Juan 10

1 De cierto, de cierto os digo: El que no entra por la puerta en el corral de las ovejas, mas sube por otra parte, el tal es ladrón y robador.

2 Mas el que entra por la puerta, el pastor de las ovejas es.

3 A éste abre el portero, y las ovejas oyen su voz; y a sus ovejas llama por nombre, y las saca.

4 Y cuando ha sacado fuera sus ovejas, va delante de ellas; y las ovejas le siguen, porque conocen su voz.

5 Mas al extraño no seguirán, antes huirán de él, porque no conocen la voz de los extraños.

6 Esta parábola les dijo Jesús; mas ellos no entendieron qué era lo que les decía.

7 Volvió, pues, Jesús a decirles: De cierto, de cierto os digo: YO SOY la puerta de las ovejas.

8 Todos los que antes de mí vinieron, ladrones son y robadores; mas no los oyeron las ovejas.

9 YO SOY la puerta; el que por mí entrare, será salvo; y entrará, y saldrá, y hallará pastos.

10 El ladrón no viene sino para hurtar, y matar, y destruir las ovejas ; yo he venido para que tengan vida, y para que la tengan en abundancia.

11 YO SOY el buen pastor; el buen pastor su alma da por sus ovejas.

12 Mas el asalariado, y que no es pastor, de quien no son propias las ovejas, ve al lobo que viene, y deja las ovejas, y huye, y el lobo las arrebata, y esparce las ovejas.

13 Así que, el asalariado, huye, porque es asalariado, y las ovejas no le pertenecen.

14 YO SOY el buen Pastor; y conozco mis ovejas , y las mías me conocen.

15 Como el Padre me conoce, y yo conozco al Padre; y pongo mi alma por las ovejas.

16 También tengo otras ovejas que no son de este corral, aquellas también me conviene traer, y oirán mi voz; y se hará un corral, y habrá un pastor.

17 Por eso me ama el Padre, porque yo pongo mi alma, para volverla a tomar.

18 Nadie me la quita, mas yo la pongo de mí mismo. Tengo poder para ponerla, y tengo poder para volverla a tomar. Este mandamiento recibí de mi Padre.

19 Y volvió a haber disensión entre los judíos por estas palabras.

20 Y muchos de ellos decían: Demonio tiene, y está fuera de sí; ¿para qué le oís?

21 Decían otros: Estas palabras no son de endemoniado; ¿puede un demonio abrir los ojos de los ciegos?

22 Y se hacían las Encenias (dedicación) en Jerusalén; y era invierno;

23 Y Jesús andaba en el templo por el portal de Salomón.

24 Y le rodearon los judíos y le dijeron: ¿Hasta cuándo quitas nuestra alma? Si tú eres el Cristo, dínoslo abiertamente.

25 Les respondió Jesús: Os lo he dicho, y no creéis; las obras que yo hago en nombre de mi Padre, éstas dan testimonio de mí;

26 mas vosotros no creéis, porque no sois de mis ovejas, como os he dicho.

27 Mis ovejas oyen mi voz, y yo las conozco, y me siguen;

28 y yo les doy vida eterna y no perecerán para siempre, y nadie las arrebatará de mi mano.

29 Mi Padre que me las dio, mayor que todos es y nadie las puede arrebatar de la mano de mi Padre.

30 Yo y el Padre una cosa somos.

31 Entonces volvieron a tomar piedras los judíos para apedrearle.

32 Les respondió Jesús: Muchas buenas obras os he mostrado de mi Padre, ¿por cuál obra de esas me apedreáis?

33 Le respondieron los judíos, diciendo: Por la buena obra no te apedreamos, sino por la blasfemia; y porque tú, siendo hombre, te haces Dios.

34 Les respondió Jesús: ¿No está escrito en vuestra ley: Yo dije, dioses sois?

35 Si dijo, dioses, a aquellos a los cuales fue hecha palabra de Dios (y la Escritura no puede ser quebrantada),

36 ¿a quien el Padre santificó y envió al mundo, vosotros decís: Tú blasfemas, porque dije: Hijo de Dios soy?

37 Si no hago las obras de mi Padre, no me creáis.

38 Mas si las hago, y aunque a mí no me creáis, creed a las obras; para que conozcáis y creáis que el Padre es en mí, y yo en él.

