John did no miracle:— John was not endued with the power of working miracles, that the authority of Jesus might be more conspicuous and unquestionable. We hence see how strong a confirmation of our Lord's ministry was to be deduced by the people from that of John. Our Lord's public life was now drawing towards a conclusion; yet he had a great deal still to do. This was the reason that he did not conceal himself, as in the beginning of his ministry, but preached constantly in the places of greatest resort, and confirmed his doctrine by many miracles, which he suffered to be published every where. Accordingly, the success of his ministry in the country beyond Jordan was answerable to the power wherewith it was accompanied: many believed on him there.
Inferences.—Christ, the great Redeemer of the world, is and should always be regarded by us, as the door, the only door of entrance into his fold, from whom all true teachers derive their authority. It should be the care of pastors that they enter by this door, and that they learn their duty so plainly suggested here, namely, to know their sheep, and to take as particular notice as they can of each person committed to their charge; and that they go before them in all the paths of duty; for what could the greatest enemy of the flock do worse, than to lead them by example into the paths of destruction.
Happy souls, who are entered in by this door! They enjoy a holy liberty and plenty; and going in and coming out they find pasture. If we are strangers to that entertainment and refreshment which arises from the divine ordinances, those green pastures which Christ hath provided for his sheep in the wilderness, we have much reason to fear that we belong not to his flock. He came, that his sheep might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly—that greater provision might be made for their instruction and consolation now, till, if faithful, they are brought to those better pastures which he intends for them above. Oh that his grace may prepare us for them! Christ is the good Shepherd of our souls, which we must humbly commit to his care and guidance, as ever we desire that they should be safe and happy. He has not laid down his life in vain. Even when the sword of the Lord was awakened to smite him, he fell not so as to rise no more; but as in this great and good work he voluntarily laid down, so he has also resumed his life, bearing in his heart the deepest concern for his faithful flock, and using his renewed life and exalted dignity for their security and happiness.
We, believers of the Gentiles, are of those other sheep, of whom he spake, John 10:16 who by his grace are now brought in to the great Shepherd and Overseer of souls. Sensible of the high privileges that we enjoy, duty and gratitude should continually incline us to pray, that the boundaries of his fold may be still more extended; and that all the flock may at length appear together, and be conducted by him to the regions of immortal life. It is worthy of remark, that we here see our Lord Jesus at a festival appointed by human authority, in commemoration of a national deliverance. He came from Galilee to observe it in the temple, though it was winter, and brought with him at all times a heart glowing with the most ardent and amiable zeal for the honour of his heavenly Father, and the salvation of men, even of those who were studying to ensnare and destroy him.
What prudence, mingled with spirit and sweetness, runs through his answers to them! What inestimable blessings does he propose, to invite them to enter into his fold! May we never forget his gracious words; may we ever be entitled to all the comfort of them. Lord, may we be found in the number of those happy souls, even of those who know thee, who obey thy voice, and follow thee whither-soever thou leadest them by thine example, thy providence, thy Spirit.
Blessed is the situation of thy little flock! O thou faithful, thou compassionate, thou almighty Shepherd, who couldst say in so sublime and so glorious a sense, I and the Father are one, suffer us not to forget of what infinite importance it is that we still continue near thee, that we look up to thee for our defence and safety, and confide, not in our own power and wisdom, but in thine.
Who could have imagined that any heart could have been so base as to have intended evil, or any hands so cruel as to have armed themselves with instruments of death against such a Person, while speaking such words as these?—yet behold, these Jews do it, and that even in so sacred a place as the temple itself, as the genuine offspring of those who slew the prophet and the priest of the Lord even at his altar. Compare Matthew 23:31-35 and Luke 11:48-51. Our Lord's wise and gentle reply disarmed them for a few months; and the divine care and power in an extraordinary manner provided for his escape, and once more rescued him from their murderous hands.
