返回Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Jn. 10:1. Truly, truly, I say to you: he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, he is a thief and a robber;
The Lord, with the words that you are truly blind in soul through the ailment of unbelief, rebuked the Pharisees for their unbelief. So that they could not say, "We turn away from You not out of our blindness, but to avoid deception," He delivers a lengthy discourse on this matter. What kind exactly? He sets forth the marks of both the true shepherd and the wolf—the destroyer—and thus shows concerning Himself that He is good, appealing to His works as testimony.
First He sets forth the distinctive characteristics of the destroyer. "He," He says, "does not enter by the door, that is, by the Scriptures, for he is not witnessed to by either the Scriptures or the prophets." The Scriptures are truly the door, for through them we draw near to God. They do not allow wolves to enter, for they cut off heretics, placing us in safety and imparting to us knowledge about everything we might wish to know.
So then, a thief is one who does not enter through the Scriptures "into the sheepfold" to care for the sheep, but climbs up "some other way," that is, carves out for himself another and unusual path, such as Theudas and Judas. They, before the coming of Christ, deceived the people, destroyed them, and perished themselves (Acts 5:36–37). Such also will be the abominable antichrist. For their testimony is not from the Scriptures. He also hints at the scribes, who did not fulfill a single word of the commandments of the law, yet taught the commandments and traditions of men.
He fittingly said "climbs up." This refers to the thief, who jumps over the fence and does everything at great risk. These are the signs of a robber.
Jn. 10:2. The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Jn. 10:3. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
Here are the signs of the Shepherd. The Shepherd enters through the Scriptures, and "the doorkeeper opens to Him." By the doorkeeper, understand perhaps Moses as well, for to him were entrusted the words of God. Moses opened the door to the Lord, without doubt, by speaking about Him. The Lord Himself said: "If you believed Moses, you would believe Me also" (John 5:46). Or the doorkeeper is the Holy Spirit. Since the Scriptures, understood through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, point us to Christ, it is rightly said that the Holy Spirit is the doorkeeper. By Him, as the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, the Scriptures are opened, through which the Lord enters into His care for us and through which He is shown to be the Shepherd. And the sheep listen to the voice of the Shepherd.
The Pharisees often called the Lord a deceiver and proved this by their own unbelief, saying, "Have any of the rulers believed in Him?" (John 7:48). Therefore the Lord shows that it is not He who should be considered a destroyer because they do not believe, but rather they should be excluded from the number of the sheep. "I," He says, "enter by the door." Clearly, I am truly the Shepherd. You did not follow Me and thereby showed about yourselves that you are not sheep.
Jn. 10:4. When he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
From where then does He lead out His own sheep? From the midst of the unbelievers, just as, for example, He led the blind man out from the midst of the Jews, who both heard Him and recognized Him.
And He goes before the sheep, although with bodily shepherds it is the opposite, for they walk behind the sheep. By this He shows that He will lead all to the truth. And He sends the disciples "as sheep into the midst of wolves" (Matt. 10:16). Thus, truly, the pastoral ministry of Christ is extraordinary.
Jn. 10:5. But a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of a stranger.
"A stranger they will not follow," because they do not know the voice of a stranger. And here, without a doubt, He hints at Theudas and Judas, whom the sheep did not follow, for few were deceived, and even those, after their death, fell away. But Christ, both during His life, and especially after His death, "the whole world went after Him" (John 12:19).
He also hints at the antichrist, for he too will deceive only a few, and after his destruction will have no followers. The words "they do not go" show that after the death of the deceivers, no one will heed or follow them.
So then, the Scriptures are the door. Through this door the Lord leads the sheep out to pasture. And what is the pasture? The future enjoyment and repose into which the Lord leads us. If in other places He also calls Himself the door, one should not marvel at this. For when He wishes to depict His care for us, He calls Himself the shepherd, and when He wishes to show that He leads us to the Father, then He calls Himself the door, just as He Himself in different senses is both Sheep and Shepherd. Furthermore, by the door are understood the words of the divine Scriptures; and the Lord Himself is and is called the Word; consequently, He may also be called the Door.
Jn. 10:6. Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they did not understand what it was that He was saying to them.
Jesus told them in these words a parable, or comparison, and used obscure speech in order to make them more attentive.
Jn. 10:7. So again Jesus said to them: Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
When He has achieved this, He resolves the obscurity and says: "I am the Door."
Jn. 10:8. All, as many as came before Me, are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not listen to them.
"All that ever came before Me." He said this not about the prophets, as the Manichaeans madly claim. They use this saying to prove that the Old Testament is not from God and that the prophets were not sent by God. "Behold," they say, "the Lord said that all who ever came are thieves and robbers." But He said this not about the prophets, but about Theudas and Judas and the other seditious men. And that He spoke about them is evident from what He added: "the sheep did not listen to them." For the sheep did not listen to these seditious men, but they did listen to the prophets, and as many as believed in Christ all believed through them.
And in another sense: "the sheep did not listen to them." He said this as a commendation. But nowhere is it seen that He commended those who did not listen to the prophets; on the contrary, He strongly condemns and reproaches them.
Then, pay attention to the precision of the expression "as many as came," and He does not say "as many as were sent." For the prophets came because they were sent, but the false prophets, like the aforementioned rebels, set about corrupting those they deceived when no one had sent them. Thus God also says: "I did not send them, yet they ran" (Jer. 23:21).
Jn. 10:9. I am the door: whoever enters through Me will be saved, and will enter, and will go out, and will find pasture.
Whoever enters through Me, the door, and is brought to the Father, and becomes His sheep, that one will be saved, and not only will be saved, but will also receive great fearlessness, like both Lord and Master. For this is what is meant by the words "and will go in and go out." So too the apostles boldly went in and came out before rulers, and came out joyful and unconquerable (Acts 5:41).
"And shall find pasture," that is, abundant food. And in another way: since our man is twofold, according to the expression of the Apostle Paul, "the inner and the outer" (Rom. 7:22; 2 Cor. 4:16), it can be said that he enters who cares for the inner man, and he again goes out who "puts to death the members which are on the earth" and "the deeds of the flesh" in Christ (Rom. 8:13). Such a one shall find pasture both in the age to come, according to what is said: "The Lord shepherds me, and I shall not want" (Ps. 22:1).
