The
Shepherd And His Flock
'I
tell you the truth,
The man
who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate,
But climbs
in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
2 The man
who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.
3 The
watchman opens the gate for Him,
And the
sheep listen to His Voice.
He calls
His own sheep by name and leads them out.
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.
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,
But they
did not understand what He was telling them.
7
Therefore Jesus said again, '
I TELL YOU
THE TRUTH, I AM THE GATE FOR THE SHEEP.
8 All who
ever came before me were thieves and robbers,
But the
sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the
Gate; whoever enters through Me will be Saved.
He will
come out, and find pasture.
10 THE
THIEF COMES ONLY TO STEAL AND KILL AND DESTROY;
I HAVE
COME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT TO THE FULL.
11
I am the Good Shepherd.
The Good
Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
12 The
hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep.
So when he
sees the Wolf coming,
He
abandons the sheep and runs away.
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;
I KNOW MY
SHEEP AND MY SHEEP KNOW ME--
15 JUST AS
THE FATHER KNOWS ME AND I KNOW THE FATHER--
And
I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 I have
other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.
I must
bring them also.
They too
will listen to My Voice,
And there
shall be One Flock and One Shepherd.
17 The
reason my Father loves Me is that I lay down My life--
Only to
take it up again.
18 No one
takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord.
I have
authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.
This
command I received from My Father.'
19 At
these words the Jews were again divided.
20 Many of
them said, 'He is demon-possessed and raving mad.
Why listen
to Him?'
21 But
others said,
'These are
not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon.
Can a
demon open the eyes of the blind?'
The
Unbelief Of The Jews
22 Then
came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem.
It was
winter
23 And
Jesus was in the Temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade.
24 The
Jews gathered around Him, saying,
'How long
will You keep us in suspense?
'If You
are the Christ, tell us plainly.' Jesus answered,
26 'I did
tell you, but you do not believe
Because
you are not My sheep.
27 My
sheep listen to My Voice;
I know
them, and they follow Me.
28 I GIVE
THEM ETERNAL LIFE,
AND THEY
SHALL NEVER PERISH;
No one can
snatch them out of My hand.
29 My
Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all;
No one can
snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
30 I AND
THE FATHER ARE ONE.'
31 Again
the Jews picked up stones to stone Him,
32 But
Jesus said to them,
'I have
shown you many great miracles from the Father.
For which
of these do you stone Me?'
33 'We are
not stoning You for any of these,' replied the Jews,
'But for
Blasphemy,
BECAUSE
YOU A MERE MAN, CLAIM TO BE GOD.'
34 Jesus
answered them,
'Is it not
written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'?
35 If He
called them 'gods,' to whom the Word of God came--
And
Scripture cannot be broken--
36 WHAT
ABOUT THE ONE WHOM THE FATHER SET APART
AS HIS
VERY ONE AND SENT INTO THE WORLD?
Why then
do you accuse Me of Blasphemy because I said,
'I am
God's Son'?
37 DO NOT
BELIEVE UNLESS I DO WHAT MY FATHER DOES.
38 BUT IF
I DO IT, EVEN THOUGH YOU DO NOT BELIEVE ME
BELEIVE
THE MIRACLES,
THAT YOU
MAY LEARN AND UNDERSTAND
THAT THE
FATHER IS IN ME, AND I IN THE FATHER.'
39 Again
they tried to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp.
40 Then
Jesus went back across the Jordan
To the
place where John had been baptizing in the early days.
42 Here He
stayed and many people came to Him.
They said,
'Though John never performed a miraculous sign,
All that
John said about this man was true.'
42 And in
that place many believed in Jesus.
(John 10)
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