The feast of the Dedication was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. 23 And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
The scene takes place in Jerusalem during the feast of the Dedication, also known as Hanukkah (v. 22). This feast recalled the restoration of the Temple after it had been desecrated in 167 B.C. by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Greek ruler whose empire controlled the region at that time. Three years later, Judas Maccabeus led the cleansing and rededication of the Temple in 164 B.C. (1 Mc. 4:36-59; 2 Mc. 10:1-8). For Israel, the feast remembered God’s care, the restoration of true worship, and the Temple as the visible sign of God’s presence among His people.
John adds, “It was winter” (v. 22). Jesus is walking in the Temple area on the Portico of Solomon, a covered place on the eastern side of the Temple precincts (v. 23). The detail is practical, since the portico offered protection from the cold. It also places Jesus in the heart of Israel’s worship, during a feast that celebrated the restoration of the Temple. In that setting, Jesus will speak of His own unity with the Father.
Those who gather around Jesus ask Him, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly” (v. 24). The Messiah means the anointed one, the king from David’s line whom God promised to raise up for His people (2 Sam. 7:12-16; Ps. 2:2; Is. 11:1-5). Their question sounds direct, but Jesus’ answer shows that the problem is not a lack of evidence. He says, “I told you and you do not believe” (v. 25). Earlier, in Jerusalem, Jesus had spoken of His unique relationship with the Father and had used the divine “I AM” language that revealed His identity (Jn. 5:17-18; 8:24, 58). His words and works had already shown who He is.
Jesus points especially to His works: “The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me” (v. 25). In John’s Gospel, Jesus’ works are not merely displays of power. They reveal His identity as the Son sent by the Father and His mission to give eternal life to those who believe in Him (Jn. 3:16-17; 5:24; v. 28). Earlier He healed the man born blind, and that sign led some to ask whether a sinner could do such works (Jn. 9:16; 10:21). His works are signs that He acts with the authority of the Father.
Jesus then returns to the image of the sheep and the shepherd. He says, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (v. 27). To hear His voice means more than hearing sound. It means receiving His word with faith and following Him in trust. The sheep belong to Him because they listen to Him, know His voice, and follow where He leads.
Jesus promises more than guidance. He says, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (v. 28). Eternal life is life with God, begun now by faith and fulfilled in communion with Him forever. This is not something the sheep seize for themselves. Jesus gives it. He speaks as the Good Shepherd who has authority to give life because He acts in union with the Father.
He also promises protection: “No one can take them out of my hand” (v. 28). Then He adds that no one can take them out of the Father’s hand (v. 29). The protection Jesus gives His sheep is the Father’s own protection. The Old Testament speaks of God’s sovereign power over life and death: “I bring death and I give life” (Dt. 32:39). It also says of the righteous, “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God” (Wis. 3:1). Jesus applies this divine protection to those who belong to Him.
This leads to the final statement: “The Father and I are one” (v. 30). Jesus is not saying that He is the Father. The Father and the Son are distinct Persons. He is revealing His unity with the Father in divine power and being. His words and works are the words and works of God because He is the eternal Son who shares the same divine nature as the Father and acts with Him.
This statement also explains why the next verse says that His opponents picked up stones to stone Him (Jn. 10:31). They understood that Jesus was saying that He is the Son who shares the Father’s divine life. They regarded this as blasphemy, a crime punishable by stoning to death (Lev. 24:16; Jn. 10:33).
The setting makes this even more important. During a feast that remembered the restoration of the Temple, Jesus stands in the Temple and reveals that God’s presence is now encountered in Him. John has already said, “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn. 1:14). The God who dwelt among His people now comes personally in the incarnate Son.
Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd, teach us to hear Your voice, trust Your word, and follow You faithfully. Keep us in Your hand and lead us to the eternal life You promise. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. John 10:22-30 and notes on John 10:22-30.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010, 182.
- José María Casciaro, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008, 405-406.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990, 969, paras. 141-142.
- Aguilar Chiu, José Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018, 1151-1153.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid OP, and Donald Senior CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. Third Fully Revised Edition. London: Bloomsbury; New York: T&T Clark, 2022, 1418-1419.
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