Jn. 10:10. The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come so that they may have life, and have it in abundance.
Since those who joined Theudas and Judas and the other rebels were killed and perished, He added: "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy," calling them and those like them thieves. "But I," He says, "have come that they may have life." They killed and destroyed their followers, but I came so that they might live and have something more, namely: the communion of the Holy Spirit, by which one must also understand the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, in Christ all have life, for all shall rise and live; but the righteous shall also receive something more, namely: the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jn. 10:11. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Then He speaks also of the sufferings and says: "I lay down My life for the sheep," expressing by this that He goes to His sufferings not by compulsion, but voluntarily. By the word "lay down" He shows that no one takes it from Me, but I Myself give it up.
Jn. 10:12. But the hireling, who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.
He also hints at the rebels, mentioned more than once. "They," He says, "did not lay down their lives for the sheep, but abandoned their followers, for they were hirelings." But the Lord Himself did the opposite. When they seized Him, He said: "If you seek Me, then let these go their way, that the word might be fulfilled, that none of them perished" (Jn. 18:8–9, 12), and this at a time when the Jews came against Him worse than wolves against sheep. "For they came," it says, "with swords and clubs to seize Him" (Lk. 22:52).
By the wolf here one can also understand the mental enemy, whom Scripture calls both a lion (1 Pet. 5:8), and a scorpion (Luke 10:19), and a serpent (Gen. 3:1; Ps. 91:13). It is said that he "snatches" the sheep when he devours someone through an evil deed; he "scatters" when by means of evil thoughts he disturbs the soul. He can rightly be called a thief as well, who "steals" through crafty thoughts, "kills" through consent to them, and "destroys" through the deed itself. Sometimes a malicious thought assails someone — this is the stealing. If the person consents to the wicked suggestion, then, one might say, the devil kills him. And when the person actually carries out the evil, then he perishes. Perhaps this is also what the words mean: "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy."
Jn. 10:13. But the hireling flees, because he is a hireling, and does not care about the sheep.
The Lord acts quite differently from this thief. He gives divine life, illuminates both our thoughts with good inspirations and our bodies with good deeds; He gives also something superabundant, namely that we can bring benefit to others as well through the gift of teaching, and also the Kingdom of Heaven, as if granting us some additional reward. He is truly the Good Shepherd, and not a hireling, as were the Jewish leaders, who did not care for the people but had in view only to receive payment from them. For they sought not the benefit of the people, but their own profit from the people.
Jn. 10:14. I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me.
And from this you can learn the difference between a shepherd and a hireling. The hireling does not know the sheep, which comes from the fact that he does not watch over them constantly. For if he constantly watched, he would know them. But the shepherd, such as the Lord is, knows His own sheep, and therefore cares for them, and they in turn know Him, because they benefit from His watchfulness and by habit recognize their Protector.
Look. First He knows us, and then we know Him. And it is not possible to know God otherwise than by being known by Him (1 Cor. 13:12). For He first made Himself one with us through the flesh, becoming Man, and then we were made one with Him, receiving the gift of deification. Wishing to show that those who did not believe are unworthy of being known by God and are not His sheep, He said: "I know My own, and My own know Me," as it is written: "The Lord knows those who are His" (2 Tim. 2:19).
Jn. 10:15. As the Father knows Me, so I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
Lest anyone think that He was learning as a man, He added: "As the Father knows Me, and I know the Father," that is — I know Him as truly as I know Myself.
He frequently repeats "I lay down My life for the sheep" in order to show that He is not a deceiver. For the expressions "I am the Light, I am the Life" seemed arrogant to the foolish. But the words "I wish to die" contain no self-boasting, but on the contrary express great care, since He wishes to give Himself up for the people who were casting stones at Him.
Jn. 10:16. I have other sheep also, which are not of this fold,
This speaks of the Gentiles. They are not of that fold which is under the law. For the Gentiles are not fenced in by the law.
Jn. 10:16. And those it is necessary for Me to bring: and they will hear My voice,
For both these are in the dispersion, and those have no shepherds. And the prudent and most capable of faith among the Jews were without shepherds; consequently, all the more so the Gentiles.
I "must" gather both the Gentiles and the Jews. The word "must" here does not signify compulsion, but rather that which will inevitably follow.
Jn. 10:16. And there will be one flock, and one Shepherd.
"In Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Gentile" (Gal. 3:28), and no distinction whatsoever. For all share one form, one seal of baptism, one Shepherd, the Word of God and God. Let the Manichaeans be ashamed, who reject the Old Testament, and let them hear that there is one flock and one Shepherd; for one and the same God is the God of the Old and the New Testament.
Jn. 10:17. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again.
Since He was called alien to the Father, a deceiver and a destroyer, and not a Savior of souls, with these present words He declares: "I am not your destroyer, but am ready to endure everything for you, if for no other reason, then because God has loved you so much that He loves Me too for the fact that I am dying for you. How then would I deceive you, when I know that God loves you? On the contrary, would it not be better for Me to resolve to die for you, if for no other reason, then so that My Father would love Me even more for this?"
He says this so humbly out of condescension, because the listeners did not accept it when He spoke of Himself in lofty terms. To assign another meaning to this saying would be absurd. For surely the Father did not fail to love Him before and only began to love Him now, with the cause of this being His death for us? No; rather, as I have already said, He expressed Himself in this manner out of condescension.
Another may say the following as well. The love of God the Father toward us was known. And God the Father saw that His Son also showed the same goodness toward us, for He willed even to die for us and preserves exactly the qualities of the Father's goodness. Therefore the Father justly loved the Son — He loved Him not as a gift to the Son or as a kind of reward for His death for us, but because He saw in the Son a kinship of Essence with Himself, and so was moved to love the Son as if by an irresistible law of nature. For did not the Son show a deed of great love toward us when He accepted a shameful death for us, and not only death, but also received life again, so as to put death to death and through His Resurrection make us immortal? So when He says that the Father loves Me because I die for you, He expresses by this that the Father, as it were, delights and rejoices that the Son is like Him and has toward mankind the same love as He does.
