W. J. Hocking.
1. The Blindness of the Jews.
John 9:39-41.
1893 231 No scripture can be divorced from its context without losing somewhat of its force and beauty. And the well-known passage in St. John dealing with the Good Shepherd is, like all other inspired writings, only a single link in the chain wrought by the Spirit of God for His own ends and purposes. It may therefore be profitable to meditate upon it with this thought before the mind.
The eighth and ninth chapters of John show in considerable detail both the inability of the Jews to appreciate in any measure the testimony of God which was being given them by the Lord from heaven, and also the enmity of their hearts against the One Who by His words of truth disturbed the serenity of their hypocritical ways. He was among them as the "Light of the world" (John 8:12); but this did not aid their moral perception; for to them noonday was no better than night. The light shone; but alas! they were blind. Had they confessed their true state then, as they will do in a later day, they would have said "We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes; we stumble at noonday as in the night" (Isa. 59:10).
Neither would such blindness then, any more than now or ever, have been a bar to blessing. For the prophets had testified beforehand that it was a characteristic work of the Messiah to open the eyes of the blind (Ps. 146:8; Isa. 29:18; Isa. 35:5; Isa. 42:7). And this the Lord did, both in the temple (Matt. 21:14) and by the wayside (Luke 18:35). And what He did for the natural sight was but an earnest of what He would do for the spiritual eyes. Those that saw not should see and their sin be put away; but, in their pride of heart, the nation, by the mouths of their responsible religious leaders, said "We see" and thus their sin remained (John 9:41).
Proof of Blindness.
It is important to observe that at the close of chap. 9, according to the teaching of this Gospel, the complete rejection of the Lord by the Jews is definitely marked. This is indeed indicated in a general way in the first four chapters, but from thence it is shown to increase in intensity. In John 5:16 they persecute Him and seek to slay Him because He healed the impotent man on the Sabbath day. In John 6:66 many of His disciples go back and walk no more with Him because of what He was teaching. In John 7:32 the Pharisees and chief priests send officers to take Him because many of the people believed on Him. In John 8. He argues with the Jews as only that One could Whose words were truth as well as spirit and life. But they do not understand His speech, because they cannot hear His word (John 8:43). Being full of all contumaciousness, they interrupt Him and oppose; failing in argument, as error must in presence of truth, they resort to abuse and say He is a Samaritan and has a demon (John 8:48). When His words still pursue them, piercing and cutting more keenly than a two-edged sword, laying them naked and bare before His very eyes (Heb. 4:12), they take up stones to cast at Him, and thus drive Him from their midst (John 8:59). They could not endure Him because of what He says, because He tells them the truth (John 8:40).
Their blindness is thus proved. Would they but own this, they need not despair; for in John 9 the Lord shows that He can open the eyes even of one born blind. This act however provokes the Jews to further hostility. They, first of all, strive to make it appear that there was no miracle at all. Defeated in this, because the man is simple and honest enough to abide by the fact that his eyes had been opened by Jesus, they spitefully cast the poor fellow out of the synagogue as a disciple of Christ.
Thus the Spirit testifies in chaps. 8 and 9 that the Jews would not believe in what He said nor in what He did. His words and His works were alike offensive to them. They want neither Him nor is followers. This miracle would not have created such a stir if any but Jesus had done it.
Herein was the true condition of their hearts made manifest. As the Lord Himself said "For judgment I am come into the world" (John 9:39). Not of course to pronounce the sentence of final condemnation as He will do by-and-by (John 5:22, 27, 29); for He was here as a Saviour not as a Judge (John 3:17; John 12:47.) Nevertheless His presence afforded a very conclusive proof whether they could see or not. He was in their midst as the Light of the world, as the Dayspring from on high to give light to them that sat in darkness and the shadow of death (Luke 1:78-79). The Light verily shone in darkness; but instead of being enlightened (Isa. 60:1 margin), the darkness comprehended it not (John 1:5). Indeed this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil (John 3:19).
Wilful Blindness.
And this perversity made their state so much the more solemn. They were not only in darkness, but they loved it; they were not only blind but angry with the One Who would have healed them. The Lord had come that they which see not might see. But the Jews declined to own such a thing and gloried in themselves; in fact the dispensation was in its Laodicean stage. They said, like Christendom today, We are rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and they knew not they were wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked (Rev. 3:17). Oh! if they had but come down from their loftiness, and cried like the beggars of Jericho "Have mercy upon us, O Lord, Thou Son of David" (Matt. 20:30), their eyes might have been opened and they would have seen beauty in their King that they should desire Him. But no! so infatuated were they, so under the power of the enemy who blinds the minds of the unbelieving (2 Cor. 4:4), that they not only took the ground of being able to see for themselves, but assumed to be guides to the blind and lights to those in darkness (Rom. 2:19).
