Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10 “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter through the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up at some other place—that one is a thief and a robber. ² But the one who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ For this one the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ Whenever he sends out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ And they will never follow a stranger, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Jesus told them this parable, but they did not understand what it was that he was saying to them.

⁷ Then Jesus said to them^[a] again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All those who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep do not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and will go out and will find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only^[b] so that he can steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and have it^[c] abundantly.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand, who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf approaching and abandons the sheep and runs away—and the wolf seizes them and scatters them^[d]— ¹³ because he is a hired hand and he is not concerned^[e] about the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd, and I know my own, and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And I have other sheep which are not from this fold. I must bring these also, and they will hear my voice, and they will become one flock—one shepherd. ¹⁷ Because of this the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take possession of it again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down voluntarily.^[f] I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take possession of it again. This commandment I received from my Father.”

¹⁹ Again there was a division among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰ And many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is out of his mind! Why do you listen to him?” ²¹ Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who is possessed by a demon! A demon is not able to open the eyes of the blind, is it?”^[g]