John 10:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

NIV: The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, 'How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.'

NASB: The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, 'How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.'

CSB: The Jews surrounded him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."

NLT: The people surrounded him and asked, 'How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.'

KJV: Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

NKJV: Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

In the gospel of John, the phrase "the Jews" is most often a reference to the religious leaders of Jerusalem and their followers. These are the Pharisees, scribes, and other officials. It is with these men that Jesus has had His most cutting and divisive conflicts. The most recent occurred a few months prior, when Jesus preached at the Festival of Booths (John 7), debated with His critics (John 8), miraculously gave sight to a man born blind (John 9), and attempted to explain His ministry by using shepherding analogies (John 10:1–21).

The colonnade of Solomon was a column-lined walkway, or portico. It was open to the main temple grounds on one side but elevated from the surrounding eastern terrain on the other. A large portion of the outer edge was walled off. This meant Jesus was in an area with only one reasonable means of exit: through the temple. The men who approach Him here are clearly intending to block off His escape route.

The Greek term describing their action here is ekyklōsan, which is sometimes used to describe the act of siege. It literally means "to surround, encircle, or encompass." This is the ancient equivalent of a crowd of schoolyard bullies surrounding a victim, pushing them against the wall in a hallway. Later verses will describe them lifting stones to attack Jesus (John 10:31)—but this is inside the grounds of the temple, where suitable stones are not simply laying around. These men brought rocks, in advance, and with murderous intent. In this incident, Jesus is not simply being challenged. He's being threatened.

The challenge issued here must be heard in that context. This is not a dry academic question or a sincere plea. This, again, is like a crowd of bullies shoving someone against a wall and taunting them to speak. The phrase "keep us in suspense" is tēn psychēn hēmōn aireis? This literally implies "holding our souls" or "restraining our spirits." With rocks in hand, and Jesus cornered, His critics are all but daring Him to repeat His prior claims.

Which, of course, is exactly what Jesus does in the next verse.

John 10:22–42 happens a few months after the controversy described in chapter 9 through the first half of chapter 10. Here, Jesus is cornered, in an overt threat, by the same religious leaders He has been castigating for years. He echoes the metaphors of sheep and shepherd He employed after giving sight to a blind man. Jesus points out that His teachings and miracles are all consistent with predictions of the Messiah, but these men refuse to accept Him. This culminates in another attempt on Jesus' life, which He somehow avoids. This represents the last time Jesus will publicly teach prior to His crucifixion.

This passage continues Jesus' discussion with the religious leaders of Jerusalem, seen in chapter 9. Jesus lays out three separate analogies about His ministry, using the concept of sheep and shepherds. In those statements, Jesus explains why some people refuse to accept Him, declares Himself the only means of salvation, and again predicts His sacrificial death. This leads to controversy. Later, Jesus is cornered by a mob in the temple grounds. They once again try to stone Him as He repeats His divine claims, but He escapes in some way not fully described by the text. After this, Jesus leaves the area and returns to the region where John the Baptist had once preached.

Starting in chapter 7, the gospel of John describes Jesus' preaching at the Feast of Booths in Jerusalem. Through chapters 7 and 8, He debates with critics and attempts to explain spiritual truths. On the way out of the city, Jesus gives sight to a man born blind, as shown in chapter 9. That begins an extended debate which continues in this chapter. Jesus gives analogies of His mission using shepherding as a theme. Months later, He repeats those ideas when cornered by an aggressive mob in the temple. This sets the stage for His grandest miracle, the raising of Lazarus, seen in chapter 11.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.