Jn. 10:18. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.
"No one takes My life from Me." He says this for those who intended to kill Him. "You," He says, "thirst for My blood; but know firmly that without My will no one can shed it."
Jn. 10:18. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
Lest anyone think that He dies as a slave and servant, by the command of another and due to subjection to him, He says: "I Myself have authority over My death, as the Master of death. I have power to lay down My life." Although each of you has the power to lay down your life, for anyone who wishes can put himself to death, the Lord is not speaking of this manner of death, but rather that without His will no one could have done this. With people it is not so. For even without our will others can put us to death. But Christ without His own will would never have suffered. Therefore, submitting to death only by His own free choice, He has the even greater right — "to take it up again."
Jn. 10:18. This commandment I received from My Father.
"This commandment 'to die for the world' I received from the Father." "I," He says, "am not an adversary of God, and moreover to such a degree that this very death was commanded Me by the Father." Earlier He said something lofty about Himself: "I have power to take up My life," which shows Him to be the Master of death and the Author of life. Now He adds something humble: "This commandment I received from My Father." So wonderfully does He unite both, so that He would not be considered less than the Father and His slave, and so that He would be considered not an adversary of God, but equal to Him in power and one with Him in will.
Jn. 10:19. Because of these words there was again a division among the Jews.
Such speech of His indeed served for the benefit of many of the listeners. A division arose among them.
Jn. 10:20. Many of them said: He is possessed by a demon and is mad; why do you listen to Him?
Some, to whom these words of His seemed enigmatic, thought that He was out of His mind.
Why then did Christ not answer those who said He was possessed by a demon? Because neither their opponents nor His defenders could silence them or be more credible to them. Since they were divided and had risen against one another, what need was there for Him also to contradict the blasphemers, when moreover He would have no credibility from them whatsoever?
Jn. 10:21. Others said: these are not the words of a demoniac; can a demon open the eyes of the blind?
Others, understanding somewhat, said: "These are not the words of one possessed by a demon." Since the Lord could not shut their mouths with words (for even the reasonable ones neither fully understood His words themselves, nor would they have convinced their opponents), they attempt to defend Christ by deeds and say that these are not the words of one possessed by a demon.
Where then is this evident from? From the deeds. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? And if this deed is divine, then the words are surely likewise.
Jn. 10:22. Then came the feast of dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.
What was the dedication in Jerusalem? Some say that the dedication was celebrated on the day on which the temple of Solomon was built. But others say not so, but that the Evangelist means here the dedication of the temple built after the return from captivity. This feast was splendid and well-attended. Since the city, after a prolonged captivity, received in the temple what was, as it were, its own adornment, the day of the dedication of the temple was considered a day of joy.
It was winter, and after this winter, in the first month of spring, the Lord suffered. Therefore the evangelist also noted this time, with the purpose of showing that the time of suffering was near, and for this reason the Lord came to Jerusalem.
Jn. 10:23. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.
Jesus also came to this feast. Now He already often walked in Judea, because the sufferings were at the door (near).
As long as winter lasts, that is, the present life, which always has disturbances from the spirits of evil, strive also to celebrate the renewal of your spiritual temple, constantly renewing yourself and setting "ascents in your heart" (Ps. 83:6). Then Jesus will come to you and help accomplish the feast of this renewal, in Solomon's porch, protecting you with His shelter and granting you peace from the passions. For He Himself will be Solomon, which means "peaceful." So whoever, in the words of the prophet, "dwells in the shelter" (Ps. 90:1) of Christ, the Peaceful One, with him Christ Himself celebrates the renewal of his soul, as long as winter lasts, that is, the present life. For the age to come is like spring; then all things will come alive and receive a new existence; then no one can renew the soul; all such works will end with the present age.
Jn. 10:24. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him: How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.
The Jews surrounded Him and, seemingly out of a certain zeal for Him and a desire to learn the truth, asked Him to tell them "whether He is the Christ"; but in reality their question was idle and malicious. For while His works proved that He is the Christ, they demanded words for persuasion. This is more characteristic of pranksters and mockers. Nevertheless, their question, full of ingratitude and pretense, reveals their corruption.
They say: "Tell us plainly." Yet He had said so plainly many times when He came to the feasts, and He said nothing in secret, calling Himself the Son of God and the Light, and the Way, and the Door, and appealing to the testimony of Moses.
Jn. 10:25. Jesus answered them: I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in the name of My Father, they bear witness of Me.
Therefore, exposing them for asking with evil intent, the Lord answers them: "I have told you many times, and you do not believe."
And in another sense: "Why do you pretend that you would obey a simple word? You do not accept the works which I do not as an opponent of God, but in the name of My Father. How then will you believe a simple word?" For it is undeniable that works are far more convincing than words. Even the most moderate among them expressed this: "A sinful man cannot do such miracles" (John 9:16).
Jn. 10:26. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.
"You," He says, "do not believe in Me because you are not of My sheep." I, as the good shepherd, for My part have fulfilled everything that I was supposed to do; but if you do not follow Me, it is not I who am unworthy of the title of shepherd, but you who are unworthy of the title of sheep.
Jn. 10:27. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them; and they follow Me.
Having told them that they are not of His sheep, He now inclines them to become His sheep. For this reason He also adds: "My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me."
Jn. 10:28. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.
Then, urging them on, He also tells what those who follow Him will receive. "I," He says, "give them eternal life, and they shall never perish" and so forth. Of course, with such words He rouses them and instills in them zeal and desire to follow Him, since He bestows such gifts.
How then does He say "My sheep will follow Me, and they will not perish"? Yet we see that Judas perished. But he perished because he did not follow Jesus and did not remain a sheep to the end. The Lord speaks of His true followers and sheep, that they will not perish. But if anyone strays from the flock of sheep and ceases to follow the Shepherd, that one will soon perish.
What happened with Judas can also be used against the Manichaeans. Judas was holy and a sheep of God, but fell away: he fell away precisely by his own choice and free will. Therefore, evil or good exists not by nature, but appears and ceases by free volition.
Jn. 10:29. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
Why will they not perish? Because no one can "snatch them out of My hand; for My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of His hand," and therefore not out of My hand either.