Inflated assumption! what could they be but blind guides at the best, as the Lord said to them (Matt. 23:16-17, 26)? And if the blind led the blind, what could they do, but both fall into the ditch (Matt. 15:14)? And this was surely the unhappy result, when the chief priests persuaded the people to ask Barabbas and crucify Jesus, Whose blood rests on them and their children to this day.
Judicial Blindness.
And this climax of iniquity was reached by the Jewish nation as the inevitable outcome of their persistent refusal to acknowledge the Lord and to own their real state before Him. And in John 9:39 we have His solemn warning of such a thing. Whilst He had come that those which saw not might see, the effect of His presence would also be that those who saw not would be made blind. It was dangerous for them to dally with God's offers of mercy. Grace and truth had come in His Person: to reject Him was to bring down upon them that judicial blindness spoken of by the prophet Isaiah. "Make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and convert and be healed" (Isa. 6:10). The Lord was the Great Physician come to heal them. And of His power and readiness so to do, He had given repeated proofs. But they "would not" (Matt. 23:37), and accordingly their blind eyes were more blinded.
Isaiah's Prophecy.
It is instructive to note that in Matthew as also in John we have the above named prophecy from Isaiah quoted. Matt. 13:14. And there, as in John 12:40, it is made to follow the rejection of the Messiah, not being quoted till they had ascribed His power of casting out demons to Beelzebub the prince of demons (Matt. 12:24).
And it may also be helpful in this connection to mark that this order is invariably observed in scripture. It is not till man's will actively opposes God's that He manifests His sovereignty. It is when man will not that he cannot. This is shown clearly enough in this Gospel (John); and, in direct sequence to the scripture before us, we read "But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him; that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled which he spake, Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed"? (John 12:37-38). Plainly they would not believe (John 5:40), though ample proofs were afforded. Then the passage proceeds, "Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart and he converted and I should heal them. These things said Esaias when he saw His glory and spake of Him" (John. 12:39-41) So that we see they could not believe because they would not. However this hardening was but national and was not apart from mercy; for it is immediately added "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him"
Thus the Lord's words (John 9:39), may be taken as describing the twofold result of His mission here "that they which see not might see and that those which see might be made blind." He filled the hungry with good things, but the rich He sent empty away. And, remembering the glory and worth of His Person, who shall measure the blessedness of the blind who received Him? Or, on the other hand, who shall measure the condemnation of those who rejected Him?
"Jesus said to them If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; but now ye say we see, therefore your sin remains" (John 9:41) Here the Lord states that they were responsible for the profession they were making concerning themselves. If they confessed their blindness, they would have no sin. For penitent sinners there was mercy and forgiveness. But if they said, We see, they were responsible to walk in the light and would he judged accordingly. If they could see as they said they should have recognized the Good Shepherd when He came. This the Lord develops in the parable of the sheepfold at which we may look on another occasion (D.V).
2. The Proverb of the Sheepfold.
John 10:1-6.
1893 247 The parable or proverb in these verses is a continuation of the Lord's discourse to the Pharisees begun in the previous chapter. He had spoken plainly of their actual blindness in spite of the pretence they made of seeing. Then, under the figure of a shepherd entering his fold and calling out his own sheep, He showed the effect of His presence in Israel. But these men, wise in their own conceits, knew not what the Lord was saying, though His words were especially directed to them (verse 6).
This inability to understand the Lord's meaning could not have arisen from the strangeness of the figure thus employed by Him. Shepherds and sheep were continually before their eyes, and the comparison of Israel to a flock is common throughout the Old Testament. And, in one of the prophets, the metaphor is even elaborated throughout an entire chapter (Ezek. 34). But, having failed to recognize the Person of Christ, ever the key of all divine teaching, the professed spiritual leaders of the people were blind to the real meaning of the Lord's words. Had these Jews but bowed to the long-promised and then-given Shepherd, all would have been plain. But though the Good Shepherd had come to His fold, they knew Him not and heard not His voice. Hence, as indeed the Lord told them, hearing not His word, they understood not His saying, John 8:43.
The Lord, speaking of Himself in relation to the sheepfold, gave three distinguishing marks by which the true shepherd might he known:
1. — He enters by the door;
2. — To Him the porter opens; and
3. — The sheep hear His voice.
These marks were of the simplest order, and were available for the simplest souls. Yet this very simplicity would he a sufficient reason for them to be scouted and despised by those vain pretenders to a wisdom which was far from them. Their pride of heart and of mind would not brook the grace that classed them with the people that knew not the law (John 7:49). Not content with what suited the humble, they demanded a sign from heaven (Matt. 16). Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
Entrance by the Door.
