Christ the Good Shepherd – Bible Story for Kids

This is a simplified version of the Bible story found in John 10:1-30, written for children to understand. For the original version, please refer to the Bible passage.

Once, Jesus told a story about sheep and shepherds. He said, “Anyone who tries to sneak into a sheep pen is a thief, but the one who goes through the gate is the shepherd. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep know his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. The sheep follow him because they know his voice, and they won’t follow a stranger. They will run away from him because they don’t know his voice.” But the people didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about.

So Jesus said, “I am the gate for the sheep. Everyone who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. Whoever enters through me will be saved and will be able to come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone could have life, and have it fully. I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd would die to save his sheep, but a hired hand wouldn’t care about them and would run away.

I know my sheep, and they know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. I will die to save my sheep. I have other sheep that are not in this pen, and I must bring them too. They will hear my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. The reason the Father loves me is that I lay down my life, but I will take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I give it up myself. I have the authority to give it up, and I have the authority to take it back. This is what my Father has commanded me to do.”

The people were divided because of what Jesus said. Some of them said, “He’s crazy and has a demon. Why listen to him?” Others said, “This doesn’t sound like someone who is crazy. Can a demon make a blind person see?”

At another time, Jesus was in the temple walking in a place called the colonnade of Solomon when some Jews surrounded him and said, “Tell us plainly, are you the Christ?”

Jesus replied, “I told you already, but you didn’t believe me. The things I do show who I am, but you don’t believe because you aren’t my sheep. My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me, and I give them eternal life. They will never die, and no one can take them out of my hand. My Father has given them to me, and he is greater than all. No one can take them out of his hand either. I and the Father are one.”

Biblical Lessons

Jesus is the gate and the good shepherd who gives us life and will lay down his life for us.
We are like sheep who need a shepherd to lead us and protect us from danger.
Jesus knows his sheep, and we can know him by listening to his voice and following him.
Jesus gives us eternal life, and no one can take us out of his hand or the Father’s hand.
Jesus and the Father are one, and believing in Jesus means believing in the Father.

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