1Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. 7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
19¶ There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. 20And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? 21Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
22¶ And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. 23And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. 24Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. 25Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. 26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and my Father are one. 31Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 34Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? 37If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. 39Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, 40And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. 41And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. 42And many believed on him there.
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
1“What I’m about to tell you Pharisees is true. What if someone does not enter the sheep pen through the gate but climbs in another way? That person is a thief and a robber. 2The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him. The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own sheep, he goes on ahead of them. His sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger. In fact, they will run away from him. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6Jesus told this story. But the Pharisees didn’t understand what he was telling them.
7So Jesus said again, “What I’m about to tell you is true. I am like a gate for the sheep. 8All who have come before me are thieves and robbers. But the sheep have not listened to them. 9I’m like a gate. Anyone who enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out. And they will find plenty of food. 10A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so they may have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.
11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12The hired man is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when the hired man sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired man. He does not care about the sheep.
14“I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me. 15They know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I give my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that do not belong to this sheep pen. I must bring them in too. They also will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I give up my life. But I will take it back again. 18No one takes it from me. I give it up myself. I have the authority to give it up. And I have the authority to take it back again. I received this command from my Father.”
19The Jews who heard these words could not agree with one another. 20Many of them said, “He is controlled by a demon. He has gone crazy! Why should we listen to him?”
21But others said, “A person controlled by a demon does not say things like this. Can a demon open the eyes of someone who is blind?”
Another Challenge to Jesus’ Claims
22Then came the Feast of Hanukkah at Jerusalem. It was winter. 23Jesus was in the temple courtyard walking in Solomon’s Porch. 24The Jews who were gathered there around Jesus spoke to him. They said, “How long will you keep us waiting? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25Jesus answered, “I did tell you. But you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name are a witness for me. 26But you do not believe, because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they will never die. No one will steal them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than anyone. No one can steal them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one.”
31Again the Jews who had challenged him picked up stones to kill him. 32But Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. Which good work are you throwing stones at me for?”
33“We are not throwing stones at you for any good work,” they replied. “We are stoning you for saying a very evil thing. You are only a man. But you claim to be God.”
34Jesus answered them, “Didn’t God say in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’? (Psalm 82:6) 35We know that Scripture is always true. God spoke to some people and called them ‘gods.’ 36If that is true, what about the one the Father set apart as his very own? What about this one the Father sent into the world? Why do you charge me with saying a very evil thing? Is it because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37Don’t believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38But what if I do them? Even if you don’t believe me, believe these works. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39Again they tried to arrest him. But he escaped from them.
40Then Jesus went back across the Jordan River. He went to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed. 41Many people came to him. They said, “John never performed a sign. But everything he said about this man was true.” 42And in that place many believed in Jesus.
