause, “My sheep hear my voice . . . and they follow me.”

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

27, 28. Note the simple but very impressive coupling of the clauses by a simple ‘and’ throughout and comp. Joh_10:3; Joh_10:12 : note also the climax.

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.

My sheep hear my voice,.... The voice of Christ in his Gospel, both externally and internally; See Gill on Joh 10:4, See Gill on Joh 10:16; and since therefore these Jews did not, it was a plain case they were not of his sheep:

and I know them; See Gill on Joh 10:14; but Christ knew not these as the elect of God, or as the Father's gift to him, and therefore they could not be his sheep:

and they follow me; both in the exercise of grace, and in the discharge of duty, and whithersoever he the good shepherd leads them; See Gill on Joh 10:3, See Gill on Joh 10:4. But now, whereas these Jews did not follow Christ, but turned their backs on him, and rejected him, it was notorious that they were none of his sheep; but both happy and safe are those persons, that are the sheep of Christ, as appears from what is next said of them.

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

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Ver. 27. My sheep hear my voice] Buxtorf in his "Tiberius" noteth, that the Jer 21:7; consisteth of 42 words and of a 160 letters. I am not at leisure to count the words and letters of this and the following verses; but it is easy to observe in them those five links of that golden chain of God’s grace in our salvation: "my sheep," there is election; "hear my voice," there is vocation; "and I know them," there is justification; "and they follow me," there is sanctification; "and I give unto them eternal life," there is glorification.

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.

My sheep - My church, my people, those who have the true spirit of my followers. The name is given to his people because it was an illustration which would be well understood in a country abounding in flocks. There is also a striking resemblance, which he proceeds to state, between them.

Hear my voice - See Joh 10:3-4. Applied to Christians, it means that they hear and obey his commandments.

I know them - See Joh 10:14.They follow me - A flock follows its shepherd to pastures and streams, Joh 10:3. Christians not only obey Christ, but they imitate him; they go where his Spirit and providence lead them; they yield themselves to his guidance, and seek to be led by him. When Jesus was upon earth many of his disciples followed or attended him from place to place. Hence, Christians are called his followers, and in Rev 14:4 they are described as “they that follow the Lamb.”

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

Christ here says that his sheep hear his voice, and follow him: but let us ask ourselves, Do we cling close to this heavenly shepherd? Do we follow him, both by our faith and by our lives? Do we know him, and hear his voice? Do we fly from strangers, the world, the flesh, and the devil? If so, we are his sheep indeed; and if we persevere, he will bring us, in spite of the world, the flesh, and the devil, to the pastures of eternal life. But if we run away from our shepherd, to follow these strangers, we must expect to fall a prey to wolves. (Med. vol. ii. p. 417)

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).

This is the same which he said: See Poole on "Joh 10:4".

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

27. My sheep hear my voice—As the blind-born did. Those who are bent on holiness and salvation show it by listening to Christ and his Gospel. It is very illogical to infer from all this the doctrine that no man will lose or abandon the character of a sheep of Christ, that is, of a true believer. Qualities or conduct ascribed to persons as possessed of a certain character, do not imply that the character itself may not change. A hireling fleeth because he is a hireling; but that does not prove but that the man may cease to be a hireling. A thief and a robber will kill and destroy; but that does not prove that a thief or robber may not, like Saul of Tarsus, cease to be a thief and robber. So a sheep will follow Christ; but that does not imply but that the man may cease to be a sheep and even become a goat. For a man may as truly from a sheep become a goat, as from a goat become a sheep.

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

Vers. 27-30. (2) Christ"s claim to equality of power and essence, and similarity of gracious operation with the Father.

Vers. 27, 28. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any one pluck them out of my hand.

Commentators have differed as to the arrangement of these two verses whether the six assertions should be regarded as two triplets, in the first of which the sheep of Christ are made prominent, and in the latter of which the Shepherd; thus

(1) The sheep "My sheep hear my voice" (their receptivity). "And I know them" (the Lord"s response to their faith). "And they follow me" (their active obedience).

