Jesus was proud of his sheep

JESUS WAS PROUD OF HIS SHEEP
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 10:27 My sheep listen to My voice;I know them,
and they follow Me.
"What does Jesus know aboutthe sheep?
Jesus knows those who are his. What is this knowledge?John10:3 is a close
parallel to John 10:27. It says, “The sheephear his voice, and he calls his own
sheepby name and leads them out.” So, when Jesus says, “Iknow them,” this
means at leastthat he knows them by name; that is, he knows them
individually and intimately."
JOHN PIPER
Jesus Knows His Sheep
“My sheephear my voice, and I know them.” (John 10:27)
Jesus knows those who are his. What is this knowledge?
John 10:3 is a close parallelto verse 27. It says, “The sheephear his voice, he
calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out.”
So when Jesus says, “Iknow them,” this means at leastthat he knows them by
name; that is, he knows them individually and intimately. They are not
anonymous, lostin the flock.
Verse 14 provides another insight: “I am the goodshepherd, and I know my
own and my own know me, even as the Father knows me and I know the
Father.”

There is a realsimilarity betweenthe way Jesus knows his Father in heaven
and the way he knows his sheep. Jesus seeshimselfin the Father, and he sees
himself in his disciples.
To some degree Jesus recognizeshis own characterin his disciples. He sees his
own brand mark on the sheep.
He is like a husband waiting for his wife at the airport, watching as each
person disembarks from the plane. When she appears, he knows her, he
recognizes herfeatures, he delights in her, she is the only one he embraces.
The apostle Paulputs it like this: “The firm foundation of God stands, having
this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are his’” (2 Timothy 2:19).
It is hard to overemphasize what a tremendous privilege it is to be known
personally, intimately, lovingly by the Sonof God. It is a precious gift to all his
sheep, and it contains within it the promise of eternal life.
Jesus Knows his sheep
John 10:3 is a close parallelto John 10:27. It says, “The sheephear his voice,
and he calls his ownsheep by name and leads them out.”
So, when Jesus says, “Iknow them,” this means at leastthat he knows them
by name; that is, he knows them individually and intimately. They are not
John 10:14–15 provides anotherinsight: “I am the goodshepherd. I know my
own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father.”

own brand mark on the sheep. This endears them to him.
https://www.onwardchristianmagazine.com/
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Shepherd And The Sheep
John 10:27-30
B. Thomas
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 sheepof his
pasture. They are his.

2. They are his specialproperty. 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
"purchasedpossession."
(2) As they are very valuable. Their value canbe 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 specialtreasures,
his jewels.
(3) As they are very useful. The sheepis one of the most useful animals of the
fields. Its flesh is food, and its fine woolis garment. Believers are useful, and
valuable because useful. Sheep in the Eastwere the most useful property.
What would be the richestpasture without sheepto graze it? What would the
world be without man - what its scenes withoutan 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 powerfor 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 withoutthe sheep.
II. SOME OF THEIR CHARACTERISTICS IN RELATION TO CHRIST.
1. "Theyhear his voice." This implies:
(1) Recognitionof his voice. In the religious world there are many voices - that
of the stranger, the thief, and the hireling. It is a Babelof 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) Specialattention to his voice. They not merely distinguish and know it as
his, but attend and hear; and to them it is particularly sweetand 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 Israelof old.
Even all the golden harps of heaven could not produce such a sweetmusic,
and they listen with attention and rapturous delight.

(3) Willing acceptationby faith of his teaching. His voice does not die awayin
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 acceptationand
assentin the whole soul.
2. "Theyfollow him." The hearing results in following. This implies:
(1) An acknowledgmentof his leadership. "Theyfollow me." This is a
practicalacknowledgmentof his right and fitness in every respectto 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
greatestLeaderof all ages, the only Leader and Shepherd of souls.
(2) A practicalproof 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 attractionof food to the hungry;
they are not driven, but drawn; they are filled, and they follow;they are
impelled and attracted.
(3) An acknowledgmentof their relative position. Christ leads and they follow.
The Masterfirst, then the disciples. This is the natural and Divine order.
Peteronce wished to reverse it. He impulsively wanted to lead, but he was
peremptorily ordered to the rear. "Getthee behind me." The shepherd is to
be in front, the sheepbehind. They generallydo, and ought to, observe the
proper order.
(4) Constant progressiontowards his life. "Theyfollow 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 whithersoeverhe goeth.
The Christian life is not resthere, but a continual movement after and
towards Christ. He is the mark, and his disciples press on towards it, and they
get nearerevery day.
III. THE BLESSINGS THEYENJOYIN RELATION TO CHRIST.
1. It is recognitionof them. "I know them."

(1) His recognitionof them is perfect. He knows them better than they know
themselves, and before they know him. "Before Philip calledthee," etc. He
knows their outward circumstances anddifficulties, their inward and real
character, temptations and dangers. He knows them personallyand
individually. Not only he knows the flock generally, but he knows every sheep
individually, and cancall eachone by name.
(2) His recognitionof them is practical. He is not ashamedto own them as his.
The relationship he publicly confesses. "Mysheep." Theyare admitted to the
circle of his immediate friendship, his sympathy, love, and help.
(3) His recognitionto them is the highest honor. To be recognizedby the great
and rich of this world is considereda high honor. How much higher honor it
is to be recognizedby 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
greatestneed.
(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 graciouslygives 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. "Eternallife." It is a life which has in
it the elements of eternal continuance of happiness and fruition, and eternity
is at its disposal.
3. Perfectsafety.

(1) Safety from inward danger. "They shall never perish." Shall never fall
victims to their inward corruption. The principle of life is betweenthem and
spiritual death.
(2) Safety from outward foes. "No one shall pluck them," etc. Believers are
exposedto outward foes. The arch-thief and his emissaries are everon the
watchfor an opportunity to stealand kill. But they are safe. "No one," etc.
(3) The safety of Divine care. "Theyare in his hand." They are so precious.
Costso 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 connectionwith his arm, and his arm is almighty. No one cantake
them by force. "Theyare 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 supremacyof the Father. "The Father, which gave them me, is
greaterthan all."
(1) Greaterthan all things.
(2) Greaterthan all wickedmen and spirits. Greaterthan their individual
force, and all their forces combined.
(3) Greaterthan even the Son himself. In his humiliation, officialcapacity,
and by Divine courtesy, Jesus, as Son, naturally ascribes supremacyto the
Father. "My Father is greaterthan all."
2. The union of the Sonwith the Father. "I and the Fatherare one."
(1) One in nature and essence.
(2) One in powerand authority.
(3) One in purpose and will

3. The consequentunion 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 ofinfinite powerand 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 specialcharacteristics.Theyare knownof 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 ofChrist 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 nearerto Jesus the
greaterthe life. The impartation of eternallife 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 closelyif we want more life.
4. The ultimate securityof any one depends upon the following. The
perseverance ofthe saints in grace to the end is a practicalquestion. It is
decided on the part of God. The Divine hand is safe. But is it decidedon 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. Thenthe question of
our ultimate safetywill be practically settled. - B. T.

Biblical Illustrator
Then came the Jews round about Him.
John 10:24-39
The scene and circumstances
ArchdeaconFarrar.
Here in this bright colonnade, decked for the feastwith glittering trophies,
Jesus was walking up and down, quietly, and apparently without companions,
sometimes, perhaps, gazing acrossthe valley of Kidron at the whited
sepulchres of the prophets whom generations ofJews had slain, and enjoying
the mild winter sunlight, when, as though by a preconcertedmovement, the
Pharisaic party and their leaders suddenly surrounded and began to question
Him. Perhaps the very spot where He was walking, recalling as it did the
memories of their ancientglory — perhaps the memories of the glad feast
which they were celebrating, as the anniversary of a splendid deliverance
wrought by a handful of brave men, who had overthrown a colossaltyranny
— inspired their ardent appeal. "How long," they impatiently inquired, "dost
Thou hold our souls in painful suspense? If Thou really art the Messiah, tell
us with confidence. Tellus here, in Solomon's porch, now, while the sight of

these shields and goldencrowns, and the melody of these citherns and
cymbals, recallthe glory of Judas the Asmonaean — wilt thou be a mightier
Maccabaeus,a more glorious Solomon? Shall these citrons and fair boughs
and palms, which we carry in honour of this day's victory, be carried some
day for Thee?" It was a strange, impetuous, impatient appeal, and is full of
significance. It forms their own strong condemnation, for it shows distinctly
that He had spokenwords and done deeds which would have justified and
substantiated such a claim had He chosendefinitely to assertit. And if He had
in so many words assertedit — in the sense which they required — it is
probable that they would have instantly welcomedHim with tumultuous
acclaim. The place where they were speaking recalledthe most glorious scenes
of their ancient monarchy; the occasionwas rife with the heroic memories of
one of their bravest and most successfulwarriors;the political conditions
which surrounded them were exactlysuch as those from which the noble
Asmonaeanhad delivered them. One spark of that ancient flame would have
kindled their inflammable spirits into such a blaze of irresistible fanaticismas
might for a time have sweptawayboth the Romans and Herods. But the day
for political deliverances was past;the day for a higher, deeper, wider
deliverance had come. For the former they yearned; the latter they rejected.
Passionateto claim in Jesus an exclusive temporal Messiah, theyrepelled Him
with hatred as the Son of God, the Saviourof the world. That He was the
Messiahin a sense far loftier and more spiritual than they had ever dreamed
His language had againand againimplied: but a Messiahin the sense they
required He was not, and would not be. And therefore He does not mislead
them by saying, "I am your Messiah,"but He refers them to His repeated
teaching, which showedhow clearlysuch had been His claim, and to the
works which bore witness to that claim. Had they been sheep of His flock, they
would have heard His voice, and then He would have given them eternal life.
(ArchdeaconFarrar.)
Christ's accountof Himself
T. Whitelaw, D. D.

