broken.(q) He was to be “a sign which should be spoken against, that the thoughts of many hearts might be revealed.(r) There was no formal judgment indeed to be pronounced as yet. This was reserved for the end of all things. (s) But in the meantime he that believed not, was just as effectually condemned already; because he believed not in the Name of the Only Begotten Son of GOD. "And this is the condemnation," (said our SAVIOUR to Nicodemus,) "that Light is come into the World, and men loved Darkness rather than Light, because their works were evil." (t)

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It is therefore in the sense which the words last quoted suggest, that our SAVIOUR here says, For judgment came I into this World." Had it not been prophesied, concerning His appearing, that He should be "like a refiner's fire," "purifying the Sons of Levi, and purging them as gold and silver?"(u) Was not this He, "whose fan is in His Hand, and He shall thoroughly purge His floor;" making a separation between the chaff and the wheat?" (v) But neither of these images is here employed. CHRIST is here "dividing the Light from the Darkness,” — which had also been His work on the Birthday of Creation. Men promptly showed themselves to belong to the one or to the other state, (for "Darkness" is a moral state in the language of Scripture;) and by thus arranging themselves in two great classes, they anticipated, as it were, their own final sentence; and the Work of the Great and terrible Day became exhibited in emblem, even at the first Advent of CHRIST.

The consequence was, that the blind, (that is, simple and ignorant, yet meek and faithful men,) saw; while the seeing, (that is, the vain pretenders to discernment, proud and presumptuous persons,) were made blind. And this had been the well known prediction of prophecy from the first.(w)

40 And some of the Pharisees which were with Him heard these words, and said unto Him, are we blind also?

Some "which were with Him," — to show that they heard Him utter this saying, themselves. The expression seems also to imply that certain of the Pharisees maliciously followed our SAVIOUR about. Their question seems to be asked in anger. They fully apprehended the sense of His words; perceived that He spoke of spiritual blindness, (although with an allusion to His recent miracle ;) and indignantly inquire whether He means to insinuate that they labour under the infirmity of which He speaks?

41 JESUS said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

A terrible sentence truly! Our SAVIOUR says, "If ye were indeed in a benighted condition, there would be excuse for you: or if, being blind, ye were eager to "anoint your eyes with eye-salve, that ye might see(x)—if ye were ready to confess your blindness, and to pray for its removal,-it should be removed. But whereas ye make a boast of living in the full blaze of Light,- behold, your sin remaineth."

CHAPTER X.

1 CHRIST is the Door, and the Good Shepherd. 19 Divers opinions of Him. 24 He proveth by His Works that He is CHRIST the SON of GOD: 39 escapeth the Jews: 40 and went again beyond Jordan, where many believed on Him.

It is reasonable to presume that the present Discourse should be regarded as

(q) See 1 St. Pet. ii. 6 to 8, and 2 Cor. ii. 16. Is. viii. 14, and also Rom. ix. 33.

having immediate connection with the short dialogue with which chapter ix. concludes. Indeed, were it not for the division into chapters, no break would probably have ever been suspected. If there was any truth, therefore, in the suggestion hazarded at the end of the note on chap. ix. 34, our SAVIOUR will have already arrived at Jerusalem in order to keep the Feast of Dedication, which obtains special notice below, in verse 22. But it is impossible to pronounce with any degree of certainty on this subject; and a very careful reader is able to form as trustworthy an opinion as his guide. Learned men are not agreed whether the Healing of the Blind Man, recorded in chapter ix., took place at the Feast of Tabernacles, or afterwards: (a) and till this is decided, the arrangement of the rest of the narrative must perforce be uncertain. It is a satisfaction to reflect, on all such occasions, that if it were at all needful that we should enjoy the sense of certainty, the witness of the SPIRIT would have been express. An instructive inference may surely be drawn from the very silence and seeming indifference of the Evangelists in such matters. The subject, (they seem to say,) is of no real importance. Give heed to what thy LORD tells thee, rather than trouble thyself about discovering when He said it. . It would be easy to expand these remarks; but the subject shall be left for the thoughtful reader to pursue for himself.

....

The formula by which the parable of the Door of the Sheep is prefaced in verse 1, and proceeded with in verse 7, sufficiently proclaims its solemnity and importance: (see the last words of the note on St. John vi. 46:) while a little attention to the Discourse itself is enough to convince any one of its extreme difficulty likewise. In its progressive character, it reminds us of our LORD's discourses recorded in the fifth and sixth chapters of the present Gospel. See the latter part of the commentary on St. John vi. 35.

