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

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

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

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

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

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

Eternal life.--Comp. 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 cannot be too careful to observe that our Lord's thoughts of "eternal life" is never of the future only. It is a development, rather than a simply future existence. We shall live eternally, because we now live spiritually in communion with the Spirit who is Eternal.

And they shall never perish.--Comp. Notes on John 8:51; John 11:25-26. The negative is in the strongest form--"They shall by no means perish for ever."

Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.--Better (comp. 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 taken as including every spiritual foe; all thieves and robbers that would break into the fold; all wolves that would rend the flock; the adversary who "as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour." (Comp. especially for the full thought of no separation from Christ, 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 Isaiah 40:11.) Out of this hand none shall pluck. Yet we are to bear in mind that the sheep itself may wander from the shepherd's care, and that all the fulness of these promises depends upon the human will, which is included in the first clause, "My sheep hear my voice . . . and they follow me."

Verses 27-30. -

(2) Christ's claim to equality of power and essence, and similarity of gracious operation with the Father. Verses 27, 28. - My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any one pluck them out of my hand. Commentators have differed as to the arrangement of these two verses - whether the six assertions should be regarded as two triplets, in the first of which the sheep of Christ are made prominent, and in the latter of which the Shepherd; thus -

(l) The sheep -

"My sheep hear my voice" (their receptivity).

"And I know them" (the Lord's response to their faith).

"And they follow me" (their active obedience).

(2) The Shepherd -

"I give them eternal life" (involving freedom from peril and death).

"They shall not perish forever."

"No one (not man or devil, wolf or hireling)

shall pluck them out of my hand."

This is not so satisfactory as the arrangement which puts this weighty saying into three couplets instead of two triplets; in which the sheep are the prominent theme of each proposition. The three couplets display the climacteric character of the wondrous rhythm and interchange of emotion between the Divine Shepherd and the sheep-

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them" = mutual recognition.

"They follow me, and I give them eternal life" = reciprocal activity.

"They shall not perish forever, and no one shall pluck them out of my hand" = an authoritative assurance, and its pledge or justification.

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

10:22-30 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.My sheep hear 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 elect of God, or as the Father's gift to him, and therefore they could not be his sheep:

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