I. THE NATURE OF HIS CREDENTIALS.
1. His sayings. He had often told them who He was (ver. 25).
2. His miracles. These had been signs that they should have understood (vers.
25, 33).
3. His acceptanceby the pious. Jehovah's flock and His own sheephad
recognizedHim; an indirect testimony that He was no imposter (ver. 27).
4. His ability to save. He could and did bestow eternallife on those who
believed and followedHim (ver. 23).
II. THE DIGNITY OF HIS PERSON.
1. The Father's Commissioner(ver. 26).
2. The Father's Shepherd (ver. 29).
3. The Father's Son(ver. 36).
4. The Father's equal (vers. 30, 33). The Jews understoodthis (ver. 33).
III. THE VINDICATION OF HIS PRETENSIONS.
1. The charge preferred againstHim. Blasphemy, in making out Himself, a
man, to be God (ver. 33).
2. The punishment proposedfor Him. Stoning, the penalty prescribed by the
law for such offenders.
3. The answerreturned by Him.(1) Scriptural — drawn from their own holy
writings.(2)Logical. If God's Word calledcivic rulers "gods,"it could not be
blasphemy for God's Sonto callHimself "Sonof God."(3)Final. They could
not reply to it except by violence;and He withdrew Himself beyond the reach
of such machinations, Learn —
1. The sufficiency of the existing evidences for Christ and Christianity.
2. The irreconcilable antagonismbetweenthe unrenewed heart and Christ.
3. The ease with which objections and objectors to Christ can be answered.

4. The certainty that evil men can never achieve a final triumph over Christ.
(T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
Religious scepticism
D. Thomas, D. D.
I. IT DOES NOT LACK EVIDENCE (vers. 24, 25).
1. Christ's works were suchas no mere man had everperformed or could ever
accomplish— productions of Divine power, expressions ofDivine
benevolence.
2. If these in His day were sufficient evidence, how much more His moral
works in Christendom since. For eighteencenturies they have been
multiplying. To sceptics who say, How long are we to be held in doubt? we
answer, If you are sincere in your inquiries, you need not be held in suspense a
moment longer.
II. IT LACKS SYMPATHY WITH TRUTH (vers. 26, 27). This, and not lack
of evidence, is the cause ofscepticism. The Jew's sympathy was with the
formulae and conventionalities of religion and not with the truth. The wish is
evermore father of the thought. Men are atheists because theydo not "like to
retain" God in their thoughts — anti-Christians because theydo not like
Christ. He is too pure, too honest. Are men responsible for this lack of
sympathy? As well ask, Are men responsible for being truthful, just, virtuous?
Conscienceis bound to answerin the affirmative.
III. IT EXPOSES TO ENORMOUS LOSS (ver. 23). This implies —
1. That they, the sceptics, wouldnot have eternallife — goodness,freedom,
perfection, joy — that the absence ofwhich meant to "perish."
2. That they would not have eternalsecurity. His sheepwould be safe in His
and the Father's hands from ruin and misery. But those who were not His
sheepwould be in a perilous condition.Conclusion:See here —

1. How hypocritical is scepticism. Theyprofessedto be in searchoftruth,
whereas they only wanted a pretext to destroytruth.
2. How irrational is scepticism. It refuses to accept the most overwhelming
evidence in favour of truth — the mighty and ever multiplying works of
Christ.
3. How immoral is scepticism. It springs from the state of the heart —
destitution of sympathy with Christ.
4. How egregiouslyfoolishis scepticism. It risks eternal life and security.
(D. Thomas, D. D.)
The works ofthe Christ
C. J. Ridgeway, M. A.
We are dealing with the truth of the Divinity of the Christ, as it has been
proclaimed by Christendom ever since the day when He lived and died on this
earth. We are endeavouring to test the weight of evidence in favour of such a
tremendous claim. And in order to do this effectuallywe are summoning
certain witnessesbefore us that they may bear their testimony for or against
it. The works ofa man, like his characterand words, are very eloquent. They
speak for or againsthim. The works of the Christ. This, then, is our witness
today. They are the works of One the beauty of whose characterand words is
acknowledgedby all men whose judgment is worth having. "They bear
witness of Me," says the Christ. What do they say? Do they justify or
condemn, do they speak for or againstHim?
I. And, first of all, we want to know WHAT THIS WITNESS IS. The works of
the Christ are many and manifold. There are works oflove, of sympathy, of
mercy; there are works of wisdom, of power, of greatness;there are works of
warning, of judgment, of condemnation. Which of these shall we summon as
our witness today? No; our Lord Himself narrows the issue for us. He points
to certain of His works and by them will be judged, "The works that I do in
My Father's name." It is quite clearthat He is speaking ofHis miracles. The

miracles of the Christ! "Oh," some will say, "no one believes in miracles
nowadays. If you have no ether witness but this your case must surely fall to
the ground. Miracles do not happen!" Why is a miracle impossible? Hume
denies the possibility of a miracle because "itis contrary to all experience."
Mr. Mill, the greatestofmodern logicians, shows theft after all this statement
is really worth nothing. He tells us that it only means that you cannot prove a
miracle to a person who does not believe in a Being with supernatural powers.
If by all experience he literally means "all" he is simply begging the question.
No one ever supposedfor a moment that miracles have been experiencedby
all. The philosopher Rousseautells us that objections to miracles from their
improbability cannotreasonablybe urged by any man who seriouslybelieves
in a living God. But others urge, a miracle is impossible because it is a
violation of the laws of nature. But is it? Let us ask whatis meant by violating
nature's laws. What is a miracle? It is a lowerlaw suspended by a higher. And
who shall say this cannot be? To say so were to contradict daily experience.
For instance, we can, we do continually counteractthe greatlaw of gravitation
by a higher law. A miracle is impossible. No, not to any man who believes in a
God at all. And we are taking this for granted. Very few deny it. Yea more, we
live in a world of miracles. "We cannotsee," writes James Hinton, who was at
once a man of science and a philosopher, and they do not always go together,
"that we walk in the midst of miracles, and draw in mysteries with every
breath." A miracle is impossible. Nay, the miracles of the Christ are not a
discredited witness:they are not impossible or improbable. On the contrary,
miracles are natural and reasonable, andunder certain circumstances they
are to be expected. But, you say, were not His characterand His words
enough? Nay, they might be for us, but not for them. In those early days many
among men knew but little of His character, and heard only a few of His
words. There was need of other credentials in those days, plainer and more
striking, to support the claim which Jesus made. We need them not. The
miracles of the Christ were like the bells of the Church, that ring before the
service begins, and callmen by their music to come and worship. But the bells
ceasewhenthe congregationhas assembledand the actof worship
commenced. And so we say that it was to be expectedthat a supernatural
revelation, brought by a supernatural Teacher, should, in the absence ofall
earthly powerand greatness,be accompaniedby supernatural signs, to attest

the truth of the Messengerand of the messageHe delivered unto men. If, then,
these miracles are neither impossible nor improbable, what canwe learn
about the nature of the witness they give? First, then, I would have you bear
in mind that they, too, like the other witnesseswe have called, are well-
authenticated facts. Theyare facts which His disciples believed in, and who
were so likely to know as they? They are facts, for even His enemies admitted
their reality. The Jews did not deny them. Secondly, the miracles of Christ are
to be expected. They were the natural accompaniments of His mission of love,
the embodiments of His characterand words, in harmony with all else that we
are told of Him. "They were perfectly natural and ordinary in Him, they were
His δυναμεῖς, His powers or faculties, His capacities, justas sight and speech
are ours." Thirdly, the miracles of the Christ are unique. No other religion
was ever founded upon miracles, as is Christianity. "Whence, then, hath this
Man this wisdom and these mighty works?" Christendomanswers, "He is the
Son of the Living God." Yea, Jesus Himself tells us, "The works whichthe
Father hath given Me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of
Me that the Father hath sentMe." But as in the first days of Christianity, so
still men refuse to believe this. They offer us other solutions instead. Renan,
for instance, says He deluded His disciples. Others tell us that the Christ was
enabled to do His miracles by His greaterknow. ledge of the laws of science.
But canwe acceptthis solution? Or, again, we are told that these miracles are
the outcome of the imagination of the disciples — that miracles were in the
air, so to speak. Moreover, are we really entitled to take for granted, as do so
many, that at the time the Gospels were written there was a predispositionin
the minds of men to acceptwhat was extraordinary? In his book on miracles
Mr. Litton writes with considerable force, "No mistake is greaterthan to
suppose that the period at which the Gospels appearedwas favourable to
imposture of this kind. It was an age ofliterature and philosophy, the
diffusion of which was promoted by the union of the civilized world under one
sceptre. In Palestine learning had especiallytakenthe form of critical
inquiries into the integrity and genuineness ofancient books."But there are
others who acceptthe force of this reasoning, and say the miracles of the
Christ are the creationof a later age. But, as has been wellpointed out by the
same writer, such a man must have been a forger surpassing all the world has
ever known in cleverness.Once more, it is said that the results attributed to

miraculous powerwere in reality brought about by the forces of His personal
qualities. His strength of will, His beauty of character, His personal attraction,
influenced men, and workedupon them wonderful cures. But even if it were
so with the miracles of which men and women were the subjects, how will this
accountfor the stilling of the storm or the withering of the fig tree. There is
only one alternative. Jesus Himself tells us what it is, "If I do not the works of
My Father, believe Me not." Shall we believe Him or shall we rejectHim?
(C. J. Ridgeway, M. A.)
My sheephear My voice.
The order of thought
ArchdeaconWatkins.
The reference to those who believe not (ver. 26) because theywere not of His
sheep, introduces the contrastbetweenthem 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 eachpair refers to the act or state of the sheep; the
other to the actor gift of the goodShepherd. The pairs proceedin a climax
from the first response of the consciencewhich recognizes the Divine voice, to
the eternalhome which is in the Father's presence.
1. "My sheephear My voice,"..."andI know them."
2. "And they follow Me,"..."andI give unto them eternal life."
3. "And they shall never perish;"..."Neithershall any man pluck them out of
My hand."By reading successivelythe clauses printed in the ordinary type, we
trace the progress ofthe human act and state;by reading in the same way
those printed in italics, we trace the progress of the Divine gift; by reading
eachpair in the order of the text, we see how at eachstage the gift is pro.
portioned to the faculty which can receive it.
(ArchdeaconWatkins.)

