Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible





The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,

I know that when I'm gone, savage wolves will come among you and not spare the flock.


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,

"Benjamin is vicious like a wolf; what he kills in the morning he devours in the evening."


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,


Then Jesus told them, "All of you will turn against me this very night, because it is written, "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

Therefore, this is what the LORD God of Israel says about the shepherds who are shepherding my people, "You have scattered my flock and driven them away. You haven't taken care of them, and now I'm about to take care of you because of your evil deeds," declares the LORD.

Just as a shepherd looks after his flock during the day time while he is with them, so also I'm going to watch over my sheep, delivering them from every place where they've been scattered during the times of gloom and doom.

Listen, the time is coming, indeed it has already come, when you will be scattered, each of you to his own home, and you will leave me all by myself. Yet I'm not alone, because the Father is with me.

Now Saul heartily approved of putting Stephen to death. That day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except for the apostles was scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.


Husbands, love your wives as the Messiah loved the church and gave himself for it, so that he might make it holy by cleansing it, washing it with water and the word, and might present the church to himself in all its glory, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, but holy and without fault. read more.
In the same way, husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. For no one has ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, as the Messiah does the church. For we are parts of his body of his flesh and of his bones. "That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a great secret, but I am talking about the Messiah and the church.

All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep didn't listen to them.

"I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,

I will make those who belong to the synagogue of Satan those who claim to be Jews and aren't, but are lying come and bow down at your feet. Then they will realize that I have loved you.



"Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad. When harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his produce. But the farmers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and attacked another with stones. read more.
Again, he sent other servants to them, a greater number than the first, but the tenant farmers treated them the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, "They will respect my son.' But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they told one another, "This is the heir. Come on, let's kill him and get his inheritance!' So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those farmers?" They told him, "He will put those horrible men to a horrible death. Then he will lease the vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at harvest time."

"Men have harsh servitude on earth, do they not? His days are like those of a hired laborer, are they not? I'm like a servant who longs for the shade, like a hired laborer who is looking for his wages. Truly I've been allotted months of emptiness; nights of trouble have been appointed for me.

Look away from him and leave him alone, so he can enjoy his time, like a hired worker."

"The kingdom from heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. After agreeing to pay the workers one denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing in the marketplace without work. read more.
He told them, "You go into the vineyard, too, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So off they went. He went out again about noon and about three o'clock and did the same thing. About five o'clock he went out and found some others standing around. He asked them, "Why are you standing here all day long without work?' They told him, "Because no one has hired us.' He told them, "You go into the vineyard as well.' "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his manager, "Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' Those who were hired at five o'clock came, and each received a denarius. "When the first came, they thought they would receive more, but each received a denarius as well. When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner, "These last fellows worked only one hour, but you paid them the same as us, and we've been working all day, enduring the scorching heat!' "But he told one of them, "Friend, I'm not treating you unfairly. You did agree with me for a denarius, didn't you? Take what is yours and go. I want to give this last man as much as I gave you. I am allowed to do what I want with my own money, am I not? Or are you envious because I'm generous?'

The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, because he's a hired worker, and the sheep don't matter to him.


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,


Then Jesus told them, "All of you will turn against me this very night, because it is written, "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

Therefore, this is what the LORD God of Israel says about the shepherds who are shepherding my people, "You have scattered my flock and driven them away. You haven't taken care of them, and now I'm about to take care of you because of your evil deeds," declares the LORD.

Just as a shepherd looks after his flock during the day time while he is with them, so also I'm going to watch over my sheep, delivering them from every place where they've been scattered during the times of gloom and doom.

Listen, the time is coming, indeed it has already come, when you will be scattered, each of you to his own home, and you will leave me all by myself. Yet I'm not alone, because the Father is with me.

Now Saul heartily approved of putting Stephen to death. That day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except for the apostles was scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.


Then Jesus said, "I have come into this world to judge it, so that those who are blind may see and so that those who see may become blind." Some of the Pharisees who were near him overheard this and asked him, "We aren't blind, too, are we?" Jesus told them, "If you were blind, you would not have any sin. But now that you insist, "We see,' your sin still exists."

"Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, the person who doesn't enter the sheepfold through the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. It's to him the gatekeeper opens the gate, and it's his voice the sheep hear. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. read more.
When he has driven out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They'll never follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they don't recognize the voice of strangers." Jesus used this illustration with them, but they didn't understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said, "Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, I'm the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep didn't listen to them. I'm the gate. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. He'll come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I've come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. "I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, because he's a hired worker, and the sheep don't matter to him. I'm the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that don't belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they'll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it back again. No one is taking it from me; I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This is what my Father has commanded me." Once again there was a division among the Jews because of what Jesus had been saying. Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is insane. Why bother listening to him?" Others were saying, "These are not the words of a man who is demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can it?"


"Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, the person who doesn't enter the sheepfold through the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. It's to him the gatekeeper opens the gate, and it's his voice the sheep hear. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. read more.
When he has driven out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They'll never follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they don't recognize the voice of strangers." Jesus used this illustration with them, but they didn't understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said, "Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, I'm the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep didn't listen to them. I'm the gate. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. He'll come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I've come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. "I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, because he's a hired worker, and the sheep don't matter to him. I'm the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that don't belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they'll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd.


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,



After Jesus had said this, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you. For you have given him authority over all humanity so that he might give eternal life to all those you gave him. And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent Jesus the Messiah. read more.
I glorified you on earth by completing the task you gave me to do. "So now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world existed. I have made your name known to these men whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they realize that everything you gave me comes from you, because the words that you gave me I passed on to them. They have received them and know for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me. "I am asking on their behalf. I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you gave me, because they are yours. All that is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine, and I have been glorified through them. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by your Name, the Name that you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them by the authority that you gave me. I guarded them, and not one of them became lost except the one who was destined for destruction, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled. "And now I am coming to you, and I say these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I don't belong to the world. I'm not asking you to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one. They don't belong to the world, just as I don't belong to the world. "Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. It is for their sakes that I sanctify myself, so that they, too, may be sanctified by the truth. I ask not only on behalf of these men, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their message, so that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. "I have given them the glory that you gave me, so that they may be one, just as we are one. I am in them, and you are in me. May they be completely one, so that the world may know that you sent me and that you have loved them as you loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory, which you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world. "Righteous Father, the world has never known you. Yet I have known you, and these men have known that you sent me. I made your name known to them, and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have for me may be in them and I myself may be in them."

Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Then my Father will love him, and we will go to him and make our home within him. The one who doesn't love me doesn't keep my words. The words that you're hearing me say are not mine, but come from the Father who sent me. "I have told you this while I am still with you. read more.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything that I have told you. I'm leaving you at peace. I'm giving you my own peace. I'm not giving it to you as the world gives. So don't let your hearts be troubled, and don't be afraid. You have heard me tell you, "I'm going away, but I'm coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I'm going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am. I've told you this now, before I leave, so that when I do leave, you will believe. I won't talk with you much longer, because the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me. But I'm doing what the Father has commanded me, to let the world know that I love the Father. Get up! Let us leave this place."

The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him even greater actions than these, so that you may be amazed.

So again Jesus said, "Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, I'm the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep didn't listen to them. I'm the gate. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. He'll come in and go out and find pasture. read more.
The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I've come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. "I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, because he's a hired worker, and the sheep don't matter to him. I'm the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that don't belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they'll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it back again.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vintner. He cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit in me, and he cuts back every branch that does produce fruit, so that it might produce more fruit. You are already clean because of what I've spoken to you. read more.
"Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Unless a person abides in me, he is thrown away like a pruned branch and dries up. People gather such branches, throw them into a fire, and they are burned up. "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask for anything you want, and you'll receive it. This is how my Father is glorified, when you produce a lot of fruit and so prove to be my disciples. Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. So abide in my love.


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, because he's a hired worker, and the sheep don't matter to him.

"Men have harsh servitude on earth, do they not? His days are like those of a hired laborer, are they not?


"Israel is a scattered flock, driven out by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria, and then afterward King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gnawed his bones.

Then Jesus told them, "All of you will turn against me, because it is written, "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'

Then Jesus told them, "All of you will turn against me this very night, because it is written, "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

"Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, the person who doesn't enter the sheepfold through the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. It's to him the gatekeeper opens the gate, and it's his voice the sheep hear. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. read more.
When he has driven out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They'll never follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they don't recognize the voice of strangers." Jesus used this illustration with them, but they didn't understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said, "Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, I'm the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep didn't listen to them. I'm the gate. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. He'll come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I've come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. "I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, because he's a hired worker, and the sheep don't matter to him. I'm the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that don't belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they'll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd.


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,

"Israel is a scattered flock, driven out by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria, and then afterward King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gnawed his bones.

The survivors of Jacob will live among the nations; they will live among many nations, like a lion among flocks of sheep, who, if he passes through, will trample and tear down with no one to deliver.


Then he asked him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter told him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus told him, "Take care of my sheep." He asked him a third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was deeply hurt that he had asked him a third time, "Do you love me?" So he told him, "Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you!"

So again Jesus said, "Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, I'm the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep didn't listen to them. I'm the gate. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. He'll come in and go out and find pasture. read more.
The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I've come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. "I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, because he's a hired worker, and the sheep don't matter to him. I'm the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that don't belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they'll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it back again. No one is taking it from me; I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This is what my Father has commanded me." Once again there was a division among the Jews because of what Jesus had been saying. Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is insane. Why bother listening to him?" Others were saying, "These are not the words of a man who is demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can it?" Now Hanukkah was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking around in the Temple inside the open porch of Solomon. So the Jewish leaders surrounded him and quizzed him, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you're the Messiah, tell us so plainly." Jesus answered them, "I have told you, but you don't believe it. The actions that I do in my Father's name testify on my behalf, but you don't believe, because you don't belong to my sheep.


