Follow His Voice
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Setting: Jesus is in Jerusalem, at the Feast of Tabernacles. He has been preaching and letting the people know that He is the Light of the World. He is God come in the flesh. He is doing the works of God the Father, and is the great ‘I Am’.
The Pharisees and Priests have been opposing Jesus, refusing to believe in Him.
Jesus showed who He was by performing a Messianic miracle, that is, a miracle that only God the Messiah could do; He gave sight to a man born blind.
Even after this miracle, the Pharisees refuse to believe in Jesus, yet there are some of them that wonder because He did make this blind man see.
Jesus sought out the blind man, and said this in the presence of some of the Pharisees,
Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
I presume that these Pharisees followed the blind man were the ones that were puzzled because Jesus did in fact make this man who was born blind to see.
John 10 is actually a continuation of Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees.
First, I want to read through the passage. Then we will work our way through this passage, and see what it has to say to us today.
While we read through, I want you to ask, what is the main idea? What is it that Jesus was trying to get across to the Pharisees? One clue to finding this would be to look for what concept is repeated.
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
What is the Main idea?
What is the Main idea?
Hint, what was repeated?
What is repeated in verses 3, 4 and 5? The concept of the sheep hearing the voice of the shepherd versus hearing the voice of others.
Actually, in John 10, this concept is repeated 6 times.
When something is repeated like that, it is a huge clue as to what the main idea of the passage is.
The Main idea is that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and,
His Sheep Hear His voice and follow Him
His Sheep Hear His voice and follow Him
These Pharisees that were around after the healing of the blind man were likely the ones who were still debating how Jesus could have performed the Messianic Miracle of healing the man born blind. They couldn’t totally discount Jesus, but He didn’t fit the mold that they were taught, or that they expected.
So, Jesus is trying to show them who He is, and what their response should be by using this illustration.
Let’s work through it, verse by verse.
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
Sheep herding was an important part of life in Israel, and much of what they did still happens today in the Middle East.
Sheep are pretty defenseless animals. So, protecting them is a big part of a shepherd’s job.
Often, at night, a shepherd will make a pen or a fold to keep the sheep safe. Then, the shepherd will sleep in the entryway.
Thieves and robbers would not use the entryway where the shepherd was posted. They would sneak in some other way.
But in contrast to the thieves and robbers who don’t come in through the gateway,
The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The true shepherd doesn’t sneak in. The true shepherd does not hide his intentions. The true shepherd comes in the right way.
What does this have to do with Jesus?
During this years before Jesus came, there were others who came wanting to be the Messiah, the leader who would take Israel out from under the thumb of the Roman Empire.
In Acts 5:35-37 Gamaliel, a renowned teacher of the law spoke of a few of them:
Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.
Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.
After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
These men did not come in through the gate. That is, they did not come as God prescribed. They came in their own power, for their own motives and their own gain.
But now, Jesus has come, just as God described through the prophets. He fulfilled the scriptures as He came humbly to give sight to the blind, make the lame walk, make the deaf to hear, and to set those who were captive free!
These Pharisees saw that He came doing exactly what God had said. They knew He was coming in the right way. So, they should have known he was the true shepherd!
But there is more...
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
If there are multiple herds in an area, they can put them together in the same fold, and one person could be the gatekeeper.
So imagine that you are a shepherd who has placed your sheep into a fold with other sheep for safe keeping.
Come morning, how will you get your sheep?
Well, in their culture the shepherd would simply call out his sheep by name.
In that culture, the shepherds truly lived with the sheep. They were there from the moment they were born. The personally named each sheep. And each sheep was special. Everyday they would count every sheep, calling them by name. They felt each sheep looking for bruises, burrs, parasites. They spent time with their sheep.
Illustration of putting the lambs with the mothers (51), in the dark, black lambs, lambs bleeting for their mothers, mothers bleeting for their lambs. The shepherd felt each lamb, and then called the mother by name to come for its lamb.
When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
Illustration of Mrs. Aref and her lost sheep, who months later heard her voice
But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
What was the point?
What was the point?
Jesus is the true shepherd. He came the right way. He came just as God had foretold through the prophets. He came to care for and call His sheep by name.
Those who were His sheep would recognize His voice and follow Him instead of another.
Would these Pharisees recognize the true Shepherd who came the right way?
Would these Pharisees recognize His voice and follow Him?
Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
They didn’t get it. so Jesus tries again
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.
Those who came before were not recognized.
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
This time, Jesus tried a slightly different tact.
Jesus said, I am the gate. Often the shepherds would sleep at the opening of the fold, or enclosure to keep others from getting in, and to keep the sheep from going out when they should not.
Jesus is saying that He is the way to have life. They can only enter into the safety of God’s salvation through Him.
But is did not stop there.
Coming in and out and finding pasture.
Not salvation… this is ongoing, daily.