Happy the inhabitants of the country about Jordan, to which he retired, especially in that they knew the day of their visitation. The testimony of John the Baptist is now recollected to excellent purposes, though he himself was mouldering in his tomb; nor is there any thing which a faithful minister will more earnestly desire, (eternal God, may it be the happiness of thy unworthy servant!)—than that even while dead, he may yet speak for the honour of the adorable Jesus, and the salvation of souls.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, As the Pharisees and priests arrogated to themselves the dominion over the church, and boasted of their authority, wisdom, and sanctity, as the only true pastors; traducing Jesus as an impostor, because he acted without their ordination, Christ, in a parable, warns the people against their faithless pastors.
1. He proposes a parable to them, borrowed from a shepherd and his flock. Verily, verily I say unto you, with deepest solemnity and most infallible certainty, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber; such a clandestine entry shews the ill design on which he comes. The sheepfold is the church of God, where the faithful are united together in love, and share in the provision of gospel-ordinances provided for them; the door is Christ himself, by whom the faithful enter, and who by his Spirit calls and qualifies his ministers for their work. The thieves are those who intrude into the ministry without a divine call, influenced by the hopes of the honours and profits of the service, instead of being inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost, and animated by love to Jesus, and zeal for immortal souls; but he that entereth in by the door, is the shepherd of the sheep, whom Jesus calls and qualifies for this office; and who with fidelity and diligence attends, and feeds and watches over those souls, whom the Saviour commits to his care. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice: the Spirit of God makes his ministry successful, and opens the hearts of sinners to receive the gospel that he preaches: and he calleth his own sheep by name, has an exact knowledge and care of them, and leadeth them out into green pastures of ordinances, and beside the waters of comfort. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them as their shepherd, to protect them from danger; and the sheep follow him, close at his footsteps, imitating his example; for they know his voice; they have a discernment of gospel-truth, and approve of and submit to his teachings. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they knew not the voice of strangers; they discover the false principles or bad practices of those who set up for pretended guides, and will not put their souls under their tuition, or be influenced by their examples.
2. The Jews understood not the meaning of his discourse, and therefore Christ more explicitly opens to them his meaning.
[1.] He is the door; the only way of access to God and glory is through him, and none can enter into the ministry but by his call, and under his commission. All that went before, who never received a divine call from him, were thieves and robbers, intruders into the office to which God never called them, and robbing him of his glory: but the sheep, who alone know and are obedient to the voice of God, did not hear them, as neither coming with commission from God, nor bringing Divine doctrine with them. But of himself Christ saith, I am the door of access to, and acceptance with God; by me, through faith in my name, if any man enter in, he shall be saved from sin, from the condemning guilt and enslaving power of it; from the curse which the law pronounces; from Satan, and all the powers of evil; from deceivers, and all their wiles; and, if faithful unto death, shall be saved with an everlasting salvation; and shall go in and out, and find pasture, during his journey through life; he shall have free access to the ordinances, possess a glorious liberty in his spirit, be safe under the Shepherd's constant care, and be fed with the sweetest refreshments which the grace of the gospel ministers can bestow. Blessed and happy are they, who thus walk under the constant guard and guidance of the divine Redeemer.
[2.] He is the Shepherd, the great, the good, the true Shepherd.
(1.) The gracious design which he is come upon, is quite different from that of the false teachers. They, by their pernicious heresies, steal away the hearts of the unwary, prejudice them against the truth, and, while they promise them life and salvation, really murder their souls; and frequently they seek by persecutions to destroy the flock of Christ: while he is come, that his faithful people, the sheep of his pasture, may have life, the life of grace here, and the life of glory hereafter: yea, that they might have it more abundantly, fuller assurance and enjoyment of it than they ever had before.
