They know His voice

John 10:1-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.

⁷ So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹ I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. ¹² He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³ He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, ¹⁵ even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. ¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. ¹⁸ No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

“The sheep follow him because they know his voice.” Jesus compares Himself to a shepherd and His followers to sheep. Being called sheep is not really a very flattering comparison. Sheep are not the smartest of animals, they require constant care and watching. While it may not be very flattering, it is an accurate description of us.  The illustration of Jesus as a shepherd is also accurate representation of His relationship with us. The sheep know the voice of the shepherd because He is with them constantly.  As the text says:  “he calls his own sheep by name”  Isaiah 43:1 says: But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!     Regardless of how many sheep are in the flock, the shepherd knows each one individually, He not only calls them by name but he knows everything about them, every mark on their bodies is familiar to him because he cares for their every need. In Luke 12:7, Jesus describing how closely God watches over us and knows us says:  Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

The sheep actually have an advantage over us in knowing the voice of the shepherd. They really have no choice but to hear him, to listen to him, he is always there. Even if they do wander off he pursues them and brings them back. We on the other hand have a choice. Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit, like the shepherd, are always present and they are always speaking, we though must choose to listen. There are many voices in the world. Some of them will claim to be the voice of the shepherd. Jesus says:   “A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”   We too need to flee from the voice of strangers. The only way that we will know the voice of God rather than the voice of strangers is to be present and listening. The sheep have no choice the shepherd is constantly speaking to them. He speaks words of love and care. He speaks words of correction and discipline.  We on the other hand must choose to listen to and for the voice of God.

The familiarity, knowing that voice is not something that happens naturally or quickly. It is something that requires constant, daily attention. Unlike the sheep who have no choice we must go to our shepherd, we must choose to follow and listen when He speaks. In 1 Kings 19:11-13, when Elijah had run and hidden himself, God came and pursued him. It says:   And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”      In our own lives there is sometimes chaos surrounding us, strong winds rending mountains, the very earth may be shaking, all that we know may be burning up in fire, but if we know the voice of God, if we have become intimate with Him, we will hear His gentle voice amidst the chaos. If we have wandered away He will say, as He did to Elijah, “What are you doing here?”  and He will lead us back.

Jesus says:  “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father”     We are called and privileged to have the same familiarity, the same unity with Jesus that He has with the Father. Jesus says: All who came before Me are thieves and robbers...  I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be  saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.     The psalmist, David, a man after God’s heart, knew well the relationship of sheep and shepherd. He experienced it from both sides. He wrote Psalm 23 as an expression of the comfort, protection and provision He experienced in knowing God. Psalm 37 and Psalm 91 give us insight into how that relationship was developed and forged.  He says: Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. ⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him (Psalm 37:3-7) and    He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.(Psalm 91:1)

To know the voice of the Lord, to follow Him and not the other voices in the world, we must trust in dwell with abide in and with, delight in and rest in the Lord. Like the shepherd He is always speaking, He knows our name and our every need. We though must choose to know Him, to hear Him and to follow Him. His voice, His word will not change. What He speaks to us will be what He has spoken through His written word. If a voice tells us anything contrary to what God has spoken in His word it is a voice we should not follow. We will know the voice of the Lord, our shepherd as we dwell, abide, rest, trust and delight in Him.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You for always speaking. You always speak, whether words of love and compassion, words of wisdom and guidance or words of correction and discipline, You speak the truth. You speak the words I need to hear. As I dwell, abide, rest, trust and delight in You may I come to know and follow only Your voice. May I know and live the abundant life You give.  Amen