John 10:7–18

The men the Lord is speaking to do not understand the parable He told them. He Himself, in grace, supplies the application.

But there is more than this that follows (v. 7): the Lord Jesus now takes an entirely new place outside Israel. He introduces this truth in the same solemn way. It is not the sentence of death on Judaism. It is the opening out of life and salvation to sinners. "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep… if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved." How wonderful! He is speaking to the same souls. What love — to the very souls who could not understand Him!

The fold is left aside here. What could Judaism do for the saints any more than for sinners? Christ is the door of the sheep. They might be thrown out, like the blind man He gave sight to. Where were they to turn, and where were they to go? "I am the door of the sheep." He is the entrance to the new and lasting blessings of God for His own. He is the entrance to the God who blessed them — yes, to the Father, as they learn in time.

Now He was the door of the sheep, the door out, a door by which they might get out of the fold when His voice led them out. But He was the door generally to the sheep, the appointed way of access. He came in by the door, and therefore was the door. That is, He, and He alone, came in by God's appointed way, and therefore was God's appointed way to others (the sheep).

Christ Himself now becomes the door of the sheep. The Jewish fold, though corrupted by man, had been set up and approved by God. What right, then, did the sheep have to leave the nation under judgment, unless God Himself opened a way of escape? Christ was God's door. By following the Shepherd, the sheep could take a place outside the nation without fear. So too in our own day: believers can safely follow the Shepherd outside every man-made imitation of the Jewish camp.

They found in Christ the Door. It was not the door back into the fold He had called them out of. It was the Door into spiritual blessings the fold could never supply: salvation, liberty, food, life in abundance.

You are shut up to something — or rather, to Someone. What a moment that is — the soul never forgets it! I discover that for time and for eternity I am shut up to Christ, nothing but Christ! And He stands and says, "I am the door of the sheep." You ask, "What does Christianity begin with?" It begins with the "I" of this verse. And what does it go on with? With the "I" of this verse. And it ends with the "I" of this verse.

He has become the door of salvation and liberty for the sheep. He is the God-appointed and only way of blessing. But He has become that door by giving His life for them. There was no other way He could deliver them, for every one of them was a sinner, held in the power of death.

The Lord does not include the prophets among the thieves and robbers. He means all who set themselves up as "the Shepherd," such as Theudas and Judas of Galilee. He also means all who treated the sheep as if they were their own and not God's — such as the rulers who had just thrown out the man Jesus had healed.

Some men before the Lord Jesus did seek the good of Israel. Josiah, Hezekiah, Jehoshaphat and David were far from being thieves and robbers. They were witnesses to the coming Messiah, not men seizing a place that was not theirs. But those who claimed the sheep as their own, when the sheep in truth were God's — what else could they be called but thieves and robbers?

First, there were all those who before Him had pretended to be the shepherds and leaders of Israel. Whoever they were, if they did not come in by the door, they were thieves and robbers. They climbed over the wall and forced their way in by violence or cunning, and so they showed their true character. The sheepfold was Israel. These men wanted to take the sheep for their own profit and their own glory. They were not Messiahs, they were not servants of God, and He had not sent them. They were very far from being one with the Father.

"All who came before me are thieves and robbers." They did not come in by the door. They were robbers of the fold itself. "But the sheep did not listen to them."… But they had none of the sheep, whatever harm they may have done to the fold. The sheep — and this is a blessed truth — did not listen to them.

He had just spoken of leading the sheep out of the fold (verse 3). Others had tried to do that before, but they failed. And now the Lord gives the reason. Christ, and Christ only, is the door of the sheep. There is no way out of the fold of Judaism except by Him… So, after the Lord's death and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Church was formed. The door of the fold stood open, and thousands came out. Before that, men the Lord described as thieves and robbers might rise up, but the sheep did not listen to them.

Teachers of error are everywhere today. May God grant that it is true of us that "the sheep did not listen to them." And may He tune our ears to the Shepherd's voice, so that we listen to Him and follow Him. Then we will be able to tell whether those who take the place of preachers and teachers are really His servants or not.

"I am the door of the sheep." He came in by God's appointed way, so He is God's appointed way for everybody else. That is why He is the door. "If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved" — He is not taking them out now — "and will go in and out and find pasture."… If a soul goes in by Christ, he gets salvation, liberty, and food.

