Discovery BoxJohn 10:11-21 
Context10:11 “I am the good 1 shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life 2 for the sheep. 10:12 The hired hand, 3 who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons 4 the sheep and runs away. 5 So the wolf attacks 6 the sheep and scatters them. 10:13 Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep, 7 he runs away. 8
10:14 “I am the good shepherd. I 9 know my own 10 and my own know me – 10:15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life 11 for 12 the sheep. 10:16 I have 13 other sheep that do not come from 14 this sheepfold. 15 I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, 16 so that 17 there will be one flock and 18 one shepherd. 10:17 This is why the Father loves me 19 – because I lay down my life, 20 so that I may take it back again. 10:18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down 21 of my own free will. 22 I have the authority 23 to lay it down, and I have the authority 24 to take it back again. This commandment 25 I received from my Father.”
10:19 Another sharp division took place among the Jewish people 26 because of these words. 10:20 Many of them were saying, “He is possessed by a demon and has lost his mind! 27 Why do you listen to him?” 10:21 Others said, “These are not the words 28 of someone possessed by a demon. A demon cannot cause the blind to see, 29 can it?” 30
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 sn Jesus contrasts the behavior of the shepherd with that of the hired hand. This is a worker who is simply paid to do a job; he has no other interest in the sheep and is certainly not about to risk his life for them. When they are threatened, he simply runs away.
4 tn Grk “leaves.”
5 tn Or “flees.”
6 tn Or “seizes.” The more traditional rendering, “snatches,” has the idea of seizing something by force and carrying it off, which is certainly possible here. However, in the sequence in John 10:12, this action precedes the scattering of the flock of sheep, so “attacks” is preferable.
7 tn Grk “does not have a care for the sheep.”
8 tc The phrase “he runs away” is lacking in several important
9 tn Grk “And I.” 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.
10 tn The direct object is frequently omitted in Greek and must be supplied from the context. Here it could be “sheep,” but Jesus was ultimately talking about “people.”
11 tn Or “I die willingly.”
12 tn Or “on behalf of” or “for the sake of.”
13 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.
14 tn Or “that do not belong to”; Grk “that are not of.”
15 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.
16 tn Grk “they will hear my voice.”
17 tn Grk “voice, and.”
18 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.
19 tn Grk “Because of this the Father loves me.”
20 tn Or “die willingly.”
21 tn Or “give it up.”
22 tn Or “of my own accord.” “Of my own free will” is given by BDAG 321 s.v. ἐμαυτοῦ c.
23 tn Or “I have the right.”
24 tn Or “I have the right.”
25 tn Or “order.”
26 tn Or perhaps “the Jewish religious leaders”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase could be taken to refer to the Jewish religious leaders, since the Pharisees were the last to be mentioned specifically by name, in John 9:40. However, in light of the charge about demon possession, which echoes 8:48, it is more likely that Jewish people in general (perhaps in Jerusalem, if that is understood to be the setting of the incident) are in view here.
27 tn Or “is insane.” To translate simply “he is mad” (so KJV, ASV, RSV; “raving mad” NIV) could give the impression that Jesus was angry, while the actual charge was madness or insanity.
28 tn Or “the sayings.”
29 tn Grk “open the eyes of the blind” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
30 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “can it?”).
