Verses 1-15
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The sheepfold is the kingdom of heaven, and Jesus is the door to the kingdom of heaven. He is also the shepherd that gave His life on the cross to save us from condemnation. And we are the sheep that follow His voice.
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All who belong to Him—those who are and will be saved—will listen to His voice and follow Him into the kingdom of heaven.
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His point is that He is the only way to heaven, and that any other name or religion that claims some other way to heaven is false—a way that only brings death to us. Other religions will rob us of eternal life.
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Christ alone truly cares about, truly seeks our good, and truly loves us. False religions are inspired by the devil—the ultimate thief—and they only bring destruction.
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If you're a pastor, and therefore a shepherd of the flock of God (1 Peter 5:2, Acts 20:28), learn from Jesus' example.
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Be willing to sacrifice your life and your time for the sake of others, and protect them from the dangers of false doctrines and deceptions.
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But you are harmful to the church if you neglect the sheep and do nothing when sins and deceptions threaten or endanger them.
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Verse 16
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At this time, Jesus preached only to the Jewish people—to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). But He had other sheep of a different fold—the Gentiles—that would be added to the kingdom of God at a later date. Jesus here predicts that the Gentiles would be saved as well as the Jews.
Verses 17-21
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Verse 17. God the Father loved the Son because of His readiness to lay down His life for us. God is love, and there is no greater love than to lay down one's life (John 15:13).
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You will know the more of God's love the more that you sacrifice yourself for someone else. Be loving if you want to experience love.
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Verse 18. Jesus raised Himself from the dead. This is another reason why He is God(John 5:21).
Verses 22-29
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Even though Jesus never said the exact words, “I am the Christ,” He told them that He was the Christ, indirectly, in many others ways.
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People choose not to believe in Jesus not because the Word isn't plain enough, but because they are not His sheep.
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People that God knows will never be saved will not believe, no matter how clear the gospel is to them.
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Verse 27-28. But those who are Jesus' sheep will receive the gospel and will be saved (Acts 13:48). And nothing can steal a believer away from eternal life.
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However, even though nothing outside of us can rob us of salvation, we can walk away on our own if we choose to. We always have a choice of our own(John 6:67).
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Overall, be confident that God protects you as His own sheep, and that He does everything that is needed, on His end, to keep you saved!
Verse 30-39
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The Father and the Son are one. The Triune God is one God expressed in three—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Jesus supports this doctrine here.
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Verse 33. And if anyone tries to deny this, let them consider that the people Jesus spoke to understood perfectly that Jesus was claiming to be God.
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Verses 34-36. To defend His case, Jesus showed them from the Scriptures that God Himself referred to some His own people as having divine qualities in their tasks.
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That being said, in light of Jesus' message and His miraculous works, how much more could He be called divine, taking on the title of the Son of God?
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If anything people could see in Jesus' works—in the divine power and authority that He exercised—that He and the Father were one!
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See Psalm 82:6. This does not mean that all humans are divine. As humans, being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28), we have certain qualities that are similar to God's qualities, and we can exercise authority in God's name. However, we are creatures of God. Jesus is the eternal God and the Creator of all things (Romans 9:5, Colossians 1:15-17).
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Verses 40-42
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John didn't do any miracles, but all his words about Jesus were true. John spoke accurately, and many people believed in Jesus because of John's influence.
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Similarly, our job is simply to speak the truth about Jesus.
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Don't think that you need to do any special miracles. If you simply speak the truth and obey it, you will have great influence, and many people will come to Christ because of your influence.
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