Gospel of John
John 10
The Good Shepherd
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Before you Read
John 10 continues Jesus’ teaching by using the familiar picture of sheep, shepherds, and a sheepfold. He contrasts His care for His people with leaders who harm or abandon them, and He identifies Himself as both the gate and the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. As you read, notice what Jesus says about knowing His sheep, giving them life, and the security they have in His care.
Read John 10
Jesus the Good Shepherd
(Psalm 23:1–6; Ezekiel 34:11–24)
1 “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.
2 But the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen for his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will flee from him because they do not recognize his voice.”
6 Jesus spoke to them using this illustration, but they did not understand what He was telling them.
7 So He said to them again, “Truly, truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
12 The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock.
13 The man runs away because he is a hired servant and is unconcerned for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me,
15 just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.
17 The reason the Father loves Me is that I lay down My life in order to 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 authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”
19 Again there was division among the Jews because of Jesus’ message.
20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”
21 But others replied, “These are not the words of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Jesus at the Feast of Dedication
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter,
23 and Jesus was walking in the temple courts in Solomon’s Colonnade.
24 So the Jews gathered around Him and demanded, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 “I already told you,” Jesus replied, “but you did not believe. The works I do in My Father’s name testify on My behalf.
26 But because you are not My sheep, you refuse to believe.
27 My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
30 I and the Father are one.”
31 At this, the Jews again picked up stones to stone Him.
32 But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?”
33 “We are not stoning You for any good work,” said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because You, who are a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
34 Jesus replied, “Is it not written in your Law: ‘I have said you are gods’?
35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came — and the Scripture cannot be broken —
36 then what about the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? How then can you accuse Me of blasphemy for stating that 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 am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.”
39 At this, they tried again to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp.
John’s Testimony Confirmed
40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had first been baptizing, and He stayed there.
41 Many came to Him and said, “Although John never performed a sign, everything he said about this man was true.”
42 And many in that place believed in Jesus.
Footnotes:
10:8 BYZ All who came
10:22 That is, Hanukkah, the historic celebration of the Maccabean Revolt and rededication of the temple
10:23 Literally the temple
10:34 Psalm 82:6
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A Word Worth Knowing
Good Shepherd — ποιμὴν ὁ καλός (Poimēn ho Kalos)
The Greek phrase poimēn ho kalos means “the good shepherd.” In John 10, Jesus uses this image to describe the kind of relationship He has with His people.
A shepherd was responsible for guiding, protecting, feeding, and caring for the flock. Jesus contrasts Himself with hired workers who abandon the sheep when danger comes. He is the Shepherd who knows His sheep and is willing to lay down His life for them.
Throughout John 10, the image of the shepherd helps explain Jesus’ care, His authority, and the security of those who belong to Him.
So when Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd, He is saying that His care is personal, faithful, and sacrificial. He does not merely lead from a distance—He knows His sheep and gives Himself for them.
Look for This as You Read
Jesus as the Good Shepherd.
The difference between the shepherd and the hired hand.
How the sheep recognize His voice.
Jesus’ promise of abundant life.
What He says about knowing and protecting His sheep.
Take This With You
Reflection:
What does Jesus’ description of Himself as the Good Shepherd teach you about the way He knows, leads, and cares for those who belong to Him?
Step Into Their World
Shepherds knew their sheep—and their sheep knew them
Shepherding was a familiar part of everyday life in the ancient world, so Jesus’ listeners would have easily understood the picture He uses in John 10. A shepherd did much more than walk behind a flock. He led the sheep to food and water, protected them from danger, searched for those that wandered, and sometimes risked his own safety to keep them alive.
At night, sheep could be gathered into a stone enclosure called a sheepfold. Several flocks might share the same enclosure. In the morning, each shepherd would call his own sheep, and they would recognize his voice and follow him.
That makes Jesus’ words especially personal: “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.”
Israel’s Scriptures also used shepherd imagery for kings and spiritual leaders. God condemned shepherds who cared for themselves instead of the flock and promised that He Himself would shepherd His people.
Against that background, Jesus’ declaration “I am the Good Shepherd” carries enormous meaning. He is not simply describing Himself as kind or protective. He is claiming to be the faithful Shepherd who knows His people, leads them, protects them, and ultimately lays down His own life for them.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) printed 2016, 2020, 2022, 2025 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. Produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, unfoldingWord, Bible Aquifer, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain. Free downloads and unlimited usage available. See also the Berean Literal Bible and Berean Interlinear Bible.