But someone may ask: "How did the Lord say that no one shall snatch them out of My Father's hand, when we see that many perish?" To this one may answer that no one can snatch from the Father's hand, but many can deceive. For no one can forcibly and by their own authority draw them away from God the Father; but through deception we stumble every day.
Jn. 10:30. I and the Father are one.
For My hand and the Father's hand are one; I and the Father are one, that is, in authority and power. By "hand" He means authority and power. So then, I and the Father are one in Nature and in Essence, and in authority. The Jews also understood it this way, that by these words He declares Himself Consubstantial with God, and because He makes Himself the Son of God, they picked up stones to stone Him.
Jn. 10:31. Then the Jews again picked up stones to stone Him.
Since the Lord said that I and the Father are one, namely in authority and power, and showed that His hand and the Father's are one, the Jews considered this blasphemy and wanted to stone Him for making Himself equal to God.
Jn. 10:32. Jesus answered them: I have shown you many good works from My Father; for which of them do you want to stone Me?
The Lord, reproving them and showing that they have no reasonable cause for their fury against Him, but rage in vain, reminds them of the miracles He performed and says: "I have shown you many good works; for which of them do you wish to stone Me?"
Jn. 10:33. The Jews answered Him, saying: it is not for a good work that we want to stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a man, make Yourself God.
They answer: "We want to stone You for blasphemy, because You make Yourself God." He does not deny this, does not say, I do not make Myself God, I am not equal to the Father, but even further confirms their opinion. And that He is God, He proves this by what is written in the law.
Jn. 10:34. Jesus answered them: Is it not written in your law: I said: you are gods?
Jn. 10:35. If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken,
Jn. 10:36. Do you say to Him Whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world: 'You blaspheme,' because I said: 'I am the Son of God'?
He calls the book of David "Law," as indeed all of Scripture. His words have this meaning: if those who received deification by grace are gods (Ps. 81:6), and this is not imputed to them as a fault, then what justice is there when you condemn Me, Who am God by nature, Whom the Father sanctified, that is, set apart for sacrifice for the world? For that which is set apart for God is called holy. Clearly, when the Father sanctified Me and appointed Me for the salvation of the world, I am not equal to the other gods, but am the true God. And if those to whom the Word of God came — that is, I, for I am the Word of God, and having dwelt in them, I granted them adoption — if they are gods, then all the more can I call Myself God without any fault, I Who am God by My very Nature and grant deification to others.
Let the Arians and Nestorians be put to shame by these words. For Christ is the Son of God and God by Essence and Nature, and not a creature, and He grants deification to the rest, to whom the Word of God came, and is not Himself deified by grace. Clearly, by these present words He distinguishes Himself from those deified by grace and shows that He, being the Word of God and having dwelt in them, bestowed deification upon them. For this is what is meant by the words "to whom the Word of God came" — with whom it was, in whom it dwelt.
How then do I blaspheme when I call Myself the Son of God? For although I bear flesh and descend from the lineage of David, you do not know the mystery, namely that the fleshly human nature could not otherwise receive communion with God unless He appeared to it in the flesh, as if under a veil.
Jn. 10:37. If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
Jn. 10:38. If I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him.
"Do you wish," He says, "to know My equality with the Father?" You cannot know the equality according to Essence, because it is impossible to know the Essence of God; but accept the equality and identity of works as proof of the identity of power, for the works will be testimony for you of My Divinity. And you will know and believe that I am nothing other than the Father. For while remaining the Son and being distinct in Person, I have one and the same Essence; just as the Father also, while remaining the Father and being distinct in Person, is nothing other than the Son, that is, in Essence and Nature. Although We are distinguished by Persons, the Persons are inseparable and indivisible, and the Father and the Son abide in one another without confusion.
Among us, a father exists separately from a son, though they are one by nature. But in the Divine Persons it is not as it is among us; rather, They abide one in another without confusion. Therefore, concerning us it is said "three men," for we are separate Persons and do not properly constitute one; but of the Holy Trinity it is said "one" God, and not three, because the Persons abide together with One Another without confusion. Add to this the identity of will and desire.
Jn. 10:39. Then they sought again to seize Him; but He escaped out of their hands,
They seek to seize the Lord, unable to bear His lofty testimony about Himself, for they could not endure His sublime theology. But He withdraws, yielding to their anger and arranging it so that through His withdrawal the passion of their anger might subside. He withdraws against their will, in order to show (as we have said many times) that He would not have been taken to the cross either, had He not delivered Himself up voluntarily.
Jn. 10:40. And He went away again beyond the Jordan, to the place where John was baptizing at first, and stayed there.
Where then does He withdraw to? Beyond the Jordan, to the place where John was baptizing. He did not withdraw there without purpose, but in order to remind many of what had happened there and what John had said about Him.
Jn. 10:41. Many came to Him and said that John performed no miracle, but everything that John said about Him was true.
That His stay here benefited many is evident from the fact that the Evangelist adds: "Many came to Him and, remembering this place, said that John performed no miracle." Their words have this meaning: if we believed him (John), even though he performed no miracle, then all the more should we believe This One (Jesus), since He performed so many miracles.
Since John had already testified about Christ, yet performed no miracle and therefore could have been considered unreliable, the Evangelist adds: "All that John said about Him was true."
Jn. 10:42. And many there believed in Him.
They attribute faith not to Jesus on the testimony of John, but to John on account of the works that Jesus performed. "Therefore," he says, "many believed there." The word "there" shows that the place brought them much benefit. For this reason Jesus often leads the people out to deserted places and removes them from the company of evil men, so that more fruit might be produced. So, it seems, He did also in the Old Testament: He led them out of Egypt and in the wilderness formed and established the people, giving them the Law.
Note that the departure of Christ is accomplished also in a spiritual sense. He departs from Jerusalem, that is, from the Jewish people, and passes to a place having springs, that is, to the Church from the Gentiles, having the springs of baptism. And many come to Him, passing through baptism. For "beyond the Jordan" means this, that is, the passage through baptism. For no one comes to Jesus and becomes truly faithful otherwise than by passing through baptism, which is signified by the Jordan.
