The passage
      v22-23. The feast of Dedication was in full swing with the people celebrating the victory of true religion over the corruption of Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus had suppressed the worship of Jehovah and replaced it with the worship of Zeus. The victory of Judas Maccabaeus in 164BC, restored the worship of the true God in a cleansed and refurbished temple. So the people celebrated, yet as Jesus walked in the temple courts, the chilling wind that whistled around him well illustrated the cold hearts of faithless Israel.
      v24. The question of the Jews, or better, the Jewish authorities, concerns what they see as a tease. Jesus has never openly says he is the messiah. He is light of the world and the shepherd of the sheep, but is he the messiah? They want a clear claim that they can use in evidence against him.
      v25. Of course, in typical fashion, given that the question is probably hostile, Jesus answers indirectly. For those who have eyes to see, those who are seekers, both Jesus' teachings and his works clearly declare who he is. Yet, although his opponents both hear and see, they do not believe.
      v26-27. The reason Jesus' opponents do not listen, understand, believe and follow, is because they not members of his flock. Jesus is using the imagery of the shepherd and the sheep recorded in v1-18. Those who are his sheep hear his voice and follow him. On hearing Jesus' words we may well ask how a person becomes one of the flock. Jesus doesn't actually explain the process here, but it is simple enough - ask, seek and knock, for those who ask receive, those who seek find, and those who knock it is opened up to them. Always remember, we are saved by grace through faith.
      v28-29. Summarizing his teaching on the shepherd and the sheep, Jesus again makes the point that those who are his sheep are eternally blessed in the gift of, not just abundant life, but life eternal, a life where death is no more. Christ's sheep will also receive the gift of eternal security. No enemy will ever overpower Jesus' flock. The flock cannot be overpowered because God the Father is far greater than any enemy. In Christ we are secure.
      v30. This security is guaranteed because both the Father and the Son are at one when it comes to the gathering, protecting and eternal blessing of the flock.

Blessed assurance
      If you scratch a believer, you will often expose a lack of assurance. We constantly doubt our eternal security. Our Christian lives are weak and compromised, rebellious even, so we easily doubt the security of our place in eternity?
      This passage reminds us of just how secure we are. The gathering of the flock, the protection of that flock and its eternal blessing, is in the hands of the divine Godhead. Both the Father and Son are one in action when it comes to the security of Christ's new community.
      We should be able to rest secure in the wonderful claim made by Jesus, a claim that is in full accord with the Father, that "I give them eternal life and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand." Yet, behind this promise lies our fear that we could possibly be put out of the flock for misbehavior. Immediately, those from a Reformed background will reply "once saved always saved." Still, the Reformed believer has their own demons to contend with. There is always the possibility that they were never a member of the flock in the first place; a goat tagging along. Who can claim that they follow Jesus perfectly? What degree of imperfection evidences our nonmembership of the flock?
      Such demons fill us with fear, yet there is nothing to fear. As the chilling wind of disbelief confronted Jesus in Solomon's Portico, he was able to state that his opponents did not belong to his sheep. If they did, they wouldn't be trying to get him to incriminate himself in their murderous plans. The flock trusts the shepherd and follows the shepherd, that's the full of it and that's the end of it.
      What of perfection? Does our imperfection drive us from the flock? We rely on Christ's perfection, not our own. What about admission to the flock? Is selection limited, determined? Ask, seek and knock, for those who ask receive, those who seek find, and those who knock it is opened.

v23
      en th/ stoa/ tou SolomwnoV "in Solomon's Colonnade" - in the porch of Solomon. According to Josephus, the eastern outer court of the Temple. A covered colonnade surrounded the temple proper and the eastern one was dedicated to Solomon.

v24
      eJwV pote thn yuchn hJmwn aireiV "how long will you keep us in suspense?" - until when the soul of us hold. Literally: "hold", in the sense of "take away", keep from us "the breath" of us, ie. our life. The sentence is usually translated in line with the NIV, "keep us in suspense", but some commentators note that in modern Greek the sense is "provoke, trouble, annoy, vex, pester." This interpretation fits the situation well, given that the Jews are unlikely to be asking for a clear declaration of who he is so that they can believe on him. Jesus has already made numerous messianic-like claims, eg. light of the world, but they have not believed. It is likely that the authorities just want something tangible to use against Jesus.

v25
      eipon uJmin "I did tell you" - I told you. Jesus has actually only told the Samaritan woman, but his works have done the telling to those with eyes to see. Those who do not seek, do not find, do not see, do not believe. Westcott suggested that the "I did tell you" means that Jesus' teachings have made clear who he is, but only to those who want to see.
      ta erga (on) "the miracles" - the works
      marturei (marturew) "speak [of me] - testify [about/concerning me]. Note the practice of forming the verb in the singular when its subject is a plural neuter noun. A plural neuter noun is often treated as if it were collective.

v27
      oJti ouk este ek twn probatwn twn emwn "because you are not my sheep" - because you are not of the sheep of me. The predestinarian sense of this sentence is often emphasized such that human responsibility is minimized. We should take note that v37-38 work against a doctrinal position that fails to recognize that God's call to faith is genuinely made to all and that all are accountable for their response to this call. Jesus' words reflect both the healing of the blind man and the parable of the sheep. Those who belong to the shepherd hear his voice, follow him and are eternally secure with him. The question of how we actually get to belong to the shepherd is not the issue here. The point being made here is that those who belong, will follow, listen and eternally receive. Jesus' antagonists do not belong to him, therefore do not rely on his words nor his signs. Of course, the sovereign will of God in all this is not denied. The flock is created through the sovereign grace of God and in his power is eternally secure. Such is his predetermined will, so much so that no enemy will ever devastate his flock. How the shepherd gathers this flock to himself is entirely a different question. He does it by grace through faith - by the free offer of eternal forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Christ, which gift is appropriated by seeking out God's mercy in Christ and asking for it.

v28
      ou mh "never" - Double negative.
      eiV ton aiwna - [they will not perish] into the age. The phrase is used to strengthen the double negative, "they will never ever perish."

v29
      oJ, oJV ..... dedwken, dedwkwV ..... pantwn meizon, pantwn meizwn, meizwn pantwn - See Barrett for a run down on the many variant texts for the first half of this sentence, along with their possible meanings, p.317. The NIV takes the simplest reading, ie. because of the Father's greatness, no one can snatch believers from his hand. C.H. Dodd argues that the simplest reading is the correct one. The other two favoured possibilities are: i] "My Father, as to what he has given me, is greater than all"; "my Father, in regard to what he has given me is greater than all", J.N. Birdsall, ie. because of the divine support given to believers, the flock can stand secure. ii] "As for my Father, what he has given to me is greater than all"; "what my Father has given me is greater than all else" NRSV. This possibility is favoured by the USB committee. Yet, what has He given, is it believers? How are they greater than all? Possibly the gift is eternal life, so Augustine. We are best to follow the NIV, NEB etc.