John 10

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

1 “I tell you the solemn truth,t the one who does not enter the sheepfolds by the door,t but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.3 The doorkeeperts opens the doort for him,t and the sheep hear his voice. Het calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.s4 When he has brought all his own sheept out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognizet his voice.5 They will never follow a stranger,t but will run away from him, because they do not recognizet the stranger’s voice.”t

6 Jesus told them this parable,s but theyt did not understandt what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus said to them again, “I tell you the solemn truth,t I am the door for the sheep.t8 All who came before me weret thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.t9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out,t and find pasture.s

10 The thief comes only to steal and killt and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.t
11 “I am the goodt shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his lifets for the sheep.12 The hired hand,s who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandonst the sheep and runs away.t So the wolf attackst the sheep and scatters them.

13 Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep,t he runs away.s
14 “I am the good shepherd. It know my ownt and my own know me –15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my lifet fort the sheep.16 I havet other sheep that do not come fromt this sheepfold.s I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice,t so thatt there will be one flock andt one shepherd.17 This is why the Father loves met – because I lay down my life,t so that I may take it back again.

18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it downt of my own free will.t I have the authorityt to lay it down, and I have the authorityt to take it back again. This commandmentt I received from my Father.”
19 Another sharp division took place among the Jewish peoplet because of these words.20 Many of them were saying, “He is possessed by a demon and has lost his mind!t Why do you listen to him?”

21 Others said, “These are not the wordst of someone possessed by a demon. A demon cannot cause the blind to see,t can it?”t

Jesus at the Feast of Dedication

22 Then came the feast of the Dedicationts in Jerusalem.s23 It was winter,s and Jesus was walking in the temple areat in Solomon’s Portico.ts24 The Jewish leaderst surrounded him and asked,t “How long will you keep us in suspense?t If you are the Christ,ts tell us plainly.”t25 Jesus replied,t “I told you and you do not believe. The deedst I do in my Father’s name testify about me.26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep.27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.28 I givet them eternal life, and they will never perish;t no one will snatcht them from my hand.29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,t and no one can snatcht them from my Father’s hand.

30 The Father and It are one.”t
31 The Jewish leaderst picked up rocks again to stone him to death.32 Jesus said to them,t “I have shown you many good deedst from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?”

33 The Jewish leaderst replied,t “We are not going to stone you for a good deedt but for blasphemy,s becauset you, a man, are claiming to be God.”t
34 Jesus answered,t “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’?s35 If those people to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ (and the scripture cannot be broken),s36 do you say about the one whom the Father set apartt and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?37 If I do not performt the deedst of my Father, do not believe me.38 But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds,ts so that you may come to knowt and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”

39 Thens they attemptedt again to seize him, but he escaped their clutches.ts
40 Jesust went back across the Jordan Rivert again to the place where Johns had been baptizing at an earlier time,ts and he stayed there.41 Manyt came to him and began to say, “Johns performedt no miraculous sign, but everything John said about this mant was true!”

42 And many believed in Jesust there.

JOHN 10

A Story about Sheep

1 Jesus said:
I tell you for certain only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the gate to the sheep pen.

2-3 But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd's voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.
4 When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they follow, because they know his voice.

5 The sheep will not follow strangers. They don't recognize a stranger's voice, and they run away.

6 Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.

Jesus Is the Good Shepherd

7 Jesus said:
I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep. 8 Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did not listen to any of them.

9 I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.
10 A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so everyone would have life, and have it fully. 11 t I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. 12 Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don't own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock.

13 Hired workers run away because they don't care about the sheep.
14  t I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. 15 t Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep.

16 I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must also bring them together, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.
17 The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so I may receive it back again.

18 No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.
19 The people took sides because of what Jesus had told them.

20 Many of them said, “He has a demon in him! He is crazy! Why listen to him?”

21 But others said, “How could anyone with a demon in him say these things? No one like this could give sight to a blind person!”

Jesus Is Rejected

24 and the people gathered all around him. They said, “How long are you going to keep us guessing? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly!”

25 Jesus answered:
I have told you, and you refused to believe me. The things I do by my Father's authority show who I am. 26 But since you are not my sheep, you don't believe me. 27 My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me, 28 and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 t My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others.t No one can snatch them from his hands,

30 and I am one with the Father.
31 Once again the people picked up stones in order to kill Jesus.

32 But he said, “I have shown you many good things my Father sent me to do. Which one are you going to stone me for?”

33 They answered, “We are not stoning you because of any good thing you did. We are stoning you because you did a terrible thing. You are just a man, and here you are claiming to be God!”

34  t Jesus replied:
In your Scriptures doesn't God say, “You are gods”? 35 You can't argue with the Scriptures, and God spoke to those people and called them gods. 36 So why do you accuse me of a terrible sin for saying that I am the Son of God? After all, it is the Father who prepared me for this work. He is also the one who sent me into the world. 37 If I don't do as my Father does, you should not believe me.

38 But if I do what my Father does, you should believe because of that, even if you don't have faith in me. Then you will know for certain that the Father is one with me, and I am one with the Father.
39 Again they wanted to arrest Jesus. But he escaped 40 t and crossed the Jordan to the place where John had earlier been baptizing. While Jesus was there, 41 many people came to him. They were saying, “John didn't work any miracles, but everything he said about Jesus is true.” 42 A lot of those people also put their faith in Jesus.