The Eastern sheepfold consisted of an enclosure formed by a circular stone wall with a door for entrance. Here the sheep were driven at night and at other times for safety. In the Old Testament the figure of the fold is used to express the security and privilege of that people whose God was Jehovah. Thus looking on to a future day, the Lord of Israel says, "I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase" Jer. 23:3. Then again, "As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out my sheep. … And I will bring them out from the peoples. … I will feed them in a good pasture and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be" (Ezek. 34:12-11). "I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold" (Micah 2:12). These scriptures remain to be fulfilled in their entirety. For not until the millennial rest shall Israel dwell peaceably in their own land secure from the inroads of every foe.
In the parable before us, the fold undoubtedly refers to the separateness of the Jews from other nations, which was still true of them. The Romans had not yet taken away their place and nation. And though they had lost the inward sense of God's presence and favour, they had many of the outward and visible signs of God's ancient people. They had still the temple and its service, the sacrifices and the feasts, the priests and the Levites.
When the Good Shepherd came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, He came to the fold. He had not then to seek them among all nations. They were not then, as now, scattered over the face of the earth. And when He presented Himself to the sheep, it was in no surreptitious manner. On the contrary He submitted Himself to all that had been ordered of God of old and strictly prescribed in Old Testament prophecies. There the mode of the entry of the Good Shepherd was foretold in the plainest terms, that the simple of the flock might not be deceived.
The Spirit signified beforehand that the Messiah should be supernaturally born of a virgin. This was fulfilled in Jesus. He should be of the house and lineage of David. This Jesus was proved to be. He should be born in Bethlehem of Judah. There the shepherds found the Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. He should be called out of Egypt. Thence He was brought after Herod's death. But why add more? Do not the evangelists, especially Matthew, give in detail how the Lord fulfilled in Himself what had been spoken before by the prophets?
It was thus easy for the simple and godly Israelite with the scriptures in his heart to recognise the Good Shepherd when He came. There could be but One Who should fulfil the promises of God. The question therefore was whether the shepherd was entering by the door, or whether he was forcing an entrance contrary to the testimony of the holy oracles which were in his hands. 1f he answered to the witness of the scriptures, he was the Good Shepherd. If he was climbing in some other way, he was a thief and a robber whose object was to pillage the flock.
To Him the Porter Opens.
John 10:1-6.
1893 263 In the absence of the owner of the sheep occupying the fold, a porter or watchman was set at the entrance, one of whose duties it was to admit no one but the shepherd. Obviously therefore if he opened the door to anyone, that one must be the shepherd of the sheep.
Now when the Lord came to the fold of Israel, He did not come unannounced. The door was opened for His admittance. The Holy Ghost Who gave the promises of old through the prophets raised up a special testimony at the coming of Him Who was to fulfil those promises. He Who had inspired no prophets since the days of Malachi, after an interval of 400 years, spake by the mouth of Zacharias the priest concerning his infant son John. "Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways" (Luke 1:76). Isaiah had long before foretold the forerunner of the Messiah (Isa. 40:3). That herald was now come. On the banks of the Jordan, John the Baptist delivered his message concerning the Christ coming after him Whose shoe-latchet he was not worthy to unloose. He plainly told all enquirers that he himself was not the Christ. He had come baptizing with water so that the Sent One might be "made manifest to Israel" (John 1:31). And when the Spirit descended like a dove and abode upon Jesus of Nazareth, and the voice from heaven proclaimed the divine Sonship, John testified that this was He Who should baptize with the Holy Ghost.
Thus did the Spirit of God open the door for the Shepherd, by giving an ample testimony to Him by Zacharias immediately previous to His birth, and also by John the Baptist at the commencement of His public ministry.
The Sheep Hear His Voice.
The recognition of the shepherd by the sheep proves two things:
1. — That He is the Shepherd of the sheep and
2. — That they are the sheep of the Shepherd. Thus in ver. 3 the fact of hearing His voice is used to distinguish the Shepherd from strangers, while in vers. 26-27 it is used to distinguish the true from the false sheep.
In Israel there were some who heard the voice of the Good Shepherd. At His coining there was a little flock expecting Him. These were waiting upon God for the consolation of Israel. They were diligently studying His word. So that when Christ appeared among them, they were not unprepared.
Aged Simeon discerned in the Holy Babe the Salvation of Israel. Anna gave thanks to God at the sight of Him and carried the glad news to all who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. The guileless Israelite of Cana in Galilee, hearing His voice, said, "Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel." Others, whom He called, left all and followed Him; for they knew the claims of the One Who called them. He was their Shepherd.