1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But He that entereth in by the door is the Shepherd of the sheep.

Rather "a Shepherd of the sheep." CHRIST alone is "the Shepherd:" and He will be found presently, (namely, in verse 11,) to reveal Himself by that name. At first, (namely, from verses 1 to 10 of the present chapter,) He discourses of Himself as "the Door" of the sheep and the shepherds spoken of are all those to whom He gives a commission to "feed His sheep."(b) That the attributes of a good Shepherd which our LORD proceeds to indicate, (and this one among the rest,) are fully exhibited in His own person alone, is true; but this does not affect our interpretation of the Parable. Every expression in it has a marked reference to CHRIST. His language, in order to be fully understood, must be interpreted of Himself. But still, it is plain that it is not of Himself that He is primarily speaking.

What then may be the connection between the present Discourse and that which went before? Our LORD's intention seems to have been to pass a sentence of utter condemnation on the sinful individuals who had recently excommunicated (c) the Man born blind, and denounced Himself as a sinner.(d) So far from allowing them to be faithful Pastors who had thus ejected from Church-membership one whose offence had been that he believed in Him, our SAVIOUR informs them, first, that admission to the Ministry can only be procured through Himself: and that as many as obtain the pastoral commission in any other way except by Faith in Him, are but "thieves and robbers."- Next, whereas the Pharisees had excluded the Man born blind from the Fold of the Church, our LORD gives them to understand what a terrible mistake they labour under. In the exercise of the power of the keys with which they were entrusted, they had thought themselves at liberty to close the door against this man. (e) But, "I am the Door," saith our SAVIOUR CHRIST! "By Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." Thus, the first part of the parable, (down to verse 6,) refers chiefly to the Pharisees: the latter part, (verses 7 to 10,) chiefly to the object of their recent cruelty.

What is it then for a Shepherd to enter the sheepfold "by the Door," that is,

(a) See the conclusion of the note prefixed to St. John ix.

(6) Alluding to St. John xxi. 16, &c.

(c) See St. John ix. 34.

(e) Consider St. John xvi. 2.

(d) S. John ix. 24, 25, 29, 30.

CHRIST? Doubtless, it is above all things to be called lawfully, that is, according to CHRIST'S Institution. "And when our LORD, as Man, took upon Himself the care of the flock, He set a perfect example of conformity to the laws of entering upon and bearing that office." He "glorified not Himself to be made an High Priest; but He that said unto Him, Thou art My Son, to-day have I begotten Thee."(f) Accordingly, in setting forth those laws which regulate man's life in the Fold of GOD, and the order and government of it, He does not omit to speak of His own lawful entrance, and faithful endurance; and to make these the living and visible rule for all Pastors to follow."(g)

some

But, (it will be asked,) had not the men then whom CHRIST addressed, been lawfully called? As far as external vocation goes, they had, doubtless. They sat in Moses' seat, (h) and were armed with God's authority to dispense His Word and Sacraments. But something more than external vocation is necessary in GoD'S sight, without which the highest privileges may be forfeited. Thus, when these pastors were for thrusting CHRIST aside,-CHRIST, "the end of the Law,"(i) by and through whom they held their very commission,-who sees not that they were virtually undoing the work of their Ordination, and rejecting the Rock on which they were themselves built? CHRIST therefore denounces them by the appellation which belongs to as many as, neglecting the door, climb up into the sheepfold other way." He calls them "thieves and robbers;" that is, men who to acts of secret fraud are prepared to add deeds of open violence. As a proof how richly they deserved the former appellation, the reader has but to consider the villany hinted at in St. Matthew xxiii. 14 and 17; also in St. Mark vii. 13; on all of which three places he is requested to read the notes. (k) In illustration of the latter term of reproach, it may be enough to refer to the conduct of the Pharisees described in the former chapter, and lower down in verses 31 and 39; as well as elsewhere in the Gospel.(7) And take notice how both classes of offenders receive their sentence in those words of GOD's ancient prophet,-"Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.... With force and with cruelty have ye ruled them."(m) What a contrast is afforded by the conduct of Jacob,-an eminent type of CHRIST! "The rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts, I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it. Of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes."(n) “Which things are an allegory."

