John 10:28
“I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
Where this sits
From the good shepherd discourse, spoken at the temple during the Feast of Dedication in winter. The crowd had asked him to say plainly whether he was the Christ.
Reflection
Three statements, and each is stronger than the one before.
I give eternal life — a gift, present tense. They will never perish — the Greek carries a double negative, closer to they shall certainly not ever perish. And then the third, which moves from what will not happen to who cannot do it: no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Snatch is a violent word. It is used elsewhere in this Gospel of a wolf attacking a flock, and of things seized by force. Jesus is not describing sheep that might wander off; he is describing an attempted theft, and saying it will fail.
And the next verse doubles the security in a way that is easy to miss. 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. Two hands are now named, and the sheep are in both.
The setting sharpens this. It is winter, at the Feast of Dedication — the festival commemorating the rededication of the temple after it had been desecrated and the nation nearly lost. The crowd asking him to speak plainly were standing in a building that existed because of a rescue.
And hand, in Hebrew usage, means power. It is not a sentimental image.
- Theme:
- Salvation
- Book:
- John