John 10:28

I give unto them eternal life - See Joh 5:24.

Shall never perish - To perish here means to be destroyed, or to be punished in hell. Mat 10:28; “which is able to destroy (the same word) both soul and body in hell.” Mat 18:14; “it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” Joh 3:15; “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish” Rom 2:12; They who have sinned without law shall also perish without law” Joh 17:12; 1Co 1:18. In all these places the word refers to future punishment, and the declaration of the Saviour is that his followers, his true disciples, shall never be cast away. The original is expressed with remarkable strength: “They shall not be destroyed forever.” Syriac: “They shall not perish to eternity.” This is spoken of all Christians - that is, of all who ever possess the character of true followers of Christ, and who can be called his flock.

Shall any - The word “any” refers to any power that might attempt it. It will apply either to men or to devils. It is an affirmation that no man, however eloquent in error, or persuasive in infidelity, or cunning: in argument, or mighty in rank; and that no devil with all his malice, power, cunning, or allurements, shall be able to pluck them from his hand,

Pluck them - In the original to rob; to seize and bear away as a robber does his prey. Jesus holds them so secure and so certainly that no foe can surprise him as a robber does, or overcome him by force.

My hand - The hand is that by which we hold or secure an object. It means that Jesus has them safely in his own care and keeping. Compare Rom 8:38-39.

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

Joh 10:28. Κἀγώ, and I) The following and the life are closely connected, ch. Joh 8:12, “He that followeth Me, shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”—οὐ μὴ ἀπόλωνται, shall not perish) Middle (so ἀπολέσθαι, ch. Joh 17:12; Luk 15:24; Jude Joh 10:11, ‘lost,’ ‘perished’): i.e. they shall not destroy themselves, internally.[284] Comp. 1Jn 5:18, “Whosoever is born of God sinneth not: but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not;” and Joh 17:12, notes, “Those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition.”—καὶ οὐκ, and not) Nor will I suffer them to be snatched out of My hand by any external enemy.—ἁρπάσει, shall snatch [pluck]) The auxiliary verb δύναται, can, is included in the future: comp. ver. following.

[284] By their own corruptions from within.—E. and T.

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

I give unto them eternal life--not "will give them"; for it is a present gift. (See on Joh 3:36; Joh 5:24). It is a very grand utterance, couched in the language of majestic authority.

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 28. They shall never perish] Why? Because they hear my voice, and follow me; therefore I know, I approve of and love them, and give them eternal life. They who continue to hear Christ's voice, and to follow him, shall never perish. They give themselves up to God-believe so on Jesus that he lives in their hearts: God hath given unto them eternal life, and this life is in his Son; and he that hath the Son hath life, 1Jo 5:11-12. Now it is evident that only those who have Christ living in and governing their souls, so that they possess the mind that was in him, are his sheep-are those that shall never perish, because they have this eternal life abiding in them: therefore to talk of a man's being one of the elect-one that shall never perish - one who shall have eternal life-who shall never be plucked out of the hand of God, &c., while he lives in sin, has no Christ in his heart, has either never received or fallen away from the grace of God, is as contrary to common sense as it is to the nature and testimonies of the Most High. Final perseverance implies final faithfulness-he that endures to the end shall be saved-he that is faithful unto death shall have a crown of life. And will any man attempt to say that he who does not endure to the end, and is unfaithful, shall ever enter into life?

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

28. And they shall never perish. It is an inestimable fruit of faith, that Christ bids us be convinced of our security when we are brought by faith into his fold. But we must also observe on what foundation this certainty rests. It is because he will be a faithful guardian of our salvation, for he testifies that our salvation is in his hand And if this were not enough, he says that they will be safely guarded by the power of his Father This is a remarkable passage, by which we are taught that the salvation of all the elect is not less certain than the power of God is invincible. Besides, Christ did not intend to throw this word foolishly into the air, but to give a promise which should remain deeply axed in their minds; and, therefore, we infer that the statement of Christ is intended to show that the elect are absolutely certain of their salvation. We are surrounded, indeed, by powerful adversaries, and so great is our weakness, that we are every moment in imminent danger of death; but as He who keeps what we have committed to him (2 Timothy 1:12) is greater or more powerful than all, we have no reason to tremble as if our life were in danger.

Hence, too, we infer how mad is the confidence of the Papists, which relies on free-will, on their own virtue, and on the merits of their works. Widely different is the manner in which Christ instructs his followers, to remember that, in this world, they may be said to be in the midst of a forest, surrounded by innumerable robbers, and are not only unarmed and exposed as a prey, but are aware that the cause of death is contained in themselves, so that, relying on the guardianship of God alone, they may walk without alarm. In short, our salvation is certain, because it is in the hand of God; for our faith is weak, and we are too prone to waver. But God, who has taken us under his protection, is sufficiently powerful to scatter, with his breath alone, all the forces of our adversaries. It is of great importance for us to turn our eye to this, that the fear of temptations may not dismay us; for Christ even intended to point out the way in which sheep are made to live at ease in the midst of wolves.

