John 10:1-30

Living Bible

10 “Anyone refusing to walk through the gate into a sheepfold, who sneaks over the wall, must surely be a thief! ² For a shepherd comes through the gate. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice and come to him; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ He walks ahead of them; and they follow him, for they recognize his voice. ⁵ They won’t follow a stranger but will run from him, for they don’t recognize his voice.”

⁶ Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, ⁷ so he explained it to them.

“I am the Gate for the sheep,” he said. ⁸ “All others who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ Yes, I am the Gate. Those who come in by way of the Gate will be saved and will go in and out and find green pastures. ¹⁰ The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.

¹¹ “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² A hired man will run when he sees a wolf coming and will leave the sheep, for they aren’t his and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf leaps on them and scatters the flock. ¹³ The hired man runs because he is hired and has no real concern for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the Good Shepherd and know my own sheep, and they know me, ¹⁵ just as my Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep, too, in another fold. I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice; and there will be one flock with one Shepherd.

¹⁷ “The Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may have it back again. ¹⁸ No one can kill me without my consent—I lay down my life voluntarily. For I have the right and power to lay it down when I want to and also the right and power to take it again. For the Father has given me this right.”

¹⁹ When he said these things, the Jewish leaders were again divided in their opinions about him. ²⁰ Some of them said, “He has a demon or else is crazy. Why listen to a man like that?”

²¹ Others said, “This doesn’t sound to us like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of blind men?”

^22-23 It was winter,^[a] and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of the Dedication Celebration. He was at the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Hall. ²⁴ The Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

²⁵ “I have already told you,^[b] and you don’t believe me,” Jesus replied. “The proof is in the miracles I do in the name of my Father. ²⁶ But you don’t believe me because you are not part of my flock. ²⁷ My sheep recognize my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them away from me, ²⁹ for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else, so no one can kidnap them from me. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”