The Gospel of John Made Easy
Chapter 10
Verses 1- 42
Verses 1
Jesus talks about his followers and himself as a shepherd and sheep. In the evenings, sheep were kept in a pen called a “fold”. This pen could be short walls of stone, or made of sticks that were pushed into the ground to close together to make a sort of pen to keep the sheep together.
Much of the time there was not a real “gate” or door to the pen, but just an opening. The shepherd himself would lie down in the opening. The sheep would not go out over him, and the shepherd was there to guard against animals or people coming into the pen. Some wild animals could jump over the short walls, but the shepherd was there to protect the sheep. (Information from Manna-fest TV program by Perry Stone)
Jesus is saying to the people, anyone who tries to come into the sheep fold by another way —other than the door—-is a thief or a robber. They are not honest and true in their coming in. If they were true and honest, they would come to the door and be let in.
Verses 2, 3
The shepherd enters in through the gate.
Jesus said, the shepherd comes to the door and the porter (KJV) or gatekeeper, one of the men who help guard the sheep, lets the shepherd in.
Jesus said, the sheep hear the shepherd’s voice. They know his voice. The will follow him. If sheep hear a strange voice, they would not follow, they may even run away.
Jesus said, the shepherd knows the sheep by name, he calls them and they follow him. When the shepherd puts the sheep out of the pen—–or lets the sheep out of the pen—–he goes before them, and the sheep follow him.
Verse 5 They will not follow a stranger, they will run from him.
Verse 6 This was a parable (a story used to explain a spiritual lesson). But the people did not understand what he meant.
Verse 7 Jesus explained: I am the door to the sheep. Any who came before I did saying that they were a “savior” sent from God, was a thief or a robber—-they were not true. The sheep (those who were true believers) did not follow them.
I am the door. If any man wants to come into the safe place of the “fold”, he must come in the door—-through Me , Jesus. Through Me, he will be saved.
And that believer “sheep” will go out to eat in the field and come back in and he will be eat and be full and be safe.
Verse 10 The thief comes to steal, to kill, and destroy. I have come that you can have life and have it in a full, great way.
Verse 11 I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. (Jesus knew he would be giving his life on the cross.)
Verse 12 But a person who is paid to watch the sheep—–not the real shepherd—–he will not stay and protect the sheep. If he sees a wolf or wild animal come to try to get the sheep, he will leave to protect himself—-he will not worry about the sheep.
Verse 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep. The sheep know me.
Verse 15 As the Father (in heaven) knows me, so I know Him. I lay down my life for the sheep.
Verse 16 There are other sheep that I have that are not of this “fold”, I must bring them in, too. They will hear my voice and come in. There will be one “fold”—-all of the sheep together—and I will be the shepherd.
Verse 17 My Father loves me because I will lay down my life for the sheep. I will lay down my life and I will take it up again.
Verse 18 No man takes my life from me. I have chosen to lay down my life. I have decided to give my life. I have the power to lay down my life and to take it up again.
This is the command (the purpose, what I was told to do) of my Father.
Jesus is very clear here. He tells the people that he will lay down his life (die) and he will take his life up again (come to life again).
Can you imagine what the people were thinking when they heard this? Had anyone ever died and the had the power to come alive again? All by his own choosing?
Verse 19 There was much talk about this among the Jewish people who heard this. Some of them thought Jesus had a devil (demon) in him to be talking like that. They thought he was crazy. Other people said, “How can he be a devil, can a devil heal blind eyes?”
Other men had before Jesus had tried to get people to follow them and some said that they were the “Messiah” that God had promised to send. They said they would “save” the Jewish people. Most of the Jewish people wanted to be saved from the Romans who ruled over them. They wanted to be a free people to rule themselves.
When they thought of a “savior” or “messiah” they thought of someone who would fight against the Romans or maybe do a “miracle” against the Romans so the Jewish people could be free. They were not thinking about being “saved” spiritually.
They did not see where they needed to be “saved”. They were God’s chosen people.
They worshipped the true God of heaven. Why did they need to be saved?
The Jewish leaders, the Pharisees and Sadducees, often said these things to Jesus. Jesus told them that they be spiritually “blind”. They did all kinds of religious acts and prayers, etc., but in their hearts they were not doing any of it because of their love for God —- they were not trying to please God—they were doing good acts out of the pride of “being good” and being “holy” by their own works.
All their religious works were to make themselves feel good that they were so much better than other people. They had a lot of pride in their own good works.
Jesus told them that they did not even “know” God. All the works they were doing was just empty of any spirit love for God. It was all about making them look good, holy, and to give them a place of power and for people to honor them.
People today can be like that. Many people go to church—not because of any real love for God—–or any wanting to please God—–they go because it is a “good” thing to do and it makes them look like a good person.
Jesus would say to them, “You do not even know God.” We need a relationship with God if we are going to know Him. That means reading God’s word, talking to God,
living in a way that pleases God because we want to please Him.
Verse 20 Some of the people said that Jesus had a devil and that is how he had the power to throw demons out of people.
(That kind of thinking does not make good sense. Why would the devil want to help someone throw the devil’s helpers out of people?)
Matthew 12:25 Jesus talked about this. He said that if someone was working against himself, he would soon fall and fail.
Verse 21 Other people said that Jesus did not have a devil. Could a devil heal blind eyes?
Verse 22 -23 Jesus is at Jerusalem. It is a special celebration. The people came to him and “Show us if you are the Christ.” In other words, “Show us if you are the promised messiah the Old Testament prophets told about.”
