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John 10:1. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in elsewhere, is a thief and a robber; The Lord, saying that you are truly blind in soul due to the disease of unbelief, reproached the Pharisees for their unbelief. So that they cannot say that we turn away from You not because of our blindness, but in order to avoid deception, He talks about this at length. Which one exactly? He displays the signs of both a true shepherd and a destroying wolf, and thus shows Himself that He is good, citing deeds as evidence. First He sets forth the distinctive properties of the destroyer. “He,” he says, “does not enter by the door, that is, by the Scriptures, for he is not testified by either the Scriptures or the prophets.” The Scriptures are truly a door; for through them we draw closer to God. They do not allow wolves to enter, for they excommunicate heretics, placing us in safety and giving us knowledge of everything we desire. So, a thief is one who does not enter through the Scriptures “into the sheepfold” to take care of the sheep, but ascends “otherwise,” that is, he makes a different and extraordinary road for himself, like, for example, Theudas and Judas. Before the coming of Christ, they deceived the people, destroyed them and themselves perished (Acts 5:36-37). Such will be the bad Antichrist. For their testimony is not from Scripture also hints at the scribes who did not fulfill a single word of the commandments of the law, but taught the commandments of men and traditions. Decently said “rising.” It goes to the thief who jumps over the fence and does everything with danger. These are signs of a robber. John 10:2. And he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. John 10:3. The doorkeeper opens for him, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his sheep by name and leads them out. These are the signs of a shepherd. The Shepherd enters through the Scriptures, and “the doorkeeper opens to Him.” Under the doorkeeper, perhaps, understand Moses, for he was entrusted with the words of God. Moses opened the door to the Lord, no doubt, by speaking about Him. The Lord Himself said: “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me” (John 5:46). Or the doorkeeper is the Holy Spirit. Since the Scriptures, understood through illumination from the Holy Spirit, point us to Christ, it is right that the Holy Spirit is the doorkeeper. Through them, as the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, the Scriptures are opened, through which the Lord enters into the care of us and through which He turns out to be the Shepherd. And the sheep obey the voice of the Shepherd. The Pharisees often called the Lord a deceiver and proved this with their own unbelief, saying “has any of the rulers believed in Him” (John 7:48)? Therefore, the Lord shows that He should not be considered the destroyer because they do not believe, but they should be excluded from the number of sheep. “I,” he says, “enter through the door.” Obviously, I am truly a Shepherd. You did not follow Me and thereby showed yourself that you are not sheep. John 10:4. And when he has brought out his sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. Where does He bring His sheep out from? From among the unbelievers, as, for example, he brought out from among the Jews a blind man, who both heard Him and recognized Him. And he walks in front of the sheep, although with physical shepherds it is the other way around, for they walk behind the sheep. This shows that He will lead everyone to the truth. And he sends his disciples “like sheep into the midst of wolves” (Matthew 10:16). Thus, truly, the pastoral ministry of Christ is extraordinary. John 10:5. They don’t follow a stranger, but run from him, because they don’t know someone else’s voice. “They won’t follow someone else,” because they don’t know someone else’s voice. And here, without a doubt, he alludes to Theudas and Judas, whom the sheep did not follow, for few were deceived, and even those, after their death, fell behind. And after Christ, both during life and especially after death, “the whole world followed” (John 12:19). It also hints at the Antichrist, for he, too, will deceive a few, and after his death he will have no followers. The words “they do not come” show that after the death of the deceivers no one will listen or follow. So the Scriptures are the door. Through this door the Lord leads the sheep out to pasture. What kind of pasture? Future pleasure and tranquility into which the Lord leads us. If in other places He calls Himself a door, there is no need to marvel at this. For when He wants to portray His care for us, He calls Himself a shepherd, and when He wants to show that He leads to the Father, then He calls Himself a door, just as He is both a Sheep and a Shepherd in different senses. Even under the door are the words of the Divine Scriptures; and the Lord Himself is and is called the Word; therefore, it can also be called the Door. John 10:6. Jesus spoke this parable to them; but they did not understand what He was saying to