Jn. 10:1. Truly, truly, I say to you: he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, he is a thief and a robber;
The Lord, with the words that you are truly blind in soul through the ailment of unbelief, rebuked the Pharisees for their unbelief. So that they could not say, "We turn away from You not out of our blindness, but to avoid deception," He delivers a lengthy discourse on this matter. What kind exactly? He sets forth the marks of both the true shepherd and the wolf—the destroyer—and thus shows concerning Himself that He is good, appealing to His works as testimony.
First He sets forth the distinctive characteristics of the destroyer. "He," He says, "does not enter by the door, that is, by the Scriptures, for he is not witnessed to by either the Scriptures or the prophets." The Scriptures are truly the door, for through them we draw near to God. They do not allow wolves to enter, for they cut off heretics, placing us in safety and imparting to us knowledge about everything we might wish to know.
So then, a thief is one who does not enter through the Scriptures "into the sheepfold" to care for the sheep, but climbs up "some other way," that is, carves out for himself another and unusual path, such as Theudas and Judas. They, before the coming of Christ, deceived the people, destroyed them, and perished themselves (Acts 5:36–37). Such also will be the abominable antichrist. For their testimony is not from the Scriptures. He also hints at the scribes, who did not fulfill a single word of the commandments of the law, yet taught the commandments and traditions of men.
He fittingly said "climbs up." This refers to the thief, who jumps over the fence and does everything at great risk. These are the signs of a robber.
Jn. 10:2. The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Jn. 10:3. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
Here are the signs of the Shepherd. The Shepherd enters through the Scriptures, and "the doorkeeper opens to Him." By the doorkeeper, understand perhaps Moses as well, for to him were entrusted the words of God. Moses opened the door to the Lord, without doubt, by speaking about Him. The Lord Himself said: "If you believed Moses, you would believe Me also" (John 5:46). Or the doorkeeper is the Holy Spirit. Since the Scriptures, understood through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, point us to Christ, it is rightly said that the Holy Spirit is the doorkeeper. By Him, as the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, the Scriptures are opened, through which the Lord enters into His care for us and through which He is shown to be the Shepherd. And the sheep listen to the voice of the Shepherd.
The Pharisees often called the Lord a deceiver and proved this by their own unbelief, saying, "Have any of the rulers believed in Him?" (John 7:48). Therefore the Lord shows that it is not He who should be considered a destroyer because they do not believe, but rather they should be excluded from the number of the sheep. "I," He says, "enter by the door." Clearly, I am truly the Shepherd. You did not follow Me and thereby showed about yourselves that you are not sheep.
Jn. 10:4. When he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
From where then does He lead out His own sheep? From the midst of the unbelievers, just as, for example, He led the blind man out from the midst of the Jews, who both heard Him and recognized Him.
And He goes before the sheep, although with bodily shepherds it is the opposite, for they walk behind the sheep. By this He shows that He will lead all to the truth. And He sends the disciples "as sheep into the midst of wolves" (Matt. 10:16). Thus, truly, the pastoral ministry of Christ is extraordinary.
Jn. 10:5. But a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of a stranger.
"A stranger they will not follow," because they do not know the voice of a stranger. And here, without a doubt, He hints at Theudas and Judas, whom the sheep did not follow, for few were deceived, and even those, after their death, fell away. But Christ, both during His life, and especially after His death, "the whole world went after Him" (John 12:19).
He also hints at the antichrist, for he too will deceive only a few, and after his destruction will have no followers. The words "they do not go" show that after the death of the deceivers, no one will heed or follow them.
So then, the Scriptures are the door. Through this door the Lord leads the sheep out to pasture. And what is the pasture? The future enjoyment and repose into which the Lord leads us. If in other places He also calls Himself the door, one should not marvel at this. For when He wishes to depict His care for us, He calls Himself the shepherd, and when He wishes to show that He leads us to the Father, then He calls Himself the door, just as He Himself in different senses is both Sheep and Shepherd. Furthermore, by the door are understood the words of the divine Scriptures; and the Lord Himself is and is called the Word; consequently, He may also be called the Door.
Jn. 10:6. Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they did not understand what it was that He was saying to them.
Jesus told them in these words a parable, or comparison, and used obscure speech in order to make them more attentive.
Jn. 10:7. So again Jesus said to them: Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
When He has achieved this, He resolves the obscurity and says: "I am the Door."
Jn. 10:8. All, as many as came before Me, are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not listen to them.
"All that ever came before Me." He said this not about the prophets, as the Manichaeans madly claim. They use this saying to prove that the Old Testament is not from God and that the prophets were not sent by God. "Behold," they say, "the Lord said that all who ever came are thieves and robbers." But He said this not about the prophets, but about Theudas and Judas and the other seditious men. And that He spoke about them is evident from what He added: "the sheep did not listen to them." For the sheep did not listen to these seditious men, but they did listen to the prophets, and as many as believed in Christ all believed through them.
And in another sense: "the sheep did not listen to them." He said this as a commendation. But nowhere is it seen that He commended those who did not listen to the prophets; on the contrary, He strongly condemns and reproaches them.
Then, pay attention to the precision of the expression "as many as came," and He does not say "as many as were sent." For the prophets came because they were sent, but the false prophets, like the aforementioned rebels, set about corrupting those they deceived when no one had sent them. Thus God also says: "I did not send them, yet they ran" (Jer. 23:21).
Jn. 10:9. I am the door: whoever enters through Me will be saved, and will enter, and will go out, and will find pasture.
Whoever enters through Me, the door, and is brought to the Father, and becomes His sheep, that one will be saved, and not only will be saved, but will also receive great fearlessness, like both Lord and Master. For this is what is meant by the words "and will go in and go out." So too the apostles boldly went in and came out before rulers, and came out joyful and unconquerable (Acts 5:41).
"And shall find pasture," that is, abundant food. And in another way: since our man is twofold, according to the expression of the Apostle Paul, "the inner and the outer" (Rom. 7:22; 2 Cor. 4:16), it can be said that he enters who cares for the inner man, and he again goes out who "puts to death the members which are on the earth" and "the deeds of the flesh" in Christ (Rom. 8:13). Such a one shall find pasture both in the age to come, according to what is said: "The Lord shepherds me, and I shall not want" (Ps. 22:1).