We may not doubt too that in the case of many who boast of Apostolic Ordination, there may have been no effectual entering "by the Door" into the sheepfold. The line of succession may be unbroken: every condition of a lawful Call to the Ministry may have been observed';(0) but if Faith and Humility, Love and Self-denial, be wholly wanting, there has been no effectual entering by CHRIST. In the words of a pious living writer:(p) "No self-confident Deacon; no ambitious, or covetous, or ease-loving Priest; no proud Prelate; none of these, though in right lineal descent from the Twelve or the Seventy, enter the sheepfold by CHRIST the

Door."

Another excellent Divine has said, "CHRIST may well be understood to mean that all who should be pastors under Him must enter by the door of His Commission, and perchance of imitation too. O awful thought for one who is entering into the sacred ministry of CHRIST'S Church, and into the charge of His flock! The outward transactions, and the ceremonies of Ordination, solemn though they be in themselves, do but veil CHRIST. Under the lintel of His Cross and His extended Hands, do they pass to the sheep which He has purchased with His Blood.

"Surely it is one part of a right entrance into the fold to comply with the example of our LORD; and again, earnestly to seek the personal inward grace, as well as duly to receive the external commission and grace of authority. Whatsoever conformity to CHRIST can be obtained by humility and zeal, whatsoever can

(f) Heb. v. 5.

(i) Rom. x. 4.

(g) Rev. C. Marriott.

(k) See also St. Luke xvi. 14.

(h) St. Matth. xxiii. 2.

(7) St. John vii. 1, 30, 45: viii. 59: ix. 22 to 34. See below, ver. 31, 39, &c., &c. And take notice that St. Matth. xxi. 13 should be translated "a den of robbers,”

(m) Ezek. xxxiv. 2, 3, 4.

(0) Heb. v. 4.

(n) Gen. xxxi. 38 to 40.

(2) Williams.

be won by prayer and fasting, whatsoever by patient endurance, all will go towards the blessed result of being known by His sheep for His, and feeding them safely in His Name."(q). . . . . Accordingly, it follows:

.....

3 To Him the Porter openeth;

This mention of "the Porter" shows that a very different kind of "sheepfold" is intended from those with which we are best acquainted. Consider Numbers xxxii. 16, 24 and 36.

By the Porter" is intended the HOLY SPIRIT,-who, at Ordination, conveys spiritual powers to the candidate for the Pastoral Office, and is ready to confer spiritual gifts upon him likewise. But he must strive to show himself a "shepherd of the sheep;"(r) that is, one who "takes the oversight of the flock" for the sake of the flock, and not "for filthy lucre's sake."(s)-To such, (our LORD says,) the Porter openeth:

and the sheep hear His voice: and He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

Consider what intimate knowledge, as well as what particular care of every member of the flock, is implied in this characteristic of a faithful shepherd. To understand the full import of the language of the text, refer to Exodus xxxiii. 12 and 17 also to Isaiah xliii. 1, and xlv. 4. The "Great Shepherd of the sheep," (t) in like manner, "calleth them all by their names,(u) having first bestowed on every member of His flock a name at his Baptism.

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He "leadeth them out" beside the still waters, and into green pastures: (x) that is, He procures for them spiritual refreshment, and guides them into the paths of Peace. But "the Great Shepherd of the sheep" doeth even more for the people of His pasture and the sheep of His Hand."(y) That the sheep "hear His voice," is more fully dwelt upon below, in verses 4 and 5. For the present, it shall suffice to draw therefrom the obvious inference that the shepherd must not be silent while he is among his sheep. The language of verse 27 will be found to supply a clue to our SAVIOUR'S sacred meaning in dwelling thus remarkably on the knowledge enjoyed by the sheep of their Shepherd's voice.

4 And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him; for they know His voice.

Not only in the East, and in the south of Europe, but in many parts of England, (on the Berkshire Downs for instance,) shepherds walk before their sheep ;-an exquisite type of the duty which attaches to the Pastoral Office, of being not only guides, but also "ensamples to the flock:"(z) making "ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us,"-as St. Paul writes to the Thessalonians. (a) Our SAVIOUR is related more than once literally to have walked in advance of His Disciples ;(b) and it is worth observing that on one occasion He is found to have gone first expressly in order to encounter danger, and to protect His Disciples from it. (c)

The sheep follow their Shepherd, therefore, because " they know his voice." They are familiar with its loving accents, and they recognize it instantly. The experience of past years has convinced them that he desires nothing so much as their own greatest good; they are ready therefore to follow his footsteps whithersoever he may lead the way.

