John 10:20 — Community Reflections

JOHN 10:20 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?”

Many of them said, 'He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?' — some attribute Jesus' claims to demonic possession (daimonizō), a charge that will recur throughout John's Gospel, particularly as Jesus' authority over death becomes more evident. The accusation of madness (mainesthai) reflects the offense taken by those unwilling to accept Jesus' claims. This parallels the charge brought against John the Baptist (3:29-30) and represents the world's attempt to discredit prophetic claims that challenge its authority.

Church Fathers on John 10:20

Two evil persons have been mentioned, one that kills, and robs the sheep, another that does not hinder: the one standing for those movers of seditions; the other for the rulers of the Jews, who did not take care of the sheep committed to them. Christ distinguishes Himself from both; from the one who came to do hurt by saying, I am come that they might have life; from those who overlook the rapine of the wolves, by saying that He gives His life for the sheep. Wherefore He said…
Chrysostom · 4th century

As if He said, I love My sheep, and they love and follow Me. For he who loves not the truth, is as yet very far from knowing it.
Gregory the Great · 6th century

Hence the difference of the hireling and the Shepherd. The hireling does not know his sheep, because he sees them so little. The Shepherd knows His sheep, because He is so attractive to them.
Theophylact · 11th century

Read all 26 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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