John 10:27-28

“ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them; and they follow me 28 and I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. ”

Luthardt has divided the six clauses of these verses into two groups of three: on one side, the faith of the believer, his personal union with the Lord, and the fidelity with which he persists in this union (John 10:27); on the other, the gift of life which Jesus makes, the salvation which He assures to him, and the divine protection which He causes him to enjoy (John 10:28). But this division into two groups does not accord with the two κἀγώ, and I, at the beginning of the second and fourth clauses. These two pronouns indicate a repeated reciprocity between the conduct of the believer and that of Jesus, and thus speak in favor of the division of Bengel, who divides into three groups of two: 1st pair: faith of the believer in the word preached (“ hear my voice ”) and personal testimony of Christ given to the believer (“ I know them ”). 2d pair: practical fidelity of the believer thus known and loved (“ they follow me ”), and, on Christ's part, communication of the highest good, eternal life (“ I give them...”). The 3d pair states the indestructible character of the salvation which the believer thus possesses (“ they shall never perish ”), and the cause of this certainty, the fidelity of Jesus which will preserve them from every enemy (“ no one shall seize them...”). The first pair refers rather, like the first similitude, John 10:1-6, to the formation of the bond; the second, like the second similitude, John 10:7-10, to the life in this position; the third, like the picture, John 10:11-18, to the indestructible nature of this relation. The hand is here less the emblem of power, than that of property: “They shall not cease to be mine. ”