Parable of the Good Shepherd

¹“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up from some other place [on the stone wall], that one is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep [the protector and provider]. ³ The ^[a]doorkeeper opens [the gate] for this man, and the sheep hear his voice and pay attention to it. And [knowing that they listen] he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out [to pasture]. ⁴ When he has brought all his own sheep outside, he walks on ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice and recognize his call. ⁵ They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what He was talking about.

⁷ So Jesus said again, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I am ^[b]the Door for the sheep [leading to life]. ⁸ All who came before Me [as false messiahs and self-appointed leaders] are thieves and robbers, but the [true] sheep did not hear them. ⁹ I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved [and will live forever], and will go in and out [freely], and find pasture (spiritual security). ¹⁰ The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

^11 [c]I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd ^[d]lays down His [own] life for the sheep. ¹² But the hired man [who merely serves for wages], who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away; and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The man runs because he is a hired hand [who serves only for wages] and is not concerned about the [safety of the] sheep. ¹⁴ I am the Good Shepherd, and I know [without any doubt those who are] My own and My own know Me [and have a deep, personal relationship with Me]— ¹⁵ even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—and I lay down My [very own] life [sacrificing it] for the benefit of the sheep. ¹⁶ I have ^[e]other sheep [beside these] that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they will listen to My voice and pay attention to My call, and they will become ^[f]one flock with one Shepherd. ¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life so that I may take it back. ¹⁸ No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down voluntarily. I am authorized and have power to lay it down and to give it up, and I am authorized and have power to take it back. This command I have received from My Father.”

¹⁹ A division [of opinion] occurred again among the Jews because of these words [of His]. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He has a demon and He is mad [insane—He raves and rambles]. Why listen to Him?” ²¹ Others were saying, “These are not the words and thoughts of one possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Jesus Asserts His Deity

²² At that time the ^[g]Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. ²³ It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple [area] in ^[h]Solomon’s portico. ²⁴ So the Jews surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long are You going to keep us in suspense? If You are [really] the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), tell us so plainly and openly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I have told you so, yet you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name testify concerning Me [they are My credentials and the evidence declaring who I am]. ²⁶ But you do not believe Me [so you do not trust and follow Me] because you are not My sheep. ²⁷ The sheep that are My own hear My voice and listen to Me; I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever [by any means] perish; and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand. ^29 [i]My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater and mightier than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are One [in essence and nature].”

³¹ Again the Jews picked up stones to stone Him. ³² Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works [and many acts of mercy] from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” ³³ The Jews answered Him, “We are not going to stone You for a good work, but for blasphemy, because You, a mere man, make Yourself out to be God.” ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods [human judges representing God, not divine beings]’? ³⁵ If He ^[j]called them gods, men to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be undone or annulled or broken), ³⁶ [if that is true] then do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and set apart for Himself and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? ³⁷ If I do not do the works of My Father [that is, the miracles that only God could perform], then do not believe Me. ³⁸ But if I am doing them, even if you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, [at least] believe the works [that I do—admit that they are the works of God], so that you may know and keep on knowing [clearly—without any doubt] that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father [that is, I am One with Him].” ³⁹ So they tried again to seize Him, but He eluded their grasp.

⁴⁰ He went back again across the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there. ⁴¹ Many came to Him, and they were saying, “John did not perform a single sign (attesting miracle), but everything John said about this Man was true and accurate.” ⁴² And many there believed and confidently trusted in Him [accepting Him as Savior, and following His teaching].