John 10:21 — Community Reflections

JOHN 10:21 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?”

But others said, 'These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?' — the defenders of Jesus appeal to His signs, particularly the healing of the blind man (John 9), as evidence that His words come from God, not from demonic deception. The rhetorical question assumes that demonic powers work to blind and destroy, not to restore sight and give life. This appeal to works as validation of Jesus' claims is significant throughout John's Gospel.

Church Fathers on John 10:21

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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