JohannesevangelietKapitel 10

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Show Jesus' wordsI am the good shepherd

John 10 contains Jesus' speech about himself as the good shepherd - an image that points back to the Old Testament where God himself is Israel's shepherd (Ps 23, Ezek 34). Jesus is the gate, the shepherd, and the one who gives his life for the sheep.

The Thief and the Shepherd

[John 10:1-2]

v.1, 2

The Sheep Know His Voice

[John 10:3-4]

v.3, 4

They Do Not Follow a Stranger

[John 10:5]

v.5

I Am the Gate

[John 10:7-8]

v.7, 8

Salvation, Entrance and Exit

[John 10:9]

v.9

The Thief vs. Jesus

[John 10:10]

v.10

I am the good shepherd

[John 10:11]

v.11

The hired hand runs away

[John 10:12-13]

v.12, 13

I know my own

[John 10:14-15]

v.14, 15

Other sheep

[John 10:16]

v.16

No one takes my life from me

[John 10:17-18]

v.17, 18

No one can snatch them away

[John 10:28]

v.28

"I tell you the truth: whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

The gatekeeper opens for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.

They will never follow a stranger; they will run from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."

Jesus told them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I tell you: I am the gate for the sheep.

All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved; he will come in and go out and find pasture.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

He runs away because he is only a hired hand, and the sheep mean nothing to him.

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.

This is why the Father loves me: because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.

No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I received from my Father."

Again the Jews were divided because of these words.

Many of them said, "He is possessed by a demon and out of his mind. Why listen to him?"

Others said, "These are not the words of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

Then came the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem. It was winter, [Footnote: The Feast of Dedication celebrated the rededication of the temple; it is also known as Hanukkah.]

and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon's Colonnade.

The Jews gathered around him and said, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Jesus answered them, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify about me,

but you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father's hand. [Footnote: Some manuscripts read: "What my Father has given me is greater than all."]

I and the Father are one."

Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him.

Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of them are you going to stone me?"

The Jews answered, "We are not stoning you for any good work, but for blasphemy—because you, a mere man, make yourself God."

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law: 'I said, you are gods'?

If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—

then how can you say to the one whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me.

But if I am doing them, then even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."

Again they tried to seize him, but he slipped out of their hands.

Then he went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days, and he stayed there.

Many came to him, and they said, "John never performed a sign, but everything John said about this man was true."

And many believed in him there.

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Kapitel 10

Main Theme: Jesus reveals himself as the good shepherd and the gate to salvation, declaring his unity with the Father.

Content: Jesus uses the image of the shepherd and the sheepfold to describe his relationship with believers: He is both the gate that provides access to salvation and the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. He emphasizes the mutual knowledge between himself and his own, stating that he also has "other sheep" whom he must gather into one flock. During the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, Jesus is confronted by Jewish leaders, and his statement "I and the Father are one" leads to accusations of blasphemy and attempts to stone him. Jesus withdraws to the region beyond the Jordan, where many come to believe.

Key Words/Images:

The Good Shepherd: Jesus as the one who lays down his life for the sheep, in contrast to the hired hand who flees.
The Gate: Jesus as the only way to salvation and abundant life.
One Flock, One Shepherd: The vision of gathering all believers—including "other sheep"—into one unity.
"I and the Father are one": Jesus' declaration of unity with God, which triggers an accusation of blasphemy.

Historisk kontext

Historical and Cultural Context for John 10

Places

Solomon’s Colonnade (στοᾷ τοῦ Σολομῶνος, v. 23) was a covered colonnade along the eastern side of the temple court. It stood atop a massive retaining wall that still partially stands today. The colonnade provided shelter from winter cold and rain, which the text emphasizes by noting that it was winter (χειμὼν ἦν). Archaeological excavations have uncovered remains of Herodian column bases in this area. This location served as a natural gathering place for religious teaching and debate, and is also used in Acts 3:11 and 5:12 as a meeting place for the early church.

The region across the Jordan (v. 40) refers to Perea, where John the Baptist had been active. Bethany beyond the Jordan (not to be confused with Bethany near Jerusalem) was likely located near Wadi el-Kharrar on the east side of the Jordan. This place marks a return to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, where John first testified about him (John 1:28).

Events and Customs

The Feast of Dedication (τὰ ἐγκαίνια, v. 22), known in Hebrew as Hanukkah, celebrated the rededication of the temple in 164 BC following the Maccabean victory over Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The festival lasted eight days and fell in the month of Kislev (November/December). It involved lighting lamps, songs of praise (especially the Hallel psalms), and celebration of Jewish religious freedom. Although not commanded in the Law of Moses, it had become an important observance marking God’s faithfulness. That Jesus was in the temple during this festival celebrating cleansing and rededication provides meaningful background for his statement about his own consecration (ἡγίασεν, v. 36).

Sheepkeeping in Judea followed a pattern where several flocks were often gathered into a common enclosure (αὐλὴν τῶν προβάτων, v. 1) at night, guarded by a gatekeeper (θυρωρός, v. 3). In the morning, each shepherd would come and call his own sheep by name—the sheep recognized the shepherd’s voice and followed him out to pasture. The hired hand (μισθωτός, vv. 12–13) was a familiar figure who was paid for his work but lacked the personal bond with the flock that the owner had. Wolves were a real threat in the Judean highlands.

Key Terms

"I am" (ἐγώ εἰμι) appears repeatedly in this chapter: "I am the door" (vv. 7, 9) and "I am the good shepherd" (vv. 11, 14). This formulation resonates with God’s self-revelation in Exodus 3:14 (LXX: ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν). The statement "I and the Father are one" (ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν, v. 30) provoked an accusation of blasphemy, showing that his listeners understood it as a claim to divinity.

"The good shepherd" (ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός) was an image with deep resonance in the Old Testament. God himself is described as Israel’s shepherd (Psalm 23; Isaiah 40:11), and Ezekiel 34 criticizes Israel’s bad shepherds (leaders) and promises that God himself will care for his flock through his servant David. The adjective καλός means not only "good" in a moral sense, but "noble", "perfect", or "ideal"—the shepherd who fully fulfills the role of shepherd.

To "lay down one’s life" (τὴν ψυχὴν τίθημι, vv. 11, 15, 17, 18) is an unusual formulation that emphasizes the voluntary nature of Jesus’ death. The more common expression would have been to "give" (διδόναι) one’s life. The verb τίθημι ("lay down") suggests a deliberate act in which something is set aside, with the possibility of taking it up again (vv. 17–18).

Chapter-Specific Findings

Inscriptions from Herodium and other places confirm the temple’s practice of public announcements and warnings, including stone tablets forbidding Gentiles from entering the inner courts under threat of death. This illustrates the tense atmosphere surrounding the temple where the confrontation in verses 22–39 took place. Josephus’ descriptions of the temple court (Jewish Antiquities 15.396–401; The Jewish War 5.184–226) confirm details about Solomon’s Colonnade as a place for gathering and teaching, especially during festival periods when large crowds were in Jerusalem.

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