(2) The Shepherd "I give them eternal life" (involving freedom from peril and death). "They shall not perish forever." "No one (not man or devil, wolf or hireling) shall pluck them out of my hand.

This is not so satisfactory as the arrangement which puts this weighty saying into three couplets instead of two triplets; in which the sheep are the prominent theme of each proposition. The three couplets display the climacteric character of the wondrous rhythm and interchange of emotion between the Divine Shepherd and the sheepMy sheep hear my voice, and I know them"= mutual recognition.

They follow me, and I give them eternal life" = reciprocal activity. They shall not perish forever, and no one shall pluck them out of my hand" = an authoritative assurance, and its pledge or justification.

Christ"s knowledge of the sheep corresponds with their recognition of his supreme claims; theft active trust is rewarded by his greatest gift; their indefeasible birthright is guaranteed by his limitless authority and power to protect them. It would be gross perversion of the passage to urge this indefeasible birthright on the ground of a few occasional flashes of conscious assurance and without any recognition of all the terms of the relation.

Vers. 27-30. The Shepherd and the sheep.

Notice

I BELIEVERS IN RELATION TO CHRIST.

1. They are his property.

(1) By a double creation. The old and the new. He made them first men, and then Christians new creatures in himself. They are his workmanship.

(2) By a Divine gift. "The Father, which gave them me." They are the gifts of his Father"s love, given to him in trust for the purpose of salvation.

(3) By purchase. He laid down his life for them; redeemed them from the curse of the Law and from sin.

(4) By support. They are not merely his workmanship, but the sheep of his pasture. They are his.

2. They are his special property. Special:

(1) As they were purchased. His dominion is vast and wide; it ruleth over all. The universe is his estate, his property is infinite. But believers are his only "purchased possession.

(2) As they are very valuable. Their value can be to some extent estimated from the infinite price given for them the precious blood of Christ. He knew their value when he made the purchase. As such they are his special treasures, his jewels.

(3) As they are very useful. The sheep is one of the most useful animals of the fields. Its flesh is food, and its fine wool is garment. Believers are useful, and valuable because useful. Sheep in the East were the most useful property. What would be the richest pasture without sheep to graze it? What would the world be without man what its scenes without an eye, and its music without an ear? What would man be without faith in Christ and without godliness? The spiritual in man would be a power for evil. The soul would be barren, and the earth morally would be a desert, and would, as in the time of Noah, be utterly destroyed. Immanuel"s land would be useless without the sheep.

II SOME OF THEIR CHARACTERISTICS IN RELATION TO CHRIST.

1. They hear his voice." This implies:

(1) Recognition of his voice. In the religious world there are many voices that of the stranger, the thief, and the hireling. It is a Babel of sounds, and Christ"s voice is imitated. But believers recognize the voice of Jesus amidst all, and they recognize it as the voice of the Son of God and their Savior.

(2) Special attention to his voice. They not merely distinguish and know it as his, but attend and hear; and to them it is particularly sweet and charming like the sound of pardon to the condemned, the sound of health to the sick, or the sound of the trump of jubilee to the captives in the land of Israel of old. Even all the golden harps of heaven could not produce such a sweet music, and they listen with attention and rapturous delight.

(3) Willing acceptation by faith of his teaching. His voice does not die away in music and end in mere rapturous feelings. But its teaching sinks deep in the mind, produces genuine faith in the heart, and full and hearty acceptation and assent in the whole soul.

2. They follow him." The hearing results in following. This implies:

(1) An acknowledgment of his leadership. "They follow me." This is a practical acknowledgment of his right and fitness in every respect to lead. They have every confidence in him, and they fully trust and believe and obey. And they ought; for he is a Leader and Commander of the people the greatest Leader of all ages, the only Leader and Shepherd of souls.

(2) A practical proof of his influence over them and their adherence to him. "They follow." Why? Because he attracts them. It is the attraction of his Person, character, doctrine, life, love the attraction of food to the hungry; they are not driven, but drawn; they are filled, and they follow; they are impelled and attracted.

