I Am the Good Shepherd
10:1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of 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 by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own 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 that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
I and the Father Are One
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there. (ESV)
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
This verse is just very encouraging to me to know that i am safe in Gods hand and no matter what this world does to us or tells us, we will not be taken away from him.
18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
I like this verse because it makes it very clear that Jesus, by his own descision, layed down his life for us. Its also very cool because if we get a command from God, he will make a way, no matter what the situation, that we will be able to do it……even if its a little bumpy along the way.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
The world focuses on the desires of this life and taking advantage of all that it has to offer. But Christ came to give us true life, and to help us take full advantage of our eternity. All that the world has to offer will come to an end, and those who pursue those things will be destroyed. If we as Christians distance ourselves from them, dying to ourselves and our sinful nature and living for Christ, then we will not only store up treasures in heaven for ourselves, but we will experience a more productive life here on earth, and one that is more in-tune with God.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jesus’ one purpose for His whole life was to come, die, rise again, and give us the chance to have eternal life in Him. We need to be so thankful and continually live our lives in a manner that pleases Him!
Also, vs29-33 is great when talking to Jehovah’s Witnesses….. because they believe that Jesus and God are two different people, some will go as far as saying Jesus was the “son” of God but he was a lower god. But this verse totally proves that wrong because he says “I and the Father are one” :)
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
It couldn’t be more clear than that. Jesus is the only way to eternal life and no one can get to the Father except through Him. Well thats all I have to say.
28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
I thought this verse was cool how if you have repented of your sin and put your faith in Christ, God will give you eternal life and you are completely safe with him. No one can take you from His hands and you will never ever perish. Once you go to Heaven, there will be absolutely no sins and because of that you can’t be kicked out or leave Heaven. This verse is pretty encouraging.
I love this chapter! It is so encouraging to read about how loving and faithful our God is! Instead of having a “god” that is unloving and cruel; we have a God that loves us and is willing to give His life for ours, even though we don’t deserve it.
20Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”
This reminds me of evangelism night when the guy me and my group was talking to said that Jesus was just a good person. This is in itself cannot be true; since Jesus made all these claims of deity than He either must be crazy (or possessed); or who He claims to be, God (v.30). So next time I will remeber to say the Jesus “just a good teacher” charater does not exist, and he is either possessed or turely God.
30I and the Father are one.”
While many religions deny Christ’s deity or even claim that Christ never claimed to be God it is hard to argue with verses like this. Here Jesus declares himself to be one and the same as the Father. While there are many other referecnes to Christ’s deity in the Bible here are a few others worth looking up and remembering: Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 1:23, John 1:1, Romans 9:5, Philippians 2:6, Colossians 1:15-17, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 1:3, Revelation 22:13.
29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
This chapter is great! Like Hunter was saying, it totally shows how faithful God is. Looking at this verse is really encouraging cause it just shows how important our relationship with Christ is! It shows us that we were picked to be his children and that was all in his control and his perfect plan and that once we have repented of our sins we now are Children of God (Sheep) we will never not be because of Jesus! Its so awesome to!! :D
38But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
Jesus is telling them like it is. He admits to be one and the same with God the Father. This gets the jews really mad. When we tell others the same fact that Jesus said here, we get simalar reactions. People don’t want to think of Jesus as God, but as a nice guy. We have to have the courage to tell others this despite what they will think about us or what we believe in.
I think that it is important to notice that chapter 10 comes right after chapter 9. That sounds like “duh!” But at the end of chapter 9 Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees. That really sets up chapter 10 where he is comparing shepherds with hired hands. What he is really doing is comparing himself to them and showing how if we are really his people then we know his voice and follow him and not be misled by false teachers.
37Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.
Here Jesus says that we shouldnt believe in him if he doesnt do what God tells him. Jesus does obey his Father and lives a perfect life, proving he is the Son of God and is infact God. some people dont believe, like the Pharisees, that Jesus is God, though Jesus lived a perfect life, and said he was God. if Jesus lived a perfect life, then his claims of his diety are true because he didnt lie. the Pharisees didntlike it at all when Jesus called them out, but God always hardened their hearts and they still didnt beilieve in Christ
Great comment Mike. Jesus came to give us life to the fullest, so lets take full advantage of it by refusing to live anymore for ourselves but for God. Being in-tune with God is the best feeling we can experience, because that is what we were created for – a perfect relationship with Him. Let’s not turn to worldly things for satisfaction, as they never will, but rather seek God alone and praise Him for saving us and never letting go of us like it says in verses 28 and 29.
