See note John 10:9^1a; so in the succeeding verses.

The sheepfold signifies the law, or Judaism as the religion of the law, in which God's chosen people were kept and guarded in custody until Christ came.

Thieves and robbers (v. 8) signify those who came into Judaism, but not through Christ.

The blind man who received sight in the previous chapter was such a sheep. He was led by the Lord out of the Judaism-fold. Hence, this chapter is a continuation of ch. 9.

Christ is the door not only for God's elect to enter into the custody of the law, as did Moses, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah in the Old Testament time, before Christ came, but also for God's chosen people, such as Peter, John, James, and Paul, to come out of the fold of the law now that Christ has come. Thus, the Lord indicated here that He is the door not only through which God's elect may go in but also through which God's chosen people may go out.

The pasture here signifies Christ as the feeding place for the sheep. When the pasture is not available (e.g., in the wintertime or at night), the sheep must be kept in the fold. When the pasture is ready, there is no further need for the sheep to remain in the fold. To be kept in the fold is transitional and temporary. To be in the pasture enjoying its riches is final and permanent. Before Christ came, the law was a ward, and being under the law was transitional. Now that Christ has come, all God's chosen people must come out of the law and come into Him to enjoy Him as their pasture (Gal. 3:23-25; 4:3-5). This should be final and permanent. Because they did not have such a revelation, the leaders in Judaism considered the law, on which Judaism was based, as permanent. As a result, they missed Christ and could not participate in Him as their pasture.

Gk. zoe. This word is used in the New Testament for the eternal, divine life.

Gk. psuche, soul; i.e., soul-life, and so in the succeeding verses. As a man, the Lord has the psuche life, the human life, and as God, He has the zoe life, the divine life. He laid down His soul, His psuche life, His human life, to accomplish redemption for His sheep (vv. 15, 17-18) that they may share His zoe life, His divine life (v. 10b), the eternal life (v. 28), by which they can be formed into one flock under Himself as the one Shepherd. As the good Shepherd, He feeds His sheep with the divine life in this way and for this purpose.

The other sheep are the Gentile believers (Acts 11:18).

The one flock signifies the one church, the one Body of Christ (Eph. 2:14-16; 3:6), brought forth by the Lord's eternal, divine life, which He imparted into His members through His death (vv. 10-18). The fold is Judaism, which is of letter and regulation, and the flock is the church, which is of life and spirit.

From 170 B.C. to 168 B.C., Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, invaded Jerusalem and looted the temple. Moreover, on December 25, 168 B.C., he sacrificed a sow on the altar and set up an image in the temple, thus defiling and damaging the temple. Three years later, in 165 B.C., Judas Maccabaeus, a strong man of Judah, purified and restored the altar and the temple. He set December 25 — the day on which the altar and the temple had been defiled — as the beginning of a sacred feast that was to have eight consecutive days of rejoicing to celebrate the great achievement of the purification and restoration of the altar and the temple. This sacred feast is the Feast of the Dedication mentioned here.

See note John 5:43^1a.

Eternal life (see note John 3:15¹) is for the believers' living. The Father's hand, by which He chooses in His love according to His purpose (John 17:23; 6:38-39), and the Son's hand, by which He saves by His grace for the fulfillment of the Father's purpose (John 1:14; 6:37), both of which have the keeping power, are for the believers' protection. Eternal life will never run out, and the hands of the Father and the Son will never fail. Hence, the believers are eternally secure and will never perish.

See note John 10:28^1a.

Here the Lord asserted His deity, that is, that He is God (v. 33; 5:18; 1:1; 20:28; 1 John 5:20; Phil. 2:6).

See note John 1:6¹.

At this point the Lord left the temple and went to the very place where John the Baptist had given the New Testament testimony concerning Him. This signifies that He abandoned Judaism and came to the new ground, where many believed into Him.