(3) An acknowledgment of their relative position. Christ leads and they follow. The Master first, then the disciples. This is the natural and Divine order. Peter once wished to reverse it. He impulsively wanted to lead, but he was peremptorily ordered to the rear. "Get thee behind me." The shepherd is to be in front, the sheep behind. They generally do, and ought to, observe the proper order.

(4) Constant progression towards his life. "They follow me." He writes a copy, and they imitate. He commands, and they obey. He goes before, and they follow. They are never at a standstill, but follow him whithersoever he goeth. The Christian life is not rest here, but a continual movement after and towards Christ. He is the mark, and his disciples press on towards it, and they get nearer every day.

III THE BLESSINGS THEY ENJOY IN RELATION TO CHRIST.

1. It is recognition of them. "I know them.

(1) His recognition of them is perfect. He knows them better than they know themselves, and before they know him. "Before Philip called thee," etc. He knows their outward circumstances and difficulties, their inward and real character, temptations and dangers. He knows them personally and individually. Not only he knows the flock generally, but he knows every sheep individually, and can call each one by name.

(2) His recognition of them is practical. He is not ashamed to own them as his. The relationship he publicly confesses. "My sheep." They are admitted to the circle of his immediate friendship, his sympathy, love, and help.

(3) His recognition to them is the highest honor. To be recognized by the great and rich of this world is considered a high honor. How much higher honor it is to be recognized by him who is Lord of all! This is the highest honor and distinction.

2. The enjoyment of the highest life. "I give," etc.

(1) This is the spiritual life of the soul. The life of God and of Christ within. Christ not only gave his life for the sheep, but also gave it to them, as a principle, an example, and inspiration of a new life in them. This is their greatest need.

(2) This life is the gift of Christ. "I give them." He alone could give it. It is the gift of his infinite love and free grace. It is most suitable to the recipients, and worthy of the princely Giver. No sum of money could purchase it, no amount of human merit could deserve it; but the Divine author graciously gives it to all his faithful adherents.

(3) It is the gift of Christ now. "I give them." It is not a mere promise, but a present gift.

(4) It is to be fully enjoyed in the future. "Eternal life." It is a life which has in it the elements of eternal continuance of happiness and fruition, and eternity is at its disposal.

3. Perfect safety.

(1) Safety from inward danger. "They shall never perish." Shall never fall victims to their inward corruption. The principle of life is between them and spiritual death.

(2) Safety from outward foes. "No one shall pluck them," etc. Believers are exposed to outward foes. The arch-thief and his emissaries are ever on the watch for an opportunity to steal and kill. But they are safe. "No one," etc.

(3) The safety of Divine care. "They are in his hand." They are so precious. Cost so much. So prone to wander. Their spiritual foes so anxious to have them as their prey, that they are not trusted anywhere but in Jesus" hand. They can never be taken by stealth. "They are in his hand.

(4) The safety of Almighty protection. "They are in his hand." His hand is in immediate connection with his arm, and his arm is almighty. No one can take them by force. "They are in his hand." The hand of his tender love, of his watchful care and almighty power.

IV THE SPECIAL GUARANTEES OF THESE BLESSINGS.

1. The absolute supremacy of the Father. "The Father, which gave them me, is greater than all.

(1) Greater than all things.

(2) Greater than all wicked men and spirits. Greater than their individual force, and all their forces combined.

(3) Greater than even the Son himself. In his humiliation, official capacity, and by Divine courtesy, Jesus, as Son, naturally ascribes supremacy to the Father. "My Father is greater than all.

2. The union of the Son with the Father. "I and the Father are one.

(1) One in nature and essence.

(2) One in power and authority.

(3) One in purpose and will

3. The consequent union of believers with both. If they are in Christ"s hand, they are in that of the Father; for they are one. They are thus in the impregnable fortresses of infinite power and love. Their life is divinely given and infinitely safe hid with Christ in God. No one shall, and no one is able to, pluck them hence.

