"22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter,23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 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.30 I and the Father are one.”"
John 10:22-30
A point of deep interest and importance arises from these verses. In answer to the Jews’ question in 24, Jesus replies that He has already told them that He is the Messiah. It is fair comment to say that the language in which Jesus couched His Messianic claims seems rather less than clear and unambiguous to us. But it is plain from the text of the gospels that His claims were very clear to them. They were in no doubt in 32 and 33 as to what He was claiming. And however ambiguous His language may seem to us, it could not have been ambiguous to them, because they recognised that He was claiming to be God. The 'doubt' therefore in 24 cannot be said to be doubt as to the meaning of His words, but rather, as Jesus Himself plainly indicates in 25, 26, plain unbelief, and refusal to accept what He is saying.
In 22, in words of wonderful simplicity, Jesus indicates the attitude of true faith, and says that those that are His will have no problem as to Who He is or Who it is that leads them. He is God, and His hand and the Father's hand are the same (28, 23), since He and the Father are one. In connection with 27, we should remember that different voices can speak in the human heart, and that not every voice that speaks is the voice of Jesus. One of the major issues in Christian life is to know which voice is which. We must learn to try the spirits, whether they be of God, otherwise deception will certainly ensue to our detriment and cost. Satan sometimes speaks very persuasively to deceive people. The assurance of the eternal security of the people of God in 28 and 29 is very wonderful, and full of encouragement and consolation. As Bishop Ryle says, 'True sheep shall never be confounded, Christ has said it and Christ cannot lie; they shall never perish'.