In verse 7 He is the door of the sheep, for those inside the fold. In verse 9 He is still the door, but not of the sheep. Grace and all it provides are for any, for all, who will accept them. So the language changes, and here the door stands wide open… Yet even with the door wide open, letting in people from the Gentiles as well as from the Jews, it is still a narrow entrance; only through Christ, the door, can anyone enter.

It is not a long, dreary, winding passage, but a door; and to enter a door takes only one step. A person outside the door takes one step, and he is inside; he has entered in. And so the soul that believes what God says — that salvation is by Christ alone — enters God's presence at once by faith, through Jesus the Saviour, who died to save sinners.

To enter through the door is to believe on Jesus the Son of God. Whoever does can be sure of salvation on His word: "he will be saved." Note this well: He promises it to the one who enters through Christ. No one but the Son of God gives such assurance. He is the Saviour, and no one else is. The church consists of the saved, but cannot save: only Christ can and does.

A second blessing is liberty. The Shepherd directs His sheep, and they "will go in and out". The Jewish fold shut the sheep out from direct access to God, and forbade them to go out to the Gentile. Under the leadership of Christ, His flock has the liberty and privilege of access to God in worship. It can also go out to the world with the good news of the grace of God.

The next thing is, "and find pasture." Under the law there was no food for sinners, only the curse and death… How sweet it is when the saints are eager to feed on Christ. How sweet it is when they take the chance to study the word on their own, not as an intellectual exercise, but as food for their souls… The food we have is Christ.

The sheep found salvation in the Shepherd, which the fold could not give. The sheep were to be free. The fold gave them a sort of safety, but it was the safety of a prison. They would find pasture; they would feed in the rich pastures of God… Security is no longer imprisonment, but the care of the Good Shepherd. Free under His care, the sheep feed in safety in the vast and rich pastures of God.

As for the thief, he came to steal, to kill, and to destroy. He wanted to profit himself by greed and dishonesty, and he did it by causing the sheep suffering and loss. The Good Shepherd came instead to save and to give life, and to give it more abundantly. It cost Him His own life, laid down for the sheep.

If He had not come and died, there would have been no life at all for sinful people. Because He came and died, He gives life — and gives it in abundant measure to His sheep.

"I came," said the Lord, "that they may have life and have it abundantly." That is how the original should read. The older King James translation says "more abundantly," and that is not the sense. He gives life in its fullness, in its abundance. What a word for the Jews standing by! The One they despised, and would kill if they could, came to give life to dead souls!

"Above the common" is the force of the word "abundantly." Christ came to give this new life.

There had been life when there was only a promise; there had been life all through the dealings of law. Clearly Christ had always been the means of life from the day death entered the world. But now that He had come, they would not only have life. They would have it "more abundantly." That was the effect of God's Son being here in this world. The Son of God humbled Himself in this world, even to death, the death of the cross. He also died in atonement for sinners. Was it not right that God should mark that infinite work and person with a far richer blessing than He had ever poured out before?

The "more abundantly" of verse 10 means more than the life every believer from Adam had. It means the liberty that redemption brought them into. It means life in resurrection power and character. Before that, they were treated no better than servants, though everything was theirs.

Last of all, these blessings bring the sheep into the enjoyment of life. It is a life of communion with divine Persons, and it leads to fullness of joy. This is the abundant life. Natural life, even at its best, falls short, and its joy fails.

"I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly." That is our portion. Not the weak life of a sick man. Not bare existence. Thank God we have spiritual existence, but we have more. We have spiritual vitality, strength and enjoyment. These are ours in the risen Shepherd, who in His goodness once laid down His life for the sheep.

To us today there is not only life but life "more abundantly". It is a good thing to ask ourselves, "Am I taking hold of the real abundant life that Christ has made known?" We all have to look at ourselves, whether we are young Christians or old ones.

Since the days of Abel there have been many faithful shepherds. Men like Moses and David tended their flocks with the care of a kind shepherd. As men, they were "good shepherds." But "a good shepherd," or "some good shepherd," is not "The Good Shepherd" — or "The Shepherd, the good One."

He protected his father's sheep, entrusted to his care, at the risk of his own life. Through the grace and help of God he proved himself to be the very best of all good shepherds among men. But could David, for all that, ever be called "The good Shepherd"? No. David has not given, nor could he "give" his life. Staking your life and giving your life are two very different things. At first glance they may look almost equally worthy, or even the same… Only Jesus could give His life, as perfect Man, because His life had not, like ours, been forfeited by sin. So He alone, and no one else, can be called "The good Shepherd."