LESSONS.

1. True believers have special characteristics. They are known of Christ, and may be known of men. The sheep of Christ are marked; the marks are they hear and follow him. Thus he knows them, and thus they may know themselves. To those who do not hear and follow, he says, "Ye are not of my sheep.

2. The enjoyment of the blessings of Christ depends upon compliance with the conditions. "They hear... and follow... and I give them," etc. This proves them to be his sheep, and ensures to them the care and defense of the good Shepherd, as well as all the blessings of the fold.

3. In the degree the conditions are complied with the blessings are enjoyed. "They follow me, and I give unto them," etc. I give as they follow. Where there is no following at all, there is no life; where the following is slack, the life is weak; but when close, life is strong and vigorous. The nearer to Jesus the greater the life. The impartation of eternal life is gradual, for the participation is gradual. As we follow he gives. We could not hold it all at once. Let us follow him more closely if we want more life.

4. The ultimate security of any one depends upon the following. The perseverance of the saints in grace to the end is a practical question. It is decided on the part of God. The Divine hand is safe. But is it decided on our part? Are we in it? "They shall never perish." Not in his hand. No one is able to pluck them out of it. Let us make sure that we are in it, and that we slip not out ourselves from it by not hearing and following Jesus. Then the question of our ultimate safety will be practically settled. B. T.

Vers. 27, 28. Quis separabit?

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them," etc. This is Christ"s last word concerning himself and his sheep; his last application of the allegory set forth in the beginning of the chapter. We may well wonder at its tone. The Speaker knew where he stood and what awaited him. The ancient fold, of which he had spoken, was invaded by hireling scribes and robber Sadducees. The true sheep were feeble and apparently helpless. In a few brief months they should be scattered, and he himself, their good Shepherd, smitten to death. Yet our Lord clings to his similitude, and. seems to us to rejoice in spirit, as he speaks of the everlasting bonds between himself and his flock. For his horizon was not bounded by the cross and the sepulcher, but by the joy that was set before him; and he foresaw that in the ages to come the sound of his voice should go out into all lands, and an ever-increasing multitude should follow him and receive from him eternal life. We must, therefore, look on these words as Christ"s perpetual and living testimony, and without forgetting that they were first spoken in an earthly temple, in Solomon"s Porch, let us listen to them as coming to us from a heavenly temple, and from a throne of glory. They describe

I THE CONSCIOUS TIE BETWEEN CHRIST"S DISCIPLES AND HIMSELF. Since they were uttered, the gospel has been carried far and wide over vast continents and to the distant islands of the sea, and it would take long to tell of the outward revolution it has effected, or of the incidental blessings which have followed in its train; how it has added to the sum of human happiness and diminished the sum of human misery; how it has deepened men"s thoughts and widened their horizon. But wherever it has taken root, individual souls have consciously owned its power and yielded themselves up to its guidance. No census can count up their numbers. No test that man can apply will infallibly distinguish them from all others. It is only Christ himself who can say, "I know them." But there is one great outstanding fact concerning them which he here gives prominence to: "They hear his voice, and follow him." Among the many voices, some truer, some falser, which reach their ears in this world, there is one voice that is all-powerful. Among the various influences, better or worse, which press upon them on every side, there is one influence paramount and irresistible. And this is a matter of consciousness on their part. It may be more or less vividly so at different times or in certain circumstances, but it is essentially a fact of experience which they would not part with if they could, and which all the world cannot rob them of. They hear his voice, now quickening their consciences and bidding them awake from sleep; or again saying to them, "Peace be unto you;" "Fear not;" or yet again, "Continue ye in my love." But there is always grace as well as power in his voice, and this makes it welcome to his true disciples. When he warns them, they take good heed. When he encourages them, they are of good cheer. Even when he rebukes them, they know that faithful are the wounds of such a Friend, and can only reply, "Speak, Lord; thy servants hear." And the result is that they follow him; for there is a path which he is ever tracing for them by his precepts and his example, illumined as these are by his Spirit a path which may be trodden in solitude and in society, in health and in sickness, in the busy world and in the family circle, in the secret chamber, by young and old, by learned and unlearned. Of every disciple it may be said that the deepest desire of his heart is to be found in that good way, and, should he wander, to be brought back to it. Sometimes, indeed, it leads him through green pastures and by the still waters, at other times through some dark valley of the shadow of death; but he knows well that to forsake it willfully is to draw back unto perdition, and the very dread of this in his hours of temptation is a salutary thing. Since the day, more than eighteen centuries ago, when the disciples were called Christians in the city of Antioch, that name, first perhaps given contemptuously, has been claimed by multitudes without number. In our own day and our own country it must needs be generally accorded to all who do not care to renounce it. But oh! listen to Christ"s own description of those whom he owns as members of his flock: "They hear his voice, and they follow him." The root and reality of the matter is there. Try yourselves fairly by this test. Many bear the Christian name, they scarcely know why. But none can listen to Christ and obey him, in any true sense of the word, without earnestness and purpose of heart.

