John 10:24 (DBY)

Passage

The Jews therefore surrounded him, and said to him, Until when dost thou hold our soul in suspense? If thou art the Christ, say [so] to us openly.

Nearby Context

John 10:22 Now the feast of the dedication was celebrating at Jerusalem, and it was winter.

John 10:23 And Jesus walked in the temple in the porch of Solomon.

John 10:24 The Jews therefore surrounded him, and said to him, Until when dost thou hold our soul in suspense? If thou art the Christ, say [so] to us openly.

John 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye do not believe. The works which I do in my Father's name, these bear witness concerning me:

John 10:26 but ye do not believe, for ye are not of my sheep, as I told you.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jews", "therefore", "surrounded", "said", "until", "dost", "thou", and "hold". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jews" and "therefore", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 23's "And Jesus walked in the temple in..." into verse 25's "Jesus answered them I told you and...", so "jews" and "therefore" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jews" and "therefore" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.