His Own Sheep.
It is of peculiar interest thus to observe that while the Jews generally lapsed into blind rejection of Christ there were a few who received Him. Such are here designated "His own" sheep. This description points to the close and inseparable link between the Shepherd and the sheep. His own people ref used their King. For "He came to His own (things), and his own (people) received Him not" (John 1:11). However His own sheep did not revolt against Him, their Shepherd. They were His own particular property; as the Lord said to His Father, "Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me" (John 17:6). Therefore they heard His voice and they followed Him.
And while the little flock as a whole is His very own, His love and interest are directed toward each individual sheep. He knows the name of every one; for He calls His own sheep by name. He called Zacchaeus by name from his hiding-place in the sycamore tree. He saw Nathaniel secreted under the fig-tree. He knew the past history of the Samaritan stranger. He had compassion on the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, knowing he had been a long time in that case.
But more than this: besides the authority which calls them "His own" and the loving concern which calls them "by name," He constitutes Himself their Guide. They should no longer be as sheep without a shepherd. He places Himself at their head. He leads them out. When He puts forth all His own, He goes before them; and they follow Him.
Having heard and recognised the voice of the Good Shepherd, it was now the part of the sheep to keep close to Him. If He led them out from the lifeless forms of Judaism, it was enough for them to be with the Shepherd. The voices of stranger shepherds, such as the Pharisees in John 9, might decoy or threaten; but the sheep would neither hear nor heed them. They looked only to Him Who was to prove His love by laying down His life for them.
"This parable spake Jesus to them; but they understood not what things they were which He spake to them." Are there any so blind today?
The Door.
John 10:7-16.
1893 278 After the break indicated by the sixth verse, the Lord resumes His discourse concerning the sheep and their relationship to the Shepherd. In the previous verses He had spoken in a general way of His own advent into the sheepfold. He now proceeds to reveal what a bountiful provision there is in Himself for the poor of the flock who welcome Him. In Him the sheep would find their all.
He was indeed the Shepherd, but He was also the Door of the sheep (verse 7). And it cannot but be noticed that the Lord, here and in ver. 9, abstains from saying that He is the Door of the fold. There is however no need to resort to hazardous conjectures as to the significance of the omission. The context shows that the Israelitish fold with its legal system and fleshly ordinances was virtually abandoned. The Shepherd leads His sheep out. But not a word is heard of a rival fold. The truth is that a new order of things was at hand, into which the sheep might enter through the Door, that is, Christ. But the hour had not then come to make this known. Neither were the hearers able to bear such an announcement. Hence the general terms employed which allowed fully for the future revelation of the wide display of the grace of God to Jew and Gentile alike.
Even here, in verse 9, it is intimated that the blessing was not to be restricted to Israel. He had announced Himself as the Door of the Jewish sheep; but the gracious truth is repeated with unlimited scope. "I am the Door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and shall find pasture."
Thus the Lord calls the faithful in Israel, nay in every place, to find their sufficiency in Himself. He definitely substitutes Himself for the ancient earthly fold. He does not proclaim Himself as the Door to another earthly system,* but says "I am the Door"; and if curiosity enquire of what He is the Door, dove rightly surmises there is nought beyond the Door besides Himself.
* Note that in verses 7 and 9 not a few commentators have been bold enough to supply "fold" in their over officious zeal to make the figure run on all fours. However, the fact is, the Lord brought both Jewish and Gentile sheep into "one flock," not fold, of which he is the one Shepherd.” See verse 16.}
Salvation, Liberty, and Pasture.
In Christ alone the sheep would find suited salvation. They had suffered from false shepherds who pillaged the sheep, from the thief who came to steal and to kill and to destroy, and from the wolf who ravaged and scattered the flock. But they needed to be saved from more than these. They had inward faults as well as outward foes. They had all gone astray. Everyone had turned to his own way. And upon the One then speaking to them Jehovah would lay the iniquities of them all. As the Shepherd, so soon to be smitten by the sword of divine judgment on account of the flock, He guarantees salvation to any who seek it at His hands. "If any man enter in, he shall be saved."
Further, in contrast with the bondage gendered at Mount Sinai, they should be brought into the liberty wherewith Christ makes free. Sin and Satan held men in hard and hitter slavery, and the law of Moses could remove the masterful power of neither the one nor the other. But at the cross the Lord Jesus annulled the power, not of one only, but of both. This emancipating fact, after its accomplishment is fully unfolded by the Spirit in the Epistles. Here the Lord only says they shall "go in and out"; for it was the Spirit's office to chronicle the glorious effects of redemption, it was the Son's mission to perform the gracious work.
