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3. DISCUSSION ABOUT THE GOOD SHEPHERD (10: 1-21)

The conversation about the good shepherd develops in the same semantic context as chapter 9. The likeness of people to sheep who follow their shepherd was very popular in the Middle East. So, kings and priests called themselves shepherds, calling their subjects sheep. This analogy is often found in the Bible.

Many of the great men of the Old Testament were literally shepherds, that is, shepherds; these are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David. Moses and David also became the spiritual shepherds of Israel. The image of the shepherd appears in a number of the most famous passages of Holy Scripture (Ps. 22; Is. 53: 6; Luke 15: 1-7).

Jesus uses this analogy on different occasions. The connection with the previous, ninth, chapter is seen here in the opposition of Him and the Pharisees' attitude towards the man born blind. Spiritually blind, although they claimed a special spiritual vision (John 9:41), the Pharisees were false shepherds. Jesus, as the true Shepherd, came to seek those in need of help and to heal. His sheep heard His voice and responded to him.

John. 10: 1-2... Verses 1-5 show a morning scene from a shepherd's life. The shepherd enters through the gate (door) into the sheepfold (in the east, these were spacious, sometimes covered, rooms, enclosed by a stone wall). (As a rule, several herds belonging to different owners were kept in the corral.) At the gate to the sheepfold there was a watchman who guarded the sheep from thieves and wild animals at night. Anyone who would not try to enter the corral by the "door", but to climb over the wall, would clearly be guided by malicious intent.

John. 10: 3-4... To the shepherds whom he knew, the doorkeeper (watchman) opened the gates, and they, entering, called their sheep by name (to separate them from the sheep of the other owner). And the sheep, hearing a familiar voice, went to their shepherd. He took them out of the pen and gathered them into a herd. And then he led to the pasture, following in front of the herd.

John. 10: 5-6... If a stranger entered the corral, the sheep, not knowing his voice, fled from him. This allegory is based on the image of a shepherd, familiar to the Jews, gathering his flock. The thought behind it is that people strive to God, because God calls them, and they should distinguish His voice from other people's voices (compare with verse 16, 27; Rom. 8: 28,30). But the listeners of Christ did not learn a spiritual lesson even from the image they knew; they did not recognize (or pretended not to recognize) in Jesus their Lord - the true Shepherd (Psalm 22).

John. 10: 7-9... Jesus, however, continues this parable. The shepherd, having separated his flock from others, led him to the pasture. The exit to it lay through a special enclosed space. A shepherd stood at its gate to let the sheep pass into the pasture; he thus, as it were, himself turned to the door for them. The spiritual meaning of this analogy is that only Jesus Christ is the door through which a person can enter God's presence.

All, however many of them came before Me, are thieves and robbers. The Lord speaks of those leaders (spiritual and civil) of Israel who "came" and acted of their own free will and initiative, without being "sent" by the Heavenly Father, that is, they came "besides Christ." Those concerned not about the spiritual welfare of the people, but about the satisfaction of their own ambition and lust for power. Jesus, as a good Shepherd, provides His "sheep" with protection from enemies (whoever enters by Me, he will be saved, he will be safe).

False shepherds take care of their own benefit, often robbing their subjects of property, and sometimes even their lives. Christ, on the other hand, gives life to His "subjects" and takes care of their daily blessings and will come in and out and find pasture).

John. 10:10... The development of the thought expressed in the previous verse follows. A thief (a false shepherd, in whatever guise he may appear) takes away life, and Christ gives life ... in abundance.

John. 10:11... Further, Jesus shows the image of the sheep and its shepherd from a different angle. As evening descended on the Palestinian pastures, danger loomed over the sheep. In Bible times, lions, wolves, jackals, panthers, leopards, bears, and hyenas roamed outside the city walls. Even the lives of the shepherds were under threat, as is evident from the fact that King David, when he was a shepherd, had to fight with lions and bears (1 Samuel 17: 34-35,37). The forefather Jacob also experienced the hard life of a shepherd (Gen. 31: 38-40).

Jesus says about Himself (and repeats it): I am the good shepherd (10:11 cf. 10:14). In the Old Testament, God is called the Shepherd of His people (Ps. 22: 1; 79: 2-3; Eccl. 12:11; Is. 40:11; Jer. 31:10). And Jesus is Him for His people, for whose good He came to give His life (compare John 10: 14,17-18; Gal. 1: 4; Eph. 5: 2,25; Heb. 9:14). (In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is also called the "Great Shepherd" - Heb. 13: 20-21; and the "Chief Shepherd" - 1 Pet. 5: 4.)

John. 10: 12-13... Unlike the “good shepherd,” to whom “the sheep are his own,” and therefore He takes care of them, nourishes them, protects and is ready to lay down his life for them, a mercenary who works for money is indifferent to sheep. He is only interested in monetary reward and protects himself. If the wolf attacks the herd, the mercenary runs away, and the wolf steals the sheep and scatters them. Many selfish kings ruled over Israel, and many false prophets and false messiahs came to him. The "flock of God" suffered much from such "mercenaries" (Jer. 10: 21-22; 12:10; Zech. 11: 4-17).

John. 10: 14-15... But the good shepherd is personally interested in his sheep (compare verse 3, 27). And I know Mine - these words emphasize that the sheep belong to the Shepherd. But in the words Mine also know Me, it is conveyed that knowledge here is mutual, and intimacy is mutual. She is likened by Christ to His own relationship with the Father, filled with mutual love and trust. Jesus confirmed his love for His sheep by the fact that when “His hour came,” He voluntarily gave his life for them.

John. 10:16... I also have other sheep that are not of this fold, Jesus speaks of the Gentiles who will believe in Him. By his death, He will lead them to the Heavenly Father as well. And they will hear (recognize) my voice. All these millennia, Jesus continues to save people who discern, recognize, hear His voice speaking to them through the Holy Scriptures. From Acts. 18: 9-11 shows how this was carried out in practice as the Church matured. "I have many people in this city" (ie, in Corinth) - said the Lord to the Apostle Paul.

And there will be one flock and one Shepherd - this is the image of the Church, consisting of believers, both Jewish and pagan "court", united in one body, the Head of which is Christ (Eph. 2: 11-22; 3: 6).

John. 10: 17-18... Jesus predicts His death again, repeating four times in this chapter that He gives His life willingly (verses 11, 15, 17-18).

The Father loves Jesus with a special love for His sacrificial obedience to His will. About His resurrection, Jesus speaks here twice (in verses 17-18): I give my life to receive it again and I ... have the power ... to take it again; that is, He emphasizes that His resurrection is in His power (in power). He is in control of His destiny. Nobody takes her (life) from Me. Jesus was not at all a helpless pawn on the chessboard of human history.

John. 10: 19-21... For the third time, Jesus' words cause strife among those listening to Him (7:43; 9:16). Many in the crowd were hostile to Him and said that He was demon possessed and insane (compare 7:20; 8: 48,52). But others objected: how can ... a demon open the eyes of the blind? (compare 9:16).

4. FINAL TEACHING TO THE PEOPLE (10: 22-42)

John. 10: 22-23... The holiday of renewal in our time is known as Hanukkah. It was established to commemorate the cleansing of the temple by Judas Maccabee in 165 BC (after the temple was desecrated in 168 by the Syrian king Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), who installed idols in it). This holiday, which was celebrated in December (and it was winter), lasted 8 days. He reminded Israel of his last great deliverance from enemies.

The Solomon's porch was a covered colonnade on the east side of the temple.

Two months have passed since the previous conflict between Jesus and the Jews, which took place in October (7: 1 - 10:21), during the Feast of Tabernacles (7: 2). Now Jesus has returned to the temple again.

John. 10:24... Then the Jews surrounded Him. The "rulers" of the Jerusalemites, who disliked Him, all hoped to "drive Him into a corner." His mysterious words infuriated them, and so they "surrounded Him", asking: how long will you keep us at a loss? if you are the Christ, tell us directly, they demanded.

John. 10: 25-26... Jesus replied that he had told them, but they do not believe either His words or the deeds He does in His Father's name (compare with verses 32, 38), and yet they testify that He came from the Father (Isa. 35: 3-6; John 3: 2; 9: 32-33). The Father did send Him, but He did not live up to their expectations. For he was not like Judas Maccabee, or even (in His ministry) - like Moses. They "stumbled" over Him, and this happened because of their spiritual limitations, lack of faith. But you do not believe, for you are not one of My sheep - this is a simple statement of the fact that determined all their judgments and behavior. At the same time, these words are about the mystery of God's election (6:37).

John. 10:27... The "sheep" of Jesus' flock are sensitive to His voice (compare verses 3-5, 16) and respond to His call; and I know them, Jesus repeats (compare with. Verse 14), and they follow Me (compare verses 4-5), that is, they follow the will of the Heavenly Father, following the example of the Son.

John. 10:28... Here is one of the clearest statements in the Bible that those who believe with saving faith in Jesus Christ will receive eternal life and will never perish. Believers fall into sins and "stumble" on their way, however, Jesus, as the perfect Shepherd, will not allow them to perish (Luke 22: 31-32).

Eternal life is a gift (John 3: 16,36,5: 24; 10:10; Rom. 6:23). The guarantee of the safety of believers lies in the Shepherd's ability to protect and preserve His flock, and not in the dubious ability of the "sheep" themselves to "stand up for themselves." And no one will take them out of my hand - the final thought of this verse is continued in the next one.

John. 10:29... My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. Here Jesus makes it clear that the Almighty Father Himself takes care of His flock. It is as impossible to snatch a saved soul from the hand of Jesus as it is from the hand of the Father. God's plan of salvation for the "Jesus flock" cannot be "frustrated."

John. 10:30... When he said I and the Father are one, Jesus did not mean that He and the Father are one and the same Person. They represent two separate Personalities in the Divine Trinity. The meaning of His words in this text is in the assertion of the absolute unity of Their purpose. In the matter of saving His "flock", the will of Jesus is identical to the will of the Father. The Father and the Son are identical in nature, for they are one Deity (29:28; compare Phil. 2: 6; Col. 2: 9).

John. 10: 31-32... Now, when He spoke not in hints and parables, but openly, the hostile Jews no longer had any doubts about His claims. Therefore they seized stones to stone Him (compare 8:59). The bitterness and courage of Jesus was reflected in His calm question: I showed you many good deeds from My Father; for which of them do you want to stone me?

John. 10:33... The Jews objected that they had nothing against His works. (However, the healings performed by Him on Saturday caused them a very negative reaction - 5:18; 9:16.) They, they say, cannot agree that, being a man, He makes Himself God. This, they declared, was blasphemy. They did not realize, of course, all the irony (emphasized by their words) of the situation: Jesus, being God, became a Man (1: 1, 14, 18). He did not walk in Palestine, proclaiming: "I am God", although from His attitude to the Sabbath and from His words about His unity with the Heavenly Father it followed that He really possesses the nature of the Divine.

John. 10:34... If we take into account the method of discussion that the rabbis adhered to in His time, then the nature of Christ's response to the Jews will become clearer. To begin, as Jesus does, with a reference to the Old Testament: Was it not written in your law ... - it was natural. Usually the first five books of the Bible were understood as "law". But here Jesus had in mind the entire Old Testament, for he further quotes from the Psalms. “In your law,” He emphasizes, implying that the Jews were proud that the law was given to them, and, therefore, had to recognize the inviolability of his authority for themselves.

Specifically, Jesus refers here to Psalm 81, which speaks of God as a true Judge (Ps. 81: 1,8) and of people appointed as judges who, however, failed to administer a just judgment pleasing to God (Ps. 81: 2 -7). The word "gods" in Ps. 81: 1.6 refers specifically to these judges. It is in this sense that God said to the Jews: you are gods, not implying, of course, that they have a Divine nature.

John. 10:35... So, Jesus bases His reasoning on the fact that in a certain context (as in Psalm 81: 1,6) people are also called "gods." In Hebrew, "God" or "gods" sounds like elohim. By the way, this word is also used in the meaning of "judges" in Ex. 21: 6; 22: 8 (in Russian in the latter case it is referred to as "judges"). And the Scripture cannot be violated, says Jesus further, meaning that no one has the right to refer to mistakes allegedly made in Scripture. This phrase in the mouth of the Lord is an important testimony to the inerrancy of the Bible.

John. 10:36... From what He said above, He draws a conclusion. Since in the infallible Bible the judges of Israel are called "gods", the Jews have no reason to accuse Jesus of blasphemy for what He said about Himself "I am the Son of God": after all, He fulfills the instructions of the Heavenly Father, who for this purpose and "separated Him" ​​( sanctified) and sent into the world.

John. 10: 37-38... The Jews were reluctant to believe the words of Jesus, but the Father bore witness of Him by the miraculous works that He did through the Son. These signs were given to the Jews as (in modern terms) "information for thought", so that, pondering their meaning, they would recognize that Jesus is one with the Father (in order (for you) to know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him ). Nicodemus realized this and therefore said: "The kind of miracles you do, no one can do unless God is with him" (John 3: 2).

John. 10:39... And again they tried to grab Him (cf. 7: 30,32,44; 8:20), possibly in order to lead him to the judges. And again their attempt was unsuccessful, because the time appointed for Him by God had not yet come. Exactly how He eluded their hands (compare with 5:13; 8:59; 12:36) is not deciphered.

John. 10: 40-42... Because of the enmity of the Jews, Jesus went again across the Jordan, to Perea. John the Baptist had previously served there, baptizing "at Bethabar by the Jordan" (1:28). There Christ was received much more favorably, probably because in his time the Baptist prepared human hearts for this. Even after his death, John had a beneficial effect on the inhabitants of the area, who remembered his testimony. Although John did not perform any miracle, they reasoned, everything he said about Jesus turned out to be true. In contrast, the inhabitants of Jerusalem saw the miraculous signs given by the Lord, and yet they did not bow down before Him. In Perea, many ... believed in Him.

Synodal translation. The chapter was voiced by roles by the studio "Light in the East".

1. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some places, is a thief and a robber;
2. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3. The doorkeeper opens to him, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his sheep by name and leads them out.
4. And when he has brought out his sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.
5. They do not follow a stranger, but run away from him, because they do not know the voice of a stranger.
6. Jesus told them this parable; but they did not understand what He was telling them.
7. So again Jesus said to them: Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8. All, however many of them came before Me, are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not listen to them.
9. I am the door: whoever enters by me will be saved, and will enter and go out, and find pasture.
10. The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I came so that they might have life and have it abundantly.
11. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12. But a mercenary, not a shepherd, to whom the sheep are not his own, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf plunders the sheep and scatters them.
13. But the mercenary runs because he is a mercenary, and cares about the sheep.
14. I am the good shepherd, and I know Mine, and Mine know Me.
15. As the Father knows Me, so I also know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16. I also have other sheep that are not of this fold, and those I must bring: and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one Shepherd.
17. Therefore the Father loves Me, because I give my life in order to receive it again.
18. No one takes it from Me, but I myself give it. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I received this commandment from my Father.
19. From these words came again among the Jews. strife.
20. Many of them said: He is possessed by a demon and is mad; why are you listening to Him?
21. Others said: these are the words of a demon-possessed person; can the demon open the eyes of the blind?
22. Then came to Jerusalem a holiday of renewal, and it was winter.
23. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.
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 straight.
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.
26. But you do not believe, for you are not of my sheep, as I told you.
27. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them; and they follow me.
28. And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
29. My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
30. I and the Father are one.
31. Then the Jews again took up stones to stone Him.
32. Jesus answered them: I have shown you many good works from My Father; for which of them do you want to stone me?
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.
34. Jesus answered them: is it not written in your law: “I said: you are gods”?
35. If He called those to whom the word of God was gods, and the Scripture cannot be broken, -
36. To the one whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, you say: "you blaspheme" because I said: "I am the Son of God"?
37. If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
38. But if I do, then when you do not believe Me, believe My works, in order to know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him.
39. Then they again sought to seize Him; but he shied away from their hands,
40.and went over the Jordan again , to the place where John had baptized before, and stayed there.
41. Many came to Him and said that John did not perform any miracle, but everything that John said about Him was true.
42. And many believed in Him there.

Attention! The comments below are for CONSULTATIVE only. Thanks to the historical information they contain, they ONLY HELP TO UNDERSTAND what is written in the Bible. Comments should never be taken on an equal footing with Scripture!

Comments (1)
Barkley

Comments (1)
William McDonald

New Geneva
Study Bible

Comments (introduction) to the entire book of John

Comments on Chapter 10

INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE GOSPEL WITH AN EAGLE'S LOOK

Many Christians consider the Gospel of John to be the most precious book in the New Testament. This book feeds their minds and hearts most of all, and it calms their souls. The authors of the Gospels are very often depicted symbolically on stained-glass windows and in other works in the form of four beasts, which the author of Revelation saw around the throne. (Rev. 4.7). A different symbol is attributed to each evangelist in different places, but in most cases it is generally accepted that human - this is the symbol of the evangelist Brand, whose Gospel can be called the most uncomplicated, simplest and most humane; a lion - evangelist symbol Matthew, because he, like no one else, saw in Jesus the Messiah and the lion of the tribe of Judah; Taurus(ox) - the symbol of the evangelist Luke, because this animal was used both for service and for sacrifice, and he saw in Jesus a great servant of people and a universal sacrifice for all mankind; Eagle - evangelist symbol John, because of all living beings, only an eagle can look directly at the sun without being blinded and penetrate into eternal secrets, eternal truths and into the very thoughts of God. John has the most discerning eye of all New Testament writers. Many people believe that they are closest to God and Jesus Christ when they read the Gospel of John, and not any other book.

A GOSPEL DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS

One has only to read the fourth Gospel briefly to see that it differs from the other three: it does not contain many of the events that are included in the other three. The fourth Gospel says nothing about the birth of Jesus, about His baptism, about His temptations, it says nothing about the Last Supper, about the Garden of Gethsemane and about the Ascension. It does not talk about the healing of people possessed by demons and evil spirits, and, most surprising of all, it does not contain a single parable of Jesus, which is an invaluable part of the other three Gospels. In the three Gospels, Jesus constantly speaks in these wonderful parables, and in easy-to-remember, short, expressive sentences. And in the fourth Gospel, Jesus' speeches sometimes take up an entire chapter and are often complex, abundant statements, quite different from those succinct, unforgettable sayings in the other three Gospels. It is even more surprising that the facts about the life and ministry of Jesus given in the fourth Gospel differ from those given in the other Gospels. 1. The Gospel of John states differently Start ministry of Jesus. The other three Gospels make it clear that Jesus only started preaching after John the Baptist was imprisoned. "After John was betrayed, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God (Mark 1.14; Luke 3.18.20; Mat.4.12). According to the Gospel of John, it turns out that there was a rather long period when the preaching of Jesus coincided with the activities of John the Baptist (John 3,22-30; 4,1.2). 2. The Gospel of John presents differently region, in which Jesus preached. In the other three Gospels, Galilee was the main preaching area, and Jesus was not in Jerusalem until the last week of his life. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus preached mostly in Jerusalem and Judea and only occasionally entered Galilee (John 2.1-13; 4.35-51; 6.1-7.14). According to John, Jesus was in Jerusalem for Easter, which coincided with the cleansing of the Temple (John 2,13); during an unnamed holiday (John 5.1); during the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7,2.10). He was there in winter, during the Feast of Renewal (John 10:22). According to the fourth Gospel, after this feast, Jesus never left Jerusalem at all; after Chapter 10 He was in Jerusalem all the time. This means that Jesus stayed there for many months, from the winter festival of Renewal to spring, until Passover, during which he was crucified. It must be said that it was this fact that was correctly reflected in the Gospel of John. Other Gospels show how Jesus grieved over the fate of Jerusalem when the final week arrived. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stoners those who are sent to you! How many times have I wanted to gather your children together, as a bird gathers her chicks under her wings, and you did not want to!" (Matthew 23.37; Luke 13:34). It is clear that Jesus could not have said this if He had not visited Jerusalem several times and repeatedly addressed its inhabitants. From His first visit, He could not have said this. It was this difference that allowed the "Father of Church History" Eusebius (263-340), Bishop of Palestinian Caesarea and the author of the most ancient history of the Church from the birth of Christ to 324, to offer one of the first explanations of the difference between the fourth Gospel and the other three. Eusebius stated that in his time (about 300), many scholars-theologians adhere to this view: Matthew was the first to preach to the Jews, but the time had come when he had to go to preach to other nations; before setting off, he wrote down everything he knew about the life of Christ in Hebrew and "thus facilitated the loss of those whom he had to leave." After Mark and Luke wrote their gospels, John was still orally preaching the life story of Jesus. “Finally, he began to describe it, and here's why. When the three Gospels mentioned became available to everyone and reached him too, they say that he approved them and confirmed their truth, but added that they lacked the account of the deeds performed by Jesus at the very beginning of His ministry ... And therefore, they say, John described in his Gospel the period omitted by the early Evangelists, i.e. acts committed by the Savior in the period before the imprisonment of John the Baptist ..., and the other three evangelists describe the events that took place after this time. The Gospel of John is a story about the first deeds of Christ, while others tell about later His life "(Eusebius," History of the Church "5,24) Therefore, according to Eusebius, there is no contradiction at all between the fourth and the other three Gospels; all the difference is explained by the fact that in the fourth Gospel, at least in the first chapters, tells about the ministry in Jerusalem, which preceded the preaching in Galilee and took place when John the Baptist was still at large. It is possible that this explanation of Eusebius, at least in some part, is correct. 3. According to John and duration Jesus' ministry was different. It follows from the other three Gospels that it lasted only one year. There is only one Easter for the entire service. In the Gospel of John three Easter: one coincides with the cleansing of the Temple (John 2,13); the other somewhere coincides with the saturation time of five thousand (John 6.4); and finally, the last Passover, when Jesus was crucified. According to John, the ministry of Christ should last about three years, so that all these events could be placed in time. And again, John is undoubtedly right: it turns out the same can be seen when carefully reading the other three Gospels. When the disciples plucked the ears (Mar 2.23), it must have been spring. When five thousand were full, they sat on green grass (Mark 6.39), therefore, it was spring again, and a year had to elapse between the two events. This is followed by a journey through Tire and Sidon and the Transfiguration. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter wanted to build three booths and stay there. it is quite natural to assume that this was during the Feast of the Establishment of Tabernacles, which is why Peter suggested doing this (Mar 9.5), that is, at the beginning of October. This is followed by the period until the last Easter in April. Thus, from what is stated in the three Gospels, it can be inferred that the ministry of Jesus lasted the same three years, as it is presented in John. 4. But John also has significant differences from the other three Gospels. Here are two notable examples. First, John refers to the cleansing of the Temple as the beginning ministry of Jesus (John 2: 13-22), while other evangelists put it in end (Mark 11,15-17; Mat.21,12.13; Luke 19,45.46). Secondly, John attributes the Crucifixion of Christ to the day before Easter, while other evangelists attribute it to the very day of Easter. We should not at all close our eyes to the differences that exist between the Gospel of John, on the one hand, and the rest of the Gospels, on the other.

SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE OF JOHN

It is quite obvious that if the Gospel of John is different from other evangelists, it is not because of ignorance or lack of information. Although he does not mention much of what others cite, he cites a lot that they do not have. Only John tells of the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee (2,1-11); on the visit of Jesus by Nicodemus (3,1-17); about the Samaritan woman (4); about the resurrection of Lazarus (11); how Jesus washed the feet of His disciples (13,1-17); about His wonderful teaching about the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, scattered in the chapters (14-17). Only in the narration of John do many of Jesus' disciples really come to life before our eyes and we hear the speech of Thomas (11,16; 14,5; 20,24-29), and Andrey becomes a true person (1,40.41; 6,8.9; 12,22). Only from John do we learn something about the character of Philip (6,5-7; 14,8.9); we hear Judas' angry protest at the anointing of Jesus in Bethany (12,4.5). And it should be noted that, oddly enough, these small touches reveal amazingly much to us. The portraits of Thomas, Andrew and Philip in the Gospel of John are like small cameos or vignettes, in which the character of each of them is unforgettably sketched. Further, in the Evangelist John, we again and again come across small additional details that read like eyewitness testimony: the boy brought Jesus not just bread, but barley bread (6,9); when Jesus came to the disciples who were crossing the lake in a storm, they sailed about twenty-five or thirty stadia (6,19); in Cana of Galilee there were six stone water-carriers (2,6). John alone speaks of four soldiers casting lots for Jesus' solid woven garment (19,23); only he knows how much mixture of myrrh and scarlet was used to anoint the body of Jesus (19,39); only he remembers how during the anointing of Jesus in Bethany the house was filled with a fragrance (12,3). Much of this seems at first glance to be insignificant details and they would remain incomprehensible if they were not eyewitness memories. No matter how different the Gospel of John is from the rest of the Gospels, this difference must be explained not by ignorance, but precisely by the fact that John had more knowledge, or he had better sources, or better memory than the rest. Another proof that the author of the Fourth Gospel had special information is that he knew Palestine and Jerusalem very well. He knows how long it took to build the Jerusalem Temple (2,20); that Jews and Samaritans were in constant conflict (4,9); that the Jews held a low opinion of the woman (4,9); how the Jews looked at sabbath (5,10; 7,21-23; 9,14). He knows Palestine well: he knows two Bethany, one of which was beyond the Jordan (1,28; 12,1); he knows that there were some of the disciples from Bethsaida (1,44; 12,21); that Cana is in Galilee (2,1; 4,46; 21,2); that the city of Sychar is located near Shechem (4,5). He, as they say, knew every street in Jerusalem. He knows the sheep gates and the pool near them (5,2); he knows the pool of Siloam (9,7); Solomon's porch (9,23); stream Kidron (18,1); Lifostroton, which in Hebrew is Gavwafa (9,13); Calvary, similar to a skull (the place of the Execution, 19,17). It must be remembered that in 70, Jerusalem was destroyed, and John began to write his Gospel no earlier than 100, and, nevertheless, he remembered everything in Jerusalem.

THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH JOHN WRITTEN

We have already seen that there is a big difference between the fourth Gospel and the other three Gospels, and we saw that the reason for this could in no way be the ignorance of John, and therefore we must ask ourselves: "What was the goal he pursued when he wrote his Gospel?" If we understand this for ourselves, we will find out why he selected these facts and why he showed them in this way. The Fourth Gospel was written in Ephesus around the year 100. By this time, two features were outlined in the Christian Church. At first, Christianity came to the pagan world. By that time, the Christian Church had ceased to be mainly Jewish in nature: most of the members who came to it did not come from Jewish, but from Hellenistic culture, and therefore The church had to declare itself in a new way. This does not mean at all that Christian truths had to be changed; they just needed to be expressed in a new way. Let's take this example. Let's say a Greek began to read the Gospel of Matthew, but as soon as he opened it, he came across a long genealogy. The genealogies were understandable for the Jews, but they were completely incomprehensible to the Greeks. As he reads, the Greek sees that Jesus was the son of David - a king whom the Greeks had never heard of, who was also a symbol of the racial and nationalistic aspirations of the Jews, which did not bother this Greek in the least. This Greek is confronted with such a concept as "Messiah", and again he has never heard this word before. Is it necessary for a Greek who decided to become a Christian to completely rebuild his way of thinking and get used to the Jewish categories? Should he, before he can become a Christian, learn a good part of Jewish history and Jewish apocalyptic literature that tells of the coming of the Messiah? As the English theologian Goodspeed put it: "Couldn't he have gotten to know directly the treasures of Christian salvation without being forever mired in Judaism? Did he have to part with his intellectual heritage and start thinking exclusively in Jewish categories and Jewish concepts?" John's approach to this question is honest and straightforward: he found one of the greatest solutions anyone has ever thought of. Later, in the commentary, we will consider John's solution much more fully, but for now we will only briefly dwell on it. The Greeks had two great philosophical concepts. a) First, they had a concept Logos. It has two meanings in Greek: word(speech) and meaning(concept, reason). The Jews knew well about the almighty word of God. "And God said, Let there be light. And there was light." (Genesis 1, 3). And the Greeks were well aware of the idea of ​​cause. The Greeks looked at the world and saw in it an amazing and reliable order: night and day invariably change in a strict order; the seasons invariably follow each other, the stars and planets move in invariable orbits - nature has its own invariable laws. Where does this order come from, who created it? To this the Greeks responded confidently: Logos, Divine intelligence created this magnificent world order. "And what gives a person the ability to think, reason and know?" the Greeks asked themselves further. And again they answered confidently: Logos, The divine mind residing in a person makes him thinkable. The Gospel of John seems to say: “All your life, your imagination has been amazed by this great, directing and restraining Divine mind. The divine mind came to earth in Christ, in the form of a human. ". The Gospel of John provided a new concept in which the Greeks could think of Jesus, in which Jesus was presented as God appearing in human form. b) The Greeks had a theory of two worlds. One world is the one we live in. It was, in their opinion, in a sense a wonderful world, but it was a world of shadows and spears, an unreal world. The other was the real world, in which eternally great realities abide, of which the earthly world is only a pale and poor copy. The invisible world was for the Greeks the real world, and the visible world was just a shadow and unreality. The Greek philosopher Plato systematized this concept in his doctrine of forms or ideas. He believed that in the invisible world there are perfect incorporeal prototypes of all things, and all things and objects of this world are only shadows and copies of these eternal prototypes. Simply put, Plato believed that somewhere there was a prototype, the idea of ​​a table, and all tables on earth are only imperfect copies of this prototype of a table. And the greatest reality, the highest idea, the prototype of all prototypes and the form of all forms is God. It remained, however, to decide the question of how to get into this real world, how to get away from our shadows to eternal truths. And John declares that this is exactly the opportunity that Jesus Christ gives us. He Himself is the reality that has come to us on earth. In Greek, to convey the concept real in this sense the word is used alefeinos, which is very closely related to the word alefes, What means true, genuine and alefeia, What means true. In the bible greek alefeinos translated as true, but it would be correct to also translate it as real. Jesus - real light (1,9). Jesus - real bread (6,32); Jesus - real vine (15,1); the judgment of Christ - real (8.16). Jesus alone is real in our world of shadows and imperfections. Some conclusions follow from this. Each act of Jesus was not only an act in time, but also represents a window through which we can see reality. This is what the Evangelist John means when he speaks of the miracles performed by Jesus as signs (family). Jesus' miraculous works are not just miraculous, they are windows open to the reality that is God. This explains the fact that the Gospel of John conveys in a completely different way from the other three Evangelists, the stories about the miracles performed by Jesus. a) In the fourth Gospel, there is no sense of the tinge of compassion that is present in the stories of miracles in all the other Gospels. In other Gospels, Jesus made mercy on a leper (Mar. 1.41); sympathizes with Jairus (Mar.5.22) and the father of an epileptic boy (Mark 9:19). Luke, when Jesus resurrected the son of a widow from the city of Nain, adds with infinite tenderness "and Jesus gave him to his mother." (Luke 7.15). And in the Gospel of John, Jesus' miracles are not so much acts of compassion as a demonstration of the glory of Christ. So John comments after the miracle in Cana of Galilee: and revealed his glory "(2.11). The resurrection of Lazarus happened "to the glory of God" (11,4). The blindness of the man born blind existed "so that the works of God might appear on him." (9,3). John does not want to say that there was no love and compassion in the miracles of Jesus, but first of all he saw in every miracle of Christ the glory of the Divine reality bursting into time and into human affairs. b) In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus' miracles are often accompanied by lengthy discourses. Behind the description of the feeding of the five thousand comes a long discourse on the bread of life. (chap. 6); the healing of the man born blind is preceded by the statement of Jesus that He is the light of the world (chap. 9); the resurrection of Lazarus is preceded by the phrase of Jesus that He is the resurrection and life (chap. 11). In John's eyes, the miracles of Jesus are not just isolated acts in time, they are the ability to see what God always does, and the opportunity to see how Jesus always acts: they are windows into Divine reality. Jesus did not just feed five thousand one day — it was an illustration of the fact that He is the eternally real bread of life; Jesus did not just open the eyes of a blind man once: He is the forever light of the world. Jesus did not just raise Lazarus from the dead once - He is forever and for all the resurrection and life. A miracle never seemed to John as an isolated act - it was always for him a window into the reality of who Jesus always was and is, what He always did and does. Based on this, the great scholar Clement of Alexandria (c. 230) made one of the most famous conclusions about the origin of the fourth Gospel and the purpose of its writing. He believed that first the Gospels were written, which gave genealogies, that is, the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, after that Mark wrote his Gospel at the request of many who heard Peter's sermons, and included in it the materials that Peter used in his sermons. ... And only after that, "the very last, John, seeing that everything connected with the material aspects of the sermons and teachings of Jesus, received a proper reflection, and prompted by his friends and inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote spiritual gospel(Eusebius, "History of the Church", 6.14). Thus, Clement of Alexandria wants to say that John was interested not so much in facts as in their meaning and significance, that he was looking not for facts, but for truth. John saw in the acts of Jesus more than just events taking place in time; he saw in them windows to eternity, and emphasized the spiritual meaning of the words and deeds of Jesus, which no other evangelist even tried to do. This conclusion about the fourth Gospel remains one of the most correct to this day. John wrote not a historical, but a spiritual gospel. Thus, in the Gospel of John, Jesus is presented as the incarnate Divine mind that descended to earth and as the only one who possesses reality and is able to lead people from the world of shadows into the real world, which Plato and the great Greeks dreamed of. Christianity, once clothed in Jewish categories, acquired the greatness of the Greek worldview.

THE RISE OF HERESIES

At the time when the fourth Gospel was being written, the Church faced one important problem - the emergence of heresy. It has been seventy years since Jesus Christ was crucified. During this time, the Church has become a harmonious organization; theological theories and creeds of faith were worked out and established, human thoughts inevitably wandered and went astray, and heresies arose. And heresy is rarely a complete lie. It usually arises from the special emphasis on one aspect of truth. We see at least two heresies that the author of the Fourth Gospel sought to refute. a) There were Christians, at least among the Jews, who placed John the Baptist too highly. There was something about him that attracted the Jews very much. He was the last of the prophets and he spoke in the voice of a prophet, we know that in later times in orthodox Judaism there was an officially recognized sect of followers of John the Baptist. V Acts. 19.1-7 we meet a small group of twelve people whose members belonged to the Christian Church, but were baptized only by the baptism of John. The author of the Fourth Gospel again and again calmly but firmly puts John the Baptist in his proper place. John the Baptist himself has repeatedly argued that he does not claim the highest place and has no right to it, but unconditionally yielded this place to Jesus. We have already seen that according to other Gospels, the ministry and preaching of Jesus began only after John the Baptist was imprisoned, and the fourth Gospel speaks of the time when the ministry of Jesus coincided with the preaching of John the Baptist. It is possible that the author of the Fourth Gospel quite deliberately used this argument to show that Jesus and John did meet, and that John used these meetings to acknowledge and induce others to acknowledge Jesus' superiority. The author of the fourth Gospel emphasizes that John the Baptist "was not a light" (18) and he himself most definitely denied that he had any claim to be the Messiah (1.20 et seq .; Z, 28; 4.1; 10.41) and what not even admit that he was carrying more important evidence (5,36). There is no criticism of John the Baptist in the fourth Gospel; in him there is a rebuke to those who give him a place that belongs to Jesus, and to Him alone.

b) In addition, in the era of the writing of the Fourth Gospel, the heresy known under the general name gnosticism. If we do not understand it in detail, we will not notice a good measure of the greatness of the Evangelist John and will miss a certain aspect of the task before him. Gnosticism was based on the doctrine that matter is essentially vicious and pernicious, and spirit is essentially good. The Gnostics therefore concluded that God Himself could not touch matter and, therefore, He did not create the world. He, in their opinion, emitted a series of emanations (radiations), each of which was farther and farther from Him, until, finally, one of these radiations turned out to be so far from Him that it could come into contact with matter. It was this emanation (radiation) that was the creator of the world.

This idea, in itself quite vicious, was further spoiled by one addition: each of these emanations, according to the Gnostics, knew less and less about God, until one day the moment came when these emanations not only completely lost their knowledge of God, but they also became completely hostile to Him. And so the Gnostics finally concluded that the creator god was not only completely different from the real God, but also completely alien to him and hostile to Him. One of the leaders of the Gnostics, Cerintius, said that "the world was not created by God, but by some power very far from Him and from the Power that rules the entire universe, and alien to God, Who stands above everything."

The Gnostics therefore believed that God had nothing to do with the creation of the world at all. That is why John begins his Gospel with a sonorous statement: "Everything through Him began to be and without Him nothing began to be, that it began to be." (1,3). This is why John insists that “God so loved peace "(3.16). In the face of Gnosticism, which so alienated God and turned Him into a being that could have nothing to do with the world at all, John presented the Christian concept of God who created the world and whose presence fills the world that He created.

The theory of the Gnostics also influenced their idea of ​​Jesus.

a) Some Gnostics believed that Jesus was one of these emanations that God radiated. They believed that He had nothing to do with Divinity, that He is a kind of demigod, distant from the real real God, that He is just one of the beings standing between God and the world.

b) Other Gnostics believed that Jesus did not have a real body: the body is flesh, and God, in their opinion, cannot touch matter, and therefore Jesus was a kind of ghost that did not have a real body and real blood. For example, they believed that when Jesus walked on the earth, He did not leave any traces, because His body had neither weight nor substance. They could never say, "And the Word became flesh "(1,14). The outstanding father of the Western Church, Aurelius Augustine (354-430), bishop in Hypon (North Africa), says that he read a lot of contemporary philosophers and found that much of them is very similar to what is written in the New Testament, but , he says: “I did not find such a phrase among them:“ The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. ”That is why John in his first epistle insisted that Jesus came itself, and stated that anyone who denies it is moved by the spirit of antichrist (1 John 4.3). This heresy is known as docetism. This word comes from Greek dokein, What means seem, and heresy is so called because its followers believed that people only thought that Jesus was a man.

c) Some Gnostics adhered to a variation of this heresy: they believed that Jesus was the man on whom the Holy Spirit descended upon his baptism. This Spirit dwelt in Him throughout His life until its end, but since the Spirit of God can neither suffer nor die, He left Jesus before He was crucified. They conveyed the loud cry of Jesus on the cross as follows: "My strength, my strength! Why did you leave me?" And in their books, these heretics talked about people who spoke on the Mount of Olives with an image very similar to Him, although the man Jesus was dying on the cross.

Thus, the heresies of the Gnostics resulted in two kinds of beliefs: some did not believe in the divinity of Jesus and considered Him to be one of the emanations that God radiated, while others did not believe in the humanity of Jesus and considered Him to be a human-like ghost. The beliefs of the Gnostics destroyed both the true divinity and the true humanity of Jesus.

THE HUMAN NATURE OF JESUS

John responds to these theories of the Gnostics, and it is this that explains the strange paradox of the double emphasis that he puts in his Gospel. No other gospel emphasizes the true human nature of Jesus as clearly as the Gospel of John. Jesus Was Extremely Outraged by the People Selling and Buying at the Temple (2,15); Jesus physically tired of the long journey, seated at a well in Sychar in Samaria (4,6); the disciples offered Him food just as they would offer it to any hungry person (4,3); Jesus sympathized with those who were hungry and those who felt fear (6,5.20); He felt sadness and even cried, as any bereaved would do. (11,33.35 -38); when Jesus was dying on the cross, His parched lips whispered, "Thirsty." (19,28). In the fourth Gospel we see Jesus as a man, and not a shadow or a ghost; in Him we see a man who knew the fatigue of an exhausted body and the wounds of a suffering soul and a suffering mind. In the fourth Gospel we have before us a truly human Jesus.

THE DIVINITY OF JESUS

On the other hand, no other gospel shows the divinity of Jesus so vividly.

a) John emphasizes pre-eternity Jesus. "Before Abraham was," Jesus said, "I am" (8,58). In John, Jesus speaks of the glory He had with the Father before the world existed (17,5). He talks over and over again that he came down from heaven (6,33-38). John saw in Jesus the One who was always, even before the world was.

b) The Fourth Gospel emphasizes, like no other, omniscience Jesus. John believes that Jesus most definitely had supernatural knowledge of the Samaritan woman's past (4,16.17); it is quite obvious that He knew how long the man who was lying in the pool of Bethesda was sick, although no one tells Him about it (5,6); not yet asking Philip a question, He already knew what answer he would receive (6,6); He knew Judas would betray Him (6,61-64); He knew about the death of Lazarus even before he was told about it. (11,14). John saw in Jesus the One who possessed special supernatural knowledge, independent of what anyone could say to Him, He did not need to ask questions, because He knew all the answers.

c) The fourth Gospel also emphasizes the fact that Jesus always acted completely independently, without any influence on Him from anyone. He performed a miracle in Cana of Galilee on his own initiative, and not at the request of His Mother (2,4); His brothers' motives had nothing to do with His visit to Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles (7,10); none of the people took His life, none of the people could do it. He gave His life completely willingly (10,18; 19,11). In John's eyes, Jesus had divine independence from all human influence. He was completely independent in his actions.

By refuting the Gnostics and their strange beliefs, John irrefutably shows both the humanity of Jesus and His divinity.

AUTHOR OF THE FOURTH GOSPEL

We see that the author of the fourth Gospel set himself the goal of showing the Christian faith in such a way that it would become interesting for the Greeks, to whom Christianity has now come, and, at the same time, to oppose heresies and errors that have arisen within the Church. We keep asking ourselves: who was its author? Tradition unanimously says that the apostle John was the author. We will see that there is no doubt that John’s authority really stands behind this gospel, although it is quite possible that it was not he who wrote it down and gave it its form. Let's collect everything we know about John.

He was the youngest of the sons of Zebedee, who owned a fishing boat in the Sea of ​​Galilee and was wealthy enough to employ wage laborers. (Mark 1,19.20). John's mother was called Salome and it is possible that she was the sister of Mary, Mother of Jesus (Matthew 27.56; Mark 16.1). John, along with his brother James, at the call of Jesus, followed Him (Mark 1.20).

It seems that James and John were fishing with Peter (Luke 5,7-10). AND Oann belonged to the closest disciples of Jesus, because the list of disciples always begins with the names of Peter, James and John, and at some great events only these three were present (Mark 3.17; 5.37; 9.2; 14.33).

By nature, John was clearly a restless and ambitious man. Jesus gave John and his brother a name Voanerges, What means sons of Thunder. John and his brother James were impatient and opposed any willfulness on the part of others (Mark 9.38; Luke 9.49). Their temperament was so unbridled that they were ready to wipe out the Samaritan village from the face of the earth, because they were not given hospitality there when they were on their way to Jerusalem. (Luke 9.54). Either they themselves, or their mother Salome cherished ambitious plans. They asked Jesus that when He received His Kingdom, He would seat them on the right and left sides in His glory. (Mark 10.35; Mat.20.20). In the synoptic Gospels, John is represented as the leader of all the disciples, a member of the intimate circle of Jesus, and yet extremely ambitious and impatient.

