1
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"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! |
2
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But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. |
3
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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. |
4
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After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. |
5
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They won't follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don't know his voice." |
6
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Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn't understand what he meant, |
7
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so he explained it to them: "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. |
8
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All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. |
9
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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
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The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. |
11
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"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. |
12
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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
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The hired hand runs away because he's working only for the money and doesn't really care about the sheep. |
14
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"I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, |
15
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just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. |
16
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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
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"The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. |
18
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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
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When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. |
20
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Some said, "He's demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?" |
21
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Others said, "This doesn't sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" |
22
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It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. |
23
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He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade. |
24
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The people surrounded him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." |
25
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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
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But you don't believe me because you are not my sheep. |
27
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My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. |
28
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I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, |
29
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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
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The Father and I are one." |
31
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Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. |
32
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Jesus said, "At my Father's direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?" |
33
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They replied, "We're stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God." |
34
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Jesus replied, "It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, 'I say, you are gods!' |
35
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And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God's message were called 'gods,' |
36
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why do you call it blasphemy when I say, 'I am the Son of God'? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world. |
37
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Don't believe me unless I carry out my Father's work. |
38
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But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don't believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father." |
39
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Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. |
40
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He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile. |
41
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And many followed him. "John didn't perform miraculous signs," they remarked to one another, "but everything he said about this man has come true." |
42
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And many who were there believed in Jesus. |
John 10:33 English Language Bible Words basic statistical display
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