When He gave up His life for the sheep, the Lord showed Himself the very opposite of the hired shepherds before or since. Their slender interest in the flock vanished at the first roar of the lion or growl of the bear. Shepherds like that bargained for wages, not for wolves. They cared for themselves, not for the flock.

His death has done everything for them. It has redeemed them, washed them from their sins, justified them, and bought them for heaven. Still, I think the aim of the passage is the love and devotion of the Good Shepherd. Rather than lose His sheep, He lays down His life.

But this really made His death necessary. No one born in sin could enjoy any spiritual blessing apart from the Lord's atoning death. Everything believers enjoyed from Abel until the Lord's day was given in view of the sacrifice He would offer. The sacrifices of the past were only pictures of it… Here in this discourse (verse 11) the Lord first speaks in plain language of His death, and that for the sheep. They all need life. He would provide it, and He would die so that they might have it forever. Love indeed was this!

The sword awoke against the Shepherd, and He proved Himself to be the Shepherd by standing between that sword and the sheep… He laid down His life; no one took it from Him. He had power to lay it down and power to take it again. These are wonderful words, proclaiming the fact of His Deity, for no creature could have spoken like that. Yet in the same passage He says, "This commandment I have received from My Father" (v. 18)… The supreme power of Deity was His. Yet He shows Himself to us in complete submission to the Father's command.

He gave His life for the sheep. He entered the field where death seemed to rule unchallenged. There He brought to nothing the one who had the power of death, that is, the devil. David struck down the mighty giant in the valley of Elah. In the same way the Good Shepherd, by dying, destroyed the great enemy and won deliverance for the sheep.

The hireling does not necessarily teach false doctrine, but he serves for wages. Peter warns us against shepherding the flock of God for "shameful gain" (1 Peter 5:2). He also warns that some will arise who "in their greed" will "exploit" the saints (2 Peter 2:3). Christendom has largely fallen into the snare of the hireling. The hireling may profess to tend the sheep but his motive is self. So when danger arises, he thinks of his own safety and flees.

Thirdly, there is the Hireling (verse 12). He may serve the sheep in useful ways; may give them food and water. But he is not their owner; he does his duty in return for his wages. When an emergency comes, however, he fails. He considers his own interests rather than those of the sheep.

The sheep are not the hireling's own, so he will not suffer to save them. But the Shepherd loves them with a never-dying love. He will face every foe and every question on their behalf. He became Man so that He might die for them. They lay under the condemnation of death, and only His death could deliver them from it.

He is not shepherd, but he has the sheep under his care… He is there for the gain from the sheep. He acts from this view, not from care for the sheep… Those who have been shepherds of the Church in name only have had this character — not devouring the sheep, but being unfaithful to them. If they have not been thieves, they have been "hirelings." Caring for the fold counts for nothing. What marks the true Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, is caring for the sheep, because they are His sheep.

The wolf is Satan himself, who acts through his servants, masquerading as "servants of righteousness." He is out to do all the damage to the sheep that he can. He cannot snatch them out of the Shepherd's hand — the same word this verse uses — but he can and does catch them in other ways, and scatter them. He has been only too successful in this evil work.

Here the Lord first describes not their trials, but the character of the man who claims what is not his own but Christ's. That man deserts them openly in the hour of danger… Divine love worked in God's purpose and will, and it worked in Christ's death too. Nothing is good or acceptable where love is not the motive. It is the true and only right spring of service — as the Lord said to the servant, now fully restored and reinstated after denying Him, "Feed My lambs — My sheep."

Let us beware when difficulties arise among the people of God. We must not act on the principle of the hireling. That means thinking only of our own safety and comfort in our own path, and so deserting the sheep in the time of danger and distress.

The Lord Himself marks the difference between what the care of human shepherds achieves and the security His own care gives. Speaking of the security of His sheep, He says, "He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep," and, "the wolf snatches them and scatters them." But further on He says, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."

The contrast here is no longer only with a thief or a robber, with murderous intent or plainly selfish aims of the worst kind. There might be others marked by a milder form of human evil. They do not destroy the sheep, but they are out for themselves.

Now we have another character, "the hireling"; not the thief, but the hireling. He is not shepherd, but he has the sheep under his care. This is a terrible state of things. The sheep are not his. He is there for the gain from the sheep. He acts from this view, not from care for the sheep.

