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Chapter 10

The Good Shepherd. [a]“Amen, amen, I say to you,(A) whoever does not enter a sheepfold[b] through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [c]When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,(B) because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”

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Footnotes

  1. 10:1–21 The good shepherd discourse continues the theme of attack on the Pharisees that ends Jn 9. The figure is allegorical: the hired hands are the Pharisees who excommunicated the cured blind man. It serves as a commentary on Jn 9. For the shepherd motif, used of Yahweh in the Old Testament, cf. Ex 34; Gn 48:15; 49:24; Mi 7:14; Ps 23:1–4; 80:1.
  2. 10:1 Sheepfold: a low stone wall open to the sky.
  3. 10:4 Recognize his voice: the Pharisees do not recognize Jesus, but the people of God, symbolized by the blind man, do.

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.(A) The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.(B) The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.(C) He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.(D) When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.(E) But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

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