JHN 10
10
The Parable of the Good Shepherd and the Sheep
1 "I tell you with absolute certainty and truth: Anyone who refuses to enter the sheep enclosure by the proper door, but instead climbs up from another direction, is nothing but a thief and a robber.
2 But the person who enters by the door is the legitimate shepherd of the sheep.
3 The doorkeeper opens the door for him, and the sheep recognise his voice. He calls each of his own sheep by their individual names and leads them out to pasture.
4 After he has brought all his own sheep out, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow behind him because they recognise his voice.
5 They will absolutely refuse to follow a stranger; instead, they will run away from him because they do not recognise the voice of strangers."
6 Jesus presented this illustration to them, but they failed to grasp the meaning of what He was communicating.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd
7 So Jesus spoke to them again: "I tell you with absolute certainty and truth: I Myself am the door for the sheep.
8 Everyone who came before Me operated as thieves and robbers, but the sheep refused to listen to their voices.
9 I am the door. Anyone who enters through Me will experience salvation and will move in and out freely, finding nourishment for life.
10 The thief's only purpose in coming is to steal, slaughter, and devastate. But I have come so that they may possess life—and not just life, but life overflowing with abundance.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd willingly gives up his own life for the sake of his sheep.
12 A hired worker, on the other hand—since he is not actually the shepherd and does not own the sheep himself—sees the wolf approaching and abandons the sheep to their fate and flees. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters them in all directions.
13 He runs away because he is merely a paid worker and has no genuine concern for the welfare of the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep intimately, and My own sheep know Me intimately,
15 just as the Father knows Me intimately and I know the Father intimately—and I willingly lay down My life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep as well that do not belong to this particular fold. It is necessary for Me to bring those sheep also, and they will hear and recognise My voice. Eventually there will be one unified flock with one shepherd.
17 This is the reason the Father loves Me: because I lay down My life, with the purpose of taking it up again.
18 No one is taking My life from Me against My will. Rather, I lay it down voluntarily of My own free choice. I possess the authority to lay it down, and I possess the authority to take it back again. I received this mandate directly from My Father."
19 These statements caused another division among the Jewish people.
20 Many of them were saying: "He is possessed by a demon and speaks like a madman. Why would anyone listen to what He says?"
21 Others were saying: "These are not the words of someone possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of blind people?"
The Deity of Jesus
22 Then the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was wintertime,
23 and Jesus was walking through the temple courts in the area known as Solomon's Colonnade.
24 The Jewish leaders surrounded Him and demanded: "How much longer will You keep us in suspense? If You are truly the Messiah, tell us plainly and directly."
25 Jesus answered them: "I have already told you, but you refuse to believe. The works that I perform in My Father's name—these very works serve as testimony about who I am.
26 But you do not believe because you do not belong to My sheep.
27 My sheep hear My voice and recognise it. I know them intimately, and they follow Me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will absolutely never perish—not ever. And no one has the power to snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than anyone. No one has the ability to snatch them away from My Father's hand.
30 I and the Father are one in essence."
31 Once again, the Jewish leaders picked up stones with the intention of stoning Him to death.
32 Jesus responded to them: "I have shown you many good and beautiful works that come from the Father. Which specific one of these works are you stoning Me for?"
33 The Jewish leaders replied: "We are not stoning You for any good work You have done, but for blasphemy—because You, being merely a human man, are making Yourself out to be God."
34 Jesus answered them: "Is it not written in your own Law: 'I have declared, you are gods'?
35 If God called them 'gods'—those people to whom God's word came—and the Scripture cannot be broken or invalidated,
36 then why do you accuse Me of blasphemy—Me, whom the Father set apart and consecrated for His purpose and sent into the world—simply because I stated 'I am the Son of God'?
37 If I am not performing the works that My Father does, then you should not believe Me.
38 But if I am indeed performing them, even if you refuse to believe Me personally, at least believe the evidence of the works themselves. Then you will come to know that the Father dwells in Me and I dwell in the Father."
39 At this point they tried once more to arrest Him, but He slipped away from their grasp.
40 Jesus then went back across the Jordan River to the location where John had first been baptising. He remained there,
41 and many people came out to Him. They were saying: "John never performed even a single miraculous sign, but everything John spoke about this man has proven to be true."
42 And in that location, many placed their faith in Him.
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JHN 10: AFINT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
