“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:28-30
Jesus described three characteristics of His sheep in this chapter. (1) They hear His voice. (2) He knows them, and they follow Him. The following of the sheep is a metaphor for faith. And (3) they shall never perish, which contains a double negative with the word perish, “shall never, no never ever perish forever.” Their eternal life can never be taken away. The Father’s hand is more powerful than that of any enemy.
In the phrase “I and the Father are one”, the religious leaders understood that Jesus was claiming to be God. The word “one” means not merely one in will and work, but one in being or essence. The religious leaders immediately recognized that Jesus was claiming to equal with God.
So, in the Temple Colonnade of Solomon during the Jewish Feast of Dedication, Jesus declares His oneness with the Father, which the unbelieving crowd understands to be blasphemous and worthy of death. To reject Jesus is to reject God and abandon the hope of everlasting life. Believers can rest secure that they belong to Jesus Christ and will never perish; all of Jesus’ works affirm this truth.
God’s blessings on your day…