John 10:26

But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(26) But ye believe not.—Comp. Notes on John 10:5; John 10:14; John 10:16.

As I said unto you.—These words are not found in the Sinaitic or Vatican MSS., and are omitted by the best modern editors. They are not, however, without considerable authority, and the fact of their difficulty may have led to their omission. They are sometimes joined to the following verse, and some expositors accept this as their probable meaning; but although the preceding clause of John 10:26 was not actually spoken in the previous discourse, it was implied, and the reference is of a like kind to that of the Messiah in John 10:25. There is no real difficulty in the fact that He thus refers them to a discourse uttered two months before. In continuity of teaching from Him to them it immediately preceded, and at the commencement of this discourse He gathers up the thread of that which had gone before. On the other hand, the interval helps us to understand how He refers to a truth which was taught them, rather than to the actual words in which He taught it.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:22-30 All who have any thing to say to Christ, may find him in the temple. Christ would make us to believe; we make ourselves doubt. The Jews understood his meaning, but could not form his words into a full charge against him. He described the gracious disposition and happy state of his sheep; they heard and believed his word, followed him as his faithful disciples, and none of them should perish; for the Son and the Father were one. Thus he was able to defend his sheep against all their enemies, which proves that he claimed Divine power and perfection equally with the Father.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Are not of my sheep - Are not my people, my followers. You do not possess the spirit of meek and humble disciples. Were it not for pride, and prejudice, and vainglory for your false notions of the Messiah, and from a determination not to believe, you would have learned from my declarations and works that I am the Christ.

As I said unto you - Compare John 8:47.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

26. ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said—referring to the whole strain of the Parable of the Sheep, (Joh 10:1, &c.).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

As many as were ordained to eternal life believed, Acts 13:48. Here our Saviour giveth this as one reason of the Jews’ unbelief, that they were not of his sheep. Were they not Israelites? Yes, but all are not Israel that are descended of Israel. It seems a very hard interpretation that some would put, upon these words, Ye believe not, because you are not teachable, and fit to be made my sheep; the words are ou gar ete ek twn probatwn twn emwn. Nor can such interpretation be paralleled from any other scripture. That by sheep, here, cannot be meant members of the church, is plain; for they were of the church of Israel, whom the Lord led as a flock, as the psalmist speaks, Psalm 80:1. That believers, and such as are truly called and sanctified, are not meant, is as plain; for then the sense would be: You believe not because you believe not; besides, our Saviour had before said, he had other sheep that were not of that fold, (by which he meant the Gentiles), such for whom he prayed, John 17:20, being such as should believe on him. By sheep therefore he meaneth, certainly, such as were ordained to life, as Acts 13:48. Nor will it therefore follow, that God’s not ordaining of them to life, was the near and immediate cause of their not believing; but their own stubborn and perverse wills in not repenting, that they might believe; as our Saviour tells them, Matthew 21:32: that is, not turning from their gross and sinful ways, which they might have done by virtue of that common grace of God which was afforded them in the gospel, by the preaching of John the Baptist, and of Christ himself.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But ye believe not,.... In me, as the Messiah:

because ye are not of my sheep; they were not among the sheep given him by his Father, were they, they would have come to him; that is, have believed in him, according to John 6:37, they were not the chosen of God, predestinated unto eternal life; for as many as are ordained of God to eternal happiness, do believe in God's own time, Acts 13:48; but these not being the elect of God, had not the faith of God's elect. Christ, as the omniscient God, knew this, that they were not the chosen of God; for he was present, when the names of God's elect were written in the book of life; had they been his sheep, he must have known them, for he knows all the sheep, and calls them by name; had they been given him by the Father, he must have known it, and would have owned them as such; but so it was not, and therefore they were left to hardness and unbelief:

as l said unto you: which seems to refer to what follows, since he had said before, that the sheep bear the voice of the shepherd, and follow him, and that he knows them, John 10:4. This clause is omitted in the Vulgate Latin version, and in Nonnus, but is in the Greek copies, and Oriental versions.

Geneva Study Bible

{9} But ye believe not, {i} because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

(9) It is no marvel that only a few believe, seeing that all men are by nature untamed beasts: yet nonetheless God has his own, which he turns into sheep, and commits them unto his Son, and preserves them against the cruelty of all wild beasts.

(i) He gives a reason why they do not believe, that is, because they are not his sheep.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

John 10:26. “But you on your part do not believe”—the reason being that you are not of the number of my sheep. Had you been of my sheep you must have believed; because my sheep have these two characteristics, (John 10:27) they hear my voice and they follow me: (John 10:28) and these characteristics meet a twofold response in me, “I know them” and “I give them life eternal”. κἀγώ in each case emphatically exhibits the response of Christ to believers. They acknowledge Him by hearing His voice; He acknowledges them, “knows them”. Cf. John 10:14. They follow Him, and He leads them into life eternal. “Sequela et vita arcte connectuntur,” Bengel. This mention of the gift of life leads Him to enlarge on its perpetuity and its security.—οὐ μὴ ἀπόλωνται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, “they shall never perish” (cf. John 10:10), but shall enjoy the abundant life I am come to bestow.—καὶ οὐχ ἁρπάσει τις αὐτὰ ἐκ τῆς χειρός μου, “and no one shall carry them off (John 10:12) out of my hand” or keeping. Throughout He uses the phraseology of the “Shepherd” parable.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

26. as I said unto you] These words are omitted by some of the best authorities, including the Vatican and Sinaitic MSS. But they may possibly have been left out to avoid a difficulty. If they are genuine they are best joined, as in our version, with what precedes. Nowhere in the Gospels does Christ make such a quotation from a previous discourse as we should have if we read, ‘As I said unto you, My sheep hear My voice, &c.’ The arrangement ‘Ye are not of My sheep, as I said unto you,’ is better, and the reference is to the general sense of the allegory of the sheep-fold, especially John 10:14-15. He and His sheep have most intimate knowledge of one another; therefore these Jews asking who He is prove that they are not His sheep. Comp. John 6:36, where there seems to be a similar reference to the general meaning of a previous discourse. It is strange that an objection should have been made to His referring to the allegory after a lapse of two months. There is nothing improbable in His doing so, especially if He had been absent from the city in the interval (see on John 10:22). Might not a speaker at the present time refer to a speech made two months before, especially if he had not spoken in public since then?

Bengel's Gnomen

John 10:26. Ὑμεῖς, ye) It is your own fault.—οὐ γάρ, for ye are not) For the sheep believe, John 10:3, “The sheep hear His voice,” 14, “I know My sheep, and am known of Mine,” 16, 27. This discourse, delivered during the Feast of Dedication, has reference to His discourses delivered before the Feast of Dedication.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 26. - He gives the reason of their insensibility or lack of appreciation and faith: But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep (for similar construction, ἐστὲ ἐκ, see Matthew 26:73; John 6:65). The clause (καθὼς εϊπον ὑμιν), [as I said unto you], is rejected by powerful arguments, and commentators cease to discuss whether it belongs to the previous or following clause. In neither case does it appear entirely relevant, although the difficulties felt in either application may be reduced by supposing either one saying or the other to have been virtually embodied in the statements of the parables of John 10:1-18. John 10:26

Vincent's Word Studies

As I said unto you

The best texts omit.