39 Por eso procuraban otra vez prenderle; mas él se salió de sus manos;

40 Y se volvió al otro lado del Jordán, a aquel lugar donde primero había estado bautizando Juan; y permaneció allí.

41 Y muchos venían a él, y decían que Juan, a la verdad, ninguna señal hizo; mas todo lo que Juan dijo de éste, era verdad.

42 Y muchos creyeron allí en él.

Juan 10 Commentary

Chapter 10

The parable of the good shepherd. (1-5) Christ the Door. (6-9) Christ the good Shepherd. (10-18) The Jews' opinion concerning Jesus. (19-21) His discourse at the feast of dedication. (22-30) The Jews attempt to stone Jesus. (31-38) He departs from Jerusalem. (39-42)

Verses 1-5 Here is a parable or similitude, taken from the customs of the East, in the management of sheep. Men, as creatures depending on their Creator, are called the sheep of his pasture. The church of God in the world is as a sheep-fold, exposed to deceivers and persecutors. The great Shepherd of the sheep knows all that are his, guards them by his providence, guides them by his Spirit and word, and goes before them, as the Eastern shepherds went before their sheep, to set them in the way of his steps. Ministers must serve the sheep in their spiritual concerns. The Spirit of Christ will set before them an open door. The sheep of Christ will observe their Shepherd, and be cautious and shy of strangers, who would draw them from faith in him to fancies about him.

Verses 6-9 Many who hear the word of Christ, do not understand it, because they will not. But we shall find one scripture expounding another, and the blessed Spirit making known the blessed Jesus. Christ is the Door. And what greater security has the church of God than that the Lord Jesus is between it and all its enemies? He is a door open for passage and communication. Here are plain directions how to come into the fold; we must come in by Jesus Christ as the Door. By faith in him as the great Mediator between God and man. Also, we have precious promises to those that observe this direction. Christ has all that care of his church, and every believer, which a good shepherd has of his flock; and he expects the church, and every believer, to wait on him, and to keep in his pasture.

Verses 10-18 Christ is a good Shepherd; many who were not thieves, yet were careless in their duty, and by their neglect the flock was much hurt. Bad principles are the root of bad practices. The Lord Jesus knows whom he has chosen, and is sure of them; they also know whom they have trusted, and are sure of Him. See here the grace of Christ; since none could demand his life of him, he laid it down of himself for our redemption. He offered himself to be the Saviour; Lo, I come. And the necessity of our case calling for it, he offered himself for the Sacrifice. He was both the offerer and the offering, so that his laying down his life was his offering up himself. From hence it is plain, that he died in the place and stead of men; to obtain their being set free from the punishment of sin, to obtain the pardon of their sin; and that his death should obtain that pardon. Our Lord laid not his life down for his doctrine, but for his sheep.

Verses 19-21 Satan ruins many, by putting them out of conceit with the word and ordinances. Men would not be laughed out of their necessary food, yet suffer themselves thus to be laughed out of what is far more necessary. If our zeal and earnestness in the cause of Christ, especially in the blessed work of bringing his sheep into his fold, bring upon us evil names, let us not heed it, but remember our Master was thus reproached before us.

Verses 22-30 All who have any thing to say to Christ, may find him in the temple. Christ would make us to believe; we make ourselves doubt. The Jews understood his meaning, but could not form his words into a full charge against him. He described the gracious disposition and happy state of his sheep; they heard and believed his word, followed him as his faithful disciples, and none of them should perish; for the Son and the Father were one. Thus he was able to defend his sheep against all their enemies, which proves that he claimed Divine power and perfection equally with the Father.

Verses 31-38 Christ's works of power and mercy proclaim him to be over all, God blessed for evermore, that all may know and believe He is in the Father, and the Father in Him. Whom the Father sends, he sanctifies. The holy God will reward, and therefore will employ, none but such as he makes holy. The Father was in the Son, so that by Divine power he wrought his miracles; the Son was so in the Father, that he knew the whole of His mind. This we cannot by searching find out to perfection, but we may know and believe these declarations of Christ.

Verses 39-42 No weapon formed against our Lord Jesus shall prosper. He escaped, not because he was afraid to suffer, but because his hour was not come. And He who knew how to deliver himself, knows how to deliver the godly our of their temptations, and to make a way for them to escape. Persecutors may drive Christ and his gospel our of their own city or country, but they cannot drive him or it out of the world. When we know Christ by faith in our hearts, we find all that the Scripture saith of him is true.