And none can wrest them out of my Father’s hand. The word and, in this passage, means therefore For, since the power of God is invincible, Christ infers that the salvation of believers is not exposed to the ungovernable passions of their enemies, because, ere they perish, God must be overcome, who has taken them under the protection of his hand.

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.

28. I give unto them] Not ‘will give.’ Here as in Joh_3:15, Joh_5:24 and often, the gift of eternal life is regarded as already possessed by the faithful. It is not a promise, the fulfilment of which depends upon man’s conduct, but a gift, the retention of which depends upon ourselves.

they shall never perish] This is parallel to Joh_8:51 (see note there); shall certainly not perish for ever, being the literal meaning, But the negative belongs to the verb, not to ‘for ever;’ and the meaning is, not ‘they may die, but shall not die for ever,’ but ‘they shall never die for all eternity.’ Comp. Joh_11:26.

neither shall any man pluck them] Better, and no one shall snatch them. ‘No one’ rather than ‘no man’ (as in Joh_10:18), for the powers of darkness are excluded as well as human seducers. ‘Snatch’ rather than ‘pluck,’ for in the Greek it is the same word as is used of the wolf in Joh_10:12, and this should be preserved in translation.

This passage in no way asserts the indefectibility of the elect, and gives no countenance to ultra-predestinarian views. Christ’s sheep cannot be taken from Him against their will; but their will is free, and they may choose to leave the flock.

out of my hand] “His hand protects, bears, cherishes, leads them.” Meyer.

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.

And I give unto them eternal life,.... Christ gives eternal life to his sheep, or people now; he gives them a spiritual life, or a life of grace, which issues in eternal life; he gives them himself, who is the true God and eternal life, and whoever has him has life; he gives them the knowledge of himself, which is life eternal; and he gives them his righteousness, which is their justification of life, or what entitles them to eternal life; and he gives them the foretastes of it, in faith and hope, in the enjoyment of himself, and the discoveries of his love; he gives them the earnest and pledge of it, his own Spirit; and they have this life in him as their representative, and it is hid with him in God, and is safe and secure for them; and he will actually give it to them in their own persons, to be for ever enjoyed by them; and because of the certainty of it, he is said to do it now: this is a pure gift, it is of grace, and not of works; and it is in the gift of Christ as Mediator, who has power to give it to as many as the Father has given him:

and they shall never perish; though they were lost in Adam, and in a perishing condition in themselves, during their state of unregeneracy; in which condition they see themselves to be, when convinced by the Spirit of God; and come as persons ready to perish to Christ, as a Saviour, resolving, that if they perish, they will perish at his feet: and though after conversion, they are subject to many falls and spiritual declensions, and lose their peace, joy, and comfort, and imagine their strength and hope are perished, or at least fear they shall one day perish through one sin, or snare, or temptation or another, yet they shall never perish in such sense as the wicked will; they will not be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power:

neither shall any pluck them out of my hand; Christ's sheep are in his hands, being put there by God the Father, both as an instance of his love to Christ, and them; and this was done from all eternity, even when they were chosen in him; so that they were in the hands of Christ, before they were in the loins of Adam; and were preserved in him, notwithstanding Adam's fall, and through the ruins of it. To be in the hands of Christ, is to be high in his esteem and favour; the saints are a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of their God; they are a signet on his right hand that shall never be plucked off; they are engraven on the palms of his hands: to be in the hands of Christ, is to be in his possession, and at his dispose, as all the elect of God are; and to be under his guidance, care, and protection, as they be; they are fed according to the integrity of his heart, and guided by the skilfulness of his hands; they are always under his care and watchful eye, who protects them from all their enemies, and hides them in the hollow of his hand: hence, because they are so, they are called "the sheep of his hand", Psa 95:7. And none shall ever pluck them from thence; no man can do it, not any false teacher can remove them from Christ, by all the art and cunning he is master of; nor any violent persecutor, by all the force and power he can use; nor can any sin, or snare, or temptation, draw them out of Christ's hands; nor any adversity whatever separate them from him: they must be safe, and always abide there, who are in the hands of Christ; for his hands have laid the foundations of the heavens and the earth, they grasp the whole universe, and hold all things together; and who then can pluck any out of these hands? Moreover, Christ, as Mediator, has all power in heaven and earth; and even as man, he is the man of God's right hand, made strong for himself.

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

28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Ver. 28. They shall never perish] This is the good Shepherd’s promise: is he now as good as his word, if he suffer his sheep to wander and perish, whom by promise he was tied so to keep, as that they should not wander, as they are naturally apt to do, to their destruction? Pastor oves spondet se absolute servaturum, nunquid liberabit fidem? Prideaux.

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.