In the book of Acts of the Holy Apostles, John always speaks with Peter, but does not speak himself. His name is among the first three in the list of the apostles. (Acts 1.13). John was with Peter when they healed a lame man near the Red Gate of the Temple (Acts 3: 1 ff.). Together with Peter they brought him and put him before the Sanhedrin and the leaders of the Jews; both behaved amazingly brave at the trial (Acts 4: 1-13). John went with Peter to Samaria to check what Philip had done there (Acts 8.14).

In Paul's letters, the name of John is mentioned only once. V Gal. 2.9 he is called a pillar of the Church, along with Peter and James, who endorsed Paul's actions. John was a difficult person: on the one hand, he was one of the leaders among the apostles, a member of the intimate circle of Jesus - His closest friends; on the other hand, he was a wayward, ambitious, impatient and courageous man at the same time.

We can see what was told about John in the era of the young Church. Eusebius says that he was exiled to the island of Patmos during the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian (Eusebius, History of the Church, 3.23). In the same place, Eusebius tells a characteristic story about John borrowed from Clement of Alexandria. He became a kind of bishop of Asia Minor and once visited one of the church communities near Ephesus. Among the parishioners, he noticed a slender and very handsome young man. John turned to the presbyter of the community and said: "I am handing over this young man under your responsibility and care, and I call the parishioners to witness this."

The elder took the young man to his home, took care of him and instructed him, and the day came when the young man was baptized and accepted into the community. But soon after that he became friends with bad friends and committed so many crimes that he eventually became the leader of a gang of murderers and thieves. When, after some time, John visited this community again, he turned to the elder: "Restore the trust that the Lord and I have shown in you and the church you are leading." The elder at first did not understand at all what John was talking about. “I mean that you give an account of the soul of the young man whom I have entrusted to you,” said John. "Alas," the presbyter replied, "he is lost." "Killed?" John asked. “For God, he perished,” the presbyter replied, “he fell away from grace and was forced to flee the city for his crimes, and now he is a robber in the mountains.” And John went straight to the mountains, deliberately allowed himself to be captured by the bandits, who brought him to the young man, who was now the leader of the gang. Tormented by shame, the young man tried to run away from him, but John ran after him. "My son!" He shouted, "You are running from your father. I am weak and old, have pity on me, my son; do not be afraid, there is still hope for your salvation. I will protect you before the Lord Jesus Christ. If necessary, I I will gladly die for you, as He died for me. Stop, wait, believe! It was Christ who sent me to you. " This call broke the young man's heart, he stopped, threw away his weapon and sobbed. Together with John he went down the mountain and returned to the Church and to the Christian path. Here we see John's love and courage.

Eusebius (3,28) tells another story about John, which he found in Irenaeus (140-202), a disciple of Polycarp of Smyrna. As we have noted, Cerintius was one of the leading Gnostics. "The Apostle John once came to the bathhouse, but upon learning that Cerintius was there, jumped up from his seat and rushed out, because he could not stay with him under the same roof, and advised his companions to do the same." , - he said, - because there is Cerintius inside, the enemy of truth. ”Here is another touch to the temperament of John: Voanerges has not yet died in him.

John Cassion (360-430), who made a significant contribution to the development of the doctrine of grace and to the development of Western European monasticism, gives another story about John. Once he was found playing with a tamed partridge. A more strict brother reproached him for wasting his time, to which John replied: "If you always keep the bow taut, it will soon stop shooting straight."

Jerome of Dalmatia (330-419) has an account of John's last words. When he was dying, the disciples asked him what he would like to say to them in the end. “My children,” he said, “love one another,” and then he repeated it again. "And it's all?" asked him. "That's enough," said John, "for this is the commandment of the Lord."

FAVORITE STUDENT

If we followed closely what was said here about the apostle John, we should have noticed one thing: we took all our information from the first three Gospels. It is surprising that the name of the Apostle John is never mentioned in the fourth Gospel. But two other people are mentioned.

First, it talks about the disciple whom Jesus loved. He is mentioned four times. He reclined at the breast of Jesus at the Last Supper (John 13,23-25); Jesus left His Mother in his care when he was dying on the cross (19,25-27); he and Peter were met by Mary Magdalene upon returning from an empty tomb on the first morning of Easter (20,2), and he was present at the last appearance of the resurrected Jesus to his disciples on the shores of the Tiberias (21,20).

Secondly, in the fourth Gospel there is a character that we would call witness, eyewitness. When the fourth Gospel speaks of how a soldier struck Jesus in the ribs with a spear, after which blood and water immediately flowed out, this is followed by the comment: "And he who saw has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you may believe." (19,35). At the end of the Gospel it is again said that this beloved disciple testifies to all this, "and we know that his testimony is true." (21,24).

Here we have a rather strange thing. In the fourth Gospel, John is never mentioned, but the beloved disciple is mentioned, and, in addition, there is a special witness, an eyewitness to the whole story. Traditionally, there has never been a doubt that the Beloved Disciple is John. Only a few tried to see Lazarus in him, for it is said that Jesus loved Lazarus (John 11,3.5), or a rich young man, about whom it is said that Jesus looked at him and loved him (Mark 10.21). But although the Gospel never speaks of this in such detail, according to tradition, the beloved disciple has always been identified with John and there is no need to question this.

But one very real problem arises - if we assume that John really wrote the Gospels himself, would he really speak of himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved? Would he want to distinguish himself in this way and, as it were, declare: "I was His favorite, He loved me more than anyone else?" It may seem unlikely that John would have arrogated such a title to himself. If it is given by others, it is a very pleasant title, but if a person assigns it to himself, it borders on almost incredible vanity.

Maybe then this Gospel was a testimony of John, but was written down by someone else?

WORK OF THE CHURCH

In our quest for truth, we began by celebrating the outstanding and exceptional moments of the Fourth Gospel. Most notably, the lengthy speeches of Jesus, sometimes spanning entire chapters, are quite different from the way Jesus is presented in his speeches in the other three Gospels. The Fourth Gospel was written about AD 100, that is, approximately seventy years after the crucifixion of Christ. Can anything written seventy years later be considered a verbatim transmission of what Jesus said? Or is it a retelling of them with the addition of what has become clearer over time? We will remember this and take into account the following.

Among the writings of the young Church, a whole series of reports have come down to us, and some of them relate to the writing of the fourth Gospel. The oldest of them belongs to Irenaeus, who was a disciple of Polycarp of Smyrna, who, in turn, was a disciple of John. Thus, there was a direct connection between Irenaeus and John. Irenaeus writes: “John, the disciple of the Lord, who also leaned on His chest, himself published The gospel in Ephesus when he lived in Asia. "

Suggests the word in this phrase of Irenaeus that John is not just wrote Gospel; he says that John posted by (Exedoke) him in Ephesus. The word Irenaeus used suggests that it was not just a private publication, but the promulgation of some kind of official document.

Another account belongs to Clement of Alexandria, who in 230 was the head of the great Alexandrian school. He wrote: "The very last John, seeing that everything connected with material and bodily, received a proper reflection in the Gospels, prompted by his friends, wrote a spiritual gospel. "

The expression is of great importance here being encouraged by your friends. It becomes clear that the fourth Gospel is more than a personal work of one person, and that behind it is a group, a community, a church. In the same vein, we read about the fourth Gospel in the tenth century list, which is called the Codex Toletanus, in which each of the books of the New Testament is preceded by a short summary. Regarding the fourth Gospel, it says the following:

"The Apostle John, whom the Lord Jesus loved most of all, was the last to write his Gospel at the request of the bishops of Assia against Cerintius and other heretics. "

And here again the thought that behind the fourth Gospel is the authority of the group and the Church.

And now let's turn to a very important document known as the Muratoriev Canon - it is named after the scientist Muratori who discovered it. This is the first list of New Testament books ever published by the Church, compiled in Rome in 170. It not only lists the books of the New Testament, but provides short accounts of the origin, nature, and content of each. Of great interest is the account of how the fourth Gospel was written:

"At the request of his friends-disciples and his bishops, John, one of the disciples, said:" Fast with me for three days from this, and whatever is revealed to each of us, whether in favor of my Gospel or not, let us tell each other. ". On the same night it was revealed to Andrew that John must tell everything, and everyone else should help him, who then check everything written. "

We cannot agree that the Apostle Andrew was in Ephesus in 100 (apparently it was a different disciple), but it is quite clear here that, although the authority, mind and memory of the Apostle John is behind the fourth Gospel, it is the work of not one person, but a group.

Now we can try to imagine what happened. Around the year 100 in Ephesus, there was a group of people around the Apostle John. These people venerated John as a saint and loved him as a father: at that time he must have been about a hundred years old. They wisely judged that it would be very good if the aged apostle wrote down his memories of the years he was with Jesus.

But in the end, they did a lot more. We can imagine them sitting and reliving the past. They must have been saying to each other, "Do you remember how Jesus said ...?" And John must have answered: "Yes, and now we understand what Jesus meant by this ..." In other words, these people not only wrote down what spoke Jesus - it would only be a victory of memory, they wrote down that Jesus meant by that. The Holy Spirit Himself guided them in this. John thought over every word Jesus once said and he did it under the guiding guidance of the Holy Spirit so real in him.

There is one sermon entitled "What Jesus Becomes for a Man Who Knows Him for a Long Time." This title is a great definition of Jesus as we know Him from the Fourth Gospel. All this was excellently stated by the English theologian A. GN Green-Armitage in his book "John Who Seen with His Own Eyes." The Gospel of Mark, he says, with its clear statement of facts from the life of Jesus, is very convenient for missionary; The Gospel of Matthew, with its systematic presentation of the teachings of Jesus, is very convenient for mentor; The Gospel of Luke, with his deep sympathy for the image of Jesus as the friend of all people, is very convenient for a parish priest or preacher, and the Gospel of John is a Gospel for contemplative mind.

Green-Armitage goes on to talk about the obvious difference between the Gospels of Mark and John: “Both of these Gospels are in a sense the same. But where Mark sees things flatly, directly, literally, John sees them subtly, penetratingly, spiritually. that John illuminates the lines of the Gospel of Mark with a lamp. "

it excellent performance fourth gospel. This is why the Gospel of John is the greatest of all the Gospels. His goal was not to convey the words of Jesus, as in a newspaper report, but to convey the meaning inherent in them. The Risen Christ speaks in it. The Gospel of John - it is rather the gospel of the Holy Spirit. It was not written by John of Ephesus; it was written by the Holy Spirit through John.

THE WRITER OF THE GOSPEL

We need to answer one more question. We are sure that the mind and memory of the Apostle John are behind the fourth Gospel, but we saw that there was still a witness behind it who wrote it, that is, literally set it down on paper. Can we find out who it was? From what the early Christian writers left us, we know that at that time there were two John in Ephesus: the apostle John and John, known as John the presbyter, John the elder.

Papias (70-145) Bishop of Hierapolis, who loved to collect everything related to the history of the New Testament and the life of Jesus, left us very interesting information. He was a contemporary of John. Papias writes about himself that he was trying to find out "what Andrew said, or what Peter said, or what was said by Philip, Thomas, or James, or John, or Matthew, or any of the Lord's disciples, or what Aristion and Presbyter John - disciples of the Lord. " apostle John and presbyter John; moreover presbyter(elder) John was so loved by all that he was in fact known by the name elder elder, it is clear that he had a special place in the Church. Eusebius (263-340) and Dionysius the Great report that even in their time there were two famous tombs in Ephesus: one for John the Apostle, the other for John the Presbyter.

And now let's turn to two short epistles - the second and third epistles of the apostle John. These Epistles are written with the same hand as the Gospel, but how do they begin? The second message begins with the words: "The elder of the chosen lady and her children." (2 John 1). The third epistle begins with the words: "The elder to the beloved Gaius" (3 John 1). This is our solution. In fact, the epistles were written down by John the presbyter; they reflect the thoughts and memory of the aged Apostle John, whom John the presbyter always describes with the words "the disciple whom Jesus loved."

DEAR GOSPEL

The more we learn about the fourth gospel, the more dear it becomes to us. John thought about Jesus for seventy years. Day by day, the Holy Spirit revealed to him the meaning of what Jesus said. And so, when John had already had a whole century behind him and his days were drawing to a close, he and his friends sat down and began to remember. John the presbyter held a pen in his hand to write down the words of his mentor and leader, the Apostle John. And the last of the apostles wrote down not only what he heard from Jesus, but also what he now understood that Jesus meant. He remembered Jesus saying: "I still have a lot to say to you, but now you cannot contain. When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth." (John 16,12.13).

There are many things that John did not understand then, seventy years ago; Much has been revealed to him during these seventy years by the Spirit of truth. And all this John wrote down, although the dawn of eternal glory was already dawning for him. Reading this Gospel, we must remember that it told us through the mind and memory of the Apostle John and through John the Presbyter the true thoughts of Jesus. Behind this Gospel stands the entire church of Ephesus, all the saints, the last of the apostles, the Holy Spirit and the Risen Christ Himself.

THE SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP (John 10: 1-6)

Jesus told them this parable. But they did not understand what He was telling them.

There is no image of Jesus more beloved than that of the Good Shepherd. The image of the Shepherd is woven into the speech and images of the Bible. It cannot be otherwise. The main part of the territory of Judea was a mountain plateau, stretching from Bethel to Hebron 35 miles long and 14-17 miles wide. The soil was mostly hard and rocky. Judea was more suitable for cattle breeding than for agriculture, and therefore in its upland regions the image of a shepherd was common and familiar.

The life of the shepherds was extremely difficult. No flock grazed without the supervision of a shepherd, and he was never free. Since there was not a lot of grass, the sheep were constantly moving from place to place and needed constant supervision. The pastures were not surrounded by fences and the sheep could easily get lost. On both sides of the plateau, it ended abruptly into the desert, and the sheep, having reached the edge, could easily slide down the cliff. The work of a shepherd was not only continuous, but also dangerous, because, above all, he had to protect the sheep from wild animals, especially wolves, as well as from thieves and bandits who were always ready to steal the sheep. Sir George Adam Smith, who has traveled all over Palestine, writes: "When he meets you on a heather-covered mound, where hyenas howl at night, alert, farsighted, weather-beaten, leaning on a staff and watching over his flock of sheep, which scattered in all directions, although not a single sheep left his heart, you begin to understand why the Jewish shepherd was ahead of Jewish history, why their king is named after him, why he became a symbol of caring, and why Christ took him as an example of self-sacrifice. " Constant vigilance, fearless courage, patient love for the flock were essential traits of a shepherd.