(2.) The way in which he obtains these privileges for his faithful saints, is by his death. I am the good shepherd, eminently so; and, as the greatest instance of it, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep, as I am ready to do, dying in their stead to redeem them from sin, death, and hell. And herein Christ's love towards them is in the most convincing manner evidenced. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, who serves for lucre, not for the love of souls, whose own the sheep are not, regarding them with none of that affectionate concern which the owner feels; such a one seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep; whenever danger approaches, he deserts his post, and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep, perverting and seducing them. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep: behold the true character of the false and faithless shepherd. (1.) He is one who serves for hire, and makes the ministry his trade. (2.) He feels no concern about the souls of men; and if he gets a revenue of the church, concerns himself not if the devil runs away with his flock. (3.) He never exposes himself to any danger, nor labours in the ministry, only careful about his own safety, and consulting his own ease. The very reverse is the character of a good minister: like his Master, his bosom glows with desire after the salvation of men's souls; he is ready to spend and be spent in the service of the ministry; he labours willingly, not for hire but from principle; and no dangers can deter him from his duty or drive him from his post.
(3.) As the good Shepherd, Christ is acquainted intimately with his flock and their concerns, and takes care of them. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine; Christ knows particularly those who believe in him and love him; he regards them with tenderest affection; takes cognizance of all their wants, and kindly relieves and supplies them: and he is known by his believing people as the great object of their faith and hope, the author of their joy and happiness. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father; even as the Father owns his affection and regard to me by the sure tokens of his presence and approbation; and I also acknowledge and honour the Father in the delight with which I do his will; so the affection in its degree is reciprocal between me and my sheep, even all my saints: and I lay down my life for the sheep, to testify my love, and to accomplish the great and essentially necessary atonement in their behalf. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, are out of the pale of the Jewish church; them also I must bring, even all of the Gentile world that will accept of and believe in me from their guilt, misery, and ruin, into a state of favour and acceptance with God; and they shall hear my voice, believing in me, and wrought upon by the mighty influences of the divine Spirit; and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd; when all true believers, both Jews and Gentiles, shall be united in one glorious church, under their common head Jesus Christ, and share the same blessings and privileges. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life; highly well-pleased in my undertaking, whereby such glory will accrue to him, and eternal salvation be obtained for all my faithful saints: for I lay it down, that I might take it again, rising for their justification. No man taketh it from me, neither force nor fraud avail any thing, till my own time comes; but I lay it down of myself, voluntarily, with my own consent: I have power to lay it down, a right and authority to lay it down as a satisfaction to divine justice; and I have power to take it again; having made the atonement, by my own almighty power, I will quicken my dead body, and raise it to eternal life and glory. This commandment have I received of my father, with whom he was most intimately one; and herein he delighted to do the will of God.
2nd, The discourse of Jesus gave occasion for warm debates among the Jews, whose sentiments were greatly divided concerning him.
1. Many, who were his enemies, cried out, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? Can you be so weak and deluded, as to attend to such absurd and blasphemous nonsense? Thus does the world often scoff at the serious discourses of Christ's faithful ministers, and ridicule and revile those who pay attention to their preaching: but we should be neither threatened nor laughed out of our religion.
2. Others entertained very different sentiments, and said very sensibly, These are not the words of him that hath a devil; the nature of his doctrine, and his manner of speaking, favour nothing of insanity; nor can possibly tend to advance, but to destroy Satan's kingdom. Besides, Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? Can a madman, or much less a bad man under diabolical influence, perform such a miracle? The supposition is absurd and incredible. It evidently appeared that this was the finger of God.
3rdly, We have another discourse between Jesus and the Jews. We have,
1. The time, and place. It was at the feast of dedication, observed in remembrance of the renovation of the temple-service, when Judas Maccabaeus dedicated the new altar, and cleansed the temple which Antiochus had profaned, which was in the winter, in the month of December. And therefore Christ walked under cover, in a place called Solomon's porch.
2. Hither the Jews came to him; and surrounding him, in order to find cause of accusation, they urged him to tell them plainly and boldly, and leave them no longer in suspense by his figurative and dark expressions, whether he was the Christ or not.
