DaySpring Hope & Encouragement Bible - Flipbook - Page 110
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J ohn 10
meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for
the sheep. 8 All who came before me* were thieves and robbers. But the true
sheep did not listen to them. 9 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.
10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give
them a rich and satisfying life.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the
sheep. 12 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. 13 The hired hand runs away
because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the
sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,
15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life
for the sheep. 16 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.
17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back
again. 18 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.”
19 When he said these things, the people* were again divided in their opin
ions about him. 20 Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind.
Why listen to a man like that?” 21 Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man
possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God
22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah,
the Festival of Dedication. 23 He was in the Temple, walking through the
section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The people surrounded him and
asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Mes
siah, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The
proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. 26 But you don’t believe me be
cause 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 will never perish. No one
can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and
he is more powerful than anyone else.* No one can snatch them from the
Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, “At
my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you
going to stone me?”
33 They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blas
phemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”
34 Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures* that God said to certain
leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’* 35 And you know that the Scriptures
cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called
10:8 Some manuscripts do not include before me.
10:9 Or will find safety.
10:19 Greek Jewish
people; also in 10:24, 31. 10:29 Other manuscripts read for what my Father has given me is more
powerful than anything; still others read for regarding that which my Father has given me, he is greater
than all.
10:34a Greek your own law.
10:34b Ps 82:6.
JOHN 10:14-15
Being called sheep
doesn’t carry much prestige.
Sheep can be pretty clueless
and helpless.
We’d probably much rather
choose to be known
as something noble—like a lion,
a cheetah, or an eagle.
But we’re called sheep because
we tend to wander,
we get lost, and we need
constant protection and provision.
The real blessing in all this
is that we get to have
a Great Shepherd.
He’s not just an okay shepherd;
he’s not doing it for a hidden reason.
He loves to look after his silly sheep,
and we definitely benefit
from his care.
Thanks, Lord, for loving us sheep
with a love so great, so intimate,
so caring, so sacrificial, so perfect.
Read more about this topic on page 1612.