"Arise, sword, against my shepherd, against the mighty one who is related to me," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. "Strike the shepherd, the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the insignificant ones.


You were "like sheep that kept going astray," but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

Then Jesus told them, "All of you will turn against me this very night, because it is written, "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

"Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, the person who doesn't enter the sheepfold through the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. It's to him the gatekeeper opens the gate, and it's his voice the sheep hear. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. read more.
When he has driven out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They'll never follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they don't recognize the voice of strangers." Jesus used this illustration with them, but they didn't understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said, "Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, I'm the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep didn't listen to them. I'm the gate. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. He'll come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I've come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. "I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, because he's a hired worker, and the sheep don't matter to him. I'm the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that don't belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they'll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd.


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,


nevertheless his bow remained steady and his arms kept in shape by the strength of Jacob's Mighty One, in the name of the Shepherd, Israel's Rock,

because the lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs filled with the water of life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

Nations, listen to this message from the LORD, and declare it in the distant coastlands. Say, "The one who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock."

The LORD is the one who is shepherding me; I lack nothing. He causes me to lie down in pastures of green grass; he guides me beside quiet waters. He revives my life; he leads me in pathways that are righteous for the sake of his name. read more.
Even when I walk through a valley of deep darkness, I will not be afraid because you are with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me.

Look! The Lord GOD comes with strength, and his arm rules for him. Look! His reward is with him, and his payment accompanies him. Like a shepherd, he tends his flock. He gathers the lambs in his arms, carries them close to his heart, and gently leads the mother sheep."

"This is what the LORD says: "Watch me! I'm going to search for my flock. I'll watch over them myself. Just as a shepherd looks after his flock during the day time while he is with them, so also I'm going to watch over my sheep, delivering them from every place where they've been scattered during the times of gloom and doom. I'm going to bring them out from foreign nations and from foreign lands. Then I'll bring them to their own land and feed them in Israel on the mountains, in their valleys, and in all of their settlements throughout the land. read more.
I'll feed them in excellent pastures, and even the very heights of Israel's mountains will serve as verdant pastures for them in which they'll rest and feed yes, even on the fertile mountains of Israel! I will feed my sheep and give them rest,' declares the Lord GOD. "I'm going to seek both the lost as well as the scattered, and bring them both back so their broken bones can be set and the sick can be healed. But in righteousness I'll exterminate the fat and the stiff-necked.'" "Now as for you, my flock, this is what the Lord GOD says: "Watch out! I'm going to judge between one sheep and another, and between the rams and the goats. Is it such an insignificant thing to you that you're feeding in good pastures but trampling down the other pastures with your feet? Or that as you're drinking from the clear streams you're muddying the rest with your feet? My flock is grazing on what you've been treading down with your feet and they're drinking what you've been making muddy with your feet!' "Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: "Watch me! I'm going to judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep, since you've been bumping aside all the weaker sheep with your backsides and shoulders, butting them with your horns until they're scattered around outside. That's how I'll save my sheep so they won't be plundered any longer. I'm going to judge between one sheep and another.'" ""Then I'll install one shepherd for them my servant David and he will feed them, will be there for them, and will serve as their shepherd. I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will rule among them as Prince.' I, the LORD, have spoken this.

For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the flock in his care. If only you would listen to his voice today,

"Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, the person who doesn't enter the sheepfold through the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. It's to him the gatekeeper opens the gate, and it's his voice the sheep hear. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. read more.
When he has driven out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They'll never follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they don't recognize the voice of strangers." Jesus used this illustration with them, but they didn't understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said, "Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, I'm the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep didn't listen to them. I'm the gate. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. He'll come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I've come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. "I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, because he's a hired worker, and the sheep don't matter to him. I'm the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that don't belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they'll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it back again. No one is taking it from me; I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This is what my Father has commanded me."

This is, in fact, what you were called to do, because: The Messiah also suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in his steps. "He never sinned, and he never told a lie." When he was insulted, he did not retaliate. When he suffered, he did not threaten. It was his habit to commit the matter to the one who judges fairly. read more.
"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the tree, so that we might die to those sins and live righteously. "By his wounds you have been healed." You were "like sheep that kept going astray," but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.


In those days, and at that time," declares the LORD, "the people of Israel will come together with the people of Judah. They'll be weeping as they travel along, and they'll be seeking the LORD their God. They'll ask the way to Zion, turning their faces in that direction. They'll come and join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that won't be forgotten. My people have become lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them toward the mountains. They go from mountain to hill. They have forgotten their resting place.

for I am now raising up a shepherd in the land who will neither search for the lost, nor care for the young, nor fix the broken, nor sustain the healthy. Instead, he will devour the meat of the best of the sheep, tearing off their hoofs." "Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye. May his arm wither and his right eye be completely blind."