II CHRIST"S GREAT GIFT TO HIS FLOCK ETERNAL LIFE. If life be a great word, eternal life is one of the greatest words that can be spoken by human lips. Who can utter it aright without awe, seeing that its full meaning rises so high above us and stretches so far beyond us? You know that in Scripture it sometimes denotes that state of blessedness which is reserved for God"s children in the future; as our Lord says, "In the world to come life everlasting." But sometimes also it points to a blessing realized in some measure here and now. "This is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God," etc. (Joh_17:3) Both applications of the word are needed to fill up its meaning. Eternal life embraces both the present and the future. It has its beginning, and it has its consummation. The same Sun of Righteousness enlightens both worlds." The river that gladdens the city of God here below, reappears in the paradise above. And both aspects of the wondrous blessing are brought together in these words of Christ, for he speaks in the same breath of its present reality and of its glorious perpetuity. I give unto them eternal life not merely, "I shall give it, and they shall never perish," etc.

1. What, then, are the present aspects of this life which Christ bestows upon his true disciples? What does he do for them? What does he give them? As they hear his voice and follow him, imperfectly, no doubt, but unfeignedly, lo! the mists of earthly things dissolve and disappear, the veil is lifted from the holy of holies, and he admits them to communion and fellowship with the eternal God. Ah, this is a blessing which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. There is mercy in it, there is peace in it, there is joy in it, but, above all, there is life in it; for "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." Think how this Divine friendship is described in that benediction, which from the beginning has been pronounced over the assemblies of Christ"s disciples at the close of their worship, it is called "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ," because it is bestowed on the unworthy through the humiliation of the God-Man. It is called "the love of God," because it is the unveiling and outpouring of the Father"s heart. And it is called "the communion of the Holy Ghost," because it unites God"s children with himself and with each other by one and the same Spirit. We must admit, indeed, that custom has made us s, familiar with these words, that too often they seem only a becoming formula expected at a certain moment; but the glorious things they speak of can never pall upon the renewed heart. If there is a freshness about each sunrise, as the traveler sees the morning spread upon the mountains, so there is a spiritual freshness about each glimpse of the glory of God. What child ever wearied of his father"s smile? What Christian of the light of his heavenly Father"s countenance? "With thee is the fountain or" life: in thy light shall we see light." Such are the springs of the life of God in the soul of man; but what are its characters, its pulses, so to speak, or its breathing, by which it may be known in our own experience? life of which our souls are scant; Oh, life! not death, for which we pant; More life and fuller that we want!

