(Psalm 23:1–6; Ezekiel 34:11–24)
1
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who is not entering through the door to the fold of the sheep, but is going up from another side, that one is a thief and a robber;
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and he who is entering through the door is shepherd of the sheep;
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the doorkeeper opens to this one, and the sheep hear his voice, and his own sheep he calls by name, and leads them forth;
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and when he may put forth his own sheep, he goes on before them, and the sheep follow him, because they have known his voice;
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and they will not follow a stranger, but will flee from him, because they have not known the voice of strangers.”
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Jesus spoke this allegory to them, and they did not know what the things were that He was speaking to them;
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Jesus therefore said again to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I AM the door of the sheep;
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all, as many as came before Me, are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them;
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I AM the door, if anyone may come in through Me, he will be saved, and he will come in, and go out, and 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 may have [it] abundantly.
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I AM the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays His life down for the sheep;
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and the hired worker, and not being a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees; and the wolf snatches them, and scatters the sheep;
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and the hired worker flees because he is a hired worker, and is not caring for the sheep.
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I AM the good shepherd, and I know My [sheep], and am known by Mine,
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according as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father, and My life I lay down for the sheep,
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and other sheep I have that are not of this fold, these also it is necessary for Me to bring, and My voice they will hear, and there will become one flock—one shepherd.
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Because of this the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, that again I may take it;
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no one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself; authority I have to lay it down, and authority I have again to take it; this command I received from My Father.”
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Therefore, again, there came a division among the Jews, because of these words,
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and many of them said, “He has a demon, and is mad, why do you hear Him?”
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Others said, “These sayings are not those of a demoniac; is a demon able to open blind men’s eyes?”
Jesus at the Feast of Dedication
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And the Dedication in Jerusalem came, and it was winter,
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and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the porch of Solomon,
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the Jews, therefore, came around Him and said to Him, “Until when do You hold our soul in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us freely.”
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Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in the Name of My Father, these testify concerning Me;
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but you do not believe, for you are not of My sheep,
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according as I said to you: My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me,
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and I give continuous life to them, and they will not perish—throughout the age, and no one will snatch them out of My hand;
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My Father, who has given to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch out of the hand of My Father;
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I and the Father are one.”
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Therefore, again, the Jews took up stones that they may stone Him;
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Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from My Father; because of which work of them do you stone Me?”
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The Jews answered Him, saying, “We do not stone You for a good work, but for slander, and because You, being a man, make Yourself God.”
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Jesus answered them, “Is it not having been written in your law: I said, you are gods?
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If He called them gods to whom the word of God came (and the Writing is not able to be broken),
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of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, do you say—You slander, because I said, I am [the] Son of God?
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If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
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and if I do, even if you may not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and may believe that the Father [is] in Me, and I in Him.”
39
Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He went forth out of their hand,
John’s Testimony Confirmed
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and went away again to the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John was at first immersing, and remained there,
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and many came to Him and said, “John, indeed, did no sign, and all things, as many as John said about this One were true”;
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and many believed in Him there.
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