Reflections on John 10

John 10 (Contemporary English Version)
1. Jesus said: I tell you for certain that only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the gate to the sheep pen.
   
2. But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd's voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.
   
3. (SEE 10:2)
   
4. When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they follow, because they know his voice.
   
5. The sheep will not follow strangers. They don't recognize a stranger's voice, and they run away.
   
6. Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.
   
7. Jesus said: I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep.
   
8. Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did not listen to any of them.
   
9. I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.
   
10. A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest.
    
11. I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep.
    
12. Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don't own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock.
    
13. Hired workers run away because they don't care about the sheep.
    
14. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me.
    
15. Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep.
    
16. I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.
    
17. The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again.
    
18. No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.
    
19. The people took sides because of what Jesus had told them.
    
20. Many of them said, "He has a demon in him! He is crazy! Why listen to him?"
    
21. But others said, "How could anyone with a demon in him say these things? No one like that could give sight to a blind person!"
    
22. That winter, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Temple Festival.
    
23. One day he was walking in that part of the temple known as Solomon's Porch,
    
24. and the people gathered all around him. They said, "How long are you going to keep us guessing? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly!"
    
25. Jesus answered: I have told you, and you refused to believe me. The things I do by my Father's authority show who I am.
    
26. But since you are not my sheep, you don't believe me.
    
27. My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me,
    
28. and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand.
    
29. My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others. No one can snatch them from his hands,
    
30. and I am one with the Father.
    
31. Once again the Jewish leaders picked up stones in order to kill Jesus.
    
32. But he said, "I have shown you many good things that my Father sent me to do. Which one are you going to stone me for?"
    
33. They answered, "We are not stoning you because of any good thing you did. We are stoning you because you did a terrible thing. You are just a man, and here you are claiming to be God!"
    
34. Jesus replied: In your Scriptures doesn't God say, "You are gods"?
    
35. You can't argue with the Scriptures, and God spoke to those people and called them gods.
    
36. So why do you accuse me of a terrible sin for saying that I am the Son of God? After all, it is the Father who prepared me for this work. He is also the one who sent me into the world.
    
37. If I don't do as my Father does, you should not believe me.
    
38. But if I do what my Father does, you should believe because of that, even if you don't have faith in me. Then you will know for certain that the Father is one with me, and I am one with the Father.
    
39. Again they wanted to arrest Jesus. But he escaped
    
40. and crossed the Jordan to the place where John had earlier been baptizing. While Jesus was there,
    
41. many people came to him. They were saying, "John didn't work any miracles, but everything he said about Jesus is true."
    
42. A lot of those people also put their faith in Jesus.
    
    

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    Jesus' conversation with the Pharisees continues into chapter 10 in which He shifts to a shepherd-sheep analogy. Through this analogy Jesus taught that those who belong to Him, and also to God, will recognize Him. The sheep know their shepherd and go to Him when he calls them. The implication is that if the Pharisees in His audience belonged to God they would recognize Jesus as being from God. Next, Jesus taught that He is the door through which anyone must enter to be saved: "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture." (10:9) People are constantly seeking other ways to God, but Jesus says He is the only way to God - He is the door. Jesus further taught that as the good shepherd He lays down His life for His sheep. Others who purport to be shepherds serve themselves rather than the sheep. But Jesus not only serves His sheep, He laid down His life on their behalf.
    
    As Jesus' teaching continued, He added a couple of other truths. First, He gives to His sheep eternal life and they will never, ever perish. This is an emphatic statement. Second, once in Jesus' sheepfold, His sheep are held secure - "No one will snatch them out of My hand." (10:28) The security of the sheep in His fold is not based on anything they do, but on God, the Father. Jesus said, "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." If God keeps the sheep secure, they are secure, for no one is greater than He is. No one is capable of snatching away His sheep.
    
    Should there be any confusion between sheep belonging to Jesus or to God, or between who Jesus is versus who God is, Jesus stated, "The Father and I are one." (10:30) There is no difference between the two.