John 10

The True Shepherd and His Sheep

1 “For real, the one who does not enter the sheep pen through the gate but climbs in another way, that man is a thief and a robber.

2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

3 The gatekeeper opens the door for him, and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

4 When he brings all his own out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

5 But they will not follow a stranger. They will run from him because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”

6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand what He was talking about.

I Am the Door

7 So Jesus said again, “For real, I am the door of the sheep.

8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

9 I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and he will go in and out and find pasture.

10 The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, but I came so they may have life, and have it overflowing.”

The Good Shepherd Lays It Down

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and runs, leaving the sheep behind, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

13 He runs because he is just working for pay and does not truly care about the sheep.”

14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me,

15 just like the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.

16 I have other sheep that are not from this fold, I must bring them too, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.”

17 “This is why the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so I can take it back up again.

18 No one takes it from Me, I lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and authority to take it back up. This command I received from My Father.”

People Stay Divided

19 Because of these words, there was division again among the Jews.

20 Many were saying, “He has a demon and is out of His mind. Why listen to Him?”

21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of someone with a demon. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can it?”

Jesus at the Feast of Dedication

22 It was winter, and the Feast of Dedication was happening in Jerusalem.

23 Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s porch.

24 The Jews gathered around Him and said, “How long You are going to keep us in suspense, If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus answered, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works I do in My Father’s name, they testify about Me.

26 But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.

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 can snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

30 I and the Father are one.”

They Try to Stone Him Again

31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.

32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father, for which one of them are you trying to stone Me?”

33 The Jews answered, “We are not stoning You for a good work, but for blasphemy, because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’,

35 If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be broken,

36 do you say of Him whom the Father set apart and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?”

37 “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me.

38 But if I do them, even if you do not believe Me, believe the works, so you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.”

39 So they tried again to seize Him, but He slipped out of their hands.

Many Believe Beyond the Jordan

40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He stayed there.

41 Many came to Him and were saying, “John did not do any sign, but everything John said about this man was true.”

42 And many believed in Him there.