Gospel of John Chapter Ten

10:1 “Very truly, I say to you, one who does not enter through the gateway into the fold of sheep, but climbs over some other way, is a thief and a robber.1
10:2 But one who enters through the gateway is a shepherd of the sheep.
10:3 To him, the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice and he calls the sheep by name and leads them out.
10:4 When he leads his own out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
10:5 They will never follow a stranger. Rather, they will flee from him because they do not know the stranger’s voice."
10:6 Jesus told them this analogy, but they didn't understand what he was saying.
10:7 Thus Jesus said to them again, “Very truly, I say to you, I am the gateway for the sheep.
10:8 All who are appearing here before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep do not hear them.2
10:9 I am the gateway. If one enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out to find pasture.
10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come in order to give them life, so they will have it abundantly.
10:11 I am the genuine shepherd, and the genuine shepherd commits his life for the sake of his sheep.
10:12 One who is a hired hand and not a shepherd – who is not the owner of the sheep – sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. The wolf will then snatch them and scatter them.
10:13 He flees because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep.
10:14 I am the genuine shepherd and I know my own and my own know me -
10:15 just as the Creator knows me and I know the Creator - I commit my life to the sheep.
10:16 I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must lead them as well. They will hear my voice and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
10:17 For this reason the Creator loves me, because I commit my life in order to reclaim my life.
10:18 No one takes it from me, but I commit my life on my own. I choose to commit my life and thus choose to reclaim my life. I have received this instruction from my LORD."
10:19 A disagreement occurred again between the Jewish officials, because of these words.
10:20 Many of them said, “He is possessed and insane. Why do you listen to him?”
10:21 Others said, “These are not the statements of one who is possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind.”
10:22 It was wintertime, and the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem.
10:23 And Jesus walked within the portico of Solomon at the temple.
10:24 The Jewish officials gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are Anointed by God [Messiah, Christ], tell us with clarity.
10:25 Jesus replied, “I already told you but you don’t believe me. The things I do in my LORD's Name bear witness about me.
10:26 But as I said to you, you don’t trust me because you are not my sheep.
10:27 My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.
10:28 And I give them eternal life, so they will never perish, and no one shall remove them from my protection.
10:29 My LORD who brought them to me is greater than all, and no one can remove them from the Creator's protection.
10:30 The Creator and I are united.”
10:31 Then the Jewish officials picked up stones again to stone him.
10:32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many great deeds from the Creator – for which of these deeds do you stone me for?"
10:33 The Jewish officials answered him, saying, “We don’t stone you for a good deed; but for blasphemy, and because you – being a man, are making yourself out to be God.”
10:34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your scriptures, 'I said, you are divine'?3
10:35 If he called them divine, to whom the wisdom of God came – and the scripture cannot be broken.
10:36 Do you say of him who the Creator has empowered and sent into the material world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Representative of God?'
10:37 If I do not do the service of my LORD, do not trust me.
10:38 But if I do, though you don’t trust me, trust the service, so that you will know and perceive that the Creator is with me and I am with the Creator."
10:39 Thus they sought again to arrest him, but he eluded their grasp.
10:40 And he left again, past the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and he stayed there.
10:41 Many came to him and said, “John did no miracles, but all the things John said about this man were true.”
10:42 Many trusted in him there.

Footnotes:

1. Verse 10:1. Jesus is continuing his discussion with the pharisees and Jewish officials.

2. Verse 10:8. Jesus is referring to those who stand before him during this statement to the pharisees and Jewish officials.

3. Verse 10:34. Jesus is quoting from Psalms 82:6 (NIV): “I said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.” As the word אֱלֹהִים ('elohiym) can also be translated to “divine ones” – and בֵּן (ben) can also be translated to “followers” “servants” or “devotees”, this could also be translated to: “I said, ‘You are divine, all servants of the Most High.” Accordingly, the word θεός (theos) in Greek can also mean “divine” as well as “godlike” – indicating a reference to one’s spiritual identity.