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No one takes my life away from me. I give it up of my own free will. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father has commanded me to do."
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Again there was a division among the people because of these words.
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Many of them were saying, "He has a demon! He is crazy! Why do you listen to him?"
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But others were saying, "A man with a demon could not talk like this! How could a demon give sight to blind people?"
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It was winter, and the Festival of the Dedication of the Temple was being celebrated in Jerusalem.
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Jesus was walking in Solomon's Porch in the Temple,
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when the people gathered around him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? Tell us the plain truth: are you the Messiah?"
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Jesus answered, "I have already told you, but you would not believe me. The deeds I do by my Father's authority speak on my behalf;
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but you will not believe, for you are not my sheep.
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My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
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I give them eternal life, and they shall never die. No one can snatch them away from me.