John Chapter 10
Showing all 42 verses for John Chapter 10.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. "
"Jesus says anyone who doesn't come into the sheep pen through the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber."
I want you to notice how people arrive in positions of influence over your life. Anyone who manipulates, forces, or sneaks their way into authority over you, rather than earning trust openly, doesn't have your best interests at heart. Trust is something to be entered into honestly, not seized.
"But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. "
"But the one who comes in through the gate is the shepherd who actually owns and cares for the sheep."
I show up for you honestly and openly, not through trickery. Look for that same honesty in the people you let guide you - real care doesn't need to hide or manipulate its way in.
"To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. "
"The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognise his voice; he calls each of his own sheep by name and leads them out."
I know you specifically - not as part of a crowd, but as yourself, by name. That kind of personal, attentive care is what I offer, and it's worth seeking out in every relationship that matters to you rather than settling for being treated as just another face in the crowd.
"And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. "
"When he has brought his own sheep out, he walks ahead of them, and they follow because they recognise his voice."
I don't push you from behind with fear or pressure - I go ahead and invite you to follow because you've come to trust where I lead. Genuine influence in your own life should work the same way: earned trust, not force.
"And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. "
"They won't follow a stranger - in fact they'll run from him, because they don't recognise strangers' voices."
Trust your instinct for what doesn't ring true. If a voice in your life feels off, doesn't match the character you've come to know, you're allowed to keep your distance rather than forcing yourself to follow it out of obligation.
"This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. "
"Jesus told them this illustration, but they didn't understand what he meant by it."
I don't give up on you when something I say doesn't land straight away. I'll keep explaining, keep meeting you where your understanding actually is, rather than expecting instant comprehension.
"Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. "
"So Jesus said to them again, "I'm telling you the truth: I am the gate for the sheep.""
I'm not just pointing you towards the way - I'm claiming to be it myself. That's a big claim, and I want you to test it against my actual life and character rather than take it on faith alone.
"All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. "
"Everyone who came before me claiming this role were thieves and robbers, and the true sheep didn't listen to them."
I want you to be discerning about who has claimed to offer you rescue or belonging in the past. Not everyone who makes big promises about saving or leading you is trustworthy - genuine sheep, people attuned to what's real, sense the difference eventually.
"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. "
"I am the gate. Anyone who comes in through me will be kept safe, and will be free to go in and out and find good grazing."
What I offer isn't confinement dressed up as safety, and it isn't reckless freedom either - it's both together. If something claiming to protect you is actually just trapping you, or something claiming to free you is actually leaving you exposed, it isn't what I'm offering.
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. "
"The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come so that people can have life, and have it in full, overflowing measure."
I didn't come to shrink your life down with rules and restriction for its own sake - I came so you could live more fully, not less. If a belief or a person is steadily draining the life out of you rather than adding to it, that's worth questioning honestly.
"I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. "
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his own life for the sheep."
I'm not asking you to trust a leader who only takes from you - I'm showing you one who gives everything, including his own life, for your sake. That's the standard by which you can judge whether care offered to you is genuine.
"But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. "
"But a hired hand, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and runs away, leaving the sheep - so the wolf attacks and scatters the flock."
I stay when things get dangerous, because you matter to me for your own sake, not because of what I get out of it. Notice the difference between people who are there for you only when it's convenient and those who stay through real difficulty.
"The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. "
"The hired hand runs away simply because he's hired - he doesn't actually care about the sheep."
I want the people who matter to you to be looking for depth of care, not just presence. Someone can be around without truly caring, and it's worth being honest with yourself about which kind of person you're relying on.
"I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. "
"I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me."
I'm not interested in you knowing facts about me from a distance - I want an actual, mutual relationship, the kind where you're known and you know me back. That's a far more demanding and far more rewarding thing than mere belief in a set of ideas.
"As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. "
"Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep."
The love I have for you isn't shallow or accidental - it flows from the deepest relationship there is, and it's proven by what I'm willing to give up for you. Real love shows itself in what it costs the person giving it, not just in words.
"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. "
"I have other sheep too, who aren't part of this particular flock. I need to bring them in as well, and they will listen to my voice - then there will be one flock, with one shepherd."
I'm not building something exclusive to one group of people - my invitation reaches beyond whatever boundaries currently divide you from others. Don't assume that people very different from you are outside the reach of the same genuine care and truth you've found.
"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. "
"This is why the Father loves me: because I lay down my life, in order to take it back up again."
What looks like loss or sacrifice in my life isn't the end of the story - it's part of a larger purpose, given freely, with a return built in. When you give something of yourself out of love, trust that it isn't simply gone; it can be part of something being restored.
"No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. "
"No one takes my life from me - I give it up voluntarily. I have the authority to lay it down, and the authority to take it up again. This is what my Father instructed me to do."
When I face suffering later in this story, I want you to know it's not happening to me against my will - I'm choosing it, out of love, with a clear purpose. That's a model for facing hardship: not as a helpless victim, but with agency and purpose even in difficulty.
"There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. "
"Because of what he said, the people were divided among themselves again."
I don't expect everyone to agree about me, and I'm not troubled by that. If something I say causes real disagreement among honest people, that's a natural response to a significant claim, not a failure of the claim itself.
"And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? "
"Many of them said, "He's possessed by a demon and out of his mind - why bother listening to him?""
When people can't refute what I've said, sometimes they attack who I am instead. Notice this pattern in your own life too - it's easier to dismiss a person's character than to sit with an idea that challenges you.
"Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? "
"But others said, "These don't sound like the words of someone possessed. Can a demon give sight to a blind person?""
I want you to judge people and ideas by what they actually produce, not by rumour or reputation alone. Look at the real evidence in front of you before deciding what to believe.