them. Jesus spoke to them in these words as a parable or simile, and used vague speech to make them more attentive. John 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 ambiguity and says: “I am the Door.” John 10:8. All, no matter how many of them came before Me, are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not listen to them. “Everything, no matter how many of them came.” This was not said about the prophets, as the Manichaeans are mad. They use this saying to prove that the Old Testament is not from God, and the prophets were not sent by God. “Behold,” they say, “the Lord said that no matter how many came, they were thieves and robbers.” But He said this not about the prophets, but about Theudas and Judas, and other troublemakers. And what he said about them is clear from the fact that he added “the sheep did not listen to them.” For the sheep did not listen to these troublemakers, but they listened to the prophets, and no matter how many believed in Christ, all believed through them. And otherwise: “the sheep did not listen to them.” He said this in praise. But nowhere is it seen that He praises those who did not listen to the prophets; on the contrary, He strongly condemns and reproaches them. Then, pay attention to the accuracy of the expression “as much as came,” and does not say “as much as (was) sent.” For the prophets came because they were sent, and the false prophets, like the above-mentioned rebels, began to corrupt those who were deceived when no one had sent them. So God says: “I did not send them, they fled on their own” (Jer. 23:21). John 10:9. I am the door: whoever enters through Me will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. Whoever, by Me, the door, enters and is brought to the Father, and becomes His sheep, will be saved, and not only will he be saved, but will also receive great fearlessness, like the Lord and Master. For this is signified by the words “both he will go in and he will go out.” So the apostles boldly entered and went out before their rulers, and came out joyful and invincible (Acts 5:41). “And he will find pasture,” that is, abundant food. And otherwise: since our man is dual, in the words of the Apostle Paul, “internal and external” (Rom. 7:22; 2 Cor. 4:16), then we can say that the one who takes care of the inner man enters, and he again comes out, who are the members who are on earth, and “puts to death the deeds of the flesh” in Christ (Rom. 8:13). Such a one will find pasture in the next century, according to what has been said: “The Lord feeds me, and I will not lack anything” (Ps. 23:1). John 10:10. The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. Since those who accosted Theudas and Judas and other apostates were killed and perished, he added: “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy,” calling them and others like them thieves. “But I,” he says, “came so that they might have life.” They killed and destroyed their followers, but I came so that they could live and have something more, namely, the communion of the Holy Spirit, by which we must mean the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, in Christ all have life, for all will rise again and live; and the righteous will receive something more, namely: the Kingdom of Heaven. John 10:11. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Then he talks about suffering and says: “I lay down My life (soul) for the sheep,” thereby expressing that He goes to suffering not under coercion, but voluntarily. The word “believe” shows that no one will take it away from Me, but I Myself give it. John 10:12. But a hireling, not a shepherd, whose sheep are not his own, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and runs; and the wolf plunders the sheep and scatters them. It also hints at the rebels, mentioned more than once. “They,” he says, “did not lay down their lives for the sheep, but left their followers, for they were mercenaries.” But the Lord Himself did the opposite. When they took Him, He said: “If you are looking for Me, then leave these alone, let them go, so that the word may be fulfilled, that none of them is lost” (John 18:8–9, 12) and, moreover, when the Jews came against Him worse than wolves against sheep. “For they came,” it is said, “with swords and staves to take Him” (Luke 22:52). By wolf here we can also mean a mental enemy, whom Scripture calls a lion (1 Pet. 5:8), a scorpion (Luke 10:19), and a serpent (Gen. 3:1; Ps. 90:13). It is said that he “kidnaps” a sheep when he devours someone through a bad deed; “disperses” when it confuses the soul through evil thoughts. One can rightly call him a thief who “robs” through evil thoughts, “kills” through an agreement with them, and “destroys” through deeds. Sometimes an evil thought comes to someone, it will be theft. If a person agrees with the evil suggestion, then, one might say, the devil kills him. When a person actually commits evil, then he dies. Maybe this is what the words “the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy” mean. John 10:13. But the hireling flees because he is a hireling, and does not care