The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, because he's a hired worker, and the sheep don't matter to him.

"How terrible for the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD. Therefore, this is what the LORD God of Israel says about the shepherds who are shepherding my people, "You have scattered my flock and driven them away. You haven't taken care of them, and now I'm about to take care of you because of your evil deeds," declares the LORD. "I'll gather the remnant of my flock from all the countries where I've driven them, and bring them back to their pasture where they'll be fruitful and increase in numbers. read more.
I'll raise up shepherds over them, and they'll shepherd them. My flock will no longer be afraid or terrified, and none will be missing," declares the LORD.

A message came from the LORD for me, and it had this to say: "Son of Man, prophesy against Israel's shepherds. Tell those shepherds, "This is what the Lord GOD says: "Woe to you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves and not the sheep. Shouldn't shepherds feed the sheep? You're eating the best parts, clothing yourselves with the wool, and slaughtering the home-grown sheep without having fed the sheep! read more.
You haven't strengthened the weak, treated the sick, set broken bones, regathered the scattered, or looked for the lost. Instead, you've dominated them with brutal force and ruthlessness. "Since they have no shepherd, they have been scattered around and have become prey for all sorts of wild animals. How scattered they are! My sheep have gone wandering on all of the mountains, on all of the hills, and throughout every high place in the whole world, with no one to look for them or go out in search of them. "Therefore listen to what the LORD says, you shepherds: "As certainly as I'm alive and living, my sheep have truly become victims, food for all of the wild animals because there are no shepherds. My shepherds did not go searching for my flock. Instead, the shepherds fed themselves, and my flock they would not feed!' "Therefore, you shepherds, listen to what the LORD says: "This is what the Lord GOD says: "Watch out, I'm coming after you shepherds! I'm going to demand my sheep back from them and fire them as shepherds. The shepherds won't be shepherds anymore when I snatch my flock right out of their mouths so they can't be eaten by them anymore."'"


Many shepherds will destroy my vineyard. They'll trample down my portion. They'll turn my pleasant portion into a desolate desert. They'll make it into a desolate place, and, desolate, it will cry out in mourning to me. The whole land will be desolate because no one takes it to heart. On all the barren heights in the desert destroyers will come. Indeed, a sword of the LORD will devour from one end of the land to the other. There will be no peace for any person.


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,


Then he asked him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter told him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

"Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, the person who doesn't enter the sheepfold through the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. It's to him the gatekeeper opens the gate, and it's his voice the sheep hear. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. read more.
When he has driven out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They'll never follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they don't recognize the voice of strangers." Jesus used this illustration with them, but they didn't understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said, "Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, I'm the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep didn't listen to them. I'm the gate. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. He'll come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I've come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. "I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, because he's a hired worker, and the sheep don't matter to him. I'm the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that don't belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they'll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd.


But now, in union with the Messiah Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. For it is he who is our peace. Through his mortality he made both groups one by tearing down the wall of hostility that divided them. He rendered the Law inoperative, along with its commandments and regulations, thus creating in himself one new humanity from the two, thereby making peace, read more.
and reconciling both groups to God in one body through the cross, on which he eliminated the hostility. He came and proclaimed peace for you who were far away and for you who were near. For through him, both of us have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Jesus used this illustration with them, but they didn't understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said, "Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, I'm the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep didn't listen to them. read more.
I'm the gate. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. He'll come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I've come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. "I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, because he's a hired worker, and the sheep don't matter to him. I'm the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that don't belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they'll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd.



The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,

I know that when I'm gone, savage wolves will come among you and not spare the flock.


But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not destroyed by each other.

You want something but do not get it, so you commit murder. You covet something but cannot obtain it, so you quarrel and fight. You do not get things because you do not ask for them!

They devour widows' houses and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!"

But when the farmers saw him, they talked it over among themselves and said, "This is the heir. Let's kill him so that the inheritance will be ours!'


Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will devastate them. A leopard is watching their towns, and everyone who goes out of them will be torn to pieces. For their transgressions are many, and their apostasies numerous.

The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,

"Benjamin is vicious like a wolf; what he kills in the morning he devours in the evening."

Its national officials are roaring lions; its judges are like wolves of the night that don't leave the bones for the morning.

""I'm constantly being profaned among them. Her princes within her are like wolves tearing their prey apart. They shed blood, destroying souls, and make unjust gain.




The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,

I know that when I'm gone, savage wolves will come among you and not spare the flock.


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,




The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,

I know that when I'm gone, savage wolves will come among you and not spare the flock.


The hired worker, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them,