Moreover, He promises they shall find pasture. It was a special charge of Jehovah against those who, of old, professed to be shepherds of Israel, that they fed themselves and not the flock. But not so the Good Shepherd. Now that He had come, the sheep should no longer want. He would make them lie down in green pastures, and lead them beside the still waters. According to Ezekiel's prophecy He was Himself that "Plant of Renown" which God had promised to raise up for His sheep, so that they might no more be consumed with hunger in the land (Ezek. 34:29). Thus the Lord Jesus is Shepherd and Door and Pasture and All.
The Good Shepherd.
By means of a single epithet of the simplest character, the Lord contrasts Himself with all the false and unworthy hirelings who had gone before. He is the Good Shepherd, and "good," in that absolute sense which applies to God alone (Luke 18:19). Among men there is none good, no, not one. But the goodness of the Shepherd of Israel was such as would undergo the supremest test. No love could exceed His. He would lay down His life for the sheep.
This phrase, "laying down the life," as an expression of love, is characteristic of John, being found in the Epistle as well as repeated in the Gospel (see John 10:11, 15, 17; John 15:13; 1 John 3:16). The same transcendent act is also given in Rom. 5:8 as the proof of God's love. "God commends his (own) love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
But while Paul and John use the same unparalleled fact to demonstrate that truth which would otherwise be beyond human conception, the difference in their standpoint is plainly observable. The apostle of divine righteousness emphasises the sin and guilt of man. He points out that it was when we were "ungodly," "sinners," "enemies," that Christ died for us. He thus displays the beauty of God's grace upon the dark background of human guilt. But the apostle of divine love dilates upon the Person of the One Who thus died. He enforces his words by the consideration of Who He is and not so much of what man is.
The Holy Ghost by Paul sums up what we were in a few pregnant words; but the main theme of John's Gospel throughout is the glory of the Only-Begotten of the Father Who laid down His life for us. Paul often discourses from the brazen altar, and we weep with shame at ourselves as we consider that He died for such as we. But John leads us into the holy place, and there, before the veil, effulgent with the Shechinah from the throne beyond, we worship with reverent joy as we learn that such an One died for us. We cannot afford to neglect either the one or the other aspect of this blessed truth.
In yielding up His life for the sheep, the Lord showed Himself the very reverse of the menial shepherds before or since. Their slender interest in the flock vanished at the first roar of the lion or growl of the bear. Such pastors as they were bargained for wages not for wolves. Their care was only for themselves and not at all for their charge.
Indeed this was the general character of those of old who were set up to feed God's sheep. Even David through his folly caused 70,000 of Israel to fall of a pestilence (1 Kings 24) On account of Solomon's sin, the kingdom was rent in twain in the days of his son Rehoboam. Hoshea filled up the measure of iniquity until Ephraim was carried captive by the Assyrian to the uttermost parts of the earth. Under king Zedekiah the people of Judah were removed from their own land to serve seventy years in Babylon. Of such rulers, Jehovah said "Woe be to the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" (Jer. 23:1.) But the Good Shepherd had now come. The sheep were His own; He loved them and laid down His life for them.
Mutual Knowledge.
"I know mine own and mine own know me, even as the Father knows me and I know the Father." So the Revised Version reads, showing the true connection between verses 14 and 15, which is not so apparent in the A.V.
It is perhaps a matter of little surprise to learn that the Lord knows them that are His: but it is a matter of great wonder and of greater thankfulness that the sheep should know the Shepherd. And it is upon this particular manifestation of divine life in the soul that John is inspired to dwell in an especial manner.
Of the world the Holy Ghost says, that it "knew Him not" (John 1:10, 1 John 3:2); and in that which is most properly described as the "Lord's prayer," the Son declared" O righteous Father, the world has not known thee" (John 17:25; compare John 16:3). So of the Pharisees in this chapter. "They understood (lit. knew) not what things they were which he spake to them" (John 10:6). But when speaking of those who are "not of the world," we read "The Son of God is come and has given us an understanding that we may know him that is true" (1 John 5:20). This knowledge characterises the babes as well as the fathers (1 John 2:13-14). And it was exemplified in the case of Simon Peter, when he said "We have believed and know that thou art the Holy One of God" (John 6:69. R.V).
