John 10:1–12:50

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.g 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.h 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.i He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.j 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.k 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech,l but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.m

7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I amn the gateo for the sheep. 8 All who have come before mep are thieves and robbers,q but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.a They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life,r and have it to the full.s

11 “I amt the good shepherd.u The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.v 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.w Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd;x I know my sheepy and my sheep know me—15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Fatherz—and I lay down my life for the sheep.a 16 I have other sheepb that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flockc and one shepherd.d 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my lifee—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.f I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”g

19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided.h 20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessedi and raving mad.j Why listen to him?”

21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon.k Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”l

Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims

22 Then came the Festival of Dedicationb at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.m 24 The Jewsn who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”o

25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you,p but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,q 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.r 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them,s and they follow me.t 28 I give them eternal life,u and they shall never perish;v no one will snatch them out of my hand.w 29 My Father, who has given them to me,x is greater than allc;y no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”z

31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him,a 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”b

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law,c ‘I have said you are “gods” ’d?d 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of Gode came—and Scripture cannot be set asidef—36 what about the one whom the Father set apartg as his very ownh and sent into the world?i Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?j 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.k 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”l 39 Again they tried to seize him,m but he escaped their grasp.n

40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordano to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign,p all that John said about this man was true.”q 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.r

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany,s the village of Mary and her sister Martha.t 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)u 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you lovev is sick.”

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s gloryw so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”x

8 “But Rabbi,”y they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you,z and yet you are going back?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light.a 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friendb Lazarus has fallen asleep;c but I am going there to wake him up.”

12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.d

14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomase (also known as Didymusa) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.f 18 Now Bethanyg was less than two milesb from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.h 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.i

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.j 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”k

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrectionl at the last day.”m

25 Jesus said to her, “I amn the resurrection and the life.o The one who believesp in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believingq in me will never die.r Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah,s the Son of God,t who is to come into the world.”u

28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacherv is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.w 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her,x noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”y

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply movedz in spirit and troubled.a 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept.b

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”c

37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind mand have kept this man from dying?”e

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved,f came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.g 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”h

40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe,i you will see the glory of God?”j

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked upk and said, “Father,l I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here,m that they may believe that you sent me.”n

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”o 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen,p and a cloth around his face.q

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary,r and had seen what Jesus did,s believed in him.t 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Phariseesu called a meetingv of the Sanhedrin.w

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs.x 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas,y who was high priest that year,z spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”a

51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.b 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.c

54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea.d Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called…