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John 10 General Notes
Special concepts in this chapter
Blasphemy
When a person claims that he is God or that God has told him to speak when God has not told him to speak, this is called blasphemy. The law of Moses commanded the Israelites to kill blasphemers by stoning them to death. When Jesus said, "I and the Father are one," the Jews thought he was blaspheming, so they took up stones to kill him. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/blasphemy and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/lawofmoses)
Important metaphors in this chapter
Sheep
Jesus spoke of people as sheep because sheep do not see well, they do not think well, they often walk away from those who care for them, and they cannot defend themselves when other animals attack them. God's people also rebel against him and do not know when they are doing wrong.
Sheep pen
A sheep pen was a space with a stone wall around it in which shepherds would keep their sheep. Once they were inside the sheep pen, the sheep could not run away, and animals and thieves could not easily get inside to kill or steal them.
Laying down and taking up life
Jesus speaks of his life as if it were a physical object that he could lay down on the ground, a metaphor for dying, or pick up again, a metaphor for becoming alive again.