Jn. 10:10. The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come so that they may have life, and have it in abundance.
Since those who joined Theudas and Judas and the other rebels were killed and perished, He added: "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy," calling them and those like them thieves. "But I," He says, "have come that they may have life." They killed and destroyed their followers, but I came so that they might live and have something more, namely: the communion of the Holy Spirit, by which one must also understand the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, in Christ all have life, for all shall rise and live; but the righteous shall also receive something more, namely: the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jn. 10:11. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Then He speaks also of the sufferings and says: "I lay down My life for the sheep," expressing by this that He goes to His sufferings not by compulsion, but voluntarily. By the word "lay down" He shows that no one takes it from Me, but I Myself give it up.
Jn. 10:12. But the hireling, who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.
He also hints at the rebels, mentioned more than once. "They," He says, "did not lay down their lives for the sheep, but abandoned their followers, for they were hirelings." But the Lord Himself did the opposite. When they seized Him, He said: "If you seek Me, then let these go their way, that the word might be fulfilled, that none of them perished" (Jn. 18:8–9, 12), and this at a time when the Jews came against Him worse than wolves against sheep. "For they came," it says, "with swords and clubs to seize Him" (Lk. 22:52).
By the wolf here one can also understand the mental enemy, whom Scripture calls both a lion (1 Pet. 5:8), and a scorpion (Luke 10:19), and a serpent (Gen. 3:1; Ps. 91:13). It is said that he "snatches" the sheep when he devours someone through an evil deed; he "scatters" when by means of evil thoughts he disturbs the soul. He can rightly be called a thief as well, who "steals" through crafty thoughts, "kills" through consent to them, and "destroys" through the deed itself. Sometimes a malicious thought assails someone — this is the stealing. If the person consents to the wicked suggestion, then, one might say, the devil kills him. And when the person actually carries out the evil, then he perishes. Perhaps this is also what the words mean: "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy."
Jn. 10:13. But the hireling flees, because he is a hireling, and does not care about the sheep.
The Lord acts quite differently from this thief. He gives divine life, illuminates both our thoughts with good inspirations and our bodies with good deeds; He gives also something superabundant, namely that we can bring benefit to others as well through the gift of teaching, and also the Kingdom of Heaven, as if granting us some additional reward. He is truly the Good Shepherd, and not a hireling, as were the Jewish leaders, who did not care for the people but had in view only to receive payment from them. For they sought not the benefit of the people, but their own profit from the people.
Jn. 10:14. I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me.
And from this you can learn the difference between a shepherd and a hireling. The hireling does not know the sheep, which comes from the fact that he does not watch over them constantly. For if he constantly watched, he would know them. But the shepherd, such as the Lord is, knows His own sheep, and therefore cares for them, and they in turn know Him, because they benefit from His watchfulness and by habit recognize their Protector.
Look. First He knows us, and then we know Him. And it is not possible to know God otherwise than by being known by Him (1 Cor. 13:12). For He first made Himself one with us through the flesh, becoming Man, and then we were made one with Him, receiving the gift of deification. Wishing to show that those who did not believe are unworthy of being known by God and are not His sheep, He said: "I know My own, and My own know Me," as it is written: "The Lord knows those who are His" (2 Tim. 2:19).
Jn. 10:15. As the Father knows Me, so I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
Lest anyone think that He was learning as a man, He added: "As the Father knows Me, and I know the Father," that is — I know Him as truly as I know Myself.
He frequently repeats "I lay down My life for the sheep" in order to show that He is not a deceiver. For the expressions "I am the Light, I am the Life" seemed arrogant to the foolish. But the words "I wish to die" contain no self-boasting, but on the contrary express great care, since He wishes to give Himself up for the people who were casting stones at Him.
Jn. 10:16. I have other sheep also, which are not of this fold,
This speaks of the Gentiles. They are not of that fold which is under the law. For the Gentiles are not fenced in by the law.
Jn. 10:16. And those it is necessary for Me to bring: and they will hear My voice,
For both these are in the dispersion, and those have no shepherds. And the prudent and most capable of faith among the Jews were without shepherds; consequently, all the more so the Gentiles.
I "must" gather both the Gentiles and the Jews. The word "must" here does not signify compulsion, but rather that which will inevitably follow.
Jn. 10:16. And there will be one flock, and one Shepherd.
"In Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Gentile" (Gal. 3:28), and no distinction whatsoever. For all share one form, one seal of baptism, one Shepherd, the Word of God and God. Let the Manichaeans be ashamed, who reject the Old Testament, and let them hear that there is one flock and one Shepherd; for one and the same God is the God of the Old and the New Testament.
Jn. 10:17. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again.
Since He was called alien to the Father, a deceiver and a destroyer, and not a Savior of souls, with these present words He declares: "I am not your destroyer, but am ready to endure everything for you, if for no other reason, then because God has loved you so much that He loves Me too for the fact that I am dying for you. How then would I deceive you, when I know that God loves you? On the contrary, would it not be better for Me to resolve to die for you, if for no other reason, then so that My Father would love Me even more for this?"
He says this so humbly out of condescension, because the listeners did not accept it when He spoke of Himself in lofty terms. To assign another meaning to this saying would be absurd. For surely the Father did not fail to love Him before and only began to love Him now, with the cause of this being His death for us? No; rather, as I have already said, He expressed Himself in this manner out of condescension.
Another may say the following as well. The love of God the Father toward us was known. And God the Father saw that His Son also showed the same goodness toward us, for He willed even to die for us and preserves exactly the qualities of the Father's goodness. Therefore the Father justly loved the Son — He loved Him not as a gift to the Son or as a kind of reward for His death for us, but because He saw in the Son a kinship of Essence with Himself, and so was moved to love the Son as if by an irresistible law of nature. For did not the Son show a deed of great love toward us when He accepted a shameful death for us, and not only death, but also received life again, so as to put death to death and through His Resurrection make us immortal? So when He says that the Father loves Me because I die for you, He expresses by this that the Father, as it were, delights and rejoices that the Son is like Him and has toward mankind the same love as He does.
