Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
1. Verily, verily, I say to you. As Christ had to do with scribes and priests, who were reckoned pastors of the Church, it was necessary that they should be divested of the honor of this title, if he wished his doctrine to be received. The small number of believers might also diminish greatly the authority of his doctrine.
The Pharisees claimed to be the church's true pastors and treated Christ as an intruder with no commission from them. But His doubled amen, Amen, amen, stamps this teaching with absolute weight: whoever does not enter by the gate but climbs another way is a thief and robber, bent on mischief and damage to the flock.
AI summary
Commenting on John 10:1-18
Verse 1. Verily, verily. . I say unto you. Some have supposed that what follows here was delivered on some other occasion than the one mentioned in the last chapter; but the expression verily, verily, is one which is not used at the commencement of a discourse, and the discourse itself seems to be a continuation of what was said before.