about the sheep. The Lord does things completely differently from this thief. He gives divine life, illuminates our thoughts with good suggestions, and our bodies with good deeds; It also gives something more abundant, namely, that we can bring benefit to others through the gift of teaching, as well as the Kingdom of Heaven, as if giving us some extra reward. He is truly the Good Shepherd, and not a mercenary, like the Jewish leaders, who do not care about the people, but only have in mind to receive payment from them. For they were not looking for benefit to the people, but for themselves to profit from the people. John 10:14. I am the good shepherd; and I know Mine, and Mine know Me. And from here you can know the difference between a shepherd and a hired servant. The hireling does not know the sheep, which is because he does not constantly supervise them. For if he had constantly looked, he would have known them. But a shepherd, like the Lord, knows his sheep, and therefore takes care of them, and they know Him again, because they use His supervision and out of habit recognize their Patron. Look. First He recognizes us, and then we recognize Him. And there is no other way to know God than by being known from Him (1 Cor. 13:12). For He first became assimilated to us in the flesh, becoming Man, and then we became assimilated to Him, having received the gift of deification. Wanting to show that those who did not believe are not worthy to be known by God and are not His sheep, He said: “I know those who are mine, and those who are mine know me,” as it is written: “The Lord knows those who are his” (2 Tim. 2:19). John 10:15. As the Father knows Me, so I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. So that no one would think that He recognized as a man. He added: “As the Father knows Me, and I know the Father,” that is, I know Him as surely as I know Myself. He often repeats “I lay down My life for the sheep” in order to show that He is not a deceiver. For the expressions “I am Light, I am Life” seemed arrogant to the unthinking. But the words “I want to die” do not contain any self-praise, but, on the contrary, express great concern, since He wants to betray Himself for the people who threw stones at Him. John 10:16. I have other sheep that are not of this fold, This speaks of the pagans. They are not of the court that is under the law. For the pagans are not protected by the law. them also must I bring: and they will hear my voice, For both these are scattered, and they have no shepherds. Both the prudent and the most capable of faith among the Jews were without shepherds, therefore, even more so, the pagans. I “must” gather both the Gentiles and the Jews. The word “must” here does not mean coercion, but what will certainly follow. and there will be one flock, and one Shepherd. “In Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Gentile” (Gal. 3:28), and there is no difference. For everyone has one image, one seal of baptism, one Shepherd, the Word of God and God. Let the Manichaeans who reject the Old Testament be ashamed and hear that there is one flock and one Shepherd; for the God of the Old and New Testaments is one and the same. John 10:17. This is why the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life in order to take it again. Since He was called a stranger to the Father, a deceiver and destroyer, and not the Savior of souls, then in real words He declares: “I am not your destroyer, but I am ready to endure everything for you, if for no other reason, then because God loved you so much that He loves Me because I die for you. How can I deceive you when I know that God loves you? On the contrary, wouldn’t it be better for me to decide to die for you, if not for anything else, then so that My Father would love Me even more for this?” He says this so humiliatingly out of condescension, because the listeners did not accept when He spoke sublimely about Himself. To give any other meaning to this saying would be absurd. For did the Father really not love Him before, but began to love Him only now, and the reason for this was His death for us? No; and, as I have already said, He expressed himself this way out of condescension. Another may say the following. The love of God and the Father for us was known. And God and the Father saw that His Son showed the same kindness to us, for He wanted to die for us, and exactly preserves the properties of the Father’s goodness. Therefore, the Father justly loved the Son, loved not as a gift to the Son and as a reward for His death for us, but because he saw in the Son the affinity of the Creature with Himself, and therefore he was prompted to love the Son as if by an irresistible law of nature. For was it not the Son who showed great love for us when he accepted a shameful death for us, and not only death, but also accepted life again in order to put death to death and through His Resurrection to make us immortal? So, when he says that the Father loves Me because I die for you, this expresses that the Father seems to have fun and rejoice that the Son is like Him and has the same love for