God is often spoken of as the Shepherd and His people as the flock. "The Lord is my Shepherd, I will not need anything" (Psalm 22: 1)... "You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." (Psalm 76,20)... "And we are Thy people and Thy pasture sheep, we will forever praise Thee for generations and generations." (Psalm 78,13)... "Shepherd of Israel! Hearken; He who guides Joseph like sheep, who sits on cherubim, reveal Yourself" (Psalm 79.2)... "For He is our God, and we are the people of His flock, and the sheep of His hand." (Psalm 94.7)... "Know that the Lord is God, that He created us and we are His people and the sheep of His flock." (Psalm 99.3)... The Anointed One of God - the Messiah - is also often spoken of as the Shepherd of Sheep. "As a Shepherd, He will feed His flock. He will pick up the lambs in His arms and carry them on His bosom, and lead the milking." (Isa. 40.11)... The leaders of the people were often called shepherds of God's flock: "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my flock! Says the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to the shepherds who feed my people: you scattered my sheep and scattered them and did not look after them. : Behold, I will punish you for your evil deeds, says the Lord. And I will gather the remnant of my flock from all the countries where I have driven them, and I will return them to their courts, and they will be fruitful and multiply. And I will set over them shepherds who will feed them. them, and they will no longer be afraid and afraid and will not get lost, says the Lord " (Jer. 23: 1-4)... Ezekiel casts heavy accusations at false shepherds who seek personal gain instead of caring for the flock. "Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who fed themselves!" (Ezek. 34.2).

This image is carried over into the New Testament. Here Jesus is the Good Shepherd, ready to lay down His life for the sheep and save one lost sheep (Matthew 18:12; Luke 15.4)... He pitied people who were like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9.36; Chr. 6.34)... His disciples are called "the little flock" (Luke 12.32)... When He, the Shepherd, was struck, the sheep scattered (Mark 14:27; Matthew 26.31)... He is the Shepherd of the souls of men (1 Pet. 2.25) and the Shepherd of Sheep (Heb. 13.20)... It is the duty of the shepherd to feed the flock of God, and willingly take responsibility for overseeing the flock, and not forcedly and not out of self-interest, and not dominating the flock, but setting an example in everything (1 Pet. 5,2.3)... Paul told the leaders of the Church in Ephesus: "Pay attention to yourself and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers of the Church of the Lord and God, which He purchased for Himself with His own blood." (Acts 20:28)... The last command of Jesus to Peter was: "Feed my lambs" and "Feed my sheep" (John 21,15-17)... The Jews have a lovely legend about why God chose Moses to be the leader of the Israelite people: "When Moses was tending his wife's father's sheep in the wilderness, one lamb fled. Moses followed him and reached a ravine in which the lamb found drinking water. When Moses drew level with him, he said to him: “I did not know that you ran away because you were thirsty. Now you must be tired. "He took the lamb on his shoulders and carried it back to the flock. And God said to him:" Because you took pity and carried back one of the flock that belongs to a man, I will let you lead the flock of Israel. "

The word shepherd should paint in front of us the image of a tireless worker in the field of God and should remind us of our duty towards our loved ones, and especially when we carry out any service in the Church.

THE SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP (John 10: 1-6 (continued))

The Palestinian shepherd did his job differently from the shepherds in our time and in our country. And in order to get a complete picture of this image, we must look at this ancient shepherd and how he performed his ministry.

His equipment was very simple. He had a shepherd's bag made of animal hide in which he carried provisions: bread, dried fruits, olives and cheese. He always carried a sling with him. A great art for many men then was considered the ability to "launch a stone from a sling into the hair and not miss" (Judg. 20:16)... The shepherd used the sling as a weapon of attack and defense and for another interesting business. In those days, there were no shepherds or special dogs to look after the flock, and therefore when he wanted to return pasta to a sheep that had run far away, he put a stone in a sling and launched it so that it fell right in front of the lost sheep's nose v a sign that it's time to turn. He had a wand - a short wooden club with a bump at the end, and often studded with nails. On the handle there was a hole for a belt, on which the club hung at the shepherd's belt. With a rod, the shepherd protected himself and the flock from predatory animals and robbers. He had a staff - a long shepherd's stick with a large hook at the upper end, with which he could catch and pull a sheep on his leg, making an attempt to flee. At the end of the day, when the sheep returned to the corral, the shepherd held his rod across the entrance low above the ground and each sheep had to pass under it. (Ezek. 20.37; Lev. 27.32)... And while the sheep passed under the rod, the shepherd looked quickly to see if she had been hurt during the day.

The relationship between sheep and a shepherd in Palestine is also different from that in other countries. In many countries sheep are raised mainly for meat, and in Palestine mainly for wool. Therefore, there the sheep spend many years with their shepherd, receive names from him, to which they respond when he calls them. These names are usually descriptive, corresponding to the type of animal name, such as: "Brown leg", "Black ear", etc. In Palestine, the shepherd walks in front and the sheep follow. He walks ahead to see if the road he will lead the sheep is safe. Sometimes the sheep need to be forced to go. A traveler once saw a shepherd lead a flock across a stream. The sheep were stubborn, afraid to cross. Then he took one lamb in his arms and carried it to the other side. When the mother saw him on the other side, she willingly went there herself, and after her the whole herd. It is absolutely true that the sheep know and understand the voice of the eastern shepherd, and that they will never respond to the voice of a stranger to them. A certain H. W. Morton describes how a shepherd in Palestine speaks to his sheep:

“Sometimes he speaks to them in a loud, chanting voice, using a strange language such as I have never heard in my life. For the first time I heard this goat and sheep voice behind Jericho. A herd of goats descended into the valley and began to climb the hillside on the other side. The shepherd saw that some of the goats were lagging behind, lingering on some tasty bush. Turning to the goats, he spoke to them in a loud voice in a language that Pan probably spoke once in the mountains of Greece. The voice was animal sounds uttered Before he had time to finish his address, a response bleating sounded from the herd, and two or that animals turned their heads in his direction. However, they did not obey him. The shepherd shouted one word and He stopped chewing with a bell around his neck, and leaving the herd, he ran down the hill, across the valley to another hill on the other side. The shepherd, accompanied by the goat, went on and disappeared behind the hill. the goats stopped nibbling at the bush, as if they had forgotten about it, and looked for the shepherd with their eyes. But he was not visible. They realized that the leader with the bell around his neck was no longer with them. From afar came the strange, laughter-like bleating of a shepherd, and then at this sound the whole flock rushed into the valley and from it to the hill, where their leader and shepherd were waiting for them "(H. W. Morton" In the Footsteps of the Teacher "pp. 154-155 ).

V. M. Thomson, in his book "The Earth and the Book", says the same thing:

"The shepherd cries out loudly from time to time to remind the sheep or goats of his presence. They know him by his voice and follow him, but if someone else calls, they become alert, look alarmingly around, and if it repeats, they turn and run away because they don't know someone else's voice. I've tested it several times. "

X. W. Morton recounts a scene he witnessed in a cave in Bethlehem. The two shepherds herded their flocks into the cave for the night. How could they then separate these two herds? One shepherd walked a distance and called in a voice that was familiar only to his sheep. Soon the whole herd ran out to him, because they knew his voice. They would not go to anyone else's call, because they knew only the call of their shepherd. One eighteenth-century traveler recounts how Palestinian sheep dance quickly or slowly to the peculiar sounds of their shepherd's shepherd's pipe.

Every detail of the life of the shepherds illuminates the image of the Good Shepherd, whose sheep hear His voice and whose constant concern only for His flock.

DOOR TO LIFE (John 10: 7-10)

The Jews did not understand the story of the Good Shepherd. And then Jesus directly, bluntly spoke about Himself. He began by saying, "I am the door of the sheep." There were two types of sheepfolds in Palestine at that time. In the villages and cities there were common corrals in which all the herds spent the night. Such pens had strong doors, the key to which was held only by the gatekeeper. Jesus speaks of such a pen at 10.2. I. When the sheep were far on the hills in the warm season and did not return to villages and cities at night, they were collected in corrals on the slopes of the hills. These pens were open-air and protected only by a wall with an opening through which the sheep could enter and leave. And there were no doors in it. At night, the shepherd himself lay down across the entrance, and not a single sheep could go out except by stepping over it. In the most literal sense, the shepherd became the door.

This is what Jesus meant when he said: "I am the door of the sheep." Through Him and only Him alone, a person can go to God. “Through Him we have access to the Father,” says Paul (Ephesians 2.18)... He is, in the words of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, "a new and living way" (Heb. 10:19)... Jesus opens the way to God. Before the coming of Christ, people could imagine God only alien at best, and hostile at worst. But Jesus came to show the people of God as He is, and to open the way to Him. He is the door through which access to God becomes possible for man.

Jesus uses a familiar expression to describe the meaning of this access to God. He says that through Him we can come in and out. For a Jew, being able to enter and exit freely was a sign of a completely calm and safe life. When a person can enter and leave without fear, it means that the country is in a peaceful state, that the forces of law and order prevail, and he enjoys complete security... The leader of the people should be a man, "who would go out before them and come in before them, who would lead them out and who would bring them, so that the company of the Lord would not remain, like the sheep that have no shepherd." (Num. 27,17)... The obedient man is spoken of in Deut. 28.6: "Blessed are you when you go in, and blessed are you when you go out." The child is said to be unable to enter or exit. "I am a young lad, I know neither my way out, nor my way out." (1 Kings 3.7)... The psalmist is confident that God will keep his coming and going from now on and forever (Psalm 120.8)... As soon as a person gets to know God through Jesus Christ, he is seized by a new feeling of peace and security, worries disappear when he realizes that life can be so miraculously hidden in God.

Jesus said that those who came before Him are thieves and robbers. He does not mean, of course, a long line of great prophets and heroes, but adventurers who constantly rebelled in Palestine and promised the people a Golden Age if he followed them. All of these contenders for the title of leader were rebels who believed that the Golden Age could only be reached by a river of blood. The Jewish historian Josephus Flavius ​​wrote about this time that in Judea there were literally thousands of outbreaks and riots, the instigators of which were militant rebels. He mentions zealots (zealots) who were ready to die themselves and see their loved ones killed, just to achieve their goal and justify their hopes. Jesus says that they came and said that they were sent by God, but they believed only in war, conspiracies, murder, only further and further from God. "My path is peace and love and life, and if you go to them, closer and closer to God."

Both then and now there are people who think that the Golden Age can be achieved through violence, class struggle, bitterness and destruction. But only Jesus says that the path to God in heaven and the Golden Age on earth is the path of love.

Jesus said that He came so that people would have life and have it abundantly. To be a follower of Jesus, to know Him and to understand what He is saying is to live abundantly. Roman soldier came to Julius Caesar for permission to end with yourself. It was an unhappy, dejected creature with no desire to live. Caesar looked at him and asked: "Friend, have you ever been alive?" When we try to live our own way, life becomes boring and dull. If we live with Jesus, having received life from Him, we have the energy of life and we live abundantly. Only with Christ is it worth living, then we also live in the full sense of the word.

THE TRUE AND FALSE SHEPHERD (John 10: 11-15)

This passage draws a contrast between a good shepherd and an evil one, faithful and unfaithful. The shepherd was fully responsible for the sheep. If something happened to the sheep, he had to prove that it was not his fault. Prophet Amos, who himself was a shepherd, "plucked out of the lion's mouth two legs and part of a sheep's ear" (Amos 3.12)... The law required proof of being torn apart if a sheep was torn to pieces by a beast. "If the beast is torn to pieces, then let him present the torn to pieces as proof. He does not pay for being torn to pieces." (Ex. 22,13)... In other words, the shepherd had to bring proof of the death of the animal with him and show that he was not able to save it. David tells Saul how sometimes, when he was tending his father's sheep, he had to repel a bear and a lion. "I chased after him, and attacked him, and took from his mouth ..." (1 Samuel 17.35)... Isaiah speaks of the multitude of shepherds summoned to slay the lion (Is. 31.4)... It was natural and normal for a shepherd to risk his life for the sheep. Sometimes the shepherd had more than just risking his life. Sometimes he laid down his life for the herd when robbers or thieves attacked him. The writer W. M. Thompson writes in the previously mentioned book Land and Book: “I listened with intense interest and attention to their auxiliary descriptions of their desperate battles with wild beasts and thieves. a shepherd must literally risk his life to save the flock. I knew of many cases when shepherds died in such battles. One unfortunate last spring between Tiberias and Tavor, instead of fleeing, began to fight off the Bedouin robbers until they cut him down with their daggers and left to die among the sheep he defended. " A real shepherd is always ready to risk his life to save the flock, and is even ready to lay it down for him.

The unfaithful shepherd, on the other hand, was not like that. A true shepherd was born for his ministry. As soon as he reached the right age, he was sent with the flock, and the sheep became his friends and companions. It was natural for him to think of them first and himself second. The mercenary was not a shepherd by calling, but for the sake of payment. He was hired for this business solely for material gain. He could even be just a person who decided to spend time in the hills outside the city, because he didn't get along in the city. He had no consciousness of the scope of his responsibility. He was just a mercenary. Wolves posed a great threat to the herd. Jesus told His disciples that He sends them into the world like sheep among wolves (Matthew 10:16)... Paul warns the leaders of the Ephesian church about "fierce wolves, not sparing the flock" (Acts 20:29)... When the wolves attacked, the mercenary forgot everything except saving his own life and ran away. Zechariah says that the sign of a false shepherd is that in times of danger he does not try to gather the scattered flock (Zech. 11.16)... An elder in one church used this image in a stinging speech. In one place there was difficulty with the pastor, and worst of all, the difficulty was due to money. The elder stood up and said sharply: "Give the mercenary his wages and let him go." Working only for the pay, thinking only of the pay. And the worker out of love thinks mainly of the people he is trying to serve. Jesus was the Good Shepherd, ready to risk his life for the sake of the flock and even lay it down for him.

We need to pay attention to two more thoughts before we leave this passage. Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd. In the Greek language there are two words meaning kind - agathos, which simply describes the property of kindness, and kalos, which says that there is a charm in kindness that makes it attractive. When Jesus is spoken of as the Good Shepherd, the word kalos is used. There is more in Him than skill and fidelity, in him there is attractiveness and charm.

