John 10:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

NIV: My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

NASB: My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

CSB: My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

NLT: for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.

KJV: My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

NKJV: My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

When explaining His ministry, using shepherding analogies (John 10:1–14), Jesus made the claim that His authority was given by God the Father (John 10:17–18). This caused controversy and debate—some thought Jesus was insane (John 10:20), others that His miracles proved He was a sincere messenger of God (John 10:21). The men who are accosting Jesus now are entirely convinced that He's wrong. They have cornered Jesus in an awkward location in the temple (John 10:22), probably already armed with rocks (John 10:31), and are daring Him to repeat these claims (John 10:24).

In response, Jesus pointed out that their disbelief was the result of stubbornness (John 5:39–40). They were not willing to believe since they were not part of the "sheep" given to Jesus by the Father (John 10:25–27). Jesus then continued to proclaim that the eternal life He offers (John 3:16) is absolutely irrevocable. In the prior verse, Jesus uses a Greek phrasing that is emphatic and forceful: they will not perish for all of eternity.

Here, Jesus again links His power and authority with that of God the Father. Those who are saved through Jesus Christ are saved because they are "given" to Jesus, and given by God. Jesus once again uses the symbolism of being "snatched," which He referred to in the prior verse (John 10:28) as well as His earlier statements about eternal life (John 10:12). Here, though, He indicates that it is the hand of the Father from which they cannot be taken.

The implication is that the hand of Jesus is identical to the hand of the Father—a conclusion Jesus is about to state very directly.

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.