5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
When we are disciples of Christ and we know what an authentic relationship with Him is like, we will never be misled by false teachers. It is crucial for us to know God’s word intimately so that we are not led astray by those who come in His name but are not of Him. Daily Bible reading is crucial for us not to be led away by the world and the false doctrines it has to offer. When we know the Truth we will not fall for a lie.
14I am the good Shepherd, I know me sheep and my sheep know me…
I love this verse in Scripture. It is an encouraging reminder to us as believers that our good God knows us intimately! He cares for us and loves us. The illustration of a sheep and his shepherd is a perfect image of our dependency on Him. But here in this verse as well we are exhorted in remembering that we know Him as well…we can know a lot about Christ but do we know Him? Are we really one of His?? May we find hope and encouragement in our good Shepherd.
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
I love this verse. If you are a true Christian, then nothing can snatch you out of Jesus’s hand! If you are on God’s side, nothing can happen to you. You will be safe, and that is so comforting to know!
I agree with what Dan and Jacob said. What a great verse that totally emphasizes Christ’s diety! It is blasphemy to lower Jesus to being less than God and that is what marks Christianity as so distinctively different from almost every other religion in the world!
1″I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.
3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
Jesus is the only way to get salvation, and he plainly states it here. There is no other way, so get on the banwagon or burn.
30″I and the Father are one.”
I remember I was waiting for the airplane to leave to Utah for the Junior Olympics and I had my Bible in my hand, so I asked them questions about Jesus, and I remember that some of them did not believe that Jesus Christ is God, and I used this verse and they couldn’t respond back, I kept them silent and there was twenty people listening to our talk, it was so amazing.
1″I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. I you are the person who dosnt enter throught the gate you are a thief a robber a non christian. We should enter the through the gate and no our sheperd like in verses 14 and 15
14″I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep
we should know our god who is our shepard and we should not even respond to the man who doesnt enter by the gate but finds another way to hop over.
Bobby if you can call me att10:00 in da mornin to make sure me and jeremy are up. but we probly will be because we are camited.
verse 7 ”therefore Jesus said again, i tell you the truth. i am the gate for the sheep”
Jesus is the only way through heaven and we need follow in his path. i need to start evagalizing and reading the gosbel every day on the scripture of the day. this verse reminds me to live my life for christ because he controls who goes to heaven or hell and i want to go to heaven. Thats why i need to share the Gosbel to everyone in my high school and not live my life for myself and do the things i want to do.
3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
This is my favorite verse from this chapter. Jesus is our shepherd. He always leads us where we need to go and will never lead us off the course. He feeds us, keeps us safe, and guides us.
I like this passage because it makes me remember that if we are in Gods hands and we are one of Gods sheep than we are forever safe. When it says I am the good shepered and he laided his life down for his sheep he is talking about Jesus dieing on the cross for us. This is a great comparision.
9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
Wow this verse is so good and convicting, its just says straight up that jesus is the one and only way to have eternal life
28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand
i agree with brooke on this verse, its so cool how if we are true christians than nothing can take us away from jesus and being with him forever in heaven, thats just an awsome feeling!!!
First of all i love the analogy that Jesus gives us in this chapter.
27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
I completely agree with Janaee’s comment. These verses really encougared me, becuase i know i am safe in God’s hands no matter what!! He is there to protect us, and hold us. He is always there for us and will never let us go. Just the thought of the creator of the universe being there to hold onto me is beyond amazing! The fact that Jesus defends us in these verses, plane human beings, sinners!!, and tells the people that no one can take us out of HIS hands, is unbelievable! I love my Savior!!!! And love that he is always there to pick me up when i fall, and never let go.
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What a great chapter!! Jesus says He is the good Shepherd and that He knows His sheep. How awesome is that. Jesus knows us better than anyone knows us. We are His sheep and that shows how dependent we are on Him for everything. He has given us life!!
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
i found this verse very encouraging… being followers of Christ, as promised in this verse, Jesus knows us… that should be comforting knowing whatever trial we go through its nothing God doesn’t know about or can help us through… its all a matter of faith as mentioned in verse 26… trusting that God is our shepherd and will lead us…