Here is a shepherd who is only looking after the sheep for his wages. He has no vital interest in the sheep. He does his duty, we hope, but in an emergency he is not going to sacrifice himself for the sheep. So when the wolf comes, he runs away. The sheep do not really belong to him, and he does not care for them. There is no link at all between him and the sheep he is meant to tend and watch.

Some men openly take the position of pastor of the flock of God for mere gain or social privileges. When persecution then puts those things at risk, such a man runs from his post. That shows he is at best only a hireling. The hireling cares for the fleece of the sheep, and not for the sheep themselves. Sadly, this is widely seen in Christendom today.

The fold is in his power, and the sheep are merely the most helpless part of his prey. Still, he is not the wolf. He carries the name of shepherd, but he is not one; he is a hireling. He sees the wolf coming, and he runs away. Those who have carried the name of shepherd in the Church have had this character — not devouring the sheep, but unfaithful. If they have not been thieves, they have been hirelings. Caring for the fold is nothing. What marks the true Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, is caring for the sheep, because they are His sheep.

Just as divine love worked in God's purpose and will, so it worked in Christ's death. Nothing is good or acceptable where love is not the motive. Love is the true and only right source of service. The Lord showed this to the servant He had fully restored and reinstated after his denial of Him: "Feed My lambs — My sheep." He does hold out the most glorious rewards to encourage a servant who is already on Christ's path and is quick to be cast down by its difficulties. But love alone is recognised as what makes him serve.

When difficulties arise among the people of God, let us beware of acting on the principle of the hireling. That means thinking only of our own safety and comfort in our own path. It means deserting the sheep in the time of danger and distress.

The Lord Himself marks the difference between the care of human shepherds, with its effect, and the security His own care gives. Speaking of the safety of His sheep, He says the hireling runs away. He runs because he is a hireling and has no care for the sheep. The wolf then comes, seizes the sheep and scatters them. But further on He says that He gives them eternal life. They will never perish, and no one can snatch them out of His hand.

The hireling is not necessarily evil like the thief; but being a man who works for wages, his interest is primarily a monetary one. The sheep are of interest to him only so far as they are the means of his livelihood. He does not really care for them enough to risk his skin on their behalf. It is far otherwise with the Shepherd, who lays down His life for them and establishes a link of wonderful intimacy.

As for the sheep, they hear His voice, and follow Him. Then, speaking of Himself, He declares, "I know them." Of the sheep's knowledge of Him He here makes no mention. His knowledge of them He makes prominent. How gracious was this! Many a person might question his or her knowledge of Christ. Did they know Him rightly? Did they know Him as they ought? And then write bitter things against themselves. Now here He gives no room for such morbid thoughts. The question for them is a very different one. Do they hear His voice? Do they follow Him?

He knows His sheep with a perfect knowledge. Their weakness, their ignorance, their tendency to wander, their many needs — He knows them all. And knowing them, He loves them with a love that led Him to lay down His life for the sheep.

It might be said, if He has given His life for them, He can do nothing more. But no! it is not so with Him. See verse 14, "I know my own and my own know me." There is not only caring for the flock as a whole, but for the individual sheep.

The 14th and 15th verses really form one sentence. They are not divided as we have them in our Bibles. The meaning is that He showed Himself as the good Shepherd because He knew the sheep, and they knew Him, just as He knew the Father and the Father knew Him. The knowledge that the Father and the Son have of each other is the pattern for the knowledge between the Shepherd and the sheep.

The Lord Jesus Christ wants to give us an idea of the intimacy that will exist between Himself, the Good Shepherd, and the sheep. To do it, He has to tell us of the intimacy that exists between the Father and the Son. This is far better than visiting terms: these are at home terms… What a contrast to Judaism, where there was distance.

This is the highest blessing the sheep are capable of. It means entering into His own thoughts, ways, and desires — yes, the knowledge of Himself. This is how He brings us into communion with Him. We may know His voice, and be following Him, and yet have little acquaintance with His character.

The feeblest believer finds no difficulty when the Son of God says, "I know my own"… We are sure that He knows us. He knows all things and all men. Deep inside, we know that He knows and loves His own… Not one of His sheep ever escapes the watchfulness of His eyes! Not one is ever forgotten for one moment by His loving heart!

This mutual knowledge almost entirely disappears in the Authorised Version because of the unhappy full stop between verses 14 and 15, and the mistranslation of the earlier clause of verse 15 that follows from it.

