JohnChapter 10

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¹"I tell you the truth. Suppose someone does not go into the sheep pen through the gate. Instead he climbs in some other way. That person is a thief and a robber. ²But the one who goes in through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him. The sheep listen for his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own sheep, he walks on ahead of them. His sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵But they will never follow a stranger. In fact, they will run away from him, because they don't know his voice." ⁶Jesus told them this word picture. But they didn't understand what he was telling them. ⁷So Jesus spoke to them again. "I tell you the truth. I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. If anyone comes in through me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out, and he will find grass to eat. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life. I want them to have it in all its fullness. ¹¹I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives up his life for the sheep. ¹²The hired man is not the shepherd. The sheep are not his own. So when he sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf jumps on them and scatters the flock. ¹³The man runs away because he is only hired to work. He doesn't care about the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I give up my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep too. They are not from this pen. I must bring them in as well. They will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷This is why the Father loves me. I give up my life so that I may take it back again. ¹⁸No one takes my life from me. I give it up because I choose to. I have the right to give it up. And I have the right to take it back again. My Father gave me this command." ¹⁹Once again the Jews were split into groups because of what Jesus said. ²⁰Many of them said, "He has a demon in him, and he's crazy. Why would you listen to him?" ²¹But others said, "A man with a demon in him doesn't talk like this. Can a demon make blind people see?" ²²Then it was time for the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem. It was winter. ²³Jesus was walking in the temple courts, in Solomon's Porch.a ²⁴So the Jews gathered around him. "How long will you keep us guessing?" they asked. "If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." ²⁵"I already told you," Jesus answered. "But you don't believe. I do my works in my Father's name. They speak for me. ²⁶But you are not my sheep. That is why you won't believe. ²⁷My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can grab them out of my hand. ²⁹My Father has given them to me. He is greater than all. No one can grab them out of my Father's hand. ³⁰I and the Father are one." ³¹When he said this, the Jews picked up stones again to stone him. ³²But Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. Which one of these are you stoning me for?" ³³"We are not stoning you for any good work," the Jews answered. "We are stoning you for blasphemy. You are only a man, but you claim to be God." ³⁴Jesus answered, "Isn't it written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? ³⁵If he called them 'gods,' the people God's word came to, and the Scripture can't be broken, ³⁶then what about the One the Father set apart and sent into the world? How can you say I am speaking blasphemy because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? ³⁷If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. ³⁸But if I am doing them, believe the works themselves, even if you don't believe me. Then you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father." ³⁹When he said this, they tried again to grab him. But he got away from them. ⁴⁰Then Jesus went back across the Jordan River. He went to the place where John had first been baptizing people. And he stayed there. ⁴¹Many people came to him. They said, "John never did a miraculous sign. But everything John said about this man was true." ⁴²And many people there believed in Jesus.