John 10:11

10:11 “I am the good ¹  shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life ²  for the sheep.

John 10:16

10:16 I have ³  other sheep that do not come from ⁴  this sheepfold. ⁵  I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, ⁶  so that ⁷  there will be one flock and ⁸  one shepherd.

John 10:26-30

10:26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep. 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 10:28 I give ⁹  them eternal life, and they will never perish; ¹⁰  no one will snatch ¹¹  them from my hand. 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, ¹²  and no one can snatch ¹³  them from my Father’s hand. 10:30 The Father and I ¹⁴  are one.” ¹⁵ 

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¹ tn Or “model” (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:386, who argues that “model” is a more exact translation of καλός [kalos] here).

² tn Or “The good shepherd dies willingly.”

sn Jesus speaks openly of his vicarious death twice in this section (John 10:11, 15). Note the contrast: The thief takes the life of the sheep (10:10), the good shepherd lays down his own life for the sheep. Jesus is not speaking generally here, but specifically: He has his own substitutionary death on the cross in view. For a literal shepherd with a literal flock, the shepherd’s death would have spelled disaster for the sheep; in this instance it spells life for them (Compare the worthless shepherd of Zech 11:17, by contrast).

³ tn Grk “And I have.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

⁴ tn Or “that do not belong to”; Grk “that are not of.”

⁵ sn The statement I have other sheep that do not come from this sheepfold almost certainly refers to Gentiles. Jesus has sheep in the fold who are Jewish; there are other sheep which, while not of the same fold, belong to him also. This recalls the mission of the Son in 3:16-17, which was to save the world – not just the nation of Israel. Such an emphasis would be particularly appropriate to the author if he were writing to a non-Palestinian and primarily non-Jewish audience.

⁶ tn Grk “they will hear my voice.”

⁷ tn Grk “voice, and.”

⁸ tn The word “and” is not in the Greek text, but must be supplied to conform to English style. In Greek it is an instance of asyndeton (omission of a connective), usually somewhat emphatic.

⁹ tn Grk “And I give.”

¹⁰ tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”

¹¹ tn Or “no one will seize.”

¹² tn Or “is superior to all.”

¹³ tn Or “no one can seize.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “I and the Father.” The order has been reversed to reflect English style.

¹⁵ tn The phrase ἕν ἐσμεν ({en esmen) is a significant assertion with trinitarian implications. ἕν is neuter, not masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one “thing.” Identity of the two persons is not what is asserted, but essential unity (unity of essence).