Sometimes in the city or village people talk about a good doctor. They mean not only his skill and knowledge in his profession as a doctor, but his compassion and kindness and mercy, with which he comes to the sick, and which make him a friend of all. The portrait of Jesus depicting Him as the Good Shepherd has attraction as well as authority and strength.

In this parable, the flock is the Church of Christ, which is subject to two kinds of danger. She is always threatened by an attack from outside by wolves, robbers and marauders, and from within by false shepherds. The Church always has a double danger. She always suffers attacks from the outside and often suffers from poor leadership from within, from shepherds who see in their calling as a career for themselves, and not serving their neighbors. This second danger is much worse than the first, because if the shepherd is faithful and kind, he is a powerful defense against outside attacks, but if the shepherd is a weak and unfaithful mercenary, enemies from the outside can get inside and destroy the flock. The most important thing in the Church is leadership based on the example of Jesus Christ.

FULL UNITY (John 10:16)

The most difficult thing in the world, from which it is difficult to get out of the habit, is the consciousness of exclusivity. When the people, or some part of them, thinks that they are somehow especially privileged, it is difficult to agree that the privileges, which they consider exclusively theirs, suddenly became available to all people. This is what the Jews did not learn. They thought and believed that they were God's chosen people, and that God did not care about other nations. They believed that other peoples were created to be their slaves and that they would eventually be removed altogether. And then suddenly Jesus says that the time will come when all nations will recognize in Him their Shepherd.

And even the Old Testament is not devoid of a detailed look. Isaiah had the same dream. He was convinced that God created Israel to be a light for the nations (Is. 42.6; 49.6; 56.8) and one could always hear individual voices insisting that God did not belong exclusively to Israel, but that the future would reveal Him to all people.

At first glance, it may seem that the New Testament speaks about this in two voices, and some passages in it may confuse and puzzle us a little. Matthew conveys the words of Jesus to his disciples when He sent them to the ministry and says: "Do not go to the path to the Gentiles, and do not enter the city of Samaritan, but go first and foremost to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 10,5.6). When the Canaanite woman turned to Christ for help, His first response was that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Mat.15.24)... But many also confirm the opposite. Jesus Himself Stopped and Teached in Samaria (John 4.10)... He said that being descended from Abraham in the flesh does not guarantee entry into the kingdom of heaven (John 8.39)... About the Roman centurion, Jesus said that he did not meet such a faith in Israel (Matthew 8.10)... Only one leper out of ten healed returned to thank Jesus, and that one was the Samaritan (Luke 17,18.19)... The wandering Samaritan showed mercy worthy of emulation by all in all ages (Luke 10.37)... Many will come from east and west, north and south and lie down in the kingdom of God (Matthew 8.11; Luke 13.29)... The last command was to go to all the world and preach the gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15; Mat 28.29)... Jesus was not only the light of the Jews, but the light of the world.

How are the sayings that seem to limit the ministry of Jesus to the Jewish people only are explained? The explanation is actually very simple. The ultimate goal of Jesus was to win the whole world for God. But every commander knows that at first he must limit his goals. And that's what Jesus did. If He threw himself in all directions at once, and if He sent His disciples without any restrictions and areas of service, He would not achieve anything. At first, He focused on the Jewish people, but His ultimate goal was to embrace the whole world with His love. There are three great truths in this verse.

1. Only in Jesus Christ is the unity of the world possible. Egerton Young was the first Indian missionary. While in Saskatchewan, he went to the local Indians and talked about God's love. This was a new revelation for them. When the missionary finished his speech, the tribal leader asked him: "When you spoke now about the Great Spirit, did you call Him Father?" "Yes," Egerton Young replied. “This is good news for me,” said the leader, “we never imagined the Great Spirit as a Father. We heard Him in the thunder and saw Him in lightning, The Spirit is our Father, it is very pleasing to us. " The old man quieted down, and then continued to speak, as if overshadowed by a cursory glance at the glory of God: "Missionary, are you saying that the Great Spirit is your Father?" “Yes,” the missionary replied. "And," said the Indian chief, "did you not say that He is the Father of the Indians?" “Yes, I said it,” the missionary replied. "Then we are brothers!" - said leader. Only in sonship to God is the only possibility of uniting people. There are many divisions in the world between peoples and classes. It will never have one people and one class of people. The only thing that can cross the barriers and smooth over the differences is the gospel message of Jesus Christ, which tells people about the universal Fatherhood of God.

2. In one English translation The Bible has one incorrectly translated word in the phrase: "And there will be one corral and one Shepherd." This comes from Jerome and the Vulgate (Latin translation of the Bible) and on the basis of this incorrect translation of this word, the Roman Catholic Church claims that since there is only one corral, there can be no other churches, but there is only one: the Roman Catholic (universe) church, and outside of this church there is no salvation. The correct translation is given by the Russian Bible, which says: "And there will be one flock and one Shepherd," that is: "And they will become one flock with one Shepherd." Unity comes not because all the sheep will be herded into one corral, but because everyone will hear the voice of one Shepherd and will obey Him. This is not church unity, but unity in Jesus Christ. The fact that there is only one flock does not mean that there is only one church, only one type of worship, one image of church leadership. But this means that all the different churches are united by a common loyalty to Christ.

3. People cannot hear without a preacher; the other sheep cannot be gathered unless someone goes to them and brings them. And here we are faced with the great missionary task of the Church. He must be understood not only in the meaning of what we used to call "foreign" missions, but if we know someone nearby who is outside of His love, we can lead him to Christ. The dream of Christ depends on us; we can help Him make the world one flock, with one Shepherd.

THE CHOICE OF LOVE (John 10,17.18)

Few places v The New Testament says so much about Jesus in such a condensed way.

1. This passage tells us that Jesus saw his entire life as an act of obedience to God. God gave Him a task, and He was ready to fulfill it to the end. His bond with God was unique and can only be described by the fact that He was the Son of God. But this connection did not give Him the right to do what was pleasing to Him, but demanded the fulfillment of what was pleasing to God. Sonship for Him, like sonship for us, cannot be founded on anything other than obedience.

2. Jesus always saw the Cross and the glory together. He never for a moment doubted that he should die, but he also did not doubt that he would rise again. The reason for this was His trust in God. He was confident that God would never leave Him. Everything worthwhile in life is given with difficulty. Everything has a price. Those who study hard are educated; skill in any craft and techniques are given only at the cost of practice; celebrity in any sport comes at the cost of increased training and discipline. The world is full of people who missed their assignment just because they were unwilling to pay the due price. No one enters into glory and greatness the easy way, and no one who has gone the hard way can fail to find both.

3. This verse confirms that Jesus' death was completely voluntary. Jesus Himself emphasizes this over and over again. In Gethsemane, He commanded the one who wanted to protect Him to sheathe the sword. He could have attracted the armies of heaven to help Himself if He had only so desired, but He did not. (Mat. 26.53)... He made it clear that it was not Pilate who sentenced him to death, but he himself accepts death. (John 19,10.11)... He was not a victim of circumstances, and was not, like an animal, forcibly sacrificed, not understanding what was happening to Him. Jesus laid down His life by Himself choosing this path.

It is said that during the First World War, a French soldier was seriously wounded. One arm was so badly crushed that it had to be cut off. He was a superbly built young man and it was hard and painful for the surgeon to imagine that he would remain a cripple for the rest of his life. With such sad thoughts, he waited by the soldier's bed to awaken from anesthesia to tell him the sad news. When the young man opened his eyes, the surgeon said to him: "It pains me to tell you this, but you have lost your hand." "Monsieur," the young man replied, "I did not lose her, but gave her for the sake of France."

Jesus was not hopelessly entangled in circumstances from which he could not extricate himself. In addition to the Divine powers that He could call upon Him to help at any moment, He could turn back and save His life, but He did not. He did not lose His life, but gave it up. The cross was not forced upon Him, but was accepted by Him willingly and willingly for our sake.

THE MADNESS OR THE SON OF GOD (John 10: 19-21)

The people who listened to Jesus that day faced a dilemma that still faces many people today. Jesus was either a mental patient who suffered from megalomania, or He was truly the Son of God. You can't hide from this choice. When a person speaks about Himself as Jesus spoke, he is either completely deluded or completely right. Jesus' claims could be signs of madness or divinity. How can we be sure that they were fully justified and were not the greatest delusion in the world?

1. The words of Jesus are not the words of a madman. We can bring one witness after another to prove that Jesus' teaching is supremely sound. Thinking people of all generations have come to the conclusion that the teachings of Jesus are the only hope for our maddened world. Among human delusions, only His voice speaks with Divine meaning.

2. The works of Jesus are not the works of a madman. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, comforted the grieving. A madman obsessed with megalomania is always an extreme egoist. He seeks nothing but personal fame and prestige. The life of the Lord Jesus Christ was spent in selfless service to his neighbor, just as the Jews themselves said: "Can the demon open the eyes of the blind?"

3. The influence of Jesus was not the influence of a madman. It is incontrovertible that countless millions of lives have changed dramatically for the better under the influence of the power of Christ. The weak have become strong, the egoists have become selfless, the afflicted have become victors, the anxious have become calm, the wicked have become good. Madness never has such a beneficial effect or produces such a change. Only wisdom and common sense leave such an impression.

But the choice remains: Jesus is either mad or God. No honest person, after weighing everything, will come to a conclusion other than that Jesus brought into the world not an insane error, but the perfect sanity of God.

THE PROMISE AND THE PROMISE (John 10: 22-28)

John begins this passage by indicating the time and place of Jesus' conversation with the people. The time was the festival of Renewal, established later than all other Jewish holidays. Sometimes it is called the Festival of Light, and in Hebrew: Chanukah. It was celebrated for several days after the 20th of the month of Haslev, which coincides with our December and hence Christmas. All the Jews of the world to this day celebrate this holiday. The Feast of Renewal dates back to the time of great tribulations and heroism in the history of the Israelite people. The Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes reigned from 175 to 164. BC Having fallen in love with everything Greek, he decided to get rid of the Jewish religion once and for all and introduce Greek customs, thinking and religion in Palestine. At first he thought to put this into practice by the peaceful implementation of ideas, and some Jews welcomed the new customs, but most stubbornly held on to the faith of their ancestors.

In 170 BC there was an invasion. Antiochus attacked Jerusalem, and history tells that 80,000 Jews were killed, and the same number were sold into slavery. 1,800 talents of silver (each talent is equal to 240 pounds sterling) was stolen from the treasury of the Temple. The most severe laws were introduced. Possession of a copy of Scripture and circumcision of infants was punishable by death. Mothers who circumcised their newborn boys were crucified by hanging the baby around their necks. The courtyards of the Temple were desecrated, the inner rooms were turned into houses of tolerance, and, finally, Antiochus took a terrible step: he turned the great altar for the burnt offering into an altar to the Olympian Zeus, and began to sacrifice on it to the pagan gods from pork meat.

And then Judas Maccabee and his brothers led the struggle for liberation. In 164 BC the struggle was over, the Temple was removed and cleansed, the altar was rebuilt, and the priests' clothes and utensils were replaced after three years of desecration. To commemorate the cleansing of the Temple, the Feast of Renewal was established, and Judas Maccabee said to the entire congregation: "so that the days of the renewal of the altar may be celebrated with joy and joy in due time, every year eight days from the twentieth day of the month of Haslev." (1 Mac. 4.59)... For this reason, this holiday was sometimes called the feast of the dedication of the altar, and sometimes the remembrance of the cleansing of the Temple.

But as we have already seen, this holiday had another name: the holiday of Light. The entire Temple was illuminated and light burned in the windows of every Jewish home. Eight lamps were lit in the window on the first day of the holiday and every day they were extinguished one at a time, while there was only one left. Such an indication is given by the interpreter Shamai, and another interpreter, Hillel, says that the first lamp was lit on the first day and then in the next seven days of the holiday, one burning lamp was added every day. We see these lights in the windows of every godly Jewish home today.

These lights had two meanings. First, they reminded that at the founding of the holiday, when it was first celebrated, freedom returned to Israel. And, secondly, they were associated with one very ancient legend, which says that when the Temple was cleansed and the great lamp was prepared, only one small jug of undefiled oil was found. He was whole, sealed and marked with the seal of the high priest's ring. By all accounts, the oil in it could only last for one day. But miraculously, it lasted all eight days, until new oil was prepared according to the exact recipe and consecrated for sacred use. In that year, also, for eight days, a light burned in the Temple and in the houses of the people in memory of the jug, the contents of which God stretched out for eight days, instead of one. It was not without special significance that Jesus said: "I am the light of the world." While lamps were burning everywhere in memory of the conquest of freedom to serve God according to the law, Jesus said: "I am the light of the World. Only I can illuminate the soul of man and lead him into the knowledge and presence of God."

John also points us to the place where Jesus spoke with the scribes and Pharisees. He says that Jesus "walked in Solomon's porch." The first courtyard in the enclosed area of ​​the Temple was the courtyard of the pagans. From the two sides of this courtyard there were majestic colonnades with the names: Tsar's porch and Solomon's porch. They were covered rows of slender, magnificent columns. In the quiet of these covered galleries, people could walk, pray and meditate. The rabbis would walk here with their disciples, talking with them and explaining the doctrines of their faith to them. This is where Jesus walked, because, as John put it, "it was winter."

THE PROMISE AND THE PROMISE (John 10: 22-28 Continued)

The Jews approached Jesus and asked him: "How long will you keep us in perplexity? If you are the Christ, tell us straight." There was undoubtedly a double meaning behind this question. There were those who really wanted to know this, and they were eagerly awaiting an answer. But there were others who maliciously asked this question in order to catch Him. They wanted to evoke an answer from Jesus that could then be turned into either an accusation of blasphemy, for which He would be subject to trial, or a rebellion, for which the Roman governor could deal with Him.

Jesus replied that He had already told them who He was. It is true that He did not put it literally. He spoke two of His greatest revelations in private, not in public. To the Samaritan woman He revealed Himself as the Messiah (John 4.26), and to the man born blind, whom he healed, he said that He is the Son of God (John 9.37)... But it is also true that not all revelation needs to be literally expressed in words, especially in front of hearers who are perfectly capable of understanding them. Jesus had two qualities that made His statements beyond doubt, whether He expressed them in words or not. The first was His works, which spoke for themselves. Isaiah had a dream of the Golden Age and he expresses it like this: "Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be opened. Then the lame will jump up like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing, for the waters in the desert and in the steppe streams will break through." (Is. 35,5.6)... Every miracle Jesus performed was proof that the Messiah had already come. The second quality of Jesus was His words. Moses prophesied that God would raise up a prophet everyone would be obliged to listen to (Deut. 6:15 pm)... And the very authoritative tone in which Jesus spoke, and the way He royally abolished the law and put His teaching in its place, was also proof that He was the Anointed One of God.

