Joh 10:18 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord mentions the laying down of His life as the reason of the Father’s love for Him. The Father always loves the Son ( ). But here, in laying down His life, He gives the Father, as it were, a new reason to love Him. Never before has the Son laid down His life. Now He will do so. He does it for His sheep, but above all out of love for His Father, for He has given Him the commandment to do so. To lay down His life out of love for his sheep as an expression of His love for the Father, gives the Father an extra reason to love Him. And He does not only lay down His life, but He also takes it again. Both laying down and taking life again can only be done by a Divine Person. He is “declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead” ( ). In other Gospels, the Lord tells His disciples what people will do to Him and that they will kill Him ( ; ; ). In this Gospel He says that both His death and His resurrection are His own work. People can only treat Him this way because He allows it to happen, while He Himself lays down His life and takes it again. Here we see His Godhead. We also see His Manhood because He does both according to the commandment of His Father. What He does, He does not do outside of the Father, but for Him.

‏ John 10:18

To Lay Down Life and to Take It up Again

The Lord mentions the laying down of His life as the reason of the Father’s love for Him. The Father always loves the Son (Jn 3:35). But here, in laying down His life, He gives the Father, as it were, a new reason to love Him. Never before has the Son laid down His life. Now He will do so. He does it for His sheep, but above all out of love for His Father, for He has given Him the commandment to do so.

To lay down His life out of love for his sheep as an expression of His love for the Father, gives the Father an extra reason to love Him. And He does not only lay down His life, but He also takes it again. Both laying down and taking life again can only be done by a Divine Person. He is “declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom 1:4).

In other Gospels, the Lord tells His disciples what people will do to Him and that they will kill Him (Mt 16:21 ; Mt 17:22-23 ; Mt 20:17-19; Mk 8:31 ; Mk 9:31 ; Mk 10:33; Lk 9:22 ; 44 ; Lk 18:31-32). In this Gospel He says that both His death and His resurrection are His own work. People can only treat Him this way because He allows it to happen, while He Himself lays down His life and takes it again. Here we see His Godhead. We also see His Manhood because He does both according to the commandment of His Father. What He does, He does not do outside of the Father, but for Him.