Daily Reader's Bible - Flipbook - Page 27
Pharisees asked the man all
about it. So he told them, “He put
the mud over my eyes, and when
I washed it away, I could see!”
Some of the Pharisees said,
“This man Jesus is not from
God, for he is working on the
Sabbath.” Others said, “But
how could an ordinary sinner
do such miraculous signs?”
So there was a deep division
of opinion among them.
Then the Pharisees again
questioned the man who had
been blind and demanded,
“What’s your opinion about
this man who healed you?”
The man replied, “I think
he must be a prophet.”
The Jewish leaders still
refused to believe the man
had been blind and could now
see, so they called in his parents. They asked them, “Is this
your son? Was he born blind?
If so, how can he now see?”
His parents replied, “We
know this is our son and that
he was born blind, but we
don’t know how he can see
or who healed him. Ask him.
He is old enough to speak for
himself.” His parents said this
because they were afraid of
the Jewish leaders, who had
announced that anyone saying
Jesus was the Messiah would
be expelled from the synagogue. That’s why they said,
“He is old enough. Ask him.”
So for the second time they
called in the man who had been
blind and told him, “God should
get the glory for this, because we
know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
“I don’t know whether he
is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was
blind, and now I can see!”
“But what did he do?” they
asked. “How did he heal you?”
“Look!” the man exclaimed.
“I told you once. Didn’t you
listen? Why do you want to
hear it again? Do you want to
become his disciples, too?”
Then they cursed him and
said, “You are his disciple, but
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we are disciples of Moses! We
know God spoke to Moses,
but we don’t even know where
this man comes from.”
“Why, that’s very strange!”
the man replied. “He healed my
eyes, and yet you don’t know
where he comes from? We
know that God doesn’t listen to
sinners, but he is ready to hear
those who worship him and do
his will. Ever since the world
began, no one has been able to
open the eyes of someone born
blind. If this man were not from
God, he couldn’t have done it.”
“You were born a total
sinner!” they answered.
“Are you trying to teach
us?” And they threw him
out of the synagogue.
When Jesus heard what had
happened, he found the
man and asked, “Do you
believe in the Son of Man?”
The man answered, “Who is
he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
“You have seen him,” Jesus
said, “and he is speaking to you!”
“Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man
said. And he worshiped Jesus.
Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind
and to show those who think
they see that they are blind.”
Some Pharisees who
were standing nearby heard
him and asked, “Are you
saying we’re blind?”
“If you were blind, you
wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus
replied. “But you remain guilty
because you claim you can see.
“I tell you the truth, anyone
who sneaks over the wall of a
sheepfold, rather than going
through the gate, must surely be
a thief and a robber! But the one
who enters through the gate is
the shepherd of the sheep. The
gatekeeper opens the gate for
him, and the sheep recognize his
voice and come to him. He calls
his own sheep by name and leads
them out. After he has gathered
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his own flock, he walks ahead of
them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They
won’t follow a stranger; they
will run from him because
they don’t know his voice.”
Those who heard Jesus use
this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he
explained it to them: “I tell you
the truth, I am the gate for the
sheep. All who came before me
were thieves and robbers. But
the true sheep did not listen to
them. Yes, I am the gate. Those
who come in through me will
be saved. They will come and
go freely and will find good
pastures. The thief’s purpose
is to steal and kill and destroy.
My purpose is to give them
a rich and satisfying life.
“I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd sacrifices
his life for the sheep. A hired
hand will run when he sees a
wolf coming. He will abandon
the sheep because they don’t
belong to him and he isn’t their
shepherd. And so the wolf
attacks them and scatters the
flock. The hired hand runs
away because he’s working
only for the money and doesn’t
really care about the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd; I
know my own sheep, and they
know me, just as my Father
knows me and I know the Father.
So I sacrifice my life for the
sheep. I have other sheep, too,
that are not in this sheepfold. I
must bring them also. They will
listen to my voice, and there will
be one flock with one shepherd.
“The Father loves me because
I sacrifice my life so I may take
it back again. No one can take
my life from me. I sacrifice
it voluntarily. For I have the
authority to lay it down when
I want to and also to take it
up again. For this is what my
Father has commanded.”
When he said these things,
the people were again divided in their opinions about
him. Some said, “He’s demon