They shall not perish for ever: and no man shall snatch them out of my hand. He speaks of his elect, of those whom he called by a special Providence and mercy, whom he blessed with more than ordinary graces, and with the gift of final perseverance to the end in his grace. (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 do give them, and I will give them, eternal life; as soon as they shall come to hear, and believe my voice, and to follow me, they shall have a sure right and title to it; and when my Father by his providence shall remove them out of the world, and in the great day, they shall be taken up into the actual possession of it. For they shall never perish, but though they may fall, they shall rise again by repentance. They are in my hand, and my hand shall preserve them, none shall ever pluck them out of it; they shall be preserved through faith, by the power of God, to eternal life and salvation.

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

28. Shall never perish—No sheep of Christ can ever perish. The unbeliever and the apostate will perish, but neither the unbeliever or the apostate is a sheep of Christ.

Perish… pluck—The literal sheep of the human shepherd may perish by the robber, or be plucked away by the thief; but the spiritual sheep of the true Shepherd no robber can kill, no thief can steal. He must by his own free act abandon or forfeit his spiritual character before he can lose his eternal privilege.

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

never

Or, in no wise ever perish. Cf. Joh 6:37.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Observe here, 1. The promise made by Christ unto his sheep, namely, the promise of eternal life, and perseverance in grace, till they come to the full fruition of it in glory, I give unto them eternal life, and none shall pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

Observe, 2. The confirmation he gives of this from his own and his Father’s power, which is employed, engaged, and concerned, for them, and for their perseverance and preservation, notwithstanding all oppostiion to the contrary. My Father which gave them me is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

Learn, 1. That eternal life is the portion of Christ’s sheep.

2. That eternal life is the gift of Christ.

3. That eternal life is, now given to Christ’s sheep: they have it now in the purchase, in the promise, and in the first fruits.

4. That all Christ’s sheep are put by God the Father into Christ’s hand for security: My Father hath given them me.

5. The Father doth so intrust Christ with his sheep, as yet to take care of them himself; they are in the Father’s hand, as well as in the son’s, and their being in the hands of both, doth assure them of the certainty of their perseverance. None shal pluck them out of my hand; none shall be able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand: implying, that there are many that would pluck them out of their hands, sin, Satan, the world, &c. but they shall be kept by the almighty power of God, through faith unto salvation; for who can be too strong for omnipotent power.

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

28. I give unto them eternal life. To his sheep. Eternal life means, not eternal existence, but eternal bliss. God hath made the soul deathless, but it may exist in banishment from heaven.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

28. δίδωμι. Not δώσω. Here as in Joh 3:15, Joh 5:24 and often, the gift of eternal life is regarded as already possessed by the faithful. It is not a promise, the fulfilment of which depends upon man’s conduct, but a gift, the retention of which depends upon ourselves.

οὐ μὴ ἀπόλ. εἰς τ. αἰ. Literally, Shall certainly not perish for ever: see on Joh 8:51. The negative belongs to ἀπόλωνται, not to εἰς τ. αἰ., and the meaning is, they shall never perish, not ‘they may perish, but shall not perish eternally:’ comp. Joh 11:26; Rom 8:38-39.

καὶ οὐχ ἁρπ. And no one shall snatch them. ‘No one’ rather than ‘no man’ (as in Joh 10:18) for the powers of darkness are excluded as well as human seducers. ‘Snatch’ rather than ‘pluck,’ for it is the same word as is used of the wolf in Joh 10:12, and this should be preserved in translation.

This passage in no way asserts the indefectibility of the elect, and gives no countenance to ultra-predestinarian views. Christ’s sheep cannot be taken from Him against their will; but their will is free, and they may choose to leave the flock.

χειρός. “His hand protects, bears, cherishes, leads them” (Meyer).

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.

28. κἀγὼ δίδωμι αὐτοῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. (This is the order of the words in אBL.) This was the gift of Jesus to His sheep, i.e. to His faithful disciples, as promised 6:27, 40. Cf. 1Jn 2:25, 1Jn 5:11.

For ζωὴ αἰώνιος, see on 3:15, 4:14 above.

καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπόλωνται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. These sheep of His will not be lost finally. See on 3:16; and cf. 6:39, 17:12, 18:9. The words recall the Synoptic parable of the lost sheep rescued by the Shepherd.

καὶ οὐχ ἁρπάσει (so ABWΓΔΘ, while אDL have ἁρπάσῃ) τις αὐτὰ ἐκ τῆς χειρός μου. This had already been promised by Jesus (6:37, 39). For ἁρπάζειν in a similar sense, cf. v. 12; the verb has occurred before at 6:15.

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

I give [διδωμι] . Not, I will give. The gift is present and continuous. Compare Joh 3:36.

Shall pluck [αρπασει] . See on ver. 12. Compare can pluck, ver. 29. Here Jesus speaks of the fact; there of the possibility. Rev., snatch. Wyc., ravish.

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