"And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. "
"It was winter, and the Festival of Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem."
I meet people in the real, specific circumstances of their lives - actual seasons, actual places, actual history - not in some vague, timeless abstraction. Your life's details matter; I engage with them directly.
"And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. "
"Jesus was walking in the temple, in the area known as Solomon's Porch."
I don't hide from questions or scrutiny - I make myself available in the ordinary, public places of life. If you have honest questions, I'm not asking you to chase me down; I'm right there to be approached.
"Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. "
"The people gathered round him and said, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you're the Messiah, just tell us plainly.""
Sometimes what looks like an honest request for clarity is really a demand for me to prove myself on someone else's terms, even after the evidence has already been given. I'd rather you look honestly at what's already in front of you than wait for one more dramatic proof.
"Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. "
"Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you didn't believe it. The things I do in my Father's name speak for themselves about who I am.""
Don't just take my word for anything - look at what I actually do, consistently, over time. That's a far better test of trustworthiness than any single claim, and it's the standard I'd want you to apply to anyone who asks for your trust.
"But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. "
"But you don't believe, because, as I told you, you are not among my sheep."
I'm not looking for people who need overwhelming proof before they'll consider trusting me - I'm looking for honest openness. If you approach life with genuine willingness to see what's true, you'll recognise it far more easily than someone determined not to.
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: "
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."
Following me isn't a single moment you tick off and forget - it's an ongoing relationship of listening and being known. Keep that relationship active in your life, rather than treating it as something settled once and never revisited.
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. "
"I give them eternal life, and they will never be lost - no one will snatch them out of my hand."
The security I offer isn't about how tightly you manage to grip on to me - it's about how firmly I hold on to you. If you're carrying anxiety about whether you're safe or good enough, that fear isn't something I want weighing on you.
"My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. "
"My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than everyone and everything - no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand either."
When you feel small against the pressures of life, remember the security you're offered doesn't rest on your own strength but on something far greater than any threat you face. That's meant to be genuinely reassuring, not just a nice idea.
"I and my Father are one. "
"I and the Father are one."
I'm not asking you to follow a distant, separate figure relaying messages from somewhere else - what you see in me is, in a real sense, what God is like. That's a striking claim, and I'd rather you wrestle honestly with it than accept or reject it without thinking it through.
"Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. "
"At this, the people picked up stones again, ready to stone him."
Speaking the truth as I understood it cost me real, immediate danger, not just disapproval. If living honestly ever puts you at odds with people around you, know that integrity sometimes carries a real cost, and that's not a sign you've done something wrong.
"Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? "
"Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many good deeds from the Father - for which of these are you stoning me?""
When I faced hostility, I stayed calm and pointed back to what was actually true and good, rather than reacting with fear or anger. That's worth remembering when you're unfairly attacked - stay grounded in what's real rather than being pulled into the other person's aggression.
"The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. "
"They answered, "We're not stoning you for any good deed, but for blasphemy - because you, a mere man, are claiming to be God.""
People understood exactly what I was claiming about myself, and it provoked strong opposition precisely because the claim was so significant. I'd rather you take my words with the same seriousness they did, rather than softening them into something safer and less demanding.
"Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? "
"Jesus replied, "Isn't it written in your own scriptures, 'I said, you are gods'?""
When challenged, I engaged thoughtfully with the actual arguments and texts my questioners respected, rather than simply asserting my authority. Meeting people on the ground they already stand on is often a better way to reach them than talking past them.
"If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; "
""If scripture calls those people 'gods' - people to whom God's word came - and scripture cannot be dismissed or broken...""
I took the reliability of scripture seriously even while challenging my hearers' assumptions about it. Respecting a tradition and questioning a narrow interpretation of it aren't opposites - you can hold both at once.
"Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? "
""Then why do you accuse me of blasphemy for saying 'I am the Son of God' - me, whom the Father set apart and sent into the world?""
I stood firmly by what I'd claimed about myself, even under threat, because it was true - I wasn't going to soften it just to avoid conflict. There's a difference between being provocative for its own sake and simply refusing to abandon the truth under pressure.
"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. "
""If I'm not doing the works of my Father, then don't believe me.""
I'm not asking for blind trust - test what I say against what I actually do, and if the two don't line up, you're free to walk away. That's the standard I'd want applied to me, and it's a fair standard to apply to anyone who asks for your belief.
"But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. "
""But if I am doing them, then even if you don't believe me, believe the evidence of the works themselves - so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.""
I meet you wherever your doubts genuinely are, and I'm patient with a process rather than demanding instant certainty. Start with what you can honestly examine, and let understanding grow from there rather than forcing yourself into a belief you don't yet hold.
"Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, "
"So they tried again to seize him, but he got away from them."
There is a right time for everything, and not every threat or pressure you face has to be met on someone else's timetable. Trust that some things are worth waiting for, and walking away from difficulty isn't always weakness - sometimes it's wisdom.
"And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. "
"He went back across the Jordan River, to the place where John had first been baptising people, and he stayed there."
I knew when to step back from conflict and return to a place of quiet and reflection rather than staying in the middle of constant confrontation. Give yourself permission to withdraw sometimes, to return to what grounded you at the start, rather than staying locked in every fight.
"And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. "
"Many people came to him there and said, "John never performed a miracle, but everything he said about this man was true.""
Sometimes the value of a person's life isn't in flashy achievements but in how truthfully they pointed towards something real beyond themselves. Consider who has quietly, accurately pointed you towards truth in your own life without needing the spotlight themselves.
"And many believed on him there. "
"And many people came to believe in him there."
Growth in trust and understanding doesn't always happen in the middle of conflict - sometimes it happens quietly, once you've stepped back into a calmer space. Give yourself room for that kind of quiet reflection rather than expecting every important realisation to come from drama.