John 10:29
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Original Language Analysis
Cross References
Historical Context
This declaration occurs during the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) in winter (John 10:22), commemorating the Maccabean cleansing of the temple after Antiochus Epiphanes' desecration (167-164 BC). The feast celebrated God's faithfulness to preserve His people despite violent persecution—an apt setting for Jesus' promise of eternal security.
Jewish leaders demanded Jesus declare plainly if He was the Messiah (v. 24). His answer—"I told you, and ye believed not"—identifies unbelief as the dividing line. True sheep hear His voice (v. 27), believe, and receive eternal life with absolute security. Jesus confronts both those questioning His identity and those doubting believers' security.
In first-century Judaism, debates raged about apostasy and perseverance. Could covenant members lose their standing? The Qumran community (Dead Sea Scrolls) practiced strict discipline and expulsion. Rabbinic literature discussed whether certain sins could forfeit one's portion in the world to come. Against this background, Jesus' categorical promise was revolutionary: security rests on divine power, not human performance.
Questions for Reflection
- How does grounding your security in the Father's power rather than your faithfulness transform your daily experience of assurance?
- What does the imagery of God's "hand" holding believers reveal about His active, protective involvement in salvation?
- If "no man" can pluck believers from God's hand, does this include the believer himself, and what are the implications for free will and perseverance?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. This verse anchors the doctrine of eternal security in divine sovereignty. The emphatic my Father (ὁ πατήρ μου/ho patēr mou) claims unique relationship, while which gave them (ὃς δέδωκέν/hos dedōken) uses the perfect tense—a completed action with permanent results. Believers are the Father's gift to the Son (John 6:37, 17:6), transferred by divine decree before conversion.
Is greater than all (μείζων πάντων ἐστίν/meizōn pantōn estin) asserts absolute supremacy—greater than every power, enemy, or force. The comparative meizōn (greater) becomes superlative in context: nothing exceeds the Father's power. This grounds security not in human faithfulness but divine omnipotence.
No man is able to pluck (οὐδεὶς δύναται ἁρπάζειν/oudeis dynatai harpazein)—the verb harpazein means to seize violently, snatch away by force. The double negative (οὐδεὐς/not one) combined with impossibility (δύναται/is able) creates emphatic negation: absolutely no one possesses the power to remove believers from God's grasp. This includes Satan, persecutors, circumstances, and—critically—the believer himself.
Out of my Father's hand (ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ πατρός μου/ek tēs cheiros tou patros mou) uses cheir (hand) to represent God's protecting power and possessive control. Combined with verse 28's "neither shall any pluck them out of my hand," we have double security: held by both Son and Father. The Trinitarian grip on believers is unbreakable.