The sheepand the shepherd
C. H. Spurgeon.
While far from flattering this emblem is very consolatory, forof all creatures
none are so weak and helpless as sheep, and none are the subjects of such
care.
I. THE PROPRIETOROF THE SHEEP. "My." Theyare Christ's —
1. By choice.
2. By the Father's gift. We often value a gift for the donor's sake irrespective
of its intrinsic worth.
3. He bought them. We value that for which we have to pay.
4. By capture. A man esteems thatwhich he procures with risk of life and
limb. When we were astrayHe sought, found, rescuedus.
5. By the cheerful surrender of ourselves to Him. We would not belong to
another if we might; not even to ourselves. All this is —
(1)A greathonour. To belong to a king carries distinction.
(2)A guarantee of safety.
(3)The stamp of sanctity. We are the Lord's separatedflock.
(4)The keyto duty.
II. THE MARKS OF THE SHEEP.
1. Their ear mark: "HearMy voice."
(1)They hear spiritually.
(2)They hear Christ in the ministry, Bible, providences, etc., and they
distinguish His voice from that of strangers.
(3)They hear obediently.

2. Their foot mark: "They follow Me" — not are driven. They follow Christ
—
(1)As the Captain of their salvation.
(2)As their Teacher.
(3)As their Example.
(4)As their Commander and Prince. "WhatsoeverHe saith unto you do it."
III. THE PRIVILEGE OF THE SHEEP. It does not look very large, but it is
amazingly blessed. "Iknow them," the reverse of which is "I never knew
you." He knows us —
1. Personally.
2. Thoroughly.
3. Helpfully.
(1)Our sins that He may forgive them.
(2)Our diseasesthatHe may heal them, etc.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Answering the call
C. H. Spurgeon.
In a beautiful Englishchurchyard is a small grave remarkable for its
simplicity. It is evidently the resting place of a little lad who loved his Saviour.
The inscription is as follows:"Freddy!"... "Yes, Father!"
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christ knows us thoroughly

C. H. Spurgeon.
You have a watch, and it will not go, or it goes veryirregularly, and you give
it into the hands of one who knows nothing about watches, and he says, "I will
cleanit for you." He will do it more harm than good. But here is the person
who made the watch. He says, "I put every wheelinto its place; I made the
whole of it from beginning to end." You feel the utmost confidence in
entrusting that man with your watch. It often cheers my heart to think that
since the Lord made me He can put me right.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christ's sheep
Pulpit Analyst.
I. THE MARKS.
1. They know His voice. This is universal in the East. They hearit —
(1)In conversion.
(2)At the time of duty.
(3)In affliction.
(4)In the hour of death.
2. They follow Him —
(1)That they may getpardon.
(2)To obtain the living water.
(3)To share His unspeakable love.
(4)To commune with Him in prayer.
(5)To learn from His example.
II. THE BLESSINGS.

1. Christ knows them. The world does not; the Church may not; but Christ
does, whatsoevertheir state or condition.
2. Christ gives them eternal life. This implies —
(1)Daily pardon.
(2)Spiritual life.
3. Christ keeps them safely.
(1)They are in His land.
(2)In His Father's land.
(3)To all eternity.
(Pulpit Analyst.)
The sheepof Christ
H. Cooke,D. D., W. H. Van Doren, D. D.
These are known —
I. BY HEARING. The most important of all the senses, andof scriptural
emblems, is the ear. (Isaiah55) "Faith comethby hearing." The sheep hear —
1. Christ's personalvoice. He still speaks in the Scriptures. Many do not
recognize that voice, as a strangerwould not recognize your child's voice in a
letter; but every syllable becomes audible to you. The word of battle is to the
soldier not the voice of the trumpeter, but the call of his general.
2. The voice of truth. No voice but Christ's is, be. cause nothing else is
permanent.
3. The voice of grace and of love.
4. The voice of powerover the world, the flesh and the devil. Hence it imparts
courage to the Christian soldier to go on conquering and to conquer.

II. BY PERSONALAPPEARANCE, as we are able to distinguish our friends
and children. Christ knows His sheep.
1. In whatevercondition of life, rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, in sorrow
or in joy.
2. Whatevercompany they may keep.
3. Whithersoeverthey go.
4. Whatsoeverthey do. The knowledge in this aspectof it is admonitory and
encouraging.
III. BY FOLLOWING. They follow Christ's example —
1. In obedience to His earthly parents.
2. In conformity to all the righteousness ofreligion.
3. In nonconformity to the world.
(H. Cooke, D. D.)
They follow Me. — Christ's flock often addressedby the seductive voice of
strangers. Theyare promised the treasures, honours, and pleasures of the
world. They are told that there are other and smootherways of reaching
heaven. But there is none but this: following Christ.
I. In HOLINESS. "Be ye holy for I am holy."
II. In LOVE. "By this shall all men know," etc.
III. In SELF-DENIAL. "If any man will come after Me," etc.
IV. In MEEKNESS. "Letthis mind be in you," etc.
(W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(27, 28) The reference to those who believe not because they were not of His
sheep, introduces the contrastbetweenthem 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 eachpair refers to the act or state of the sheep; and
the other to the actor gift of the Shepherd. The pairs proceedin a climax
from the first response of the consciencewhich recognisesthe divine voice to
the eternalhome which is in the Father’s presence.
(1)“My sheephear 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 successivelythe clauses placedon the left side of the page, we trace
the progress ofthe human act and state;by reading, in the same way, the
clauses onthe right side of the page, we trace the progress ofthe divine gift;
by reading eachpair in the order of the text, we see how at eachstage the gift
is proportioned to the faculty which can receive it.
The earlierclauses are familiar to us from the preceding discourse, but some
expressions will need a word of explanation.
Eternal life.—Comp. John 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. John 3:15; John 5:24; John 6:47 et seq.). We cannotbe too careful to
observe that our Lord’s thoughts of “eternallife” is never of the future only.
It is a development, rather than a simply future existence. We shalllive
eternally, because we now live spiritually in communion with the Spirit who is
Eternal.
And they shall never perish.—Comp. Notes on John 8:51; John 11:25-26. The
negative is in the strongestform—“Theyshall by no means perish for ever.”

Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.—Better (comp. John
10:18), and none shall pluck them . . . The words should not be limited by the
insertion of the word man. They are to be takenas including every spiritual
foe; all thieves and robbers that would break into the fold; all wolves that
would rend the flock;the adversarywho “as a roaring lion walkethabout
seeking whomhe may devour.” (Comp. especiallyforthe full thought of no
separationfrom Christ, Romans 8:38-39.)The words “out of my hand”
express alike the strength which protects, and guidance which leads, and
comfort which cherishes. (See Isaiah40:11.)Out of this hand none shall pluck.
Yet we are to bear in mind that the sheepitself 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 sheephear my voice . . .
and they follow me.”
BensonCommentary
John 10:27-31. My sheephear my voice, &c. — Our Lord still alludes to the
discourse he had had before this festival. As if he had said, My sheepare 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 eternallife. 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, givenme all that believe, love, and
obey, is greaterthan all in heaven or earth, and none is able to pluck them out
of his hand. I and the Fatherare one — Not by consentof 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 expressionof himself which could possibly
be so interpreted, as this and other expressions were, by all that heard our
Lord speak. Indeed, his hearers were provokedto such a degree by what he

now said, that they took up stones, andwere going to kill him outright,
imagining that he had spokenblasphemy.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
10:22-30 All who have any thing to sayto Christ, may find him in the temple.
Christ would make us to believe; we make ourselves doubt. The Jews
understood his meaning, but could not form his words into a full charge
againsthim. He describedthe gracious dispositionand happy state of his
sheep; they heard and believed his word, followedhim as his faithful disciples,
and none of them should perish; for the Sonand the Fatherwere one. Thus he
was able to defend his sheepagainstall their enemies, which proves that he
claimed Divine power and perfectionequally with the Father.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
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, whichhe proceeds to state, betweenthem.
Hear my voice - See John10:3-4. Applied to Christians, it means that they
hear and obey his commandments.
I know them - See John 10:14.Theyfollow me - A flock follows its shepherd to
pastures and streams, John 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 followedor attended him from place to place.
Hence, Christians are called his followers, and in Revelation14:4 they are
describedas "they that follow the Lamb."
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
27-30. My sheephear my voice, &c.—(See on[1821]Joh10:8).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
This is the same which he said: See Poole on"John10:4".

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
My sheephear my voice,.... The voice of Christ in his Gospel, both externally
and internally; See Gill on John 10:4, See Gill on John 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 John 10:14; but Christ knew not these as the
electof 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 ofgrace, andin the discharge of duty,
and whithersoeverhe the goodshepherd leads them; See Gill on John 10:3,
See Gill on John 10:4. But now, whereas these Jewsdid not follow Christ, but
turned their backs onhim, and rejectedhim, it was notorious that they were
none of his sheep;but both happy and safe are those persons, that are the
sheepof Christ, as appears from what is next said of them.
Geneva Study Bible
My sheephear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
John 10:27-28. Descriptionof the relation of the πρόβατα to Him (comp. John
10:4; John 10:14), which brings clearly to view that the Ἰουδαῖοι cannot
belong to them. Notice in John 10:27 the climactic parallelism of the two
halves of the verse as far as δίδωμι αὐτοῖς (John 10:28), after which,
commencing with καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπόλ., etc., the discourse goesonto express in a
double form the inseparableness ofthe blessedrelationship. On the emphatic
polysyndeton, compare John 10:3; John 10:12.
τὰ πρόβ. τὰ ἐμά] the sheepwhich belong to me.

