The Story of the Bible

This made them very angry, and they said to the man, "You are his follower; but we are followers of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses; but as for this fellow, we do not even know what place he comes!"

The man said, "Why, that is a very wonderful thing! You who are teachers of the people, do not know who this man is, or from what place he comes; and yet he has had power to open my eyes! We know that God does not hear sinners; but God hears only those who worship him and do his will. Never before has any one opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could not do such works as these!"

The rulers of the Jews, these Pharisees, then said to the man, "You were born in sin; and do you try to teach us?"

And they turned him out of the synagogue, and would not let him worship with them. Jesus heard of this; and when Jesus found him he said to him, "Do you believe on the Son of God?"

The man said, "And who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?" "You have seen him," said Jesus, "and it is he who now talks with you!"

The man said, "Lord, I believe." And he fell down before Jesus and worshipped him.

The Good Shepherd and the Good Samaritan

John x: 1 to 41; Luke x: 1 to 37.

After the cure of the man born blind, Jesus gave to the people in Jerusalem the parable or story of "The Good Shepherd."

"Verily, verily (that is, "in truth, in truth"), I say to you, if any one does not go into the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, it is a sign that he is a thief and a robber. But the one who comes in by the doors is a shepherd of the sheep. The porter opens the door to him, and the sheep know him, and listen to his call, for he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out to the pasture-field. And when he has led out his sheep, he goes in front of them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. The sheep will not follow a stranger, for they do not know the stranger's voice."

The people did not understand what all this meant, and as Jesus explained it to them. He said:

"Verily, verily, I say to you, I am the door that leads to the sheepfold. If any one comes to the sheep in any other way than through me and in my name, he is a thief and a robber; but those who are the true sheep will not hear such. I am the door; if any man goes into the fold through me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture.

"The thief comes to the fold that he may steal, and rob the sheep and kill them; but I come to the fold that they may have life, and may have all that they need. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd will give up his own life to save his sheep; and I will give up my life that my sheep may be saved.

"I am the good shepherd; and just as a true shepherd knows all the sheep in his flock, so I know my own, and my own know me, even as I know the Father, and the Father knows me; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must lead, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

The Jews could not understand these words of Jesus; but they became very angry with him, because he spoke of God as his Father. They took up stones to throw them at him, and tried to seize him, intending to kill him. But Jesus escaped from their hands, and went away to the land beyond Jordan, at the place called Bethabara, or "Bethany beyond Jordan," the same place where he had been baptized by John the Baptist more than two years before, as we read in Story Five of this Part. From this place Jesus wished to go out through the land on the east of the Jordan, a land which was called "Perea," a word that means "beyond." But before going out himself through this land, Jesus sent out seventy chosen men from among his followers to go to all the villages, and to make the people ready for his own coming afterward. He gave to these seventy the same commands that he had given to the twelve disciples, when he sent them through Galilee, of which we read in Story Seventeen, and sent them out in pairs, two men to travel and to preach together. He said:

"I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no bag for food, no shoes except those that you are wearing. Do not stop to talk with people by the way; but go through the towns and the villages, healing the sick, and preaching to the people, 'The kingdom of God is coming.' He that hears you, hears me; and he that refuses you, refuses me; and he that will not hear me, will not hear him that sent me."

And after a time the seventy men came again to Jesus, saying, "Lord, even the evil spirits obey our words in they name!"