John 10:22-30
“I told you, and you do not believe.“
It was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.
So the Jews gathered round him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
I and the Father are one.”
What do the Fathers say?
St THEOPHYLACT. The Evangelist mentions the time of winter, to show that it was near His passion. He suffered in the following spring; for which reason He took up His abode at Jerusalem.
You too must be careful, in the winter time, i. e. while still in this stormy wicked world, to celebrate the dedication of your spiritual temple, by always renewing yourself, ever rising upward in heart. Then will Jesus be present with you in Solomon’s porch, and give you safety under His covering.
St ALCUIN. It is called Solomon’s porch, because Solomon went to pray there. If the Son of God walked in a temple where the flesh of brute animals was offered up, how much more will He delight to visit our house of prayer, in which His own flesh and blood are consecrated?
St AUGUSTINE. The Jews cold in love, burning in their malevolence, approached Him not to honour, but persecute. They did not want to know the truth, but only to find ground of accusation.
He saw that they were persons predestined to eternal death, and not those for whom He had bought eternal life, at the price of His blood.
St John CHRYSOSTOM. Being able to find no fault with His works, they tried to catch Him in His words. And note their perversity. When He instructs by His discourse, they say, What sign do you show? When He demonstrates by His works, they say, If You are the Christ, tell us plainly. Either way they are determined to oppose Him. There is great malice in that speech, ‘Tell us plainly’. He had spoken plainly, when up at the feasts, and had hidden nothing. They preface however with flattery: How long will You keep us in suspense? as if they were anxious to know the truth, but really only meaning to provoke Him to say something that they might lay hold of.
He reproves their malice, for pretending that a single word would convince them, whom so many words had not. If you do not believe My works, He says, how will you believe My words? And He adds: But you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.
St ALCUIN. And thus they intended to give Him into the hands of the Proconsul for punishment, as an usurper against the emperor. Our Lord so managed His reply so that to those who enquired of Him as a man, He revealed the mysteries of His divinity: Jesus answered them, I told you, and you believed not; the works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.
Sources:
Bible readings from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Second Catholic Edition, copyright © 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Quotes of the Fathers from Thomas Aquinas’ Catena Aurea Translated by St John Henry Newman
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