ζωὴν αἰών.] also conceivedalreadyin its temporal development, John 3:15,
John 5:24, and repeatedly.
καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπόλ.] The negationbelongs to the verb; this declaration:“they
shall certainly not perish,” will be accomplishedin eternity. The lostsheep, i.e.
the sheepwhich has been separated, and wanderedaway from the flock
(Matthew 10:6; Luke 15:4), typifies him who is separatedfrom 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
setforth with still more concrete tenderness by the words ἐκ τῆς χειρός μου.
His hand protects, bears, cherishes, leads them. Liberty and the possibility of
apostasyare not thus excluded (in answerto Augustine and the teaching of the
Reformed Church); he who has fallen awayis no longera 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.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
27, 28. Note the simple but very impressive coupling of the clauses by a simple
‘and’ throughout and comp. John 10:3; John 10:12 : note also the climax.
Bengel's Gnomen
John 10:27-28. Τὰ πρόβατα—ἐκτῆς χειρός μου, the sheep—outof My hand)
Three pairs of sentences, ofwhich the severalparts express both the faith of
the sheepand the goodness of the Shepherd, by means of correlatives.
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 27-30. -
(2) Christ's claim to equality of power and essence, and similarity of gracious
operationwith the Father. Verses 27, 28. - My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternallife; and they
shall never perish, neither shall any one pluck them out of my hand.

Commentators have differed as to the arrangementof these two verses -
whether the six assertions shouldbe regardedas two triplets, in the first of
which the sheepof Christ are made prominent, and in the latter of which the
Shepherd; thus -
(l) The sheep-
"My sheephear 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 satisfactoryas the arrangementwhich puts this weighty saying
into three couplets instead of two triplets; in which the sheepare the
prominent theme of eachproposition. The three couplets display the
climacteric characterofthe wondrous rhythm and interchange of emotion
betweenthe Divine Shepherd and the sheep-
"My sheephear my voice, and I know them" = mutual recognition.
"They follow me, and I give them eternallife" = reciprocalactivity.
"They shall not perish forever, and no one shall pluck them out of my hand"
= an authoritative assurance, andits pledge or justification.
Christ's knowledge ofthe sheepcorresponds with their recognitionof his
supreme claims; theft active trust is rewarded by his greatestgift;their
indefeasible birthright is guaranteedby his limitless authority and powerto
protect them. It would be gross perversionof the passageto urge this
indefeasible birthright on the ground of a few occasionalflashes ofconscious
assurance andwithout any recognitionof all the terms of the relation.
Vincent's Word Studies
My sheep(τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἐμὰ)
Literally, the sheep, those that are mine. A characteristic formof expression
with John. Compare John 3:29; John 5:30; John 14:15, etc.
GreatTexts of the Bible
The GoodShepherd

I am the goodshepherd: the goodshepherd layeth down his life for the
sheep.—John10:11.
1. The imagery of the text is an incidental claim on the part of our Lord to be
the MessiahofIsrael. For it was as a shepherd that Jehovahwas to fulfil His
promise of redemption to His people. “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd:
he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom.” So
wrote Isaiah, and Ezekielafter him, “Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I,
even I, will both searchmy sheep, and seek them out.” The Divine promise is
fulfilled in Jesus who preaches Himself as the fulfiller and the fulfilment of
Israel’s hope and expectation:“I am the goodshepherd”; and then, going
beyond all former revelationof Divine grace and love, He adds, “the good
shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep.”
How quietly and unostentatiously, but at the same time with what confidence
and assurance,our Lord assumes to Himself titles that were predicted of the
Messiahin the Old Testament. He adopts them in the most natural manner,
folds them about Him as a man would clothe himself in his own garments.
There is never any excuse or apologyfor doing so. Everywhere our Lord takes
His Messiahshipfor granted. He and no other is the being pointed to by the
finger of prophecy, and so after His resurrection He took trouble with His
disciples to show them out of those Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
2. This Messianictitle of “Shepherd” is also freely accordedto Him
afterwards by His followers, as, forexample, by the writer of the Epistle to the
Hebrews, who calls Him “that greatshepherd of the sheep,” and by St. Peter,
who speaks ofHim as “the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls,” and says to
the faithful presbyters of the Church “whenthe chief Shepherd shall appear,
ye shall receive a crownof glory that fadeth not away.” Whenwe pass out of
the regionof Scripture and from the Apostolic Church the figure still haunts

us. The early Christians in the days of their trial and persecutionloved to
depict on the walls of the catacombs Jesus as the GoodShepherd, with His
sheepstanding round Him, and earnestly gazing up into His face. With
authority and power did our Lord arrogate to Himself the care and guidance
of His Church to the end of time when He spoke these expressive words—“I
am the goodshepherd.”
There are two points to be considered—
I. Christ’s Claim.
II. Its Significance.
I
Christ’s Claim
“I am the goodshepherd.”
1. I am the Shepherd. We are all familiar enough with the ideas connected
with shepherd-life as it is pictured amongstourselves. The poetry of our
country dwells much upon it, especiallydownto about the beginning of last
century. It was describedas the ideal of a simple natural life. It was associated
with the piping times of peace. The shepherds were regardedas happy swains,
living a free, healthy life in communion with nature.

But the shepherd’s life in Palestine was attendedwith much hardship and
greatdanger. In a country where at any moment sheepare liable to be swept
awayby a mountain torrent, or carriedoff by hill robbers, or torn by wolves,
every hour of the shepherd’s life is risk. David tells how, in defence of his
father’s flock, he put his life in his hand and slew both a lion and a bear; while
Jacobreminds Laban how he watchedthe sheep, exposedto the extreme of
heat and cold. Pitiless cold at night, long hours of thirst in the day, must be
endured, if the flock is to be kept in safety. So it is not difficult to imagine how
a feeling of affectionwould spring up betweenthe lonely Syrian shepherd and
the dumb objects of his care. The sheepwould follow him whereverhe might
lead, or call them with his voice.
And so it was the ordinary duty of every shepherd not only to gather and feed
and watchthe flock, but also to lead them, to know them and to run some risk
for them. A great dealhas been made out of these last three points in the
application of the metaphor to Christ, showing how Christ is the Good
Shepherd because He leads His flock, because He knows them, and because
He runs some risk for them. But these are not characteristic points of the
GoodShepherd as distinguished from the hireling. Even the hireling in the
Eastled the sheep, as that was the ordinary custom, even he knew them to a
certain extent, and it was a necessarypart of shepherd life to run some risk
for the flock.
If that had been all, Jesus might have said “I am a shepherd,” but His words
are “I am the goodshepherd.”
A man may be a hired priest, as Demetrius was at Ephesus—“Bythis craft we
get our living.” Or he may be a paid demagogue,a greatchampion of rights,
and an investigatorof abuses—paidby applause; and while popularity lasts,
he will be a reformer—deserting the people when danger comes. There is no

vital union betweenthe champion and the defenceless, the teacherand the
taught.1 [Note:F. M. Robertson.]
2. I am the goodshepherd. The shepherd’s work may be done and done well
by the paid servant, it may be faithfully performed and the reward honestly
earned; but our Lord’s claim to be a shepherd was something essentially
different.
“I am the goodshepherd.” Good, not in the sense of benevolent, but in the
sense ofgenuine, true born, of the real kind—just as wine of nobler quality is
goodcompared with the cheapersort, just as a soldieris goodor noble who is
a soldier in heart, and not a soldier by mere professionor for pay. It is the
same word as that used by St. Paul when he speaks ofa good, i.e. a noble
soldier of Christ. Certain peculiar qualifications made the genuine soldier,
certain peculiar qualifications make the genuine or goodshepherd.
What, then, is that quality which constitutes the essentialcharacteristic ofthe
GoodShepherd, and without which you cannot conceive the idea of one
bearing a true shepherd heart and doing a true shepherd work? The Lord
tells us: “The goodshepherd layeth down his life for the sheep.” He seeksthe
slafety and well-being of the sheep;and He does so at the costof any self-
sacrifice, evenof life itself.
Out on one of the greatsheep-ranges ofthe North-Westof America, a
shepherd was left in a very lonely station in charge of a large flock of sheep.
He lived in a little cottage whichwas fitted up with the necessarycomforts for
all seasons ofthe year. There was no other house anywhere near. This man,
Hans Neilson, lived there with only his dog Shep for company. After he had
lived out there for two years there came a dreadfully severe winter. The
sheep-sheds were old, and the shelterfor the sheep was poor. New sheds were

to be built in the following spring. It was hard work for Hans, but he
succeededin saving all his sheepuntil the last and most violent blizzard of all.
The wind blew and the snow fell for three days. After it was over, help was
sent from headquarters to see how Hans had fared. They found his dead body
near the sheep-folds, and his dog standing on guard by his master. The sheep
were all alive and well, and it was quite clear to the men that Hans had been
trying to place additional protection at the broken places in the old sheds
when his brave battle ceasedand he was overcome by the intense cold. He
might have saved his life by neglecting the sheep, but he had literally given his
life for his sheep.1 [Note:J. Learmount, In God’s Orchard, 221.]
3. “I am the goodshepherd.” Why did Christ callHimself the Good
Shepherd? Many interpret this “the” as a “the” of degree, and amplify the
passagethus: “There are many goodshepherds, but I am the GoodShepherd,
par excellence.” Butthis is not the meaning of the text. Christ has showedus
that the essenceofgoodshepherding lies in this fact of laying down one’s life
for the sheep. No man has any claim at all to be called a goodshepherd unless
he does lay down his life for the sheep. Christ is the only one to whom the
epithet “GoodShepherd” in its metaphoricalsense may be applied at all. The
“the” is an absolute one. Christ is not to be consideredas first among
compeers, but as the one betweenwhom and others there can never be any
comparisonat all. 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 GoodShepherd; in Me and in
Me alone is that which men need.”
This question, “Was Christ merely a goodMan and a greatTeacher, orwas
He something more? Is He to be to us simply one of many teachers, to be
discardedpossibly soonerorlater because, howevervaluable in the past, the
world is destined more and more to outgrow His teaching? Is He to be merely
one of many, or are His claims upon us unique, supreme, paramount?”—this
is a question which I do not think you canafford to leave wholly unanswered.

