John 10-12

English Standard Version

I Am the Good Shepherd

10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ^5 (A)A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ This figure of speech Jesus ^(B)used with them, but they ^(C)did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷ So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(D)I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, ^(E)he will be saved and will go in and out and ^(F)find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and ^(G)kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ^11 (H)I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd ^(I)lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is ^(J)a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(K)leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and ^(L)scatters them. ¹³ He flees because ^(M)he is a hired hand and ^(N)cares nothing for the sheep. ^14 (O)I am the good shepherd. ^(P)I know my own and ^(Q)my own know me, ^15 (R)just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and ^(S)I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And ^(T)I have other sheep that are not of this fold. ^(U)I must bring them also, and ^(V)they will listen to my voice. So there will be ^(W)one flock, ^(X)one shepherd. ^17 (Y)For this reason the Father loves me, ^(Z)because ^(AA)I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ^18 (AB)No one takes it from me, but ^(AC)I lay it down ^(AD)of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and ^(AE)I have authority to take it up again. ^(AF)This charge I have received from my Father.”

^19 (AG)There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰ Many of them said, ^(AH)“He has a demon, and ^(AI)is insane; why listen to him?” ²¹ Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. ^(AJ)Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

I and the Father Are One

²² At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, ^(AK)in the colonnade of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are ^(AL)the Christ, ^(AM)tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. ^(AN)The works that I do ^(AO)in my Father's name bear witness about me, ²⁶ but ^(AP)you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. ^27 (AQ)My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ^28 (AR)I give them eternal life, and ^(AS)they will never perish, and ^(AT)no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, ^(AU)who has given them to me,^{[a] (AV)}is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of ^(AW)the Father's hand. ^30 (AX)I and the Father are one.”

^31 (AY)The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. ³² Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” ³³ The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but ^(AZ)for blasphemy, because you, being a man, ^(BA)make yourself God.” ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in ^(BB)your Law, ^(BC)‘I said, you are gods’? ³⁵ If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be ^(BD)broken— ³⁶ do you say of him whom ^(BE)the Father consecrated and ^(BF)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because ^(BG)I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? ^37 (BH)If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; ³⁸ but if I do them, ^(BI)even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that ^(BJ)the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” ^39 (BK)Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

⁴⁰ He went away again across the Jordan to the place ^(BL)where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. ⁴¹ And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but ^(BM)everything that John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And ^(BN)many believed in him there.

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of ^(BO)Mary and her sister Martha. ^2 (BP)It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. ³ So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, ^(BQ)he whom you love is ill.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard it he said, ^(BR)“This illness does not lead to death. It is for ^(BS)the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵ Now ^(BT)Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when he heard that Lazarus^[b] was ill, ^(BU)he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. ⁷ Then after this he said to the disciples, ^(BV)“Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples said to him, ^(BW)“Rabbi, ^(BX)the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹ Jesus answered, ^(BY)“Are there not twelve hours in the day? ^(BZ)If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But ^(CA)if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not ^(CB)in him.” ¹¹ After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus ^(CC)has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” ¹² The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” ¹³ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. ¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ^16 (CD)So Thomas, called the Twin,^[c] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, ^(CE)that we may die with him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb ^(CF)four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles^[d] off, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary ^(CG)to console them concerning their brother. ^20 (CH)So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Martha said to ^(CI)Jesus, “Lord, ^(CJ)if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, ^(CK)God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ^24 (CL)Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in ^(CM)the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, ^(CN)“I am the resurrection and ^(CO)the life.^[e] Whoever believes in me, ^(CP)though he die, ^(CQ)yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me ^(CR)shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; ^(CS)I believe that ^(CT)you are the Christ, the Son of God, ^(CU)who is coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

²⁸ When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, ^(CV)“The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ When the Jews ^(CW)who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³² Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ^(CX)“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he ^(CY)was deeply moved^[f] in his spirit and ^(CZ)greatly troubled. ³⁴ And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ^35 (DA)Jesus wept. ³⁶ So the Jews said, “See ^(DB)how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he ^(DC)who opened the eyes of the blind man ^(DD)also have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus

³⁸ Then Jesus, ^(DE)deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was ^(DF)a cave, and ^(DG)a stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for ^(DH)he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, ^(DI)“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see ^(DJ)the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus ^(DK)lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ^42 (DL)I knew that you always hear me, but I said this ^(DM)on account of the people standing around, ^(DN)that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” ^44 (DO)The man who had died came out, ^(DP)his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and ^(DQ)his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