This reciprocal knowledge of the Good Shepherd and His sheep is here most strikingly compared — "even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father." Without pretending to say whether this refers to the measure or the manner of our knowledge, or to theorise in any way with regard to that which seems a fitter subject for meditation than for exposition, one remark may be permitted by the way. We may surely gather from this analogy that the knowledge of Christ's sheep in this respect is neither uncertain nor obscure; for it is the knowledge of a Person, not about Him. Knowledge concerning the Lord is undoubtedly progressive; but knowing Him is that which marks the veriest lamb of the flock, as not being of the world which knows Him not. One of the robbers at Calvary recognised his Lord in the One crucified at his side; and said, "Lord [Jesus], remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom." Herein was he distinguished from his fellow malefactor, both in this world and the next. Verily, it is not so much what we know as Whom we know.
Therefore Doth My Father Love Me.
John 10:17-18.
1893 342 We have here an instance, unparalleled in the history of all time, of One who afforded a motive and an occasion for the Father's love. The unique character of God's gracious love towards sinners is elsewhere described as triumphing over the extreme repulsiveness of its objects (Rom. 5:8). Here, on the contrary the object of love is in perfect accord with the One Who loves; for the Lord declares of Himself, "Therefore doth My Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again" (John 10:17). In this act was unqualified obedience to the commandment He had received of His Father. And it was by such obedience that the Father's name was glorified and His love drawn forth. For the Son's obedience was unvarying in His life and, moreover, consummated in His death, as the word says of Him, "obedient to death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:8). Small wonder, then, if such unrivalled perfection of thoughts and ways should become (speaking after the manner of men) an adequate cause for the satisfaction and complacency of the Father Who alone could estimate its true worth.
This divine delight in the Messiah was foretold in the prophets. For instance, Jehovah says through Isaiah, "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect in whom my soul delights" (Isa. 42:1). In like manner, it was announced by the angelic host to the shepherds of Bethlehem, when on that I memorable night they praised God and said "Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good pleasure in men "* (Luke 2:14.) The first man, together with everything God made, was pronounced very good (Gen. 1:31); but the Second Man, the I Lord from heaven, is herein declared to be the object of the fulness of divine delight as well as the medium of its display to others. Subsequently a voice came from heaven, not then of angels, but of the Father Himself, not once only but twice, "This is my beloved Son; in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17, Matt. 17:5). And when, in obeying to death, He finished the work given Him to do, His soul was not left in hades (Acts 2:27), but, by His exaltation to the throne, He was demonstrated to be the One Whom God delighted to honour. "Wherefore God also has highly exalted Him" etc. (Phil. 2:9).
{* The word translated" goodwill" in Luke 2:14, and "well-pleased" Matt. 3:17 et al. is identical in the original, making the connection between the passages more apparent. "In men" is preferable to "towards men," giving the sense of mankind as the sphere in which the "good pleasure" is displayed, while the on heroines the Archetypal Man Who is its principal object. It is interesting to observe that the newly-discovered Syriac MSS. are declared by Professor Rendel Harris to afford additional weighty evidence against the strange reading of the R.V. "peace among men in whom he is well-pleased."}
It is well to remind ourselves in considering these divine testimonies to the excellence of the Man Christ Jesus, that they were given not to command our admiration, but rather our worship. We are called to admire many a worthy in the Old Testament as well as the New; but we are to worship One only, Him Who though fully man was never less than God. It was when Peter sought to class the Lord Jesus with Moses and Elias, that the voice came from the excellent glory, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear Him." In His very lowest stoop of grace, as well as in the height of His exaltation, no rival so much as appears. In all things He has and must have the pre-eminence.
Now the witnesses we have heard, the prophet, the angels, the Father Himself, all combine to show that the words uttered by the Lord in John 10:17 are, in point of fact, an echo of what had already been declared of Him. In comparing, however, the act of laying down His life as spoken of in verse 17, with verses 11 and 15, a difference is at once noticed. The Shepherd first spoke of laying down His life for the sheep. In this aspect, His death is given as an irrefragable demonstration of His love and devotion to the flock as well as His substitution for them since they had all gone astray.* But in verse 17 the sheep are not so much as mentioned. It is here a question of what the Father sees in the death of the Son. It was to Him a source of love and delight, a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour. So that this phase of Christ's death is the Antitype of the burnt offering (Lev. 1). There as well as here is seen that, when the Son yielded up His life, the Father found therein an abundant and acceptable portion. Compare also Eph. 5:2.
{* Though expiation is not so much the subject here as love for the sheep.}
Power To Lay It Down.