To this extent the question, “What think ye of Christ?” is one which you must
face. To leave it on one side is virtually to negative any exceptionalclaim on
Christ’s part.1 [Note:H. Rashdall, Doctrine and Development, 83.]
We have just lost one who was at the time of his death, with one exception, the
greatestmasterof the English language still left among us. Some of the press
notices of the late ProfessorSeeleyshow a strangelyinadequate recognition,
as it seems to me, of his true place both in English literature and in English
religion. The advance of criticism may have somewhatdiminished the value of
Ecce Homo as an historicalstudy: I do not think it has touched its usefulness
as a help to practical Christianity. To many in our generationEcce Homo has
taught far more than such a book as Imitatio Christi (with all its truth and
beauty) can teachto men who do not live in a medieval monastery, about the
practicalapplication of our Lord’s moral teaching to the spiritual needs and
the everyday duties of modern life. To some of us it has come to seemalmost
like the very Gospelitself rewritten in the language of the nineteenth century.
Its declared purpose is simply to constitute an historical inquiry into the
ethical teaching of Jesus Christ. With Theology, strictly speaking, it does not
avowedlyconcernitself at all. And yet the writer who summed up the essence
of Christ’s teaching in the famous phrase, “the enthusiasm of humanity,”
found that he could not give an historicalaccountof what Christ taught or of
the reasons ofHis successwithout recognizing in the fullest and most explicit
manner the claim to a unique personalauthority which is implied as much in
the Sermonon the Mount as in the Johannine version of the Master’s life. A
morality which is essentiallybound up with a devotion to a Personis already a
religion. I hardly know of any book that appeals so directly to the conscience
of a man anxious, amid all difficulties intellectual and practical, to getan
answerfor his own soul’s sake to the old question, “What must I do to be
saved?” The book is throughout intensely practical, and yet it distinctly
implies a Theology, a Theologywhich may be all the more impressive to some
minds because it is more often implied than expressed. Had its author
attempted to sum up that implied Theologyin a sentence, he would perhaps
have expressedhimself in some such words as these, which I take from a like-
minded writer whose name is revered in this place [Oxford]: “For most of us,”

said Arnold Toynbee, “Christis the expressionof God, i.e., the eternal fact
within us and without us. In time of peril, of failing, and of falsehood, the one
powerthat, enables us to transcend weakness is the feeling of the communion
of the two eternalfacts in Christ.”1 [Note: H. Rashdall, Doctrine and
Development, 86.]
II
The Significance of Christ’s Claim
“The goodshepherd layeth down his life for the sheep.”
Christ not only proclaims Himself the GoodShepherd; He expounds the
significance ofthis greatword. In His exposition, He leads us into depths of
Divine wisdomwhich must evermore constitute the subject of profound study.
1. “The goodshepherd layeth down his life for the sheep.” Christ’s love as
portrayed in His death illustrates the law of Sacrifice. The goodnessofJesus
Christ shines forth from Him, and in His death finds its crown and
consummation. That death is not an isolatedfact, for it is associatedwith the
whole history of Christ’s redemption. The Lord, throughout His earthly
ministry, setthat before Him, and said of it as His baptism, “How am I
straitened till it be accomplished.” Thus that death was no mere accidentor
afterthought. It was the necessaryoutcome ofthe life and ministry of the
incarnate Son of God. Messiahhad been representedas the Shepherd of
Israel, but it remained for the Son of God, in His supreme revelation, to
representthe Shepherd as dying for His flock. And so He says, “the good
shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep.”

(1) We must observe the perfectvoluntariness of His self-devotion. “No man,”
He says of His sacrificedlife, “takethit from me, but I lay it down of myself. I
have powerto lay it down, and I have powerto take it again.” There was no
external need for Jesus dying an early, violent death. If He had so willed it, He
could have kept Himself out of the hands of the men who crucified Him. He
lived a life that none other lived, and He died a death that none other died. He
lived because He willed to live, and He died because He willed to die. The law
of love never expresseditself so gloriously as in the death of Jesus Christ. So
He taught mankind through all time that love is sacrifice, whenfor us men
and for our salvationHe made that oblation of Himself upon the Cross of
Calvary, once, and once for all.
Love must be prepared for the greatestsacrifice. We may never conclude that
love is unreal merely because its thoughts are large. It may have the widest
schemes, andbe prepared to devote the utmost pains to their accomplishment.
It should give itself freely to the most romantic enterprises. The Lord would
not be for all time the King of Love if He had shrunk back from the cup of
suffering which, as He knew, was to be drained at the end of that progress to
Jerusalem. We need “public souls”—menand women who are capable of
cherishing greatideas, and who delight to spend themselves for their
brethren. There is a growing demand for such in the Church and in the
Empire. If, in the providence of God, the way should open for any of us to
some conspicuous path of devotion, let us count it high honour, and prepare
ourselves bravely for the costit will involve, costfar greaterthan will appear
at the outset;costof opposition, and criticism, and misunderstanding, and
disappointment; cost, it may be, of seeming failure to achieve anything, or to
make any immediate impression. Love must be prepared for the greatest
sacrifice. Thatis the first criterion and test.1 [Note:A. W. Robinson, The
Voice of Joy and Health, 167.]
(2) Christ, the GoodShepherd, in pronouncing goodness to lie in self-sacrifice,
is but realizing and consummating that principle which is striving to free itself

from the tangledweb of Nature. But have we always recognizedthat the heart
of goodness, ofnatural goodness,lies in self-sacrifice?Have we been loyal to
this as the verdict of Nature? Somehow, as we know, we came to believe a
little time ago that whatever supernatural grace might demand, Nature laid
its approval not upon self-sacrifice, but upon self-assertion. So Science had
seemedto say. It had opened our eyes upon a dismal scene in which beast
battled with beast, eachstruggling with desperate energyfor its own survival.
Nature appearedas a wild and blind monster, working with tooth and claw,
shrieking againstour moral creed. There was no goodnessto be detected at
work in a war where egoismalone counted. But ever since the early
recognitionof the law of natural selection, which Darwinemphasized as the
sole determinant of evolution, Science has been limiting and qualifying the
range of its activity.
To many of us it seems there is too much red in the picture which Darwin
painted; and the trouble is that his picture has been reproduced by cheaper
and coarserprocesses, until it has lost all subtlety and truth, and become a
harsh and ugly print of Nature, as if it were a dismal type of vast gladiatorial
show. This is not merely bad as a piece of unbalanced cosmogony;but by a
vicious circle the libel projected upon Nature is brought back to justify one set
out of human methods, the egoistic;and to condemn others as altruistic. But
the organic process depends on much more than a squabble round a platter,
or internecine struggle at the margin of subsistence;it includes all the
multitudinous efforts for others, as well as for self, betweenthe two poles of
hunger and love; all endeavours that mate makes for mate, and parent for
offspring, and kin for kin. Love and life are factors in progress as much as
pain and death, and the premium in the struggle for existence ontooth and
claw is not greaterthan that on the warm solicitude of the maternal heart, or
on the patience of a brooding bird. So, again, we will say if we make a curve of
the ascentofvertebrates, marking their position according to the degree of
brain development, we find that as the curve ascends the co-ordinates of
parental affectionand parental love and gentle emotions are heightened. And
those organisms so endowedsurvive, in spite of the admitted egoistic
competition. And that is the proof of Nature’s censure. Earth may be strong,

but it is also lovely, and the lovely and the strong exist together. And we see
that, according to its ownascending mind and age, the loving become more
and more strong. From the dawn of life, as Herbert Spencersaid, altruism has
been no less essentialthan egoism;self-sacrifice is as primordial as self-
preservation. More and more we see that it is possible to interpret the ideals of
ethical progress through love and sociality, through co-operationand
sacrifice, notas mere Utopias, contradicted by natural experience, but as the
highest expressionof the central evolutionary process in the natural world.1
[Note:Geddes, Ideals of Science andFaith, 70.]
Learn in self-sacrificeto find thy joy,
The only bliss unmingled with alloy;
All lesserpleasuressoonmust pall and cloy.
Betterit is to give than to receive,
All to forsake than unto aught to cleave;—
’Tis in the actof giving that we live.
All spiritual Being lives by this—
The ground and basis of the Godhood’s bliss;

Who turn therefrom the Life Eternal miss.
For though dischargedin full strict duty’s round,
If in the chains of self-hoodthou art bound—
Lifeless and void of worth thy works are found.
Throughout the extent of Nature’s wide domain
See this great law of sacrifice obtain,
The creature’s loss conditioning its gain.
The very elements this law obey,—
The beams that from the solarsource outray,
The springing fount’s perpetual sparkling play.
All living things are constituted so,