In the text it is contrasted with perishing, and something may be learned by the contrast; for though none in this place of hope know what it is to perish, yet many may know what it is to be ready to perish. It is to have no object worthy of the soul"s capacities to cling to or lean upon. It is to be involved in uncertainty as to where we are or whither we are going. To have the sphere of expected good growing narrower, the circle of expected evil growing wider. To have a heart becoming more selfish, more dead, or more cold! And if this is to be ready to perish, then to have eternal life is the opposite of all this. It is to have the gracious presence of God in Christ; to have the assured and ever-brightening prospect of better things to come; to breathe that love which is the reflection of the Divine image, because God is love; and which cannot be separated from happiness, for God is ever blessed. Such are the beginnings of eternal life, and he who gives it can sustain it in the hearts of his disciples. For he is mightier than all the enemies they can meet with here below; and as to time itself, which buries so much in the waters of oblivion, and tests, and wastes, and weakens so many earthly ties, even time cannot impair this friendship; "for Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

2. But what are the future aspects of eternal life; for, as its name imports, it passes beyond the frontiers of time, and transcends all the experiences of the present? A change indeed awaits even the disciples of Christ, mysterious, unknown, inconceivable, when this world shall vanish from their sight, and the voices of their friends shall cease to sound in their ears, and when the powers of speech and even of will and thought shall fail them. Passive and helpless they shall leave this stage of existence; passive and helpless they shall enter on the next. But see in the words before us how Christ makes himself responsible, not only for the dread transition, but for all the experiences that lie beyond it. "They shall never perish," etc. He does not speak of his great gift as becoming the independent possession of his disciples, which they themselves are to guard in the solemn hereafter. No, even there it will be the result of the happy and enduring relation between the great Shepherd and his flock. And this is the very thought which the Apostle Paul expands and makes his own in the climax of the eighth chapter of Romans: "I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels... shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." However far, then, we look forward to the future, we may say this much that eternal life, in all its stages, will be the continuation and unfolding of what is begun here. The life of grace will pass into the life of glory, but its thread will not be cut, nor its purposes broken off, nor its center changed. Here its frail tent is a body of humiliation; there its dwelling-place shall be a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; but in its root and essence it is ever the same life, upheld by the same Spirit, watched over by the same Redeemer. "All his saints are in his hand," and none shall pluck them thence. What the Ultimate glory of eternal life will be, was morn than the beloved disciple himself could well conceive. He says in his First Epistle, "It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." And is not this enough? Can your thoughts and desires rise higher? We are taught, indeed, that when the mystery of God has been finished, the children of the resurrection shall open their eyes on a new heaven and a new earth, where nothing that defileth shall ever enter. They shall have congenial society there; the companionship of the loyal and the true. Activity without weariness shall be their everlasting rest. But the crown of their blessedness shall be this, that they shall bear the image of their heavenly Lord. Once in the days of his flesh he prayed as never man prayed: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory." The answer to that prayer shall be eternal life. 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.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, &c.- Our Lord still alludes to the discourse he had before this festival. As if he had said, My sheep are they who,

1. Hear my voice by faith;

2. Are known (that is, approved) by me, as loving me; and

3. Follow me, keep my commandments, with a believing, loving heart. And to those who,

1. Truly believe (observe three promises annexed to three conditions) I give eternal life. He does not say, I will, but I give. For he that believeth hath everlasting life. Those whom,

2. I know truly to love me, shall never perish, provided they abide in my love.

3. Those who follow me, neither men nor devils can pluck out of my hand. My Father who hath, by an unchangeable decree, given me all that believe, love, and obey, is greater than all in heaven or earth, and none is able to pluck them out of his hand.

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

Here observe, 1. That all sincere and faithful Christians are Christ’s sheep, and he is their great and good shepherd. This relation implies tender affection, powerful protection, and plentiful provision. The tenderness of Christ’s affection, towards his sheep, appears by pitying their infirmities, by having a fellow felling with them in their suffering, by suiting their temptations to the degrees of their graces. His care in providing for them appears in affording to them the holy scriptures, the ministry of the word the administration of the sacraments, and the operation of his Holy Spirit, to make all efficacious and effectual to them. His protection of them discovers itself, by preparing them for trials by supporting them under them, and by delivering them out of them, and by sanctifying all to them, causing them to work together in subserviency to his own glory, and his people’s good.