After we are saved, we need daily nourishment. For sheep, they cannot stay in the fold and thrive. They need to get out. They need to find food, and water. They need good pasture.
Sheep will eat anything. Left on their own, they will even eat poisonous plants.
Shepherds in the middle east know over 121 varieties of plant life. They know what is bad for the sheep. They know what is good for the sheep. They know what can help a sickly sheep.
Also, if the food is gone, the sheep won’t know how to get to the next pasture. They need guidance. The shepherds guide the sheep to the pastures, even along rough and dangerous paths, because they know the pasture that is on the other side.
Jesus is saying that if they go through Him, they will find good pasture.
He is the shepherd that knows what His sheep need to feed on. He knows what is empty calories. He knows what has rich nutrition. He knows what will make them sick. He knows what will give them health.
If His sheep will go through Him daily, He will make them find the good pastures. He will guide them in what they need.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Others who try to get to the sheep are only looking out for themselves. They want to fill themselves off of the sheep.
The good shepherd is more concerned about the life of His sheep.
Jesus wants to lead us, and give us life!
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
There are wolves out there. The shepherd does not keep the wolves from ever attacking. But He is there when the wolves come to defend His sheep.
The attacks in life are going to come. We are living in a fallen and broken world.
Sometimes, the paths to the pasture lead through the areas where the wolves and thieves are hiding.
But, the shepherd is with his sheep to defend and protect them.
The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
Hired help are not always there to care for the sheep. Like the Jewish leaders of old that Ezekiel wrote about,
The word of the Lord came to me:
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?
You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.
You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.
So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.
My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
The political and religious leaders in the days of Ezekiel did not truly care for the sheep, the people.
Therefore, God said He would come and shepherd His people.
“ ‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.
As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
God foretold that He Himself would come to shepherd His people, to care for them.
And here Jesus is...
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
He came and He knows His sheep. He cares for them. And those who were His sheep and received His care would know Him. They would recognize Him, as the blind man recognized Him.
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
By this Jesus was talking about us. Everyone who hears Jesus’ call and receives Him as their savior is a sheep for which, Jesus, the Good Shepherd cares.
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
This is important today because some claim that God the Father would be cruel to kill His Son for the sins of the world.
The Jews who heard these words were again divided.
Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”
But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Even still, there were some who did not believe. They encouraged the others to not listen to Jesus. And yet the others recognized, He came the right way. He came through the gateway just as God had said He would come.
Some did not recognize Him or His voice. Others did.
What about you and me?
What about you and me?
sheep hear his voice and follow? Have you heard His voice?
he is the door - one way
I know my sheep and they know me, they will listen to my voice (his voice instead of the world’s voice)
All who enter by me will be saved...
They will go in and out and find good pasture
Wolves come… What are the wolves?
What are the voices of the thieves and robbers?
Success - Joshua 1:8 ; Matthew 6:19-24
Worry, Anxiety? - Matthew 6:25-34
Worthless? - John 10:3; He knows your name. He cares for you. You are a child of God!
Your way? You deserve? You should have, You shouldn’t have to? John 10:11, good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep, We should love others and lay down our lives for them
Temptation - Romans 7; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Weakness - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
How could God love me? Romans 8 - no condemnation, 8:28 - God is at work in all things for the good of those who love Him;
Roman 8:31 - God is for us
Romans 8:38-39 - For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,j nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Homework
Read John 10:1-30. What concept is repeated six times in this passage? (Look for hear and voice). What is the main idea Jesus is trying to get across with the first two parables He gives (verses 1-5, and verses 7-10)? How can we know His voice?
Read John 10:3. He calls His sheep by name. What does that tell you about His relationship with you? Why is it important to understand this? What impact does it have on your life?
Read Psalm 23. Personalize this Psalm. Read it in the first person as it is written, putting yourself in David, the author’s place. What does it mean that you ‘shall not want’? What does it mean He makes you lie down in green pastures? He leads you beside quiet waters? Think through each phrase. Take time to thank the Lord for being the Good Shepherd.
Read John 10:9. Sometimes we can think of this passage speaking of coming to Christ for salvation. But going in and out speaks not of a one time occurrence, but of daily routine. What does going in and out through Jesus to find pasture daily look like? How might going through Jesus to find pasture daily be a part of John 10:10?
Read John 10:15-18. Why might it be important to know this passage today? How does this help us combat the wrong thinking that the Father is a bad Father for wanting to kill His Son? How does it effect our love for Christ? Share what you meditate on concerning Jesus willingly laying down His life for you with someone this week.
Read John 10:27-29. What does it mean to hear and follow Christ? We spoke about that in the Fan or Follower series a few months ago. What does Jesus say to do? Read Luke 6:20-49. Are you doing it? In what area of your life can you grow in obedience? Ask someone to pray with you, and help you to grow in that area.