All organisms from out earth’s womb that grow;
As is the outward, so the to-ward flow:
So that whate’erimpedes or hindereth
The pores’free play, the issue of the breath,
Is the concomitantor cause of death:
Would’st truly live?—let go!1 [Note:W. Hall, Via Cruris.]
2. “The goodshepherd layeth down his life for the sheep.” Christ’s death
illustrates the law of Redemption. Here is the doctrine of vicarious sacrifice:
the sacrifice ofone insteadof another: life savedby the sacrifice of another
life. Mostof us know the meagre explanation of these words which satisfies
some men: they say that Christ merely died as a martyr, in attestationofthe
truths He taught. But we must observe the strength of the expressionwhich
we cannot explain away, “I lay down my life for the sheep.” If the Shepherd
had not sacrificedHimself, the sheepmust have been the sacrifice.
There was something the Lord passedthrough, passedthrough once and for
ever, something awful and unspeakable, in order that we might never share it.
We Christians shall never die as He died. Our material bodies will wearaway
and cease, andthey will be carried over the well-trodden way to the cemetery.
Men will speak ofus as having died, hut we shall never die as our Saviour

died. There was something in His death which His followers will never know.
“He that believeth in me shall never taste death.”
The dangerwhich threatened us was not bodily death, for from that we are
not delivered. But it was something with which the death of the body is
intimately connected. Bodilydeath is as it were the symptom, but not the
disease itself. It is that which reveals the presence of the pestilence, but is not
itself the realdanger. It is like the plague-spotthat causes the beholder to
shudder, though the spot itself is only slightly painful. Now a skilful physician
does not treat symptoms, does not apply his skill to allay superficial distresses,
but endeavours to remove the radical disease. Ifthe eye becomes bloodshothe
does not treat the eye, but the generalsystem. If an eruption comes out on the
skin, he does not treat the skin, but alters the condition of the blood; and it is a
small matter whether the symptom goes onto its natural issue, if thereby the
eradicationof the disease is rather helped than hindered. So it is with death: it
is not our danger; no man cansuppose that the mere transference from this
state to another is injurious; only, death is in our case the symptom of a deep
disease, ofa real, fatal ailment of soul. We know death not as a mere
transference from one world to another, but as our transference from
probation to judgment, which sin makes us dread; and also as a transference
which in form forcibly exhibits the weakness, the imperfection, the shame of
our presentstate. Thus death connects itselfwith sin, which our conscience
tells us is the greatroot of all our present misery. It is to us the symptom of
the punishment of sin, but the punishment itself is not the death of the body
but of the soul; the separationof the soulfrom all good, from all hope,—in a
word, from God. This is the real danger from which Christ delivers us. If this
be removed, it is immaterial whether bodily death remain or not; or rather,
bodily death is used to help out our complete deliverance, as a symptom of the
disease sometimes promotes the cure. Christ has tasteddeath for every man,
and out of eachman’s cup has suckedthe poison, so that now, as we in turn
drink it, it is but a sleeping draught. There was a chemistry in His love and
perfect obedience which drew the poison to His lips; and, absorbing into His
own systemall the virulence of it, by the immortal vigour of His own

constitution, He overcame its effects, and rose againtriumphing over its
lethargic potency.1 [Note: M. Dods.]
A doctor in one of the London hospitals found a child-patient dying of
diphtheria, and suckedawaythe suffocating film from the throat, with fatal
consequencesto himself. Was he justified? There are many side issues to this
problem, but they do not alter the main question. To answerit we must put
ourselves on the spot at the given moment, and see the two human beings face
to face with the emergency;the child gasping for breath, the doctor conscious
that he holds in his hands a possible means of retaining the life that has almost
escaped. He uses it. Can this be calledrenouncement? Surely not. It is an
actionlove-prompted, generous, beautiful. He does not actthus in order to
give awayhis ownlife, but to save the child’s; not to lose, but to win
something not otherwise to be won.1 [Note: M. C. Albright, The Common
Heritage, 77]
The GoodShepherd
JESUS AND THE SHEEP
" A ND there were in the same country

f shepherds abiding in the field, keep
-* * ing watchover their flock."
"What man of you, having an hundred
sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave
86
the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and
go after that which is lost, until he find it?
And when he hath found it, he layeth it on
his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he com
eth home, he callethtogetherhis friends and
neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with
me; for I have found my sheepwhich was
lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall
be in heavenover one sinner that repenteth,
more than over ninety and nine just persons,
which need no repentance."
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
entereth not by the door into the sheepf old,
but climbeth up some other way, the same is
a thief and a robber. But he that entereth
in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the porter openeth; and the sheep
hear his voice : and he callethhis own sheep

by name, and leadeth them out. And when
he putteth forth his own sheep, he goethbe
fore them, and the sheepfollow him: for
they know his voice. And a strangerwill
they not follow, but will flee from him: for
87
they know not the voice of strangers."
59
60 OUT-OF-DOORS WITHJESUS
"This parable spake Jesus unto them : but
they understood not what things they were
which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus
unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, I am the door of the sheep. All that
ever came before me are thieves and robbers :
but the sheep did not hear them. I am the
door: by me if any man enter in, he shall
be saved, and shall go in and out, and find
pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy : I am come
that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly. I am the
goodshepherd : the goodshepherd giveth his

life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling
and not the shepherd, whose ownthe sheep
88
are not, seeththe wolfcoming, and leaveth
the >sheep, and fleeth : and the wolf catcheth
them, and scattereththe sheep. The hire
ling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and
carethnot for the sheep. I am the good
shepherd, and know my sheep, and am
known of mine. As the Fatherknowethme,
even so know I the Father : and I lay down
my life for the sheep. And other sheep I
have, which are not of this fold: them also
I must bring, and they shall hear my voice ;
and there shall be one fold, and one shep
herd."
"The Lamb of God, which takethawaythe
sin of the world." "Fearnot, little flock;
for it is your Father's goodpleasure to give
you the kingdom." "In the midst of the
elders stood a Lamb as it had been slain."
"Made them white in the blood of the
Lamb." "The Lamb which is in the midst

of the throne shall feed them." "They over
89
JESUS AND THE SHEEP 61
came Mm by the blood of the Lamb." "The
Lamb could open the book." "The Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world."
For composite poetry, these Gospelreferences
to sheep seemto me past all praise. They sur
pass imagination. A lamb is picturesque and
clinging in its helplessness, andto suppose it
could be lifted up to the pinnacle of sublimity
would appear incredible. Jesus has taken a triv
ial creature and made it a symbol of himself and
has enthroned it in the eternities. He has taken
the lowly shepherd and made him a symbol of
the Saviourof the world.
I view these shepherd-and-sheep passageswith
shining eyes. Theydrench my heart with a wild
rain of tears, howbeit tears of gratitude and love
and praise and adoration. Poetry cannotfit its
lips to such melody nor touch its hand to such a
harp. We may begin this recitation in no special
90

mood of reverence, andjust a step further and
we are swimming in a sea of redemption. "Be
hold the Lamb of God, which taketh awaythe
sin of -the world."
Neveragain canI look on or see a spring
pasture with a flock of sheepfeeding without
having the sleeve of my memory and imagination
plucked and my spirit calledto prayer. They
have gotteninto the blood of my dream life and.
my devout life. They feedon all the highlands
of the heart. I never see sheepfrom a flying
train in field or fold without watching them as
long as my eye can catchtrace of them. They
do not raise thoughts of commercialvalue and
clothing and food. They are that. They are
humanity's chief utility. We use them so con
stantly. They serve us with never a thought of
service and never a glimpse of the riches they
91
are. Life is sweetto them. Brief though it is,
they are not cognizant of its brevity. They take
no note of time. Animals have no timepiece with

which to measure duration. A day may be as
long to them as eternity, and an eternity might
be as brief to them as a winter day. Of these
things we are profoundly ignorant. However
mysterious man may be to animals, he is not
more mysterious to them than they to him, save
that man wonders about them and they have no
wonder about him.
I have a picture which satisfies me as few
pictures in the world of artistry do. It costlittle
or I had not been possessorofit. The artist,
I doubt not, dashedit off roughly like the sea
were swelling up againsta rock. Yet I have
watchedit in every stage oflight in morning
light, in glare of noon light, in washof afternoon
radiancy, in gathering shadows ofevening, each
light serving to give it new meaning. I watch
it when Winter blows and beats with his
clenchedfists of storm. I watch it when ashen
colorsaddens all the sky. I watch it when Sum
92
mer leans once more arduous, sweaty face to its
amazing toils. I watchit when Spring flings

about her fair form her robe of greenand fastens
it with dandelions and violets. I watchit when
my heart is at laughter like laughing brooks. I
watchit when my heart is lonely as an empty
songbird's nest. I watch it when my grief for
friends lostbut not forgottenis as a lonely wind.
I watchit. It beckons me when I am absent. I
want to see that picture. Greatpictures have I
seenin private collections andin art galleries
abroad and at home, and this little picture in our
own little home comforts me so that I do not miss
these noble canvases.
This is the picture : It is spring and the grass
on the hill slope is a new greenand very vivid,
so that I want to go and lie full length upon it.
A thicket of plum trees and other growth of little
93
height are on the climb of the hill, and the
leaves are newly unfolded and on others the buds
are flashedas in surprise with a look a little like
lilies, and very fair to see. Beyondthe little
ascent, and at a goodly distance is a climb like

an imitation mountain. There are sweet
glimpses;the blue is drifted acrossby a cloud
like fine lace, and beyond the hill and on the
mountain a rain cloud surlily drifts. The day
makes me want to play truant and run with
winged feetin the new springtime. And on the
slope of the hill near at hand, I hearthe bleat
ing of sheep. Five only, but they fit the pic
ture and the scene, and complete it. They satisfy
the landscape and the heart. Two lie down in
64 OUT-OF-DOOKS WITH JESUS
sheercontent so that the sweetsong ofthe long
ago bubbles to the lips unbidden: "He maketh
me to lie down in greenpastures." One lies
with his head near recumbent. One stands as if
94
looking inland toward the distant mountain.
A lamb stands, head turned toward the spring
thicket. Without them we feel the picture had
been incomplete, though we should not have
known it. With them there the picture satisfies
so that we draw a contentedsigh. The sheep,
white as a cloud, againstthe sweetnew green

