Therefore Jesus said again,
“Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
All who have come before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate;
whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come
in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal
and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and
have it to the full.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life
for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not
own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons
the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and
scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and
cares nothing for the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep 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 are not
of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen
to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only
to take it up again. 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 command I received from my Father.”
John 10:7-18