It has often been remarked in these pages, as well as elsewhere, how fatal it is to the true understanding of scripture to set one passage against another, and to endeavour in an excess of misdirected zeal, to effect a kind of reconciliation by adding to or subtracting from the plain statements of the Word. It is in fact, only the faith which accepts the words of the Holy Ghost as they stand, that is the true solvent of so-called Biblical difficulties. This much is prefaced because some have professed to see a sort of contradiction between this word, "I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again," and such passages as follow, "This Jesus has God raised up" (Acts 2:32), "Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father" (Rom. 6:4), "Christ …, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18). In regard to these and similar places, it should be needless to say that there is no necessity whatever for adjustment of any kind, but faith is called to reverently receive the whole as the truth of God. So that while the mysteries of the Trinity are and must be inscrutable to the creature, the believer clearly discerns, because it is revealed, that in the mighty act of resurrection, Father, Son and Holy Ghost each bore a part. And these various aspects are severally given in suitable connection with the context and with the design of the Infallible Inspirer of Holy Writ.
The connection of this declaration of the Lord's (John 10:18) with the general design of the fourth Gospel is evident. For He here speaks as the Son of God Who indeed is God. And throughout John He is made to appear in this character. He takes a place with regard to His life and death, that a mere man could never take without the most daring presumption and the most blasphemous usurpation of the supreme authority of God. To the Jews the Lord said, speaking of His resurrection, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19). And again, referring to His atoning death, "The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6:51). It is also surely not without its significance that in this Gospel alone it is recorded that, when the armed men sought Him in the garden, He, not waiting to be found of them, but as the Giver-up of His own life, went forth and said to them "Whom seek ye?" The betrayer's kiss of the synoptists is passed over and replaced by the holy dignity of the Son Who knew all things that should come upon Him. From the majesty of Him Who said, "No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself," the constables with their swords and staves recoil in abject impotence, prostrated to the very ground (John 18:4-5). In like manner, the Incarnate Word announced from the cross with regard to His own work, "It is finished." Only One could so speak of what He had done and so yield up His spirit (Mark 15:39). It was that One Who said, "I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."
And surely it is the possession of this right to which He thus asserts His claim as the Son, that so incalculably enhances the value of His act in laying down His life in obedience to the commandment He had received from His Father. The creature, as such, could never have the power of choosing to do the will of his Creator*; when man obeys, he does no more than his duty and is therein no more than an unprofitable servant (Luke 17:10). The Son, however, being equal with God, was able to announce His own acquiescence in the divine will and purpose, saying, "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God" (Heb. 10:7). It was His prerogative, in contrast to the mere creature, to thus signify His assent. A servant could not choose to be other than subject to the will of his lord. But it was the will of the Lord of all to become the Servant even to the laying down of His life; hence the immeasurable worth and acceptability of this incomparable act.
{* Without, of course, incurring the penalties of disobedience.}
We hear of another in this Gospel, who spoke of giving up his life. Simon Peter, in the impetuosity of his character, consumed with zeal for his beloved Master, exclaimed on the very night of His betrayal, "I will lay down my life for thy sake" (John 13:37). For the son of Jonas did not then understand that the very reverse would be the case according to John 10:11-15. Neither did he then believe what the Lord immediately told him of the instability of his own heart, that, before an hour or so had passed, he would be denying with oaths and curses that he so much as knew the gracious Master Whom he now seemed prepared to follow to prison and to death. But so it was that a share in such a disgrace and death proved too much for one who trusted in his own strength.
Still, though he fell so shamefully, the Lord credited the desire of his spirit. And after his restoration he was called by the risen Lord to follow Him, and assured of the death by which he should glorify God (John 21:18-19).
3. The Sheep.
John 10:24-30.
1893 359 This section relates in a summary manner to the characteristics of the sheep of Christ, as contrasted with the unbelief of the Jews. The latter display their utter blindness to all the Lord had previously said and done, by their question, "How long dost thou make us doubt?" "If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly" (ver. 24). In reply He charges them with positively rejecting both His words and His works, as John 8 and John 9 respectively show in greater detail. He told them Who He was, but they believed Him not. His works bore witness to the same, but neither did they believe them, because they were not of His sheep.* The very fact of asking such a question at such a juncture was full proof of their spiritual status.
{*Internal evidence seems to require, and external evidence is said to justify, the omission of the phrase, "as I said to you" (ver. 26). This omission is made in the R.V.}
The Lord thereon turns from the unbelievers to the believers. He speaks of the sheep of which He is at once the Owner, the Shepherd, and the Guardian. They had heard His voice (ver. 27). He had cried to Israel, "Today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts" (Ps. 95:7-8); but the mass of the nation would not hear, and accordingly their foolish hearts were darkened. There were however some who heard the voice of the Son of God, and they that heard lived (John 5:28).
Of such He says, "I know them." But to the faithless ones He will say, as to the foolish virgins, "Verily, I say to you, I know you not" (Matt. 25:12); and to many who have prophesied and cast out demons and done many wonderful works in His name, He will profess "I never knew you; depart from me, ye workers of iniquity" (Matt. 7:22-23).