and I think of the Shepherd Psalm, and I see the
Shepherd Christ.
A review of paintings as here seendiscloses
how sheephave appealedto painters. The shep
herd and his sheep seemto beckonsuch as have
gift in color. Sheepare so susceptible to leading,
so needing to be led, so helpless, so prone to de
struction without shepherding. Cattle and
horses have lived, thriven, and multiplied with
out man's care. Without man sheepbecome ex
tinct. We drive cattle: we lead sheep. These
witless helplessnesses know the master's voice,
respond to it, know their own names and answer
to them. Thus it comes that these poor sheep,
so absolutely lacking in any ability to battle for
themselves, insteadof becoming extinct, are in
95
creasing in numbers, while the wild beastwhich
battles for existence is dying out and all but
facing extinction.
Sheepmean folk. Somebody cares forthem.
TLey are not far from a friend. They need man

and man needs them. In a way their faces are
ever turned homeward. A shepherd leading his
flock brings on our spirits a peace and calm hard
to accountfor and needing no such accounting
for. It is so. The friend of God Abraham
long ago was shepherd and dwelt in a tent; and
Shepherd David thrummed on his harp to the
quiet sheep; and the lambs played, wild with joy,
to the rain drip of his music.
Sheep, food for man and garmenting for man,
had rendered sufficient service in all reason.
We could not ask for more. Yet they render
96
more. When sacrifices were offeredthese mild
animals spoke for the sinner. They had a high
relation to God in the redemption of mankind.
The shepherds of Bethlehemon that first
Christmas night, when they were shepherding
the sheepfor sacrifice, that hallowednight the
sheeplittle knew, and the shepherds as little
knew, that the Lamb of God was come, whose
death was to make the blood of lambs unneedful
henceforth alway.

The parable of the lost sheepdrips with the
pathos of the lost and the beauty of the shepherd.
It may never get out of our sight the shepherd
going in darkness and in story all the places
where the lost, bleating sheep might have taken
a zigzag bypath in the night, and at the last
wearing it above his heart the wee lostlamb,
as is told in this poem by SarahPratt McLean
97
Greene, one of the holiestChristian voices of
the ages:
DE MASSA OB DE SHEEPFOL'1
De massa ob de sheepfoP
Dat gaurds de sheepfoP bin,
Look out to de gloomerin' meadows,
Wha'r de long night rain begin
So he callto de hirelin' shepa'd,
"Is my sheep, is dey all come in?
My sheep, is dey all come in?"
Oh den, says de hirelin' shepa'd:
"Dey's -some, dey's black and thin,
And some, dey's po' ol' wedda's,

Dat can't come home agin.
98
Dey's some black sheepan' ol' wedda's,
But de res', dey's all brung in.
De res', dey's all brung in."
Den de massa ob de sheepfoP,
Dat gaurds de sheepfoP bin,
Goes downin de gloomerin' meadows,
Wha'r de long night rain begin
So he le' down de ba's ob de sheepfoP,
Callin' sof, "Come in. Come in."
Callin' sof, "Come in. Come in."
Den up t'ro' de gloomerin'meadows,
T'ro' de col' night rain and win',
And up t'ro' de gloomerin'rain-paf,
Wha'r de sleetfa' pie'cin' thin,
99
De po' los' sheepob de sheepfoP,
Dey all comes gadderin' in.
De po' los' sheepob de sheepfoP,
Dey all comes gadderin' in.
1 Used by permission of author.

The poem catches a part of this incalculable
tenderness of shepherding. I think the whole
poem-story will abide while sinful men are re
deemed by the blood of the Lamb of Godand are
shepherded by the beautiful Shepherd; through
all time this poem will be read and eyes will drip
with love like the rain through which the Shep
herd went on his quest. How gently the rainy
tears mix with the wind in the poem.
100
These sayings ofJesus in which he identifies
himself with the sheep and the shepherd hold us
like a tender hand and strong. Outdoors the
sheeppasture outdoors where the winds blow
soft and hot and free, where they may find fair
pastures:it is the shepherd leads them; and if
they find safe folding, it is the shepherd leads
them home.
"Fearnot, little flock, for it is your Father's
goodwill to give you the kingdom," is a word
of courage which is qualified to defy all their
adversaries. The Father's goodwill is abundant
reply for all the wolf's marauding. The Lamb

succeeds. It is the Lamb that is on the throne.
The wolves may well make the most of their
surly night. They shall have no admissionto
the day where no night is.
Sheepand shepherd were the solitary wit
nesses ofthat celestialvisitation to salute the
Jesus, who was to "save his people from their
sins." In the cattle manger he lay, and from the
shepherds came the first worshipers and the
101
68 OUT-OF-DOOKS WITH JESUS
r
adorationof the gentle Jesus, whosemeek might
was to throw down the seats ofthe mighty and
to deluge the earth with the rule of goodwill and
the dominion of the spirit. It all seems like
fitting parts of an oratorio, the most rapturous
to which time and eternity ever listened. Shep
herd and sheephave found themselves in the
organloft of the ages.
Those that serve unnoted shall be held in the
eternal remembrance of Godis what these pas
toral parables sing out like chiming streams.

God greatly cares forservices from such as seek
not their own but the welfare of others. The
Lamb of God shepherds his sheepin the flesh and
leadeth them out. We are outward bound not
shut in nor shut out, but herd in God's out-of
102
doors forever while the shepherd and his meek
and lowly flock range the perpetual mountains.
So does God hearten all lonely hearts that hum
bly strive to humbly serve.
The battle voice and the wild wolf bark die
out. They are as if they had never been. Their
gnashing teeth are a fear no more. But the
pasture and the sweethill winds blowing, and
the river of life flowing gently by, and the
balmy sky with rain and storm cloud climbing
up its long steeps, and the Shepherd Voice "call
ing his own sheepby name" abide forever.
That minstreling shall prove the deepestmel
ody heavenshall hear.
"I am the Good Shepherd." "Beholdthe Lamb
of God that takethaway the sins of the

103
world."
"I saw a Lamb in the midst of the throne."
What is there for the redeemedflock to say but
"Hallelujah"? The Shepherd leadeth beside still
waters and in greenpastures. And there is no
night there!
Jesus Knows His Sheep
Devotionalby John Piper
“My sheephear my voice, and I know them.” (John 10:27)
John 10:3 is a close parallelto John 10:27. It says, “The sheephear his voice,
and he calls his ownsheep by name and leads them out.”
So, when Jesus says, “Iknow them,” this means at leastthat he knows them
by name; that is, he knows them individually and intimately. They are not
John 10:14–15 provides anotherinsight: “I am the goodshepherd. I know my
own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father.”

own brand mark on the sheep. This endears them to him.
He is like a husband waiting for his wife at the airport, watching as each
person disembarks from the plane. When she appears, he knows her, he
recognizes herfeatures, he sees in her eyes a happy reflection of his own love.
He delights in her. She is the only one he embraces.
The apostle Paulputs it like this: “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this
seal:‘The Lord knows those who are his’” (2 Timothy 2:19).
It is hard to overemphasize what a tremendous privilege it is to be known
personally, intimately, lovingly by the Sonof God. It is a precious gift to all his
sheep, and it contains within it profound, personalfellowshipand affection
and the promise of eternallife.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
CALVIN
Verse 27
27.Mysheephear 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 reasonwhy the name of sheepis
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 oftheir
nature, become mild and teachable. It is no small consolationto faithful
teachers, that, though the greaterpart of the world do not listen to Christ, yet
he has his sheepwhom he knows, and by whom he is also knownLet them do
their utmost to bring the whole world into the fold of Christ; but when they do
not succeedaccording to their wish, let them be satisfiedwith this single
consideration, that they who are sheep will be gatheredby their agency. The
rest has been already explained.
STEVEN COLE
Secure Forever(John 10:22-30)
RelatedMedia
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June 1, 2014
All people, but especiallychildren, have the basic need of feeling secure and
loved. Kids need to grow up in a family where the parents love one another
and where the children feelsafe and are assuredthat their parents love them
no matter what they do. If the parents threaten to withhold their love as

punishment for disobedience, the children will not feelsecure and will strive
to earn their parents’ love. That’s always tragic!
The same thing is true spiritually. God wants His spiritual children to know
that He loves and accepts them through the death of Jesus Christ on their
behalf, not because oftheir performance. He wants us to know that we are
eternally secure in our salvationeven when we fail and sin. As a loving Father,
He will discipline us for our good, so that we may share His holiness (Heb.
12:10). But He will not withdraw His love or castus off as His children. It’s
important for our spiritual growth that we know and feel that our salvationis
secure forever.
So it’s sad that many teachthat Christians can lose their salvationif they sin.
Granted, there are some difficult texts in the New Testamentthat seemto
teachthat, such as the warning passagesin Hebrews (see my Hebrews
sermons). But it’s much easierto explain those texts from the foundation of
texts that give solid assurance ofeternalsecurity than vice versa. Concerning
our text, A. W. Pink (online at monergism.com)says, “No strongerpassage in
all the Word of Godcan be found guaranteeing the absolute security of every
child of God.” Our text teaches …
Jesus’sheepare eternally secure becausethe Father gave them to Jesus, Jesus
gives them eternal life, and both the Father and Jesus keepthem.
There is a two or three month gap betweenthe discourse in 10:1-21 and that
in our text, although the subject matter ties in with the theme of Jesus as the
goodshepherd of His sheep. The FeastofTabernacles, whichtook place in the
fall, was the setting for 7:1-10:21, but now it is winter, when the Feastof
Dedicationtook place. This feastwas not prescribed in the Old Testament, but
rather it beganwhen the temple was rededicatedin 165 B.C., after the
Maccabeanrevoltthrew off the rule of the evil Antiochus Epiphanes. It is still
celebratedtoday as Hanukkah.
John, who loves symbolism, may want us to see that Jesus fulfills all that this
feaststands for. He is the new temple (2:19). Just as God delivered His people
under the Maccabeans,so He delivers His people under Jesus. John’s mention