Jn. 10:18. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.
"No one takes My life from Me." He says this for those who intended to kill Him. "You," He says, "thirst for My blood; but know firmly that without My will no one can shed it."
Jn. 10:18. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
Lest anyone think that He dies as a slave and servant, by the command of another and due to subjection to him, He says: "I Myself have authority over My death, as the Master of death. I have power to lay down My life." Although each of you has the power to lay down your life, for anyone who wishes can put himself to death, the Lord is not speaking of this manner of death, but rather that without His will no one could have done this. With people it is not so. For even without our will others can put us to death. But Christ without His own will would never have suffered. Therefore, submitting to death only by His own free choice, He has the even greater right — "to take it up again."
Jn. 10:18. This commandment I received from My Father.
"This commandment 'to die for the world' I received from the Father." "I," He says, "am not an adversary of God, and moreover to such a degree that this very death was commanded Me by the Father." Earlier He said something lofty about Himself: "I have power to take up My life," which shows Him to be the Master of death and the Author of life. Now He adds something humble: "This commandment I received from My Father." So wonderfully does He unite both, so that He would not be considered less than the Father and His slave, and so that He would be considered not an adversary of God, but equal to Him in power and one with Him in will.
Jn. 10:19. Because of these words there was again a division among the Jews.
Such speech of His indeed served for the benefit of many of the listeners. A division arose among them.
Jn. 10:20. Many of them said: He is possessed by a demon and is mad; why do you listen to Him?
Some, to whom these words of His seemed enigmatic, thought that He was out of His mind.
Why then did Christ not answer those who said He was possessed by a demon? Because neither their opponents nor His defenders could silence them or be more credible to them. Since they were divided and had risen against one another, what need was there for Him also to contradict the blasphemers, when moreover He would have no credibility from them whatsoever?
Jn. 10:21. Others said: these are not the words of a demoniac; can a demon open the eyes of the blind?
Others, understanding somewhat, said: "These are not the words of one possessed by a demon." Since the Lord could not shut their mouths with words (for even the reasonable ones neither fully understood His words themselves, nor would they have convinced their opponents), they attempt to defend Christ by deeds and say that these are not the words of one possessed by a demon.
Where then is this evident from? From the deeds. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? And if this deed is divine, then the words are surely likewise.
Jn. 10:22. Then came the feast of dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.
What was the dedication in Jerusalem? Some say that the dedication was celebrated on the day on which the temple of Solomon was built. But others say not so, but that the Evangelist means here the dedication of the temple built after the return from captivity. This feast was splendid and well-attended. Since the city, after a prolonged captivity, received in the temple what was, as it were, its own adornment, the day of the dedication of the temple was considered a day of joy.
It was winter, and after this winter, in the first month of spring, the Lord suffered. Therefore the evangelist also noted this time, with the purpose of showing that the time of suffering was near, and for this reason the Lord came to Jerusalem.
Jn. 10:23. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.
Jesus also came to this feast. Now He already often walked in Judea, because the sufferings were at the door (near).
As long as winter lasts, that is, the present life, which always has disturbances from the spirits of evil, strive also to celebrate the renewal of your spiritual temple, constantly renewing yourself and setting "ascents in your heart" (Ps. 83:6). Then Jesus will come to you and help accomplish the feast of this renewal, in Solomon's porch, protecting you with His shelter and granting you peace from the passions. For He Himself will be Solomon, which means "peaceful." So whoever, in the words of the prophet, "dwells in the shelter" (Ps. 90:1) of Christ, the Peaceful One, with him Christ Himself celebrates the renewal of his soul, as long as winter lasts, that is, the present life. For the age to come is like spring; then all things will come alive and receive a new existence; then no one can renew the soul; all such works will end with the present age.
Jn. 10:24. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him: How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.
The Jews surrounded Him and, seemingly out of a certain zeal for Him and a desire to learn the truth, asked Him to tell them "whether He is the Christ"; but in reality their question was idle and malicious. For while His works proved that He is the Christ, they demanded words for persuasion. This is more characteristic of pranksters and mockers. Nevertheless, their question, full of ingratitude and pretense, reveals their corruption.
They say: "Tell us plainly." Yet He had said so plainly many times when He came to the feasts, and He said nothing in secret, calling Himself the Son of God and the Light, and the Way, and the Door, and appealing to the testimony of Moses.
Jn. 10:25. Jesus answered them: I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in the name of My Father, they bear witness of Me.
Therefore, exposing them for asking with evil intent, the Lord answers them: "I have told you many times, and you do not believe."
And in another sense: "Why do you pretend that you would obey a simple word? You do not accept the works which I do not as an opponent of God, but in the name of My Father. How then will you believe a simple word?" For it is undeniable that works are far more convincing than words. Even the most moderate among them expressed this: "A sinful man cannot do such miracles" (John 9:16).
Jn. 10:26. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.
"You," He says, "do not believe in Me because you are not of My sheep." I, as the good shepherd, for My part have fulfilled everything that I was supposed to do; but if you do not follow Me, it is not I who am unworthy of the title of shepherd, but you who are unworthy of the title of sheep.
Jn. 10:27. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them; and they follow Me.
Having told them that they are not of His sheep, He now inclines them to become His sheep. For this reason He also adds: "My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me."
Jn. 10:28. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.
Then, urging them on, He also tells what those who follow Him will receive. "I," He says, "give them eternal life, and they shall never perish" and so forth. Of course, with such words He rouses them and instills in them zeal and desire to follow Him, since He bestows such gifts.
How then does He say "My sheep will follow Me, and they will not perish"? Yet we see that Judas perished. But he perished because he did not follow Jesus and did not remain a sheep to the end. The Lord speaks of His true followers and sheep, that they will not perish. But if anyone strays from the flock of sheep and ceases to follow the Shepherd, that one will soon perish.
What happened with Judas can also be used against the Manichaeans. Judas was holy and a sheep of God, but fell away: he fell away precisely by his own choice and free will. Therefore, evil or good exists not by nature, but appears and ceases by free volition.
Jn. 10:29. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
Why will they not perish? Because no one can "snatch them out of My hand; for My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of His hand," and therefore not out of My hand either.