But the vast majority of Jews did not accept this evidence. As we said earlier, in Palestine, the sheep knew the voice of their shepherd, his specific call, and answered it; these were not of his flock. In this fourth Gospel, the idea of ​​a destiny is hidden behind everything, everything happened as God intended it. John is actually saying that these Jews were not supposed to follow Christ. One way or another, the entire New Testament maintains a balance between two ideas: the fact that everything happens within the confines of God's purpose, and yet in such a way that the free will of man remains responsible. These Jews were so determined that they were destined not to accept Jesus, and yet, from John's point of view, this nevertheless does not free them from condemnation.

Although most did not accept Jesus, some did, and by doing so Jesus promised three things:

1. He promised them eternal life... He promised that if they accept him as Teacher and Lord, if they become members of His flock, all the pettiness of life will disappear and they will know all the beauty and splendor of life in God.

2. He promised them a life that will never end... Death will not be the end of their life, but the beginning. They will know the glory of an indestructible life.

3. He promised them safe life... "No one will snatch them out of my hand. This does not mean that they will not have sorrow, suffering and death, but it means that in the most difficult time, in the darkest hour, they will feel the mighty, everlasting hands above themselves and under Even in a world that rushes to destruction, they will rest in God.

THE GREATEST TRUST AND THE GREATEST REVELATION (John 10:29:30)

This passage shows both the greatest trust and the greatest revelation of Jesus. He just said about His sheep and His flock, just said that no one will snatch His sheep out of His hand, and that He is the Shepherd who will keep His sheep safe forever. At first glance, if He stopped there, it would appear that Jesus placed all His trust in His own ability to guard His flock. But here we see the basis of His confidence. The Father, it turns out, gave Him sheep, and He and His sheep are safe in the Father's hand. Jesus was so confident in himself because he was utterly confident in the Father. His attitude to life was not self-confidence, but confidence in the Father. He was safe not in His power, but in God, and was firmly convinced of ultimate security and ultimate victory, not because he attributed all power and power to Himself, but because he attributed it to God. His trust ultimately returned everything to God. Now we come to the greatest revelation: "I and the Father are one." What does this mean? Is this an absolute mystery to us, or can we understand something in the confusion of concepts over which the compilers of the creeds fought and argued? Do you need to be a theologian or a philosopher to comprehend even a fraction of the meaning of this amazing statement?

When we turn to the Bible itself for clarification, we find that in fact it is so simple that the simplest mind can understand the meaning of this dictum. Let's take a look at Jesus' prayer for His followers before His suffering. There we find the following words: "Holy Father, keep them in Your name, those whom You gave Me, that they may be one, just as We are one." (John 17.11).

Jesus understood the unity of Christians as the unity between Him and God the Father. He continues: "I do not only pray for them, but also for those who believe in Me, according to their word: let all be one; as You, Father, in Me, and I in You, so they also may be one in us - yes the world will believe that You sent Me. And the glory that You gave me, I gave them: that they may be one as We are one " (John 17.20-22)... Jesus speaks simply and clearly, so that there is no mistake that the goal of the Christian life is mainly for Christians to be one with each other, as He is one with His Heavenly Father.

What is the unity that should reign among those who believe in Christ? His secret: love. "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you, so you also love one another." (John 13:34)... Those who believe in Christ are one because they love one another, and therefore Jesus is one with the Father because He loves Him. But we can go further. What is the only thing that tests love? Let's look again at the words of Christ. "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and I abide in His love (John 15.10)... "He who loves Me keeps My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words: but the word that you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me." (John 14,23.24)... "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15)... "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he loves Me, but he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and I will manifest myself to him. (John 14:21).

This is the essence of the matter. The bond of oneness is love, and the proof of love is obedience. Christians are united with each other when there is a bond of love between them, and when they are obedient to the words of Christ. Jesus is one with God, because like no one else He obeyed Him and loved Him. His oneness with God is the oneness of perfect love leading to perfect obedience. When Jesus said, "I and the Father are one," He did not revolve in the world of philosophy, metaphysics and abstractness, but revolved in the world of personal relationships. No one can fully understand what the expression "unity of essence" means, but everyone understands what the unity of hearts is. Jesus' oneness with God stemmed from two facts: perfect love and perfect obedience. He was one with God because he loved Him and was obedient to Him, and came into this world to make us like Him.

TO A SERIOUS CHECK (John 10: 31-39)

Jesus' words that He and the Father are one were blasphemy in the ears of the Jews. It was a man's invasion of where only God can be. According to Jewish law, they were stoned to death for blasphemy. "The one who blasphemes the name of the Lord must die; the whole society will stone him with stones" (Lev. 24.16). So they prepared to stone Him. In Greek, this place simply says that they went and gathered stones to throw at Him. Jesus responded to their hostility with logical arguments.

1. He told them that he spent all His time doing good: healing the sick, feeding the hungry, consoling the sad, that is, doing things so saturated with beauty, strength and help that they could only be from God. For which of these deeds are they going to stone Him? They replied that they did not want to stone Him for good deeds, but for the claim that he made.

2. He called Himself the Son of God and for this claim they were ready to stone Him. Jesus responded to this with two reasons. The first argument was purely Jewish, which is difficult for us to understand. He brought them to mind Ps. 81.6... This psalm is addressed to unjust judges to abandon their unjust methods and begin to honestly defend the poor and innocent. This appeal to the judges just ends with these words: "I said: you are gods, and the sons of the Most High are all of you." The judge is appointed by God to be a god for people. This idea comes through quite clearly in some places in the book of Exodus. V Ref. 21.1-6 it says about how a Jewish servant can be released from his duties in the seventh year: "Then let his master bring him before the gods (that is, before the judge)." In Hebrew, this word does not sound judge, but elohim- the God. The same form of expression is used in Ref. 22,9.28... This means that even the Holy Scriptures called those who were appointed by God for a special service as gods. That is why Jesus said: "If the Scripture also speaks in this way about people, why cannot I speak so about myself?"

Jesus said two things about Himself: a) He was consecrated God for a special case. Consecrated - chagiacein- comes from the word hagios- Saint. This word always means the separation of a person or object from other people or objects for special use. So, for example, Saturday is holy (Ex. 20.11)... The altar is holy (Lev. 16:19)... Priests - ( consecrated) are holy (2 Chron. 26.18)... Prophet - consecrated (Jer. 1.5)... When Jesus said that God had sanctified Him, made Him holy, He meant that God separated Him from other people because He had given Him a special task, b) He said that God had sent Him into the world. The word used here is the same as the sending of a messenger, or an army. Jesus didn't see himself so much Those who came into the world, how many sent to the world... His coming was an act of God, and He came to fulfill what God had entrusted to Him.

And therefore Jesus said: "In ancient times the Scripture could call the judge gods, because they were appointed by God to bring truth and justice to the world. And I was set apart (sanctified) for a special work, I was sent into the world by God: how can you resist that I call Myself the Son of God? After all, I'm just doing what the Scripture says. " This is one of those biblical arguments, the power of which is not easy for us to feel, but for a Jewish listener it had to be convincing.

3. Jesus offers to test His words and says: "I am not asking you to accept My words, but accept My works." People can still argue about words, but deeds are above controversy. Jesus showed that He is the perfect Teacher, for He based His claims not on words, but on deeds. He invited the Jews to base their judgment of Him not on what He said, but on what He did, and this is the highest test that His followers must be ready and able to face. The tragic thing is that too few can face such a test, much less invite it.

THE QUIET BEFORE THE STORM (John 10: 40-42)

Jesus' time on earth was running out, but He knew His hour. He did not flirt casually with the danger of lightly losing his life: He just wanted peace and quiet before the last fight. He always armed himself to meet people by the fact that he had previously met with God. For this reason, He went beyond the Jordan. He did not run away from anyone, but prepared for subsequent actions.

The place where Jesus went was of particular importance. He went to where John the Baptist used to baptize and where He Himself was baptized. There the voice of God reached Him and assured Him that His decision was correct and that he was on the right way... It makes sense to return a person from time to time to the place where he experienced the most powerful experience in his life. When Jacob got into trouble, when things were not going well, he went back to Bethel (Genesis 35: 1-5)... When he needed God, he went to where he first met Him. Before the end, Jesus went to where His ministry began. It would be very beneficial for our soul to travel to the place where it first met God.

But even on the distant bank of the Jordan, the Jews approached Jesus and remembered John the Baptist. They remembered that he spoke like a prophet, but did not perform great miracles. They saw the difference between John the Baptist and Jesus. John the Baptist knew how to diagnose the state of things, and Jesus brought the power to cope with the state of things. The Jews who came there saw John the Baptist as a prophet, but now they saw that everything that John the Baptist had predicted about Jesus turned out to be true, and many of them believed in Him.

It often happens that a person pin their hopes on another temporarily successful or even great person, but soon becomes disappointed. But Jesus is much more than John the Baptist said about Him. Jesus is the only Person who never disappoints those who pin their hopes on Him. In Him, the dream always comes true.

Then the Jews again took up stones to stone Him. Jesus answered them: I have shown you many good deeds from my Father; for which of them do you want to stone me? 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. Jesus answered them: is it not written in your law: "I said, you are gods" (Psalm 81: 6)? If He called those to whom the word of God was gods, and the Scripture cannot be broken, do you say to the one whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world: you blaspheme because I said: I am the Son of God?

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 it blasphemy and wanted to stone Him with stones for making Himself equal to God. The Lord, denouncing them and showing that they have no blessed reason for raging against Him, but are angry in vain, reminds them of the miracles that He performed, and says: I have shown you many good deeds; for which of them do you want to stone me? 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 even more confirms their opinion. And that He is God, proves it by what is written in the law. The book of David, as well as all the Scriptures, is called the law. His words have the following meaning: if those who received deification by grace are gods (Ps. 81: 6), and this is not presented to them, then what justice is it when you condemn Me, who by nature is God, whom the Father has sanctified, that is determined to be slaughtered for peace? For what is set apart to God is called holy. Obviously, when the Father sanctified Me and assigned me to the salvation of the world, I am not equal to other gods, but I am the true God. If, however, those to whom the Word of God was, that is I, for I am the Word of God, and I, having possessed them, bestowed upon them a sonhood, if they are gods, then all the more I can call myself God without any guilt, I Who is God by His Nature, and to others I grant deification. - 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 was, and is not adored Himself by grace. Obviously, He in real words distinguishes Himself from those who are adored by grace and shows that He gave them deification, being the Word of God and dwelling in them. For this is indicated by the words: "unto whom was the Word of God," with which it was, in which it dwelt. How then do I blaspheme when I call myself the Son of God? For although I wear flesh and come from the offspring of David, you do not know the secret and the fact that the fleshly human nature could not otherwise accept a conversation with God, as soon as He appears to him in the flesh, as if under a veil.

L. Jesus - the door to the sheep (10,1-10)

10,1 These verses are closely related to the last part of chapter 9. It describes the conversation of the Lord Jesus with the Pharisees, who claimed to be the rightful shepherds of the people of Israel. It was to them that the Lord Jesus spoke here. The seriousness of what He was about to speak is evidenced by the expression: "Truly, truly, I say to you ..."

Sheep yard there was a fenced area in which the sheep took refuge at night. This area was surrounded by a fence, which contained a gate that was used as a door. Here "sheep yard" refers to the Jewish people.

Many came to the Jewish people, wishing to become its spiritual leaders and leaders. They proclaimed themselves "messiahs." But they did not enter the way predicted in the OT for the Messiah. They climbed ind.

They presented themselves to Israel as they saw fit. These people were not true shepherds, but thieves and robbers. A thief is one who takes what does not belong to him, while the robber also uses violence. The Pharisees were thieves and robbers. They sought to rule over the Israelite people and did everything in their power to prevent the acceptance of the true Messiah. They persecuted those who followed Jesus and ultimately sentenced Jesus to death.

10,2 This verse is talking about Jesus Himself. He came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He is true Shepherd of sheep. He entered through the door, that is, His coming was in every way consistent with the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. He was not a self-appointed Savior, but came in perfect obedience to the will of His Father. He met all the conditions.

10,3 There are significant differences in identification doorkeeper in this verse. Some think that this word designates the prophets of the OT who predicted the coming of Christ. Others believe that it refers to John the Baptist, as he was the forerunner of the true Shepherd. Some are equally convinced that doorkeeper in this verse is the Holy Spirit opening the door to admit the Lord Jesus into hearts and lives.

They will recognize his voice as the voice of a true shepherd. As an ordinary sheep recognizes the voice of its shepherd, so among the Jews there were those who recognized the Messiah when He appeared. Throughout the gospel we hear the Shepherd calling Your sheep by name. He called several of the disciples in chapter 1, and they all heard His voice and answered. He called the blind man in chapter 9. The Lord Jesus is still calling those who will accept Him as Savior, and this call sounds for each individually, it is individual.

The words "and outputs them" may mean that the Lord Jesus brought those who heard His voice out of the sheepfold of Israel. There they were locked and surrounded by a fence. The law did not give them any freedom. Lord deduces His sheep to the freedom of His grace. In the previous chapter, the Jews excommunicated a man from the synagogue. At the same time, without knowing it, they helped the work of the Lord.

10,4 When the true Shepherd will bring out His sheep, He does not drive them away, but goes in front of them. He does not send them to go where He Himself has not yet set foot. He always walks ahead of the sheep as their Savior, their Leader and an example to follow. True Christ's the sheep follow Him. They become sheep, not because they follow His example, but because of the new birth. Once saved, they want to go where He leads.

10,5 The same instinct that allows the sheep to recognize the voice of the true shepherd motivates them run away from a stranger. Strangers are the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders who are interested in sheep only for personal gain. A good example of this is a person who has acquired sight. He not only heard the voice of the Lord Jesus, but also learned that the Pharisees were strangers. Therefore, he refused to obey them, although this entailed excommunication.

10,6 It is clearly noted here that Jesus told this parable the Pharisees, but they didn't understand because they were not true sheep. If they were, they would have heard His voice and followed Him.

