John 10:27–29

Context

According to the Gospel of John 10:22 and following, Jesus spoke these words to the Jews in Solomon's porch of the temple in Jerusalem during the winter Feast of Dedication, a Jewish festival commemorating the dedication of the temple. When they demanded, "If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly" (John 10:24), Jesus answered that his works already bore witness to him, yet they did not believe because they were not "my sheep." He then described the marks of his sheep and the promise they receive.

This answer continues the shepherd-and-sheep imagery of the preceding parable of the Good Shepherd (10:1–18). Immediately afterward, in verse 30, Jesus says, "I and my Father are one," and the Jews take up stones to stone him.

Interpretation

The passage sets side by side what the sheep do (hear and follow) and what the shepherd does (knows them, gives them eternal life, and keeps them).

• Reformed reading: The Reformed tradition, including Presbyterianism, cites this passage as a principal basis for the perseverance of the saints, the doctrine that those who are truly saved will never finally fall away from the faith. This tradition reads the promise that they "shall never perish," together with the double protection of the Son's hand and the Father's hand, as God's promise to preserve salvation to the end. It also reads "which gave them me" in verse 29 alongside John 6:37–40, connecting it with those whom the Father has entrusted to the Son, that is, with election. The doctrine is treated in chapter 17 of the Westminster Confession of Faith.
• Wesleyan-Arminian reading: The Wesleyan and Arminian traditions, including Methodist and Holiness churches, likewise accept this passage as a guarantee that no external power can snatch believers away. They emphasize, however, that the promise is addressed to sheep who "hear" and "follow." Noting that both verbs in the Greek original are in the present tense, denoting continuing action, they hold that the passage does not extend its guarantee to those who have ceased to hear and follow, and that believers may still forsake the faith of their own accord.
• Christological reading: "My hand" in verse 28 and "my Father's hand" in verse 29 are set in parallel as performing the same role, and the passage leads directly into verse 30. Many commentators therefore also read it as a text revealing the unity of the Son and the Father. It is cited together with verse 30 in expositions of the doctrine of the Trinity.

Debates and Issues

• Perseverance and the possibility of falling away: In the debate over predestination and free will, this passage is a principal text cited by those who affirm perseverance. The opposing side points to warning passages such as Hebrews 10:26–31 and 2 Peter 2:20–22. The Reformed side regards such warnings as means by which true believers are brought to persevere to the end, or reads them as referring to those who were never true believers in the first place (1 John 2:19). The Wesleyan tradition reads them as warnings that one can actually fall away.
• Caution against misuse: Those who hold to perseverance also explain that the doctrine does not mean "once you have believed, it does not matter how you live." They maintain that the doctrine includes the teaching that true believers continue in repentance and holy living.
• Textual variant in verse 29: Verse 29 is known for a textual variant. Depending on the Greek manuscripts, it may be read either as "My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all" or as "What my Father has given me is greater than all." Among Korean Bible translations, the Korean Revised Version and the Revised New Korean Version follow the former reading. Whichever reading is adopted, the conclusion that "no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand" remains the same.

Perspective: Korean Protestant practiceHow this idea is used in Korean churches, kept from the original Korean article.

In Korean Protestant churches, the passage is frequently cited in sermons on the assurance of salvation and in nurture programs such as new member classes. The words of verse 27, "My sheep hear my voice," are also used to describe a life of faith that seeks God's guidance through meditation on Scripture and prayer.

Related Passages

• John 5:24–25
• Philippians 1:6
• Ezekiel 34:11–16
• Romans 8:38–39