people as He does. John 10:18. No one takes it away from Me, but I myself give it. “No one will take My life from Me.” He says this for those who intended to kill Him. “You,” he says, “thirst for My blood; but know for sure that without My will no one can shed it.” I have power to lay it down, and I have power to receive it again. So that someone does not think that He is dying as a slave and servant, at the order of another and as a result of submission to this, he says: “I myself am sovereign in my death, as the Lord of death. I have the power to lay down My life. “Although each of you has the power to give his life, for anyone who wishes can kill himself, the Lord does not speak about this method of death, but about the fact that without His will no one could do this. This doesn't happen to people. For even without our will others can kill us. And Christ would never have suffered without His will. Therefore, submitting to death only by his own will, He has a greater right - “to accept life again.” I received this commandment from My Father. “I received this commandment to ‘die for the world’ from the Father.” “I,” he says, “are not an opponent of God, and, moreover, to such an extent that this very death is commanded to Me by the Father.” First, He said something lofty about Himself: “I have the power to take My life,” which shows in Him the Lord of death and the Author of life. Now he adds the humble: “I have received this commandment from My Father.” So wonderfully He unites both, so that they would not consider Him less than the Father and His servant, so that He would not be considered an adversary to God, but equal to Him and of one will. John 10:19. From these words a quarrel again arose between the Jews. This speech of His really benefited many of his listeners. There was a division between them. John 10:20. Many of them said: He is possessed by a demon and is going mad; Why are you listening to Him? Some, for whom these words of His seemed mysterious, thought that He was without understanding. Why didn’t Christ answer anything to those who said that He was mad? Because both their opponents and His defenders could not force them to remain silent and be more reliable for them. Since they were divided and rebelled against each other, why else would He have to contradict the blasphemers, when, moreover, He would not have any trust from them? John 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 the words of someone who is not possessed.” Since the Lord could not stop their mouths with words (for the prudent neither themselves fully understood His words, nor would they have convinced their opponents), they try to defend Christ with deeds and say that these are not the words of a demoniac. Where can this be seen? Out of business. Can a demon really open the eyes of the blind? And if this deed is divine, so are the words. John 10:22. Then the feast of renewal came in Jerusalem, and it was winter. What renewal took place in Jerusalem? Some say that the renewal was celebrated on the day on which the Temple of Solomon was built. Others say not so, but that the evangelist means here the renovation of the church created after the return from captivity. This holiday was bright and crowded. Since the city, after a long captivity, received its own decoration in the church, the day of the renovation of the church 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 noticed this time, in order to show that the time of suffering was close, and therefore the Lord arrived in Jerusalem. John 10:23. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Jesus also came to this holiday. Now He walked often in Judea, because suffering was at the door (near). As long as winter lasts, that is, real life, which always has confusion from the spirits of evil, try to celebrate the renewal of your spiritual church, constantly renewing yourself and putting “ascension in your heart” (Ps. 83:6). Then Jesus will come to you and help you celebrate the feast of this renewal in Solomon’s porch, protecting you with His protection and giving you peace from passions. For He Himself will be Solomon, which means “peaceful.” So, whoever, in the words of the prophet, “settles... in the shelter” (Ps. 90:1) of Christ, the Peaceful One, with that Christ Himself celebrates the renewal of his soul, while winter continues, that is, real life. For the age to come is like spring; then everything will come to life and receive a new being; then no one can renew the soul; all such matters will end with the present century. John 10:24. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him: How long will You keep us in bewilderment? If You are the Christ, tell us directly. The Jews surrounded Him and, apparently, out of some zeal for Him and a desire to know the truth, they asked him to tell them “Is He the Christ?” but in fact their question was idle and malicious. For while His works prove that He is the Christ, they require words for conviction. This is more typical of naughty people and scoffers. However, their question, full of ingratitude and pretense, reveals their corruption. They say: “Tell us directly.” Meanwhile, He spoke directly many times when He came to the holidays, and did not say anything secretly, called Himself the Son of God and the Light, and the Way, and the Door, and referred to the testimony of Moses. John 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 testify of Me. Therefore, convicting them of asking with evil intentions, the Lord answers them: “I have told you many times, and you do not believe.” And otherwise: “Why are you pretending that you will obey one simple word? You do not accept the works that I do not as an opponent of God, but in the name of My Father. How can you believe one simple word?” For there is no doubt that actions are much more convincing than words. The most moderate of them also expressed this: “A sinful man cannot perform such miracles” (John 9:16). John 10:26. But you do not believe, for you are not of My sheep, as I told you. “You,” he says, “do not believe Me because you are not from My sheep.” I, like a good shepherd, on My part, fulfilled everything that I had to do; If you do not follow Me, then it is not I who am unworthy of the title of shepherd, but you who are unworthy of the title of sheep. John 10:27. My sheep obey 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 adds: “My sheep listen to My voice, and they follow Me.” John 10:28. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. Then, inciting them, he also says what those who follow Him will receive. “I,” he says, “give them eternal life, and they will never perish,” and so on. Of course, with such words He excites them and inspires them with jealousy and a desire to follow Him, since He gives such gifts. How does he say, “My sheep will follow Me, and they will not perish”? Meanwhile, we see that Judas died. But he died because he did not follow Jesus and did not remain a sheep until the end. And the Lord says about His true followers and sheep that they will not perish. If anyone falls behind the flock of sheep and stops following the Shepherd, he will soon perish. What happened to Judas can also be used against the Manichaeans. Judas was a saint and a sheep of God, but fell behind: he fell away precisely by his own choice and autocracy. This means that evil or good does not exist by nature, but appears and ceases from free will. John 10:29. My Father, who gave them to Me, is greater than all; and no one can snatch them out of the hand of My Father. Why won't they die? Because no one can snatch them out of my hand; for My Father, who gave them to Me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of His hand,” and therefore out of My hand. But another will ask: “How did the Lord say that no one will snatch them out of the hand of My Father, while we see that many are perishing?” To this we can answer that no one can snatch from the Father’s hand, but many can deceive. For no one can forcefully and autocratically distract them from the Father, God; but by deception we stumble every day. John 10:30. I and the Father are one. For Mine and the Father’s hand are one, I and the Father are one, that is, in power and strength. “Hand” refers to power and strength. So, I and the Father are one in Nature and in Essence, and in power. So the Jews also understood that with these words He declared Himself to be Consubstantial with God, and because He made Himself the Son of God, they grabbed stones to stone Him. John 10:31. Here again the Jews took up stones to stone Him. Since the Lord said that I and the Father are one, of course, in power and strength, and showed that the hand of Him and the Father is one, the Jews considered this to be blasphemy and wanted to stone Him for making Himself equal to God. John 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, denouncing them and showing that they have no blessed reason for being furious against Him, but are angry in vain, reminds them of the miracles that He performed and says: “I showed you many good deeds; For which of them do you want to stone Me? John 10:33. The Jews answered Him: We do not want to stone You for a good deed, but for blasphemy and because You, being a man, make Yourself God. They answer: “We want to stone You for blasphemy, for making Yourself God.” He does not deny this, does not say that I do not make Myself God, I am not equal to the Father, but he further affirms their opinion. And that He is God is proven by what is written in the law. John 10:34. Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, I said, you are gods?” John 10:35. If He called those to whom the word of God came gods, and the Scripture cannot be broken, John 10:36. Do you say to him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world: You are blaspheming, because I said: I am the Son of God? He also calls the book of David, as well as all Scripture, law. His words have this meaning: if those who have received deification by grace are gods (Ps. 82:6), and this is not brought to their guilt, then what justice is there when you condemn Me, Who by nature is God, Whom the Father sanctified, that is, appointed to the slaughter for the world? For that which is set apart for God is called holy. Obviously, when the Father sanctified Me and appointed Me to save the world, I am not equal to other gods, but I am the true God. If those to whom the Word of God came, that is, I, for I am the Word of God, and I, having dwelt in them, gave them sonship, if they are gods, then all the more can I, without any guilt, call Myself God, I, Who by My Nature is God, and grant deification to others. Let the Arians and Nestorians be ashamed of these words. For Christ is the Son of God and God in Essence and Nature, and not a creature, and gives deification to others to whom the Word of God came, and is not deified Himself by grace. Obviously, He, in these words, distinguishes Himself from those adored by grace and shows that He granted them deification, being the Word of God and indwelling them. For this is signified by the words “to whom the Word of God came,” with whom it was, in which it dwelt. How can I blaspheme when I call Myself the Son of God? For although I bear flesh and come from the descendants of David, you do not know the secret that human carnal nature could only accept a conversation with God unless He appeared to him in the flesh, as if under a veil. John 10:37. If I do not the works of My Father, do not believe Me; John 10:38. And if I do, then when you do not believe Me, believe My works, so that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him. “Do you want,” he says, “to know My equality with the Father?” You cannot know equality in essence, because it is impossible to know the Being of God; but take the equality and identity of deeds as proof of the identity of power; for works will be a testimony to you of My Divinity. And you will know and believe that I am none other than the Father. For, being the Son and differing in Face, I have one and the same Being; just as the Father, being the Father and distinguished by Person, is nothing other than the Son, of course, in Essence and Nature. Although We differ in Persons, the Persons are inseparable and inseparable, and the Father and the Son are one in the other, unfused. With us, the father exists separately from the son, although one by nature. But in the Divine Persons it is not like ours; and They dwell one in the other unfused. Therefore, it is said about us “three people,” for we are separate Persons, and do not actually constitute one; and about the Holy Trinity it is said that there is “one” God, and not three, because the Persons co-exist one with the other. Add to this the identity of will and desire. John 10:39. Then they again sought to seize Him; but He escaped from their hands, They seek to seize the Lord, not enduring His high testimony about Himself, for they did not tolerate His excellent theology. But He withdraws, yielding to their anger and arranging it so that through His withdrawal the passion of their anger would subside. He is removed against their will, in order to show (as we have said many times) that He would not have been taken to the cross if He had not given Himself up voluntarily. John 10:40. And he went again across the Jordan, to the place where John had previously baptized, and remained there. Where does it go? Beyond the Jordan, to the place where John baptized. It was not without a purpose that He retired here, but in order to remind many of what happened there and what John said about Him. John 10:41. Many came to Him and said that John had not performed any miracle, but everything that John said about Him was true. That His stay here brought benefit to many is evident from the fact that the Evangelist adds: “Many came to Him and, remembering this place, said that John had not performed any miracle.” Their words have this meaning: if we believed that (John), although he did not perform any miracle, then we should believe much more this (Jesus), since He performed so many miracles. Since John already testified about Christ, but did not perform any miracle and therefore could be considered unreliable, the evangelist adds: “Everything that John said about Him was true.” John 10:42. And many there believed in Him. They give faith not to Jesus according to the testimony of John, but to John according to the works that Jesus did. “Therefore,” he says, “many believed there.” The word “there” shows that this place brought them a lot of benefit. That is why Jesus often leads the people into desert places and removes them from the company of evil people, so that there may be more fruit. This, it seems, is what He did in the Old Testament: He brought them out of Egypt and formed and organized a people in the desert, giving them the Law. Note that the removal of Christ is also accomplished in a spiritual sense. He moves away from Jerusalem, that is, from the Jewish people, and moves to a place that has sources, that is, to the Church of the Gentiles, which has sources of baptism. And many come to Him, passing through baptism. For “beyond the Jordan” means this, that is, the transition through baptism. For no one comes to Jesus and becomes truly faithful except by going through baptism, which is signified by the Jordan.