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1 Uerily, verily I say vnto you, He that entreth not by þe doore into the sheepefold, but climeth vp some other way, the same is a theefe, and a robber.
2 But hee that entreth in by the doore, is the shepherd of the sheepe.
3 To him the porter openeth, and the sheepe heare his voyce, and he calleth his owne sheepe by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he putteth foorth his owne sheepe, he goeth before them, and the sheepe follow him: for they know his voyce.
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voyce of strangers.
6 This parable spake Iesus vnto them: but they vnderstood not what things they were which he spake vnto them.
7 Then said Iesus vnto them againe, Uerily, verily I say vnto you, I am the doore of the sheepe.
8 All that euer came before me, are theeues and robbers: but the sheepe did not heare them.
9 I am the doore by me if any man enter in, he shall be saued, and shall goe in and out, and find pasture.
10 The theefe commeth not, but for to steale and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might haue life, and that they might haue it more abundantly.
11 I am the good shepheard: the good shepheard giueth his life for the sheepe.
12 But hee that is an hireling and not the shepheard, whose owne the sheepe are not, seeth the woolfe coming, and leaueth the sheep, and fleeth: and the woolfe catcheth them, and scattereth the sheepe.
13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, & careth not for the sheepe.
14 I am the good shepheard, and know my sheepe, and am knowen of mine.
15 As the father knoweth me, euen so know I the father: & I lay downe my life for the sheepe.
16 And other sheepe I haue, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall heare my voyce; and there shall be one fold, and one shepheard.
17 Therefore doth my father loue me, because I lay downe my life that I might take it againe.
18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it downe of my selfe: I haue power to lay it downe, and I haue power to take it againe. This commandement haue I receiued of my father.
19 ¶ There was a diuision therefore againe among the Iewes for these sayings.
20 And many of them said, He hath a deuill, and is mad, why heare ye him?
21 Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a deuill. Can a deuill open the eyes of the blind?
22 ¶ And it was at Hierusalem the feast of the dedication, & it was winter.
23 And Iesus walked in the temple in Solomons porch.
24 Then came the Iewes round about him, and said vnto him, How long doest thou make vs to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell vs plainely.
25 Iesus answered them, I told you, and ye beleeued not: the workes that I doe in my Fathers name, they beare witnesse of me.
26 But ye beleeue not, because ye are not of my sheepe, as I said vnto you.
27 My sheepe heare my voyce, and I know them, and they follow me.
28 And I giue vnto them eternall life, and they shall neuer perish, neither shall any man plucke them out of my hand.
29 My father which gaue them me, is greater then all: and no man is able to plucke them out of my fathers hand.
30 I and my father are one.
31 Then the Iewes tooke vp stones againe to stone him.
32 Iesus answered them, Many good workes haue I shewed you from my Father; for which of those workes doe ye stone me?
33 The Iewes answered him, saying, For a good worke we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because that thou, being a man, makest thy selfe God.
34 Iesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are gods?
35 If hee called them gods, vnto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken:
36 Say ye of him, whom the father hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Sonne of God?
37 If I doe not the workes of my Father, beleeue me not.
38 But if I doe, though yee beleeue not me, beleeue the works: that ye may know and beleeue that the Father is in me, and I in him.
39 Therefore they sought againe to take him: but hee escaped out of their hand,
40 And went away againe beyond Iordane, into the place where Iohn at first baptized: and there he abode.
41 And many resorted vnto him, and said, Iohn did no miracle: but all things that Iohn spake of this man, were true.
42 And many beleeued on him there.
The parable of the good shepherd. (1-5) Christ the Door. (6-9) Christ the good Shepherd. (10-18) The Jews' opinion concerning Jesus. (19-21) His discourse at the feast of dedication. (22-30) The Jews attempt to stone Jesus. (31-38) He departs from Jerusalem. (39-42)1-5 Here is a parable or similitude, taken from the customs of the East, in the management of sheep. Men, as creatures depending on their Creator, are called the sheep of his pasture. The church of God in the world is as a sheep-fold, exposed to deceivers and persecutors. The great Shepherd of the sheep knows all that are his, guards them by his providence, guides them by his Spirit and word, and goes before them, as the Eastern shepherds went before their sheep, to set them in the way of his steps. Ministers must serve the sheep in their spiritual concerns. The Spirit of Christ will set before them an open door. The sheep of Christ will observe their Shepherd, and be cautious and shy of strangers, who would draw them from faith in him to fancies about him.
6-9 Many who hear the word of Christ, do not understand it, because they will not. But we shall find one scripture expounding another, and the blessed Spirit making known the blessed Jesus. Christ is the Door. And what greater security has the church of God than that the Lord Jesus is between it and all its enemies? He is a door open for passage and communication. Here are plain directions how to come into the fold; we must come in by Jesus Christ as the Door. By faith in him as the great Mediator between God and man. Also, we have precious promises to those that observe this direction. Christ has all that care of his church, and every believer, which a good shepherd has of his flock; and he expects the church, and every believer, to wait on him, and to keep in his pasture.
10-18 Christ is a good Shepherd; many who were not thieves, yet were careless in their duty, and by their neglect the flock was much hurt. Bad principles are the root of bad practices. The Lord Jesus knows whom he has chosen, and is sure of them; they also know whom they have trusted, and are sure of Him. See here the grace of Christ; since none could demand his life of him, he laid it down of himself for our redemption. He offered himself to be the Saviour; Lo, I come. And the necessity of our case calling for it, he offered himself for the Sacrifice. He was both the offerer and the offering, so that his laying down his life was his offering up himself. From hence it is plain, that he died in the place and stead of men; to obtain their being set free from the punishment of sin, to obtain the pardon of their sin; and that his death should obtain that pardon. Our Lord laid not his life down for his doctrine, but for his sheep.
19-21 Satan ruins many, by putting them out of conceit with the word and ordinances. Men would not be laughed out of their necessary food, yet suffer themselves thus to be laughed out of what is far more necessary. If our zeal and earnestness in the cause of Christ, especially in the blessed work of bringing his sheep into his fold, bring upon us evil names, let us not heed it, but remember our Master was thus reproached before us.
22-30 All who have any thing to say to 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 against him. He described the gracious disposition and happy state of his sheep; they heard and believed his word, followed him as his faithful disciples, and none of them should perish; for the Son and the Father were one. Thus he was able to defend his sheep against all their enemies, which proves that he claimed Divine power and perfection equally with the Father.
31-38 Christ's works of power and mercy proclaim him to be over all, God blessed for evermore, that all may know and believe He is in the Father, and the Father in Him. Whom the Father sends, he sanctifies. The holy God will reward, and therefore will employ, none but such as he makes holy. The Father was in the Son, so that by Divine power he wrought his miracles; the Son was so in the Father, that he knew the whole of His mind. This we cannot by searching find out to perfection, but we may know and believe these declarations of Christ.
39-42 No weapon formed against our Lord Jesus shall prosper. He escaped, not because he was afraid to suffer, but because his hour was not come. And He who knew how to deliver himself, knows how to deliver the godly our of their temptations, and to make a way for them to escape. Persecutors may drive Christ and his gospel our of their own city or country, but they cannot drive him or it out of the world. When we know Christ by faith in our hearts, we find all that the Scripture saith of him is true.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.