12. When the hired hand sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away. That’s because he isn’t the shepherd; the sheep aren’t really his. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them.
13. He’s only a hired hand and the sheep don’t matter to him.
14. “I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me,
15. just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. I give up my life for the sheep.
16. I have other sheep that don’t belong to this sheep pen. I must lead them too. They will listen to my voice and there will be one flock, with one shepherd.
17. "This is why the Father loves me: I give up my life so that I can take it up again.
18. No one takes it from me, but I give it up because I want to. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it up again. I received this commandment from my Father."
19. There was another division among the Jews because of Jesus’ words.
20. Many of them said, "He has a demon and has lost his mind. Why listen to him?"
21. Others said, "These aren’t the words of someone who has a demon. Can a demon heal the eyes of people who are blind?"
22. The time came for the Festival of Dedication in Jerusalem. It was winter,