3. Christ knew their malicious designs, and therefore answered them, I told you in terms sufficiently plain, if you chose to understand them, and ye believed not, and were determined not to believe: it was vain, therefore, to add farther assertions; and he chose to refer them to the miracles which abundantly proved his mission, the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, obstinate in your infidelity, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you; their tempers and dispositions plainly shewed they were not; and Christ, who was acquainted with their hearts, well knew that they were not of those whose character and conduct he describes: My sheep hear my voice, with attention, discernment, and spiritual delight, and I know them, take cognizance of them, and distinguish them with my peculiar favour and regard; and they follow me in the ways of truth and righteousness, obedient to my word, and imitating my example. And I give unto them eternal life; they have a present title thereto, experience the beginning of it here, and, if faithful to me and themselves, they shall never perish; neither shall any enemy, be he ever so subtle, or ever so outrageous, be able to pluck them out of my hand, or injure them, while they remain in it. Nor indeed is it possible that any of their adversaries should; for my Father which gave them me, (see the Annotations on John 6:37; John 6:39.) is greater than all, infinitely superior in wisdom and power to all their enemies that can possibly be against them; and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand, no power in hell, no power on earth, none but themselves: that awful power is invested in themselves alone. If they cleave to me, they must inevitably be safe. For I and my Father are one, in nature, essence, and perfections: the union betwixt us, is so strict and intimate, in substance as well as in affection and design, that his almighty power is mine, to be employed for the defence of my faithful saints; and no adversary can deprive them of eternal life without prevailing against him as well as me.
4. The Jews, fired with rage, could no longer refrain, but took up stones again to stone him as a blasphemer.
5. Jesus mildly expostulated with them on their baseness, saying, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; works of such benevolence and wonder, as evidenced his mission divine: for which of those works do ye stone me? how horrid is your ingratitude! how base your returns! Note; (1.) Nothing aggravates our sins against God so much as our vile ingratitude. (2.) If we meet with the most ungrateful returns from those on whom we have conferred the greater obligations, we must not think it strange: Jesus was so treated before us.
6. The Jews attempt to vindicate their conduct, saying, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God; for in this light they interpreted his claim of unity with the Father, and his assuming the incommunicable attributes of the Deity. Note; Pretended zeal for God's honour has been the pretext which persecutors have often used to cover the most violent outrages against his most faithful servants.
7. Christ proves that he had the fuller right to those divine honours which he claimed. Is it not written in your law, I said ye are gods? Psalms 82:6. If he called them gods, who, as magistrates, were types of the King Messiah, and unto whom the word of God came; entrusted by him with the government of the Jewish church and nation; and the scripture cannot be broken, but must receive its accomplishment in that Messiah, who really possesses divine honour, and authority, and is intitled to that high name which they bore as his representatives; say ye then of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and set apart for the great work of redemption, and in the fulness of time sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God? But besides the scripture testimony, I appeal to my miracles: If I do not the works of my Father, as great as might be expected from him, and by my own power as God; if these do not speak my divine character, and that I am entitled to the honour I claim as Son of God, believe me not; I am content to be rejected by you: but if I do works so great, and in such a manner, as declare my divine power and Godhead, though ye believe not me, on my own word and assertions, believe the works, those unexceptionable evidences, that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him; we being one in nature and essence, having the most intimate union and communion in the same undivided Godhead.
4thly, Far from appeasing their fury, Christ, by maintaining his right to the essential glories of Divinity, exasperated them to the higher pitch. Whereupon,
1. They sought again to take him; concluding they had now full evidence against him, to convict him as a blasphemer, and get him legally condemned by the sanhedrim, and put to death.
2. As the time for Christ's sufferings was not yet come, he escaped out of their hand; either holding their arms by an invisible power from seizing him, or their eyes from seeing him.
3. He retired beyond Jordan, into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and gathering some fruit from the seed which John had sown there about two or three years before.
4. Many resorted to him there, drawn by his preaching and miracles; and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. He appears with that transcendent greatness and glory, in which John spake of him. And many believed on him there, as the true Messiah. Note; (1.) Though persecutors drive the ministers of Christ from one place, God will take care to send them where he has still greater work for them to do. (2.) Jesus will be peculiarly welcome with his gospel, to those, whose hearts, by the sharp convictions of the law, as by the austere Baptist's ministry, are broken with a humbling sense of sin.