Verses 14 and 15 really form one sentence. They are not divided as we have them in our Bibles. The meaning is that He showed Himself to be the good Shepherd because He knew the sheep and they knew Him, just as He knew the Father and the Father knew Him. The mutual knowledge between the Father and the Son is the pattern of the knowledge between the Shepherd and the sheep.

Of course this does not state the measure of the intimacy between the sheep and the Shepherd. They could never reach the same measure that exists between the Father and the Son. Still, it is true that the same character of intimacy is theirs with Him... By God's Word and Spirit, His grace and power and love have produced in the sheep a nature fitted by God for this wonderful privilege.

From this comparison we can be sure that the knowledge of Christ's sheep here is neither uncertain nor unclear. It is the knowledge of a Person, not knowledge about Him. Knowledge about the Lord does grow over time. But knowing Him is what marks the very youngest lamb of the flock, as one who is not of the world, which does not know Him.

This is the highest blessing the sheep are capable of, for it means entering into His own thoughts, ways and desires — yes, the knowledge of Himself. This is how we are brought into communion with Him. We may know His voice, and be following Him, and yet not be well acquainted with His character.

From what the letters make clear, I can tell you how it can exist. It exists through the gift of the Holy Spirit, by the indwelling Spirit... The Lord is saying, "I am going to start something that far outshines anything known before I came. I am going to bring My sheep into this wonderful position where they may have intimate knowledge and communion with Me."

"Lays down His life," or soul (compare Isaiah 53:10). The word for "life" here is quite different from the one in verse 10 (life in contrast with death). The following "for," as Meyer says, shows substitution, not just benefit.

The hired man cares only for his wages. The sheep are not his own, and he takes no personal interest in them... By contrast, between the Good Shepherd and His own there is a bond of the most tender intimacy... His sheep know Him, for they have received His life and nature, and in this way have been brought into communion.

He adds, "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life." Here He does not say "for the sheep." He says simply "that I may take it up again." So besides laying down His life for the sheep, He laid it down to prove His perfect confidence in His Father... It was the most complete, absolute giving up of Himself.

Here the Lord can speak clearly for the first time of other objects of His love. He might come as minister of the circumcision for the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). But His love could not be so limited, when His death opens the floodgates. The mention of His death leads Him to speak of what was quite outside Israel. "And I have other sheep that are not of this fold" — not the Jewish people, inside their enclosure of law and ordinance.

This was the system of Jewish ordinances that God appointed. It formed the enclosure the Lord entered by the door, to find His own sheep and lead them out. Gentile believers were added to them. They became one flock (not "one fold") with one Shepherd, the Lord Himself... There is no longer a fold on earth for those that are Christ's. They are formed into the church — the one flock.

I would not say a sheep is a sheep from all eternity, because the person did not exist. But I hold clearly that he was a sheep before he was converted. Christ says, "I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also"; and, "My sheep hear my voice."

"I must bring them also" — it was an obligation on Him from His Father, and what was due from His own love. "Bring," not "lead out," as before with the Jewish sheep.

The Lord refers to us — "must bring." Don't you delight in that word must? It is a strong word of power, but it is a strong word of divine affection too. "Bring" them from where? From wherever their hiding-places are. "I must bring them out," and He has "brought us to God."

His own voice was heard in the deepest part of the soul, in Gentile as well as Jew. That formed a precious link between each sheep and Christ Himself. So His flock was made up, with all the blessing He had been opening out for those who entered in by Christ as the door. It rests, as all blessing does, on His laying down His life for the sheep.

God was going to call out a chosen number from among the Gentiles. We see the start of it early in Acts — the Ethiopian in Acts 8, Cornelius and his friends in Acts 10. Sheep held together by outward restrictions: that was Judaism. Sheep made a flock by the Shepherd's own power and attraction: that is Christianity.

The translators probably thought a fold was absolutely necessary for sheep. So they rendered John 10:16 "one fold, one Shepherd." It is now well known to be "one flock, one Shepherd." The two ideas are quite different. The first makes the Shepherd not enough for the flock. The second states that He is enough by Himself.

There is one flock as there is one Shepherd; one body, as there is one Lord. All who have heard His voice, believed on Him, and entered in by Him are members of the one flock.

Here the Lord leaves behind the figures of shepherd and door. We stand, as it were, on holy ground. There, in the relations the divine Persons have with one another, we may even learn the manner of the love in which they exist eternally... And yet He was the object of the Father's love before the foundation of the world. Like the glory He had with Him before the world was, the love also was eternal.

