John 10:7-11

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - John 10:1-18

It is not certain whether this discourse was at the feast of dedication in the winter (spoken of John 10:22), which may be taken as the date, not only of what follows, but of what goes before (that which countenances this is, that Christ, in his discourse there, carries on the metaphor of the sheep, John 10:26, 27, whence it seems that that discourse and this were at the same time); or whether this was a continuation of his parley with the Pharisees, in the close of the foregoing chapter. The... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 10:7-10

10:7-10 So Jesus said to them again: "This is the truth I tell you--I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If any man enter in through me, he will be saved, and he will go in and out, and he will find pasture. The thief comes only to kill and to steal and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." The Jews did not understand the meaning of the story... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 10:11-15

10:11-15 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. The hireling, who is not a real shepherd, and to whom the sheep do not really belong, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and runs away; and the wolf seizes them and scatters them. He abandons the sheep because he is a hireling, and the sheep are nothing to him. I am the good shepherd, and I know my own sheep, and my own sheep know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 10:7

Then said Jesus unto them again ,.... By way of explanation of the above parable, since they did not understand it: verily, verily, I say unto you ; this is certainly truth, and what may be depended on as such, whether it will be believed or not: I am the door of the sheep ; and of none but them; not of goats, dogs, or swine; none but sheep enter at this door; and all the sheep do sooner or later: Christ is the door to them, by which they enter into a visible church state, and are... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 10:8

All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers ,.... This must be understood with some restrictions, not of every individual person, nor of every individual prophet or shepherd; not of Moses, nor of the prophets of the Lord, nor of John the Baptist, who came immediately before Christ, was his harbinger, and prepared his way; but of those prophets who came, and were not sent of God, and so did not come in by the door; of the shepherds of Israel, who fed themselves, and not the flock,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 10:9

I am the door ,.... Of the sheep, as before, see John 10:7 . The Ethiopic version reads, "I am the true door of the sheep"; which is repeated for further confirmation, and for the sake of introducing what follows: by me if any man enter in ; into the sheepfold, the church, he shall be saved ; not that being in a church, and having submitted to ordinances, will save any, but entering into these, at the right door, or through faith in Christ, such will be saved, according to Mark... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 10:10

The thief cometh not but for to steal ,.... That is his first and principal view; to steal, is to invade, seize, and carry away another's property. Such teachers that come not in by the right door, or with a divine commission, seek to deceive, and carry away the sheep of Christ from him, though they are not able to do it; and to steal away their hearts from him, as Absalom stole the hearts of the people from their rightful lord and sovereign, David his father; and to subject them to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 10:11

I am the good shepherd ,.... A shepherd of his Father's appointing, calling, and sending, to whom the care of all his sheep, or chosen ones, was committed; who was set up as a shepherd over them by him, and was entrusted with them; and who being called, undertook to feed them; and being promised, was sent unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel; and under the character of a shepherd, died for them, and rose again, and is accountable to his Father for everyone of them; the shepherd, the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 10:7

I am the door of the sheep - It is through me only that a man can have a lawful entrance into the ministry; and it is through me alone that mankind can be saved. Instead of, I am the door, the Sahidic version reads, I am the shepherd; but this reading is found in no other version, nor in any MS. It is evidently a mistake of the scribe. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 10:8

All that ever came before me - Or, as some translate, all that came instead of me, προ εμου , i.e. all that came as the Christ, or Messiah, such as Theudas, and Judas the Gaulonite, who are mentioned, Acts 5:36 , Acts 5:37 ; and who were indeed no other than thieves, plundering the country wherever they came; and murderers, not only slaying the simple people who resisted them, but leading the multitudes of their followers to the slaughter. But our Lord probably refers to the scribes... read more

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