that it was winter may also hint that for the Jewishleaders who were rejecting
Jesus as their Messiah, itwas spiritually winter.
In this context, as Jesus was walking in the temple, the Jewishleaders circled
around Jesus and were saying to Him (10:24), “How long will You keepus in
suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” From Jesus’reply we learn
the first basis of our security as Jesus’sheep:
1. Jesus’sheepare secure because the Father gave them to Jesus.
At first you might wonder if the Jews’requestwas sincere, but I don’t believe
that it was. Theywere not coming to Jesus with the attitude, “We’re willing to
bow before You as our Messiah, but could You just clear up a few questions?”
Rather, they were blaming Jesus for their unbelief, saying in effect, “If You
would just make Yourself clear, maybe we would believe in You. It’s Your
fault that we don’t believe in You.”
Jesus, who knew the hearts of all people (2:24-25), knew that these men were
not seeking answers to legitimate questions. So He replied (10:25-26), “Itold
you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these
testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.”
When had Jesus told them that He was the Messiah? The only time that He
had clearlystated that was to was the Samaritan womanby the well (4:26).
Becausethe Jewishleaders had a political idea of the Messiahas one who
would free them from Rome, Jesus had not told them directly that He was the
Messiahbecausethey would have misunderstood.
But if they only had ears to hear, they could have recognizedwho Jesus was
through John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus as the Lamb of God and the
Son of God (1:29-34). They could have heard it in Jesus’astounding words in
5:19-47, where He claimed to have equal honor with the Fatherand to be able
to give life to whomeverHe wished. He claimed that the Scriptures testified
about Him and that if they came to Him, He would give them life (5:39-40).
They should have heard it in Jesus’claim to be the bread of life and in His
promise to raise up all whom the Father had given Him on the lastday (6:35,
39). They should have heard it in Jesus’claimto be able to satisfy the thirst of

all who believed in Him (7:37-38) and in His claim to be the Light of the world
(8:12). They especiallyshould have heard it in His claim (8:58), “Before
Abraham was born, I am.”
They not only had Jesus’words, but also His works that He did in the
Father’s name (10:25). The Jewishleaders had seenand heard about many
healings, including the lame man by the Poolof Bethesda (5:2-16)and the
man born blind (9:1-34). He had miraculously turned the waterinto wine
(2:1-11) and fed the 5,000 (6:1-14). But none of this resulted in their believing.
Rather, they were becoming increasingly hardened in their rejectionof Jesus
to the point that when He raisedLazarus from the dead (11:1-53), they were
even more determined to kill Jesus.
So, why, in spite of all this evidence, were the Jewishleaders so adamantly
opposedto Jesus as their Messiah? Jesus tells them (10:26), “But you do not
believe because youare not of My sheep.” He did not say (as we might have
expected), “You are not of My sheep because youdo not believe.” Rather, He
plainly tells these unbelieving Jews, “Youdo not believe because you are not
of My sheep.” He was emphasizing their inability to believe.
We saw the same thing back in 6:43-44, where speaking to His unbelieving
opponents Jesus said, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to
Me unless the Fatherwho sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the
last day.” In case theydidn’t getit, He repeated(6:65), “Forthis reasonI have
said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from
the Father.” We saw it again(8:43), “Why do you not understand what I am
saying? It is because you cannothear My word.” He further explained (8:47),
“He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reasonyou do not hear
them, because youare not of God.”
In eachcase, Jesusemphasizedto unbelievers their inability to believe in Him.
Why would He do that? As I explained when we studied 6:44, the main reason
that Jesus told these unbelieving Jews that they lackedthe ability to come to
Him is that skeptics needto be stripped of their proud self-confidence.
Skeptics are proud of their knowledge and mental abilities. They even think
that they have the ability to believe when they choose:“Justtell us plainly if

you’re the Messiah, Jesus, andthen we’ll believe!” But if a skeptic were able
to come to Christ through his intellect or by deciding to believe of his own free
will, he would come in pride, which is opposedto gospelrepentance. And so
Jesus tells them again(10:26), “You do not believe because youare not of My
sheep.”
You may be thinking, “Well, if unbelievers are not capable of believing and if
God has not given them the ability to believe, then He can’t hold them
responsible for their unbelief, can He?” Yes, He can! As D. A. Carsonputs it
(The GospelAccording to John [Eerdmans/Apollos], p. 393), “Thatthey are
not Jesus’sheepdoes not excuse them; it indicts them.”
R. C. Sproul (Chosenby God [Tyndale], pp. 97-98)gives a helpful illustration
of why God can hold unbelievers accountable fortheir unbelief, even though
they are incapable of believing. He pictures Godsaying to a man, “I want you
to trim these bushes by 3 p.m. But be careful. There’s a large pit at the edge of
the garden. If you fall into the pit, you won’t be able to get yourself out. So
stay awayfrom the pit.” As soonas God leaves the garden, the man runs over
and jumps into the pit. At 3 p.m. God returns and finds the bushes
untrimmed. He goes overto the pit and sees the man at the bottom. He can’t
get out. God says to the man, “Why haven’t you trimmed the bushes?” The
man replies angrily, “How do you expect me to trim these bushes when I’m
trapped in this pit? If you hadn’t left this pit here, I wouldn’t be in this
predicament!”
Sproul explains that Adam jumped into the pit and in Adam, we all jumped in
with him. God imputed Adam’s sin to the entire human race. We’re helplessly
incapacitatedby our sin, but at the same time God holds us responsible to
repent and believe.
Twice in these verses (10:25, 26)Jesus confronts the unbelief of these Jewish
religious leaders. But at the same time, He tells them that the reasonthey
don’t believe is that they were not of His sheep. In 10:29, He says that His
Father gave the sheepto Him. He said the same thing in 6:37: “All that the
Father gives Me will come to Me….” It’s in 6:39: “This is the will of Him who
sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the

last day.” In His high priestly prayer, Jesus repeatedlyrefers to those whom
the Fathergave Him (17:2, 6, 9, 24; also, 18:9).
So the point for us is that as Jesus’sheep, we are secure becausethe Father
gave us to Jesus before the foundation of the world. Our salvation is not our
doing. We are not Jesus’sheepbecause we decidedto believe. We decided to
believe because we were Jesus’sheep. As the apostle Paul wrote (Eph. 1:4-5):
Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would
be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as
sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His
will.
That’s the basis of our security: Our salvation, including our faith, is totally
from God. We didn’t help Him out in the process!
2. Jesus’sheepare secure because He gives eternal life to them.
Considertwo things:
A. Eternal life is a gift that Jesus gives to His sheep.
John 10:28a:“And I give eternal life to them ….” First, note that this is a
claim to deity. No one but God can give eternal life to anyone else. Also, the
fact that it is a gift shows that it was not merited or earned. It’s an undeserved
gift, not a wage in payment for goodworks (Rom. 4:4-5; Eph. 2:8-9). Because
of our sins, we deservedHis wrath, but He gave us eternal life. So, it’s
important to answerthe question, “How can we know if we have receivedthis
gift of eternal life?”
B. You canknow that you have the gift of eternallife if you believe in Jesus as
your Savior, you hear His voice, He knows you, and you follow Him as your
shepherd.
Ask yourself three questions:
1) Do I believe in Jesus?Jesus’sheepbelieve in Him.
I am inferring this from Jesus’indictment of these Jewishleaders (10:26),
“But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.” The implication is

that His sheep do believe in Him. To believe in Jesus means more than
intellectually believing that He is who He claimed to be. The demons believe in
Jesus in that sense, but they are not saved. To believe in Jesus means to
commit your eternal destiny to what He did for you on the cross. Ratherthan
trusting in your own goodworks (as these Pharisees were doing), you must see
yourself as a guilty sinner and trust that Jesus’deathpaid the penalty for
your sins that you deserved.
2) Do I hear Jesus’voice? Jesus’ sheephearHis voice.
John 10:27: “My sheephear My voice ….” Jesus was notreferring to hearing
an audible voice or to a mystical inner “voice.” He meant that the testimony
by Him and about Him in the Bible rings true in your heart. When you read
what the Word testifies about Jesus, you say, “Yes!” It means hearing in the
sense ofobeying. You desire to please the shepherd who gave His life to make
you His sheep. You don’t just say, “Lord, Lord,” and then keepdoing your
own thing. You become obedient from the heart to His teaching (Rom. 6:17).
3) Does Jesus know me and do I follow Him? Jesus knows His sheepand they
follow Him.
John 10:27: “I know them, and they follow Me.” As God, Jesus knows
everyone, of course. But this refers to an intimate knowledge, to a personal
relationship (see Matt. 7:23; 2 Tim. 2:19; Ps. 1:6; Exod. 33:12, 17; Amos 3:2).
We saw this in 10:3, where Jesus says that the shepherd calls his own sheepby
name. He repeated (10:14), “I am the goodshepherd, and I know My own and
My own know Me.” Because the sheepare knownby the shepherd and they
know Him, they trust Him and follow Him whereverHe leads.
So, do you have a close personalrelationship with Jesus? DoesHe know you
and do you seek to know Him better? Do you obey His Word? You can know
that Jesus has given you eternallife if you have receivedit as a gift through
faith in Him and if you obey His voice, have a relationship with Him, and
follow Him.
So Jesus’sheepare eternally secure because the Fathergave them to Jesus
and He gives them eternal life.

Jesus was proud of his sheep

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Jesus was proud of his sheep