Verses 24 – 29 Jesus said, “I have told you but you do not want to believe.” He said, “Believe I am the Christ because of what I do.”
Jesus said that they did not believe him because they were not of his sheep. In John 8:47, he had told them that those who were of God —or loved God–would believe that he was from God.
People whose hearts were turned toward God and really wanted to know the truth —were willing to hear Jesus with an open heart. They would be the sheep who followed and accepted Jesus.
Verse 29 Jesus said, “I will give them eternal life. They will never die (meaning spiritual death in hell), And no one will be able to take them away from me.”
Satan cannot take us away from Jesus. We are safe in Jesus’ hand.
This verse 29, is a verse that different churches argue about. Some churches say this means that once we decide to believe in Jesus and follow him, that we will be a follower of Jesus forever and we never can be lost to sin again.
But other churches say: if that is the meaning then—if you decide to follow Jesus—–that decision can never ever be changed, and that forever after you will have to be locked into that decision.
That idea does not fit with other Bible verses. Other verses say we must be faithful to the end of our life if we want the crown of life. The verses are a warning that we must continue to choose Jesus and stay true to Him.
Other Bible verses talk about man having a choice—a will to choose—-and that man must continue to choose to be faithful.
If we make a decision to follow Jesus and we can never change that decision—-what happens to our being able to choose? Do we lose our ability to have a will and make choices?
Experience would show us that we know of people who were once believers and followers of Jesus—-some for many years—then they turned back to sin and live a life of sinful ways. If that person dies when he is living in sin—–how can he think he will be “excused” of his sin? If because of his sin he had to be forgiven the first time, how is it that his sin, now, would be overlooked and ignored?
Some of those churches would say, Well, that person was never a true believer or he would not have gone back into sin.
Experience again show us that people we have know who were sinners and then believed—-were changed and lived a holy life pleasing to God. But then at some point, they began to be tempted again, or they got discouraged, or they became bitter and angry at God about something— then they went back into sin. They really had been a believer and their life had been changed——but then they went back to their sin.
Peter talks about this: II Peter 2:20: “For if after they have escaped the pollutions (dirt) of this world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again become entangled (tied up) therein (with sin), and is overcome (bound, defeated,
loses to sin), their later end is worse than they were at the beginning.
It would have been better for them to not have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment given to them.”
Peter speaks of such a person is like a dog who vomits and then goes back and eat his vomit. II Peter 2:22
Peter is saying that people can decide to follow Jesus and then go back into sin and be overcome with sin again.
In Romans we read: “If we sin willfully (choose to sin) after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but there is a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery anger….he that had no respect for Moses’ law died without mercy—-how much more punishment will be for him who trodden (steps on) under foot the Son of God, and counts his blood an unholy thing, and does not respect the Spriit of grace. It was this blood that made us clean.”
Jesus spoke about people who knew what God wanted them to do but they would not do it—-Luke 12: 47 “…that servant who knew the lord’s will, and did not prepare himself, nor did he do the lord’s will, that servant will be beaten, and be given stripes.”
Let’s go back to Jesus’ words that “no one can take us out of his hand”—-no one can take us out of Jesus’ hand—but if we choose not to stay with Jesus, if we choose not to obey and follow what He says—-then we will be back in sin. We take ourselves out of His hand by choosing to go against Jesus.
Jesus does not let us go quickly. When we have come to believe and follow Jesus, and we get tempted to go back to sin, the Holy Spirit warns us and talks to us and tries to get us to choose Jesus. When we do sin, the Holy Spirit is like a hound dog after us to try to get us to come back to Jesus—to ask for forgiveness—and to walk obeying Jesus.
Jesus does not let go of us easily.
Jesus works on those who have never believed in him and followed him. The Holy Spirit calls to them and talks to them and warns them, too. One of the “jobs” of the Holy Spirit is to bring us all to Jesus and He tries to keep us with Jesus.
Yet—-it is our choice. We must choose to stay with Jesus.
Verse 30 Jesus said, “I and my Father are one.” Jesus said in another place that if we see him, Jesus, we see the Father. If we know Jesus, we will know the Father.
When the Jews heard this, they picked up stones and threw them at him. They would have stoned him to death.
Verses 31.32,33 Jesus said, “Why are you throwing stones at me? What good work did I do that you want to kill me?” The Jews said clearly, they were not throwing stones at him because of any of the things that he did, but because he, being a man, called himself God.
This is the reason the Jews hated Jesus. This is the reason that they finally got the Romans to hang him on a cross.
Jesus did say he was God. He called himself the Son of God. He said he was one with God. He said that he was in the Father and the Father was in him.
Verses 34-38 These verses are hard to understand. They are a quote from Psalms 82:6.
Men were chosen to be judges. The men were to ask God for help to understand and make right judgments about people. The judges were to be respected and the decision they made was to be accepted as if God had made the decision.
In a way, these men were “gods” or speakers for God in what they decided when they judged a case.
Jesus is saying to the Jews, If these men were called “gods” and their word and judgments were accepted as true and right, then why do you say I am blaspheming God when I call myself the Son of God.”
Jesus said, ” Believe that I am the Son of God because of the things I have done.”
Jesus miracles of healing, throwing out demons, stopping the wind, creating bread and wine, bringing dead people back to life—-should have showed them that he was of God.”
Verse 39 The Jews tried to catch Jesus to hurt him, but he got away.
Verses 40 – 42 Jesus went to the place where John the Baptist had stayed when he first began baptizing people. Many people went there to see Jesus. Many people believed in him.