John 10

  1. Verse 1. “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.
  2. Verse 2. But the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
  3. Verse 3. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen for his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
  4. Verse 4. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
  5. Verse 5. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will flee from him because they do not recognize his voice.”
  6. Verse 6. Jesus spoke to them using this illustration, but they did not understand what He was telling them.
  7. Verse 7. So He said to them again, “Truly, truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
  8. Verse 8. All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
  9. Verse 9. I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.
  10. Verse 10. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.
  11. Verse 11. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
  12. Verse 12. The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock.
  13. Verse 13. The man runs away because he is a hired servant and is unconcerned for the sheep.
  14. Verse 14. I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me,
  15. Verse 15. just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.
  16. Verse 16. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.
  17. Verse 17. The reason the Father loves Me is that I lay down My life in order to take it up again.
  18. Verse 18. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”
  19. Verse 19. Again there was division among the Jews because of Jesus’ message.
  20. Verse 20. Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”
  21. Verse 21. But others replied, “These are not the words of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
  22. Verse 22. At that time the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter,
  23. Verse 23. and Jesus was walking in the temple courts in Solomon’s Colonnade.
  24. Verse 24. So the Jews gathered around Him and demanded, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
  25. Verse 25. “I already told you,” Jesus replied, “but you did not believe. The works I do in My Father’s name testify on My behalf.
  26. Verse 26. But because you are not My sheep, you refuse to believe.
  27. Verse 27. My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
  28. Verse 28. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
  29. Verse 29. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
  30. Verse 30. I and the Father are one.”
  31. Verse 31. At this, the Jews again picked up stones to stone Him.
  32. Verse 32. But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?”
  33. Verse 33. “We are not stoning You for any good work,” said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because You, who are a man, declare Yourself to be God.”
  34. Verse 34. Jesus replied, “Is it not written in your Law: ‘I have said you are gods’?
  35. Verse 35. If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken—
  36. Verse 36. then what about the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? How then can you accuse Me of blasphemy for stating that I am the Son of God?
  37. Verse 37. If I am not doing the works of My Father, then do not believe Me.
  38. Verse 38. But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.”
  39. Verse 39. At this, they tried again to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp.
  40. Verse 40. Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had first been baptizing, and He stayed there.
  41. Verse 41. Many came to Him and said, “Although John never performed a sign, everything he said about this man was true.”
  42. Verse 42. And many in that place believed in Jesus.