Parable of the Good Shepherd
John 10:1-21
“I tell you the truth. He that comes into the sheepfold, not by the door but by some other way, is a thief and a robber. But he that enters by the door is the sheep’s shepherd. The watchman opens the gate for him and the sheep hear his voice.
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He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings his sheep out, he leads them. The sheep follow him for they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger but run from him, for they don’t recognize the stranger’s voice.”
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Jesus told them this parable, but they didn’t understand what he was really talking about.
Then Jesus again said to them, “Truthfully, I tell you; I am the door for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. By me, if any man enters, he will be saved, and will go in and out, and find pasture. The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.
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“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But the hired hand is not the shepherd. The sheep don’t belong to him, so when he sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep. As he flees, the wolf catches them and scatters them. The hired hand leaves, because he is an employee who doesn’t love the sheep. I am the good shepherd and know my sheep, and they know me.
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“As the Father knows me, even so, I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I also have other sheep, which are not part of this flock. I must also bring them. They will hear my voice and become part of one flock with one shepherd. Therefore, my Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I might take it up again. No one takes it from me. Rather, I lay it down, myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again. I have received this command from my Father.”
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Again, there was disagreement among the Judeans because of what he said. Many of them said, “He has a demon—or is insane! Why do you listen to him?” But others said, “These are not the words of one demon possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
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