The Sheep Know the Shepherds Voice

In John 10:1-6 we have Jesus teaching his disciples and he says, “’Truly, Truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers’. This figure of speech Jesus used with the, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.”

This scripture holds a lot of truth that we in the Western world have not fully understood at times. We are living in the industrial revolution instead of living in the agrarian society those Jesus disciples and followers lived in. For them they would understand the telling of this story much better. But even then it says, “They did not understand what he was saying to them.”

If they didn’t understand when it was familiar to them then why should we think we understand it any better?

I went to Wyoming several years in a row with our College Students to work with students from the Lander Evangelical Free Church as we held a Vacation Bible School for children on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Two of the students from Lander were twin’s, Heather and Amy Birch. These girls were true country/ranch girls. They could ride horses with the best of cowboys.

But one thing they taught me was when they invited us over to their home. They had two sheep that they were raising as part of their 4H club. The girls told me to go to the fence of the pasture and try calling to the sheep. I did but the sheep just kept grazing. They didn’t even look up.

But when Heather and Amy came and hollered just one short command the sheep’s heads popped up, they turned and then started to run towards the girls. Obviously they knew their masters voice and they responded to it. Even with the girls standing right next to me the sheep would not heed my voice or commands, but the girls would whisper a short word and the sheep responded.

That is what Jesus meant when he said, “The Sheep hear his (the Shepherds) voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” The sheep respond to the master. They know whose voice to obey and respond to. The Shepherd keeps them safe and well fed.

Later in this section of scripture in verse 11 Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” Still the Disciples were not sure what he meant. Are you sure what he meant? Do you understand the story and the truth of Jesus words?

Do you know the Good Shepherd’s voice? Do you hear it well when He calls to you? Do you follow Him well when He calls and leads you out of the locked paddock area? Do you respond to the Shepherd’s voice or do you ignore it?

Let me just say that if you ignore the Good Shepherd’s voice then I have another question, “Are you sure you belong to the Good Shepherd?” Because if you did you would hear His voice and respond.

Tomorrow I will take this thought a bit further in talking about the Good Shepherd.

(The picture is from Tim Laniak and a CD that I purchased at a Peace Maker's Conference where Tim spoke.)