The Father always loved His Son: He lived in His bosom. When, however, that well-loved Son laid down His life at Calvary, His love went out to Him in a new way. It gave the Father a fresh motive to love Him.

In this act of devotedness, the gift of His life, the point is not only the feelings of the sheep, but of the Father. Jesus could give a motive to the Father that He should love Him: it is only a divine Person who could do this. The Father takes pleasure in the faithfulness of His children. But something more was a motive for the Father's affection: to lay down His life, to give Himself even to death, and to take His life again in resurrection, restoring the Father's glory that sin and death had tarnished. To give Himself in this way was His own act, an act of voluntary devotedness; but, having become Man and Servant, it was still an act according to His Father's will.

The Lord does not add here "for the sheep," nor should we limit His death to ourselves. He lets us see the value His own laying down of His life had in itself. No wonder, if only for the depth beyond measuring to which His own devotedness went down. But no one except the Father knows what He found in it: love, confidence in Him, self-surrender, and moral excellence in every way. It was crowned by the personal dignity of the One who stood in a nearness to the Father beyond words, and who was pleased to die.

The Father loves Him not only for laying down His life, but for laying it down that He might take it again. In this last clause we have resurrection. Death was His own act and so also resurrection. This does not contradict or clash with the part both the Father and the Spirit had in His glorious resurrection (Rom. 6:4; 1 Peter 3:18).

What follows that? Does He simply go back as He came, finished with His humanity, having no more use for it, because the work is done? No! The life He laid down He takes up again. In another way, of course — in the way of glory — but He still takes it up. He takes up the human life, to live as a Man among the men gathered around Him forever and forever. Oh, think of the Father's love delighting in Him just because He does that!

The laying down of this life refers to His condition as a man in subjection and responsibility. In resurrection He takes it again, but without the responsible condition He took on so that He could die. He is a divine Person, equal with the Father and the Spirit in Deity, and that life He could never give up. But He had come into a life of responsibility, and He laid down His life as One who is God when He gave up His life of responsible manhood in dying on the cross.

No man takes My life from Me! That means that it was impossible for men to kill Him. In intent they did it. They spared no effort to bring Him down to death, and from this point of view they were His murderers. But when they had done all that their devil-inspired malice could think up, He freely laid down His life as a sacrifice for sin. He did not die by the violence of men, nor by any natural cause.

Death was no necessity of the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. All other men must die through Adam; Christ did not have to... He bore the consequences of the first Adam only for others, by God's will and in His own sovereign love... He alone of all men could say this since the world began. Adam in the garden of Eden could not speak like this; Christ alone had the title according to the rights of His person.

Not by constraint but freely He lays down His life: "No one takes My life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself: I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again." For as Man, He will not dispose of His own life without the Father's sanction; but that is not all: "this commandment have I received of My Father."

In John 5:19 we read, "The Son can do nothing of Himself." In John 14:10, "The words that I speak to you I do not speak from Myself."... But now, speaking of laying down His life, He says, "No man takes it from Me, but I lay it down from Myself." He asserts that He has power to lay it down and power to take it again. Yet He adds, "This commandment I received from My Father." This teaches us that He had the power, being what He was. Even so, He would only use it in obedience to His Father, in keeping with the place of subjection He had freely taken.

A creature could never have the power of choosing to do the will of his Creator. When a man obeys, he does no more than his duty. In that he is no more than an unworthy servant (Luke 17:10). The Son, however, is equal with God. He could announce His own agreement with the divine will and purpose, saying, "Behold, I have come to do your will, O God" (Heb. 10:7)... so this act, beyond all comparison, has immeasurable worth and is fully acceptable.

In other Gospels He told His disciples again and again how the chief priests and rulers would hand Him over to the Gentiles, so that they would put Him to death. Yet here He asserts that no man would take His life from Him. Both His death and His resurrection would be His own acts. Men did to Him what makes death unavoidable for any mere man. Yet in His case none of it would have had any effect if He had not chosen to lay down His life... but now He is to take up His life in resurrection, and so He was to become the very life of His own in the power of the Spirit.

In perfect peace He declares that all is finished, and He gives up His spirit Himself. No one takes it from Him; it is He Himself who gives it up. This was a divine act. He had suffered everything in His soul when God forsook Him. Then, in perfect calmness, He owns that all is accomplished. He Himself separates His spirit from His body and gives it up to God, His Father.