10 1 Truly, truly, I say to you, the one not entering into the fold of the sheep through the door, but going-up from-another-place— that one is a thief and a robber. 2 But the One entering through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The doorkeeper opens to this One. And the sheep hear[a] His voice. And He calls His own sheep by name, and leads them out. 4 When He brings out all His own, He proceeds in front of them. And the sheep are following Him, because they know His voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers”. 6 Jesus spoke this figure-of-speech to them, but those ones did not understand what the things were which He was speaking to them.
I Am The Door of The Sheep. All Who Enter Through Me Will Be Saved
7 Then Jesus said again, “Truly, truly, I say to you that I am the door of [b] the sheep. 8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen-to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. And he will go in and go out, and he will find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except that he may steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have abundance[c].
I Am The Good Shepherd. All My Sheep Know Me. I Give My Life For Them
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays-down His life for the sheep. 12 The one being a hired one and not a shepherd, of whom the sheep are not his own— he sees the wolf coming and leaves[d] the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them, 13 because he is a hired one, and he is not concerned about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. And I know My sheep, and My sheep know Me— 15 just as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. And I lay-down My life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold[e]. I must bring those also. And they[f] will hear My voice. And they will become one flock, [with] one Shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me— because I lay down My life so that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. I received this commandment from My Father”.
The Pharisees Remain Divided
19 A division again[g] took place among the Jews because of these words. 20 And many of them were saying, “He has a demon, and He is mad. Why are you listening-to Him?” 21 Others[h] were saying, “These words are not from one being demon-possessed. A demon is not able to open the eyes of blind ones, is he?”
During The Festival of Hanukkah, Jesus Says He And The Father Are One
22 Then the Festival-of-Dedication[i] took place in Jerusalem. It was winter. 23 And Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him. And they were saying to Him, “How long are You keeping us in suspense[j]? If You are the Christ, tell us with plainness”. 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works which I am doing in the name of My Father— these are testifying about Me. 26 However, you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep hear My voice. And I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, ever. And someone will not snatch them out of My hand. 29 What[k] My Father has given to Me is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the hand of the Father. 30 I and the Father are one[l]”.
The Jewish Leaders Want To Kill Jesus For Blasphemy Because He Is Making Himself God
31 The Jews again carried stones in order that they might stone Him. 32 Jesus responded to them, “I showed you many good works from the Father. For which work of them do you stone Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “We do not stone You for a good work, but for blasphemy— even because You, being a human, are making Yourself God”.
Jesus Responds: Saying “I Am God’s Son” Is Not Blasphemy If I Am Doing God’s Works
34 Jesus responded to them, “Has it not been written in your Law that ‘I said, you are gods[m]’? 35 If He[n] called those ones to whom the word of God came gods— and the Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you[o] say as to the One Whom the Father set-apart and sent-forth into the world that ‘You are blaspheming’ because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 If I am not doing the works of My Father, do not be believing Me. 38 But if I am doing them— even if you do not believe Me, be believing the works, in order that you may come-to-know and be understanding[p] that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father”. 39 Then they were seeking again to seize Him, and He went out of their hand.
Jesus Leaves Judea
40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan, to the place where John was first baptizing. And He was staying there. 41 And many came to Him, and were saying that “John did no sign— but all that John said about this One was true”. 42 And many believed in Him there.
Footnotes
- John 10:3 That is, listen to and obey. The blind man is the specific example in view, v 38.
- John 10:7 That is, to; or, for.
- John 10:10 Or, excess, overflow, surplus. That is, have an overflowing spiritual life abounding to others (as in 7:38), not mere existence. Jesus is referring to an abundance of ‘real’ life, 1 Tim 6:19.
- John 10:12 Or more strongly, abandons.
- John 10:16 Jesus may mean the Jewish fold, making the ones in view the Gentiles; or, the nation-of-Israel fold, making the ones in view the ‘children of God scattered’ outside Israel, Jews and Gentiles, 11:52.
- John 10:16 That is, all My sheep from both folds.
- John 10:19 See 9:16.
- John 10:21 So the case of the man born blind (9:1-10:21) comes down to this: Is Jesus empowered by God or Satan?
- John 10:22 That is, Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights, commemorating the rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabaeus in 165 b.c. after it had been desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes.
- John 10:24 keeping us in suspense. Lit, lifting-up our soul [in suspense or anticipation].
- John 10:29 Or, That-which. Jesus may be referring to the flock itself viewed as an abstract whole; or, to His ‘authority over all flesh to give eternal life’ (17:2), making what follows ‘snatch it’. In either case, both the Father and the Son ensure the safety of the flock.
- John 10:30 That is, one in will and action. Jesus is claiming a oneness He shares with God because He is His Son (v 36) and therefore shares the essence or substance of His Father. Jesus is claiming to be acting as God and thus to be God, to which His listeners respond next.
- John 10:34 Jesus is quoting Ps 82:6, where the psalmist calls the judges of Israel gods (in authority over the people) because they carried out divine justice.
- John 10:35 Or, he (the psalmist); or, it (the Scripture).
- John 10:36 If God in Scripture called those judges gods, does this term not even more apply to Me, based on My works alone? Jesus is arguing from the lesser to the greater.
- John 10:38 Or, acknowledging.