Moreover, those who heard the Shepherd's voice followed him, as He said before in a somewhat different connection (ver. 4). Here His words are, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me." Not so the rich young man, who anxiously enquired of the Lord, how he might inherit eternal life. Though outwardly moral and inwardly sincere, he absolutely failed to answer to this claim of the Master. "Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me" (Mark 10:21). But he went away grieved. Whatever else he may have possessed, he undoubtedly lacked this distinguishing characteristic of the sheep of Christ. He was not constrained like the disciples to leave all and follow the poor, the lowly, and the despised Nazarene; it is therefore clear he had not heard the Shepherd's voice. To him the path, with its apparent darkness and chilly gloom, was forbidding and repellent, as indeed it must be to all who have not the light of life (John 8:12).
The Gift of Eternal Life.
"I give to them eternal life." The Good Shepherd, Who laid down His life for the sheep, gives eternal life to the sheep. He had come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10); for it is the will of Him that sent Him, that every one that sees the Son, and believes on Him, should have everlasting life (John 6:40); and the Son had received power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as the Father had given Him (John 17:2). Other passages in this Gospel show that it is given consequent upon faith in God and in Christ. (See John 3:15-16, 36; John 5:24; John 6:47, 54). But here all mention of faith is omitted that our gaze may be concentrated upon eternal life as the priceless dower of divine love and goodness.
While the effects of the possession of eternal life are many and blessed, it forms in itself the essential basis of the intimate relationships of the children of God. Foolish is it, and fruitless of aught save wild and dangerous speculations, to attempt to analyse this precious gift. The subtle terms, in which it is expressed and referred to, effectually elude and baffle the researches of mere prurient curiosity after explanation and definition. The unraveled mysteries of even the natural life should serve as a sufficient warning to those who would intrude into what is not revealed concerning the spiritual life. It ought not to be forgotten that to exceed the scripture tends to destruction, even as ignorance of it tends to debility. Not one inspired word on this or any other topic can be overlooked without loss, neither can one word be added without the gravest peril.
The Security of the Sheep.
"They shall never perish, neither shall any one pluck them out of my hand." It has often been pointed out that this promise is of a double character, assuring the saints against both corruption and disruption, against internal decay and external foes, against their own harmful weaknesses as well as the rapacious power of the enemy.
Truly, "the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe" (Prov. 18:10). And this unqualified promise is such an impregnable citadel for the timid believer. For the Good Shepherd herein pledges Himself and the honour of His glorious name* that the very feeblest of the flock shall never by any possible means perish. So, speaking to His Father of the twelve, He says, "Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost (same Greek word) but the son of perdition"** (John 17:12).
{*Compare also the Lord's subsequent words "Holy Father, keep through thine own name" (John 17:11).}
{** It is well to note that the Lord here (17:12) refers to the twelve not as "sheep," but as apostles. Judas, though an apostle, was evidently not a "sheep;" a "son of perdition," not a child of God.}
Further, the place of safety for the believer is not symbolized by an earthly fold as in former days, but by the hand of the Good Shepherd. There, in the shadow of His hand (compare Isa. 49:2; Isa. 51:16) are they securely hidden from every foe. That hand of invincible might (which redeemed the ancient people from the iron bondage of Egypt, preserved and defended them through the desert and brought them into the promised land flowing with milk and honey) will environ the frail and feeble sheep and protect them from every attack of the enemy. Though the wolf seeks to ravage the flock, the Good Shepherd leads the sheep of His hand (Ps. 95:7) into those green pastures where they may peacefully feed beside the still waters.
The Father also graciously concerns Himself in their guardianship. "My Father which gave them me is greater than all; and no one is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." This unity of interest in those who received the Lord is also shown in John 17:11-12. The Son there prays the Father to "keep in thine own name those whom thou hast given me," adding" while I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name." And when the Shepherd was smitten and the sheep were scattered, the Father turned His hand upon these little ones, according to the prophecy of the Spirit (Zech. 13:7) and the prayer of the Son (John 17); for it was not His will that one of the little ones should perish (Matt. 18:14).
Thus the Father and the Son constitute themselves the Protectors of those who trust them for salvation. Could the ground for confident assurance be made firmer? Away with those who depict the child of faith as scantily-attired, clinging with numb fingers to a slippery sea-girt rock, while dashing waves threaten every moment to engulf in a watery grave. Scripture teaches us to think of such a one held in that hand, in Whose hollow the waters were measured (Isa. 40:12). W. J. Hocking.