But someone may ask: "How did the Lord say that no one shall snatch them out of My Father's hand, when we see that many perish?" To this one may answer that no one can snatch from the Father's hand, but many can deceive. For no one can forcibly and by their own authority draw them away from God the Father; but through deception we stumble every day.
Jn. 10:30. I and the Father are one.
For My hand and the Father's hand are one; I and the Father are one, that is, in authority and power. By "hand" He means authority and power. So then, I and the Father are one in Nature and in Essence, and in authority. The Jews also understood it this way, that by these words He declares Himself Consubstantial with God, and because He makes Himself the Son of God, they picked up stones to stone Him.
Jn. 10:31. Then the Jews again picked up stones to stone Him.
Since the Lord said that I and the Father are one, namely in authority and power, and showed that His hand and the Father's are one, the Jews considered this blasphemy and wanted to stone Him for making Himself equal to God.
Jn. 10:32. Jesus answered them: I have shown you many good works from My Father; for which of them do you want to stone Me?
The Lord, reproving them and showing that they have no reasonable cause for their fury against Him, but rage in vain, reminds them of the miracles He performed and says: "I have shown you many good works; for which of them do you wish to stone Me?"
Jn. 10:33. The Jews answered Him, saying: it is not for a good work that we want to stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a man, make Yourself God.
They answer: "We want to stone You for blasphemy, because You make Yourself God." He does not deny this, does not say, I do not make Myself God, I am not equal to the Father, but even further confirms their opinion. And that He is God, He proves this by what is written in the law.
Jn. 10:34. Jesus answered them: Is it not written in your law: I said: you are gods?
Jn. 10:35. If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken,
Jn. 10:36. Do you say to Him Whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world: 'You blaspheme,' because I said: 'I am the Son of God'?
He calls the book of David "Law," as indeed all of Scripture. His words have this meaning: if those who received deification by grace are gods (Ps. 81:6), and this is not imputed to them as a fault, then what justice is there when you condemn Me, Who am God by nature, Whom the Father sanctified, that is, set apart for sacrifice for the world? For that which is set apart for God is called holy. Clearly, when the Father sanctified Me and appointed Me for the salvation of the world, I am not equal to the other gods, but am the true God. And if those to whom the Word of God came — that is, I, for I am the Word of God, and having dwelt in them, I granted them adoption — if they are gods, then all the more can I call Myself God without any fault, I Who am God by My very Nature and grant deification to others.
Let the Arians and Nestorians be put to shame by these words. For Christ is the Son of God and God by Essence and Nature, and not a creature, and He grants deification to the rest, to whom the Word of God came, and is not Himself deified by grace. Clearly, by these present words He distinguishes Himself from those deified by grace and shows that He, being the Word of God and having dwelt in them, bestowed deification upon them. For this is what is meant by the words "to whom the Word of God came" — with whom it was, in whom it dwelt.
How then do I blaspheme when I call Myself the Son of God? For although I bear flesh and descend from the lineage of David, you do not know the mystery, namely that the fleshly human nature could not otherwise receive communion with God unless He appeared to it in the flesh, as if under a veil.
Jn. 10:37. If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
Jn. 10:38. If I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him.
"Do you wish," He says, "to know My equality with the Father?" You cannot know the equality according to Essence, because it is impossible to know the Essence of God; but accept the equality and identity of works as proof of the identity of power, for the works will be testimony for you of My Divinity. And you will know and believe that I am nothing other than the Father. For while remaining the Son and being distinct in Person, I have one and the same Essence; just as the Father also, while remaining the Father and being distinct in Person, is nothing other than the Son, that is, in Essence and Nature. Although We are distinguished by Persons, the Persons are inseparable and indivisible, and the Father and the Son abide in one another without confusion.
Among us, a father exists separately from a son, though they are one by nature. But in the Divine Persons it is not as it is among us; rather, They abide one in another without confusion. Therefore, concerning us it is said "three men," for we are separate Persons and do not properly constitute one; but of the Holy Trinity it is said "one" God, and not three, because the Persons abide together with One Another without confusion. Add to this the identity of will and desire.
Jn. 10:39. Then they sought again to seize Him; but He escaped out of their hands,
They seek to seize the Lord, unable to bear His lofty testimony about Himself, for they could not endure His sublime theology. But He withdraws, yielding to their anger and arranging it so that through His withdrawal the passion of their anger might subside. He withdraws against their will, in order to show (as we have said many times) that He would not have been taken to the cross either, had He not delivered Himself up voluntarily.
Jn. 10:40. And He went away again beyond the Jordan, to the place where John was baptizing at first, and stayed there.
Where then does He withdraw to? Beyond the Jordan, to the place where John was baptizing. He did not withdraw there without purpose, but in order to remind many of what had happened there and what John had said about Him.
Jn. 10:41. Many came to Him and said that John performed no miracle, but everything that John said about Him was true.
That His stay here benefited many is evident from the fact that the Evangelist adds: "Many came to Him and, remembering this place, said that John performed no miracle." Their words have this meaning: if we believed him (John), even though he performed no miracle, then all the more should we believe This One (Jesus), since He performed so many miracles.
Since John had already testified about Christ, yet performed no miracle and therefore could have been considered unreliable, the Evangelist adds: "All that John said about Him was true."
Jn. 10:42. And many there believed in Him.
They attribute faith not to Jesus on the testimony of John, but to John on account of the works that Jesus performed. "Therefore," he says, "many believed there." The word "there" shows that the place brought them much benefit. For this reason Jesus often leads the people out to deserted places and removes them from the company of evil men, so that more fruit might be produced. So, it seems, He did also in the Old Testament: He led them out of Egypt and in the wilderness formed and established the people, giving them the Law.
Note that the departure of Christ is accomplished also in a spiritual sense. He departs from Jerusalem, that is, from the Jewish people, and passes to a place having springs, that is, to the Church from the Gentiles, having the springs of baptism. And many come to Him, passing through baptism. For "beyond the Jordan" means this, that is, the passage through baptism. For no one comes to Jesus and becomes truly faithful otherwise than by passing through baptism, which is signified by the Jordan.