John 10:1–20

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

10“Truly I tell you, anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber.^{aa 2}The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd^ab of the sheep.^{ac 3}The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t know the voice of strangers.” ⁶Jesus gave them this figure of speech, but they did not understand^ad what he was telling them.

⁷Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am^ae the gate for the sheep.^{af 8}All who came before me^B are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰A thief comes only to steal^a and kill and destroy.^b I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

¹¹“I am the good shepherd.^c The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.^{d 12}The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them^C and runs away when he sees a wolf^e coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. ¹³This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep.

¹⁴“I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father.^f I lay down my life^g for the sheep. ¹⁶But I have other sheep^h that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd.^{i 17}This is why the Father loves me,^j because I lay down my life^k so that I may take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”^l

¹⁹Again the Jews were divided^m because of these words. ²⁰Many of them were saying, “He has a demonⁿ and he’s crazy. Why do you listen to him?”