NIV Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 45
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page 1821
10:11
14; Isa 40:11
15:13; 1Jn 3:16
sver
tJn
10:12
11:16,17
uZec
10:14
11
27
vver
wver
10:15
11:27
xMt
10:16
56:8
11:52
aEze 37:24
yIsa
zJn
10:17
bver 11,15,18
10:18
cMt 26:53
dJn 15:10; Php 2:8
10:19
eJn 7:43; 9:16
10:20
fJn 7:20
gMk 3:21
10:21
4:24
4:11; Jn 9:32,33
hMt
iEx
10:23
3:11; 5:12
jAc
10:24
1:19
kJn
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who
have come before me r are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.
9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. a They will come in and go out,
and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that
they may have life, and have it to the full.
11“I am the good shepherd. s The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. t 12The
hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf
coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. u Then the wolf attacks the flock and scat
ters it. 13The man runs away because he is a h
ired hand and c ares nothing for the sheep.
14“I am the good shepherd; v I know my sheep w and my sheep know me — 15just as the
Father knows me and I know the Father x — and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have
other sheep y that are not of this s heep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen
to my voice, and there shall be one flock z and one shepherd. a 17The reason my Father
gain. 18No one takes it from me,
loves me is that I lay down my life b — only to take it up a
but I lay it down of my own accord. c I have authority to lay it down and authority to take
it up again. This command I received from my Father.” d
19 The Jews who h
eard these words were a
gain divided. e 20Many of them said, “He is
demon-possessed f and raving mad. g Why listen to him?”
21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. h Can a
demon open the eyes of the blind?” i
Religious Leaders Surround Jesus at the Temple (152 )
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication b at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was
in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. j 24 The Jews k who were t here
a
9 Or kept safe b 22 That is, Hanukkah
10:7 In the sheep pen, the shepherd functioned as a gate, letting the
sheep in and protecting them. Jesus is the gate to God’s salvation for
us. He offers access to safety and security. He protects us. Some people
resent those who believe that Jesus is the gate, the only way of access
to God. But Christians did not make the requirement to believe in Jesus
alone—he did. Because Jesus created the world, he has the right to declare
how we should come to him. Since Jesus is God’s Son, why should we
seek any other way or want to customize a different approach to God?
Jesus provides the entry point to God, and he is our caring master. Are
you following his lead? (Also see the notes on 14:6.)
10:10 In contrast to the thief who takes life, Jesus gives life. The life
he gives to us is abundantly rich and satisfying. It is eternal, although it
begins immediately when you turn to follow him. Life in Christ is more
deeply meaningful than life without him because of his overflowing
forgiveness, love, and guidance. Have you accepted Jesus’ offer of life?
10:11-12 A hired hand tends the sheep for money, while the shepherd
does it out of love. The shepherd owns the sheep and is completely
devoted to them. Jesus is not merely doing a job or performing a duty;
he loves us and has even laid down his life for us. False teachers and false
prophets do not have this commitment.
10:11, 14 Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd. This would
remind Jews of Ezekiel’s scathing rebuke through which God had castigated the evil leaders of Israel (Ezekiel 34:1-6). Immediately after this,
God had said he would take charge as the Good Shepherd (see Ezekiel
34:7-31). Jesus clearly identified himself with God by using this title.
10:16 The “other sheep” were n
on-Jews. Jesus came to save Gentiles
(people from all nations) as well as Jews. Here Jesus provides insight into
his worldwide mission—to die for the sins of the world. People tend to
want to keep God for themselves, limited to their own group, but Jesus
wants us to love and help people beyond the fences we build.
10:17-18 Jesus’ death and resurrection, as part of God’s plan for the
salvation of the world, were under God’s full control. No one could kill
Jesus without his consent.
10:19-20 If Jesus was merely a man, his claims to be God would have
proven him insane. But his miracles proved his words true—he really is
God. The Jewish leaders could not see beyond their own preconceived
ideas, and they looked at Jesus only from a human perspective—Jesus
confined in a human box. But Jesus was not limited by their restricted
vision.
10:22-23 The Festival of Dedication (Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights)
commemorates the cleansing of the temple under Judas Maccabeus
in 164 BC after Antiochus Epiphanes had defiled it by sacrificing a pig
on the altar of burnt offering. The festival is celebrated in the month
of December.
10:23 Solomon’s Colonnade was a roofed walkway supported by
large stone columns, just inside the walls of the temple courtyard.
10:24 Many people who were asking for proof did so for the wrong
reasons. Most of these questioners didn’t want to follow Jesus if it required
them to submit to his leadership. They hoped that Jesus would declare
himself to be the Messiah and then overthrow Rome and restore the
prosperity of King David’s golden age. They, along with the disciples—
and everyone else in the Jewish nation—would have been delighted to
Mediterranean
Sea
N
GALILEE
SAMARIA
Jerusalem
JUDEA
IDUMEA
Sea of
Galilee
Jordan River
10:8
rJer 23:1,2
J ohn 1 0 : 2 4
PE
RE
A
Dead
Sea
0
0
20 mi
20 km
MINISTRY EAST
OF THE JORDAN
Jesus had been
in Jerusalem for
the Festival of
Tabernacles (7:2);
then he preached
in various towns,
probably in Judea,
before returning to
Jerusalem for the
Festival of Dedication (Hanukkah). He
again angered the
religious leaders,
who tried to arrest
him, but he left the
city and went to the
region east of the
Jordan to preach.