10,7 Then Jesus gave another example. He no longer spoke of the door to the sheepfold as in verse 2. Here He named Himself the door to the sheep. Now the question was not to enter the door of the sheepfold of Israel, but to let the chosen sheep of Israel leave Judaism and come to Christ - doors.

10,8 Everyone who came front Christ, dreamed of power and high position. But the chosen sheep of Israel did not hear them, because they knew that they were claiming what was not theirs by law.

10,9 Verse 9 is one delightful verse that Sunday School students can easily understand and will always provide food for thought to learned scholars. Christ - a door. Christianity is not a creed or a church. This is a Person, and this Person is the Lord Jesus Christ. "Who will enter by me." Salvation can only be obtained through Christ. Not by baptism, not by participating in the Lord's Supper. We must enter through Christ and in the way that He has determined. All are invited. Christ is the Savior of both Jews and Gentiles. But in order to be saved, a person must enter. He must accept Christ by faith. This is a personal step, and without it there is no salvation. The one who enters will be saved from punishment, from the power of sin and ultimately from its presence.

Having received salvation, they and come in and go out. Perhaps this is the idea that they will by faith enter the presence of God to worship Him, and then go out into the world to testify of the Lord. In any case, this is a picture of perfect security and freedom in serving the Lord.

Inbox find pastures. Christ not only saves and grants freedom, but He also protects and nourishes. His sheep will find pastures in the Word of God.

10,10 Target thief - to steal, kill and destroy. It comes from purely selfish reasons. To satisfy personal desires, he even kills sheep. But the Lord Jesus does not come into the human heart for selfish reasons. He comes to give, not to take. He comes to make people had life and had it in abundance. We receive life the moment we accept Him as our Savior. When we are saved, we nevertheless find that there are varying degrees of enjoyment of life. The more the Holy Spirit works in us, the more we enjoy the life that has been given to us. Then we not only have life, but we have in abundance.

M. Jesus, the Good Shepherd (10,11-18)

10,11 Many times the Lord Jesus used the expression "I am", one of the names of the Deity. Each time He claimed equality with God the Father. Here He introduced himself as the good shepherd, laying down his life for the sheep. Usually sheep are forced to lay down their lives for the shepherd. But the Lord Jesus died for the flock.

To the shedding of sacrificial blood
This Shepherd was driven by pity.
He voluntarily died in our place,
To stand between us and the enemy.

(Thomas Kelly)

10,12 A mercenary is one who serves for money. For example, a shepherd might pay someone else to take care of the sheep. The Pharisees were mercenaries. Their interest in people was based on the money they received in return. The sheep are not his own for the mercenary. When danger comes, he runs away and leaves the sheep to be devoured wolves.

10,13 Our actions are conditioned by our true nature. The mercenary serves for pay. He neglects the sheep. He is more interested in his own well-being than in their safety. There are many mercenaries in the Church today who do not have true love for the sheep of God, who choose ministry as a convenient occupation.

10,14 Again the Lord speaks of Himself as good shepherd. kind(Greek kalos) here means "ideal, worthy, best, unsurpassed."

He has all these qualities. He then speaks of a very intimate relationship between Him and His sheep. He knows His own, and His own know Him. This is an amazing truth!

10,15 This verse is a continuation of the previous one: "... and I know Mine, and Mine know Me: as the Father knows Me, so and I know the Father. " This is truly an amazing truth! The Lord compared His relationship with the sheep to the relationship that exists between Him and His Father. There is the same union, community, intimacy and understanding between the Shepherd and the sheep as between the Father and the Son. "And I lay down my life for the sheep,"- He added. Once again, we have before us one of the many statements of the Lord Jesus about His awaiting death on the cross for the redemption of sinners.

10,16 Verse 16 is the key to the entire chapter. Other sheep, whom the Lord mentions here are the Gentiles. His coming into the world was primarily intended for the sheep of Israel, but He also had in mind the salvation of the Gentiles. Pagan sheep not belonged to the Jewish yard. But the great heart of the Lord Jesus had compassion for these sheep, and, according to the will of God, it was his lead and them to Himself.

He knew they would be more ready than the Jews, hear His voice.

In the last part of the verse there is a very important transition from yard Judaism to flock Christianity. This verse allows us to glimpse the future of Jews and Gentiles who will be one in Christ; the old differences between these peoples will disappear.

10,17 In verses 17 and 18 the Lord Jesus explained what He would do to bring the chosen Jews and Gentiles to Himself. He eagerly awaited His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead. These words would be completely inappropriate if the Lord Jesus were common man... He said that gives life Yours to take her again of their own free will. Only He could do it, because He is God. Father loved the Lord Jesus because, that He was willing to die and rise again so that the lost sheep could be saved.

10,18 No one could take the life of the Lord. He is God and, therefore, stands above all the murderous conspiracies of His creations. He had in Himself power to give Own life, and He also had the power to take it again. But didn't people kill the Lord Jesus? Yes, people. This is clearly stated in Acts (2.23) and in 1 Thessalonians (2.15).

The Lord Jesus allowed them to do this, which was a manifestation of His power to lay down His life. Moreover, He "gave up the Spirit" (John 19:30); it was an act of His personal strength and will.

"This commandment I received from my Father." The Father instructed, or commanded, the Lord to give His life and rise again from the dead. His death and resurrection were necessary actions in fulfilling the will of the Father. Therefore, He submitted to death and, according to the Holy Scriptures, rose again on the third day.

N. Discord among the Jews (10.19-21)

10,19 The words of the Lord Jesus became the reason for another strife among the Jews. The coming of Christ to earth, to the homes and hearts of people, brings a sword rather than peace. Only by accepting Him as Lord and Savior can a person know the world in God.

10,20-21 The Lord Jesus was the only perfect Man who ever lived. He never told a lie or committed evil. Yet the human heart was so corrupted that when He came with words of love and wisdom, people said that He is demon possessed and insane and His words are not worthy of attention. This, of course, does no credit to the human race. Other thought differently. They admitted the words and the works of the Lord Jesus as such that a good Man can do, and not demon.

A. By His Works Jesus Proved That He Is the Christ (10,22-39)

10,22 There is a break in the narrative between verses 21 and 22. The Lord Jesus no longer spoke to the Pharisees, He spoke generally to the Jews. We do not know how long it took between these verses. By the way, here, for the only time in the Bible, it is mentioned holiday of Renewal, or in Hebrew Hanukkah. It is believed that this festival was established by Judas Maccabee when the temple was rededicated after 165 BC. he was defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes. It was an annual festival established by the Jews and not by the Lord. AND it was winter not only according to the calendar, but also spiritual.

10,23-24 The Lord's public ministry was almost complete and He was about to show His full dedication to God the Father by dying on the cross. Solomon's porch was a closed courtyard adjacent to the temple of Herod. Where the Lord walked, there was a lot of free space, which allowed the Jews to gather around Him.

The Jews surrounded Him and said to Him: "How long will You keep us in perplexity? If You are the Christ, tell us directly."

10,25-26 Jesus reminded them again of His words and affairs. He often told them that He was the Messiah, and the miracles He performed proved the truth of His claims. Once again He reminded the Jews that He performed miracles by the power of His Father and to the glory of His Father. In doing so, He showed that He really is the One whom the Father sent into the world. Their unwillingness to accept the Messiah proved that they not from His sheep. If they were disposed to belong to Him, they would readily believe Him.

10,27 The next few verses teach quite clearly that no true sheep of Christ will perish. The believer's eternal security is a glorious fact. True sheeps Christ's hear His voice. They hear him when the gospel is preached, and they answer by receiving him by faith.

Then they hear His voice day after day and obey His Word. The Lord Jesus knows His sheep. He knows each sheep by name. Not one will be left without His attention. No one can get lost through an oversight or negligence on His part. Sheep of Christ go follow Him first through saving faith in Him, then following Him in obedience.

10,28 Christ gives to His sheep eternal life. This life will last forever. This life not conditioned their behavior. It - immortal life, which has no end. But immortal life Is also the quality of life. This is the life of the Lord Jesus Himself. This life is capable of enjoying everything that God sends here in this life, and is equally suited to our heavenly abode. Pay particular attention to the following words: "... and they will not perish forever."(In Greek, there is a double negation for the purpose of strengthening.) If any of Christ's sheep had perished, the Lord Jesus would have been guilty of not keeping his promise, which is impossible. Jesus Christ is God and He cannot fail. He promised in this verse that no sheep by His will will spend eternity in hell.

Does this mean that a person can be saved and then live as he pleases? Can he teach salvation and then continue to indulge in the sinful pleasures of this world? No, he no longer wants to do this. He wants to follow the Shepherd. We do not live a Christian life to become Christians or to maintain our salvation. We live a Christian life because we Christians. We desire to live holy lives, not because we fear losing our salvation, but out of gratitude to the One who died for us. The doctrine of eternal security does not encourage frivolous living, but rather serves as a powerful incentive for a holy life.

No one can kidnap believer from hands Christ. His hand is omnipotent. She created the world and even now supports it. There is no force that can kidnap sheep out of His hand.

10,29 The believer is not only in the hand of Christ; he is also in the Father's hand. This is a guarantee of double security. God the Father more than anyone and no one can kidnap believers from the hand of the Father.

10,30 Now the Lord Jesus has added another claim to equality with God: "I and the Father are one." Probably what is meant here is that Christ and Father have equal power. Jesus was just talking about the power to protect Christ's sheep. Therefore, He explained that His authority is the same as that of God the Father. Of course, the same is true of all other attributes of the Deity. The Lord Jesus Christ is completely God and is equal to the Father in everything.

10,31 Have Jews not a single question arose as to what the Savior meant. They realized that He was openly proclaiming His divinity. So they again seized stones to stone Him.

10,32 Before they could throw stones Jesus reminded them of many good deeds, revealed by Him from the Father His. Then He asked which of affairs infuriated them, what they want beat His stones.

10,33 The Jews denied they wanted to beat Him for miracles. Rather, they wanted to stone Him, believing that He blasphemes, when he declares his equality with By god Father. They refused to admit that He was more than a man. But from His statements it was quite obvious to them that He was making Himself By God. This they could not allow.

10,34 Then the Lord Jesus quoted the Jews from Psalm 81.6. He called it part law. In other words, this verse was taken from the OT, which they recognized as the inspired Word. Completely the verse sounds like this: "I said: you are gods, and the sons of the Most High are all of you." The psalm was addressed to the judges of Israel. They were called "gods" not because they were truly Divine, but because they represented God when people were judged. In the Hebrew language, the word "gods" ( elohim) literally means "powerful" and can be applied to important persons such as judges. (It is clear from the rest of the Psalm that they were only human beings, not deities, because they judged unfairly and perverted justice to please the nobles.)

10,35 The Lord quoted this verse from the Psalm showing that God used the word gods, to describe people to which it was drawn the word of God. In other words, these people were God's messengers. Through them, God spoke to the Israelite people. "They represented God in His authority and judgment and were endowed with God-given authority."

"And the Scripture cannot be broken,"- said the Lord, expressing His faith in the inspiration of the OT. He speaks of the OT as infallible Scriptures that must be fulfilled and cannot be denied. Not only thoughts or ideas, but the very words of Holy Scripture are inspired by God. All His proof is based on a single word "gods".

10,36 The Lord made the argument "from least to most." If unjust judges were called "gods" in the OT, how much more right did He have to say that He was the Son of God. To them came The word of God; He was and there is The Word of God. They were called gods; He was and there is The God. They will never say about themselves that Father sanctified their and sent to the world. They are born like all other sons of fallen Adam. But Jesus was sanctified by God Father from eternity to become the Savior of the world, and He was sent to the world from heaven, where he always dwelt with His Father. Thus, Jesus had every right to equality with God.

He did not blaspheme by claiming that He God's Son, equal with the Father. The Jews themselves used the term "gods" to refer to corrupt people who were merely representatives or judges of God. How much longer can He claim the right to this title, if He really was and there is The God? Samuel Green said well:

"The Jews accused Him of calling Himself God. He does not deny that He called Himself God. But He denies that He blasphemed, and this is the reason that could fully justify Him even in claiming divine honors, namely: that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, Immanuel. The fact that the Jews did not hope that He would abandon His lofty ambitions is evident, finally, from the prolonged enmity that constantly manifested itself. See verse 39. "(Samuel Green, "Scripture Testimony to the Deity of Christ", p. 7.)

10,37 Again, the Savior referred to the miracles He performed as evidence of His Divine mission. But notice the expression: "... the works of my Father." Miracles by themselves are not yet proof of divinity. We read in the Bible about evil beings with the power to perform miracles from time to time. But the miracles of the Lord were deeds His Father. They served as double proof that He is the Messiah. First, the OT predicted that these miracles would be performed by the Messiah. Secondly, these were miracles of mercy and compassion that benefited humanity and which no evil person can do.

10,38 For better understanding, Ryle paraphrased verse 38 as follows:

“If I do the works of My Father, then if you cannot believe what I say, believe what I do. If you resist the testimony of My words, agree with the testimony of My works. My Father is one, that He is in Me and I in Him, and that there is no blasphemy in My declaration that I am His Son. "

10,39 The Jews realized that instead of abandoning His previous claims, the Lord Jesus only strengthens them. Therefore, they made another attempt to arrest Him, but He again evaded them. It is not long left to wait when He will allow them to seize Himself, but so far His hour has not come.

Vi. THE THIRD YEAR OF MINISTRY OF THE SON OF GOD: Perea (10,40-11,57)

A. Jesus retires across the Jordan (10.40-42)

10,40 Lord again went beyond the Jordan, to the place where first began His public ministry. Three years of amazing words and deeds were coming to an end. He ended them where he began: outside the established order of Judaism, in places of rejection and loneliness.

10,41 Many of who came to Him, perhaps they were sincere believers. They wanted to share the dishonor with Him, to go out with Him outside the camp of Israel. These believers paid tribute to John Baptist. They remembered that John's ministry was not exciting or sensational, but it was true. Everything he said about the Lord Jesus was fulfilled in the ministry of the Savior. This should inspire every Christian. We cannot perform great miracles or attract public attention, but at least we can bear a true testimony of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is very valuable in the eyes of God.

10,42 It is gratifying to note that although the people of Israel as a whole did not accept the Lord Jesus, there were still unassuming, receptive hearts among them. Many, as far as we know believed in Him there. And so it happens in all ages: not many want to be close to the Lord Jesus. But despite the fact that the world persecutes them, hates and despises them, they enjoy pleasant fellowship with the Son of God.