5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

By the same instinct which enables them to recognize the voice of their own

(q) Rev. C. Marriott.

(*) 1 St. Pet. v. 2.

(r) Consider Heb. xiii. 20.
(t) Heb. xiii. 20.

(u) Ps. cxlvii. 4. Compare 1 Cor. xv. 41: and consider St. Luke xix. 5, St. John i. 48: xi. 43, &c.

(x) Ps. xxiii. 2.
(z) 1 St. Pet. v. 3.
(a) 2 Thess. iii. 9.
(b) See St. Mark x. 32.
(e) St. John xviii. 4, 8.

(y) See below, the note on ver. 28.

See also Phil. iii. 17. 1 Tim. iv. 12. Tit. ii. 7.
Also St. Matth. xxvi. 32.

Shepherd, they at once discern the voice of a stranger. They flee from his guidance, and are regardless of his call. And hereby, that spiritual discernment seems alluded to, which causes "the people of God's pasture and sheep of His care" to shrink away from and refuse to follow false teachers.

6 This parable spake JESUS unto them: but they understood not what things they were which He spake unto them.

The parable, or figurative language, here employed is indeed dark, even to us; but it must have been hopelessly obscure to them. Our LORD proceeds, in the next four verses, partially to explain Himself.

7 Then said JESUS unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the Door of the sheep.

We have been compelled, in a manner, to anticipate the great announcement which is here made for the first time; namely, that CHRIST is Himself “the Door." It is introduced by the formula of solemn assertion, "Verily, verily,"—which, by the way, our SAVIOUR's auditory much needed; for, in their estimation, to be of the seed of Israel “was the fold, and the door, and all things.”(d) Here then begins the interpretation of the Parable. The Divine Speaker's meaning is felt to be difficult: wherefore by the Door Himself is the door unfolded.

Take notice that He says not "the Door of the Sheepfold," but "the Door-of the sheep." That is, He is our "Door;" for through Him we offer up our prayers, and by Him have access to the FATHER. (e) By Him alone we enter the Church, and through Him we look for Salvation. Thus, the largeness of our SAVIOUR'S meaning begins to appear. He has already begun to divert our attention from the shepherd to the sheep: but He will be found to do so more fully below, in verse 9. 8 All that ever came before Me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

The first words are said with manifest reference to verse 1 of the present chapter: and, "Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! saith the LORD."(f) Literally, "All, as many as came." But the expression "all" requires interpretation; for of course "the goodly fellowship of the Prophets," who came before CHRIST, are not here intended. Nay, all these had duly entered the sheepfold by CHRIST, the Door, and were the authorized heralds of His approach. But allusion is made to those false Christs, those pretenders to be themselves "the Door," (such as Judas of Galilee, Theudas, (g) and the rest,) whom "the sheep did not hear; and yet more, as it seems, are those shepherds alluded to, whose shameful spoiling of the flock of CHRIST had been sternly denounced by His prophets Ezekiel and Zechariah ;(h) a race which it is evident were not yet without living representatives. For what else but "thieves" were the men who "devoured widows' houses,"(i) and had transformed the Temple of GOD not only into "a house of merchandise,"(j) but even into a very "den of thieves," (k) Their violence made them as robbers; and when they drew away disciples, what did they else but rob GoD? Nay, "in tithes and offerings," like their fathers, had they robbed Him;(7) and that, shamelessly. See above, the note on ver. 1.

9 I am the Door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

And thus, the interest which all men have in CHRIST, is plainly proclaimed: for He is declared to be the entrance not for shepherds only, (that is, for those in the Ministry:) but for the sheep likewise, that is, "any man," -as our LORD Himself explains. By this door, (says the holy martyr Ignatius,) "Abraham and Isaac and Jacob enter: the Prophets also, and the Apostles, and the Church." The preventing Grace of the HOLY SPIRIT, (the Porter,) opens this Door to those who knock in Faith; and Salvation is freely promised to as many as shall enter the sheepfold,

(d) Lightfoot.

(g) Acts v. 36, 37.

(e) St. John xiv. 6. Eph. ii. 16. (ƒ) Jer. xxiii. 1. (h) See Ezek. xxxiv. and Zech. xi.

(k) St. Matth. xxi. 13.

(i) St. Matth. xxiii. 14. St. Mark xii. 40. St. Luke xx. 47.

(j) St. John ii. 16.

(i) Malachi iii. 8, 9, &c.