John 10
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.”
31 Then again the Jewish leaders picked up stones to kill him.
32 Jesus said, “At God’s direction I have done many a miracle to help the people. For which one are you killing me?”
33 They replied, “Not for any good work, but for blasphemy; you, a mere man, have declared yourself to be God.”
34-36 “In your own Law it says that men are gods!” he replied. “So if the Scripture, which cannot be untrue, speaks of those as gods to whom the message of God came, do you call it blasphemy when the one sanctified and sent into the world by the Father says, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 Don’t believe me unless I do miracles of God. 38 But if I do, believe them even if you don’t believe me. Then you will become convinced that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
39 Once again they started to arrest him. But he walked away and left them, 40 and went beyond the Jordan River to stay near the place where John was first baptizing. 41 And many followed him.
“John didn’t do miracles,” they remarked to one another, “but all his predictions concerning this man have come true.” 42 And many came to the decision that he was the Messiah.[c]
Footnotes
- John 10:22 December 25 was the usual date for this celebration of the cleansing of the Temple.
- John 10:25 I have already told you, see 5:19; 8:36, 56, 58, etc.
- John 10:42 many came to the decision that he was the Messiah, literally, “many believed on him there.”
John 10
EasyEnglish Bible
The story about the shepherd
10 Jesus then said, ‘I tell you this: A shepherd keeps his sheep in a safe place with a wall round it. There is a gate into that safe place. Anyone who gets into that place by another way, not through the gate, is not the shepherd. That person is a robber. He comes to take away the sheep for himself. 2 But the shepherd goes in through the gate. 3 The person who watches the gate opens it for the shepherd. The sheep recognize the shepherd's voice. He calls each of his own sheep by their name and he leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own sheep, he goes in front of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger. They will run away from a stranger because they do not recognize his voice.’
6 Jesus told this story like a picture to teach the people. But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
Jesus is like the good shepherd
7 So Jesus spoke again. He said, ‘I tell you this: I am like the gate for the sheep. 8 All other men who came before me were like robbers.[a] But the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am like the gate. Everyone who comes in through me will be safe. They will be free to come in and to go out. And they will find plenty of food. 10 The robber only wants to take away my sheep. He wants to kill them. He comes only to destroy them. But I have come so that they can have true life. And so that they can have everything that they need.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd would die so that he can save his sheep. 12 Another man may take care of sheep so that he gets money. But the sheep do not belong to him. A man like that is not the shepherd. If a wolf comes, a man like that runs away when he sees it. He leaves the sheep in danger. Then the wolf attacks the sheep. It causes them to run away in all directions. 13 That man runs away because the sheep do not belong to him. He does not think that the sheep are important.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep, and they know me. 15 I know them in the same way that my Father knows me. And they know me in the same way that I know the Father. I will die so that I can save my sheep. 16 I also have other sheep, and I must bring them too. They do not belong to this group of sheep. But they also will listen to my voice. So all the sheep will become one group, and they will have one shepherd. 17 The Father loves me because I choose to die for my sheep. But after I give my life like that, I will become alive again. 18 Nobody can take my life away from me. Instead, I myself can choose to die. I have authority to do that. I also have authority to become alive again. My Father has said that I must do that.’
19 Again, the Jews could not agree about these things that Jesus said. 20 Many of them said, ‘He has a demon in him and he is crazy. You should not listen to him!’ 21 But other people said, ‘A man with a demon in him could not teach like this! A demon could not make blind people able to see!’
The Jewish leaders do not believe in Jesus
22 It was the time for the Jewish Festival called Hanukkah.[b] This happened in Jerusalem. It was winter.
23 Jesus was walking in the yard of the temple, under a place with a roof. The place was called Solomon's porch. 24 The Jewish leaders stood around him. They said to him, ‘We want to know who you are. When will you tell us? If you are the Messiah, tell us clearly.’ 25 Jesus answered, ‘I have already told you, but you do not believe. The things that I do by my Father's authority show you who I am. 26 But you refuse to believe, because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep recognize my voice. I know them and they follow me. 28 I give them life for ever with God. They will never die. Nobody can ever take them away from me. 29 My Father has given them to me. He is greater than all things. Nobody can ever take my sheep out of my Father's hand. 30 My Father and I are one.’
31 Then the Jewish leaders picked up stones again to throw at Jesus so that they could kill him. 32 Jesus said to them, ‘I have done many good things. The Father sent me to do them, and I have shown them to you. Which of those good things make you want to kill me with stones?’ 33 The Jewish leaders answered, ‘We do not want to kill you because of any good things that you have done. We want to kill you because you are speaking against God. You are only a man, but you are saying that you are God.’
34 Jesus answered them, ‘It is written in your own books of God's Law that God said, “You are gods.”[c] 35 God called the people to whom he spoke “gods”. And you know that the Bible always remains true. 36 So, when I said that I am God's Son, why am I wrong? The Father chose me for himself. And he sent me into the world. So you should not say that I am speaking bad things against God. 37 If I am not doing my Father's work, do not believe me. 38 But if I am doing his work, you should believe that work. Even if you do not believe me, you should believe the things that I do. Then you will know certainly that the Father is in me. And you will know that I am in the Father.’
39 Again, the Jewish leaders tried to take hold of Jesus. But he escaped from them.
40 After that, Jesus returned across the Jordan River. He went to the place where John had earlier baptized people. Jesus stayed there. 41 Many people came to him. They said to each other, ‘John did not do any miracles. But everything that he said about this man was true.’ 42 So, in that place, many people believed in Jesus.
Footnotes
- 10:8 These men were leaders who said that they wanted to take care of God's people. But they did not really help the people. Instead they hurt them, like robbers.
- 10:22 At the Festival called Hanukkah, Israel's people remembered a special time, 165 years before Jesus came to the earth. A foreign ruler had come to Jerusalem. He had put false gods in the temple in Jerusalem. But some of Israel's people attacked that ruler and they sent him away. Then they made the temple clean again so that they could worship the one true God there.
- 10:34 See Psalms 82:6.
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