Observe, 2. That Christ’s sheep hear Christ’s voice, and answer the call of their great Shepherd. They hear the voice of Christ speaking to them in the scriptures, in the ministry of the word, in their own conscience, in providences; and they hear Christ’s voice speaking to them, in and by his Holy Spirit; and as they hear Christ’s voice, so do they answer his call; now the right answer to the call of Christ in the gospel, is a present answer, a willing answer and an abiding answer.

Observe, 3. That all Christ’s sheep do follow him their shepherd. They follow him,

1. In his doctrine; and

2. In his example, in his contempt of the heavenly-mindedness of his conversation, in his meekness and patience, in charity and universal goodness, and as he was a mighty pattern of prayer.

Observe, 4. That Christ, the great and good Shepherd, knows all his sheep. My sheep hear my voice and I know them. He knows them so as to distinguish them, so as to observe and take notice of them, so as to own and approve them, so as to take care of them, and provide for them.

And as the Lord knoweth who are his, so he knoweth who are not his too; as he knows his sheep, so he knows the goats also, and their place will be at his left hand. My sheep hear my voice and I know them.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

My sheep hear my voice

The word "sheep" is a metaphor for the followers of Jesus. The metaphor of Jesus as the "shepherd" is also implied. AT: "Just as sheep obey the voice of their true shepherd, my followers heed my voice" (See: Metaphor)

no one will snatch them out of my hand

Here the word "hand" is a metonym that represents the protective care of Jesus. AT: "no one will steal them away from me" or "they will remain secure forever in my care" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

voice

eternity

life

die

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

27, 28. Note the simple but very impressive coupling of the clauses merely by καί and comp. Joh 10:3; Joh 10:12. The series forms a climax and seems to fall into two triplets, as A. V., rather than three pairs.

27. ἀκούουσιν for ἀκούει (grammatical correction) with אBLX against AD.

27. ‘I know Mine, and Mine know Me’ (Joh 10:14). Winer, p. 646.

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.

27-29.] This leads to a further description of these sheep. The form of the sentence is a climax; rising through the ἐγὼ δίδωμι and ἐκ τ. χ. μου, to ὁ πατήρ μου ὃ δέδωκέν μοι and ἐκ τ. χ. τοῦ πατρός. Then the apparent diversity of the two expressions, ἐκ τ. χ. μου and ἐκ τ. χ. τοῦ πατ. μου, gives occasion to the assertion in ver. 30, that Christ and the Father are one; one in essence primarily, but therefore also one in working, and power, and in will. ἓν κατὰ δύναμιν, ἤγουν ταυτοδύναμοι, Euthym.; who adds, εἰ δὲ ἓν κατὰ δύναμιν, ἓν ἄρα καὶ κατὰ τὴν θεότητα καὶ οὐσίαν καὶ φύσιν. This certainly is implied in the words, and so the Jews understood them, ver. 33. Bengel remarks after Augustine, “per sumus refutatur Sabellius, per unum, Arius.” It is perhaps more than is actually contained in the words: but, as Meyer says, they are founded on the unity of essence of the Son and the Father, and so presuppose the homousian doctrine.

ἕν, not εἷς: not personally one, but essentially.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἐμὰ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούουσιν, sc. hear with obedient attention. Cf. vv. 3, 16; and see on 3:8.

The rec. has ἀκούει (from v. 3), but אBLWΘ give ἀκούουσιν (cf. v. 16). So we have here the plural ἀκολουθοῦσιν, while at v. 4 we have ἀκολουθεῖ.

The sheep, in Eastern lands, follow the shepherd, who always goes before and leads. Cf. Ignatius, Philad. 2, ὅπου δὲ ὁ ποιμήν ἐστιν, ἐκεῖ ὡς πρόβατα ἀκολουθεῖτε.

κἀγὼ γινώσκω αὐτά. Cf. v. 14.

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

My sheep [τα προβατα τα εμα] . Literally, the sheep, those that are mine. A characteristic form of expression with John. Compare Joh 3:29; Joh 5:30; Joh 14:15, etc.

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