John 10:7-18

New Century Version

Jesus Is the Good Shepherd

⁷ So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the door for the sheep. ⁸ All the people who came before me were thieves and robbers. The sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door, and the person who enters through me will be saved and will be able to come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰ A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I came to give life—life in all its fullness.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. ¹² The worker who is paid to keep the sheep is different from the shepherd who owns them. When the worker sees a wolf coming, he runs away and leaves the sheep alone. Then the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The man runs away because he is only a paid worker and does not really care about the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I give my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not in this flock, and I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The Father loves me because I give my life so that I can take it back again. ¹⁸ No one takes it away from me; I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father commanded me to do.”