Key Verse: “The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will never follow a stranger; insteadthey will run away from him, because they don’t know the voice of a stranger.” (John 10:3-5 CSB)
I don’t know about you, but I have very little interaction or experience with sheep. Other than a pair of wool socks that I own, a sweater that was knit with love by my grandma, or the rare occasion when I eat a rack of lamb for dinner, I can’t really relate. However, the imagery of shepherds and sheep was very common for the first-century people to whom Jesus was speaking. It is also a very common theme used throughout the Scriptures to describe how we relate to God.
In John 10, Jesus uses the illustration of how sheep interact with their shepherd to describe what it means for us to know and follow Him. As a general rule, sheep are completely dependent on the shepherd for pretty much everything. They rely entirely on the shepherd to feed them, to protect them from danger, and to lead them to where they need to go.
In these verses, Jesus talks about the sheep being in the sheep pen. It was the place where the shepherd would gather all of his sheep every night after being out in the field all day long. Many times, more than one shepherd would use the sheep pen at the same time.
So how did the sheep know which shepherd to follow in the morning when it was time to leave the pen? And how did the shepherd know which sheep he should lead out? It was through the sound of the shepherd’s voice. Jesus said that the shepherd “calls his own sheep” (v.3) and “the sheep follow him because they know his voice” (v.4).
In the morning, the shepherd would stand at the gate and as he sang or spoke out to his sheep, the ones that belonged to him would recognize his voice and follow him out into the fields. Their ability to recognize the shepherd’s voice helped them determine who to follow.
Of course, Jesus is using this illustration to help us understand the kind of relationship we are to have with Him. He is the shepherd and we are the sheep. We are completely dependent on Him for everything in our lives. But like the sheep, in order for Christ to lead us, we need to first be able to hear and recognize his voice.
Do you know the voice of Jesus when He calls to you? Do you recognize when God is speaking? It begins with a humble heart. It requires that we stop and actually take the time to listen. It necessitates that we prayerfully meditate regularly on all that He has already said in His Word so that we can be sure it is His voice we are hearing. We follow Jesus because we know His voice.
Prayer: Jesus, thank you that you are my Shepherd. Thank you that you continue to call out to me so that you can lead, protect and provide for me. I want to hear your voice more and more. Help me, Holy Spirit, to recognize when you are calling, so that I would not only hear but also obey. Amen.
Author: Jonathan Miller has served in pastoral roles for more than 13 years in churches in Barrie, Oakville and Burlington, Ontario. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Prison Fellowship Canada, a ministry that mobilizes and equips local churches to engage in the restorative work of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and victims across Canada. Jon holds degrees from McMaster University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Adrienne have been married since 2004, and live in Burlington, Ontario with their 4 children. Jon’s greatest passion is to know Jesus and to see lives transformed by Him and for Him.
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