Connecting The Dots

JOHN 10:1-30 NKJV

Jesus the True Shepherd

10 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but

climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the

door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear

his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he

brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know

his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do

not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not

understand the things which He spoke to them.

Jesus the Good Shepherd

7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of

the sheep. 8 All who ever came [a] before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did

not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in

and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to

destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more

abundantly.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 But

a [b] hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf

coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters

them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the

sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My

own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life

for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must

bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it

again. 18 No one takes 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 command I have received from My Father.”

19 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. 20 And

many of them said, “He has a demon and is [c] mad. Why do you listen to Him?”

21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open

the eyes of the blind?”

The Shepherd Knows His Sheep

22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus

walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to

Him, “How long do You keep us in [d] doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My

Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not

of My sheep, [e] as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they

follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall

anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is

greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I

and My Father are one.”

2 COR 3:14-17 NKJV - 14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil

remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in

Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their

heart. 16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the

Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

ROMANS 8:28-30 MSG - He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our

pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure

that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

29-30 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to

shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The

Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended

shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should

be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he

set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he

stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.