^45 (DR)Many of the Jews therefore, ^(DS)who had come with Mary and ^(DT)had seen what he did, believed in him, ⁴⁶ but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees ^(DU)gathered ^(DV)the council and said, ^(DW)“What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and ^(DX)the Romans will come and take away both our ^(DY)place and our nation.” ⁴⁹ But one of them, ^(DZ)Caiaphas, ^(EA)who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. ⁵⁰ Nor do you understand that ^(EB)it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” ⁵¹ He did not say this of his own accord, but ^(EC)being high priest that year ^(ED)he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵² and ^(EE)not for the nation only, but also ^(EF)to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³ So from that day on they ^(EG)made plans to put him to death.

⁵⁴ Jesus therefore ^(EH)no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵ Now ^(EI)the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and ^(EJ)many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover ^(EK)to purify themselves. ^56 (EL)They were looking for^[g] Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

12 Six days before ^(EM)the Passover, ^(EN)Jesus therefore came to Bethany, ^(EO)where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² So they gave a dinner for him there. ^(EP)Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. ^3 (EQ)Mary therefore took a pound^[h] of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, ⁵ “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii^[i] and ^(ER)given to the poor?” ⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and ^(ES)having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. ⁷ Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it^[j] for the day of my burial. ⁸ For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

⁹ When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus^[k] was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, ^(ET)whom he had raised from the dead. ^10 (EU)So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, ¹¹ because ^(EV)on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹² The next day ^(EW)the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³ So they took branches of ^(EX)palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ^(EY)“Hosanna! Blessed is ^(EZ)he who comes in the name of the Lord, even ^(FA)the King of Israel!” ¹⁴ And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

^16 (FC)His disciples did not understand these things at first, but ^(FD)when Jesus was glorified, then ^(FE)they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. ^17 (FF)The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. ¹⁸ The reason why the crowd went to meet him ^(FG)was that they heard he had done this sign. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, ^(FH)“You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, ^(FI)the world has gone after him.”

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

²⁰ Now ^(FJ)among those who went up to worship at the feast were some ^(FK)Greeks. ²¹ So these came to ^(FL)Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went and told ^(FM)Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³ And Jesus answered them, ^(FN)“The hour has come ^(FO)for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(FP)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ^25 (FQ)Whoever loves his life loses it, and ^(FR)whoever ^(FS)hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must ^(FT)follow me; and ^(FU)where I am, there will my servant be also. ^(FV)If anyone serves me, ^(FW)the Father will honor him.

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

^27 (FX)“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, ^(FY)save me from ^(FZ)this hour’? But ^(GA)for this purpose I have come to ^(GB)this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name.” Then ^(GC)a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ^(GD)“An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered, ^(GE)“This voice has come for your sake, not mine. ^31 (GF)Now is the judgment of this world; now will ^(GG)the ruler of this world ^(GH)be cast out. ³² And I, ^(GI)when I am lifted up from the earth, ^(GJ)will draw ^(GK)all people to myself.” ³³ He said this ^(GL)to show by what kind of death he was going to die. ³⁴ So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that ^(GM)the Christ remains forever. How can you say that ^(GN)the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” ³⁵ So Jesus said to them, ^(GO)“The light is among you ^(GP)for a little while longer. ^(GQ)Walk while you have the light, lest darkness ^(GR)overtake you. ^(GS)The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become ^(GT)sons of light.”

The Unbelief of the People

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. ³⁷ Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, ^38 (GU)so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

³⁹ Therefore they ^(GW)could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

⁴¹ Isaiah said these things because ^(GZ)he saw his glory and ^(HA)spoke of him. ⁴² Nevertheless, ^(HB)many even of the authorities believed in him, but ^(HC)for fear of the Pharisees they did not ^(HD)confess it, so that they would not be ^(HE)put out of the synagogue; ^43 (HF)for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Jesus Came to Save the World

⁴⁴ And Jesus cried out and said, ^(HG)“Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but ^(HH)in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ And ^(HI)whoever ^(HJ)sees me sees him who sent me. ^46 (HK)I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone ^(HL)hears my words and does not keep them, ^(HM)I do not judge him; for ^(HN)I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ^48 (HO)The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; ^(HP)the word that I have spoken will judge him ^(HQ)on the last day. ⁴⁹ For ^(HR)I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father ^(HS)who sent me has himself given me ^(HT)a commandment—what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”