John 10:1-30
The Shepherd's
Voice
Hearing the Voice of God
In a world full of noise, the sheep still know their Shepherd's voice - and they follow it.
Where we begin
Too much noise to hear
As a kid, glued to the TV, I never heard my mom calling me for dinner. The voice was there the whole time. The distraction was just louder.
We live in a world full of noise - the chaos of daily life, the endless demands, the crowd of voices all competing for our attention. It can drown out God's gentle voice and make His guidance hard to discern.
But here is the promise we have as believers: Jesus speaks to us. He knows us intimately. And when we hear Him, we will follow Him.
11For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12…so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
Israel's shepherds had fed themselves and scattered the flock. So God promised to come and shepherd His people Himself. In John 10, He does.
The context
A blind man, and blind shepherds
John 9 spills right into John 10. The Pharisees had argued over who healed a man born blind, and in the end they threw him out of the temple. These were the "shepherds" of Israel - the ones meant to lead people with truth and grace - yet they had no compassion and no genuine care for the man. Against that backdrop, Jesus describes what a true shepherd actually sounds like.
1Truly, 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. 2But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.
The sheepfold was a place of security - a high stone enclosure with a single opening. At night the shepherd or watchman would lie down across that opening, serving as both the protector and the gate. The only way in for an intruder was over the wall.
A shepherd gave each sheep its own name or call, and the sheep learned it. He could call a wandering sheep back, and he led from the front, the flock following his distinctive voice. A stranger couldn't fake it. Sheep don't follow another voice. They follow their Shepherd's.
9I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Jesus is the door - lying in the gateway to keep the flock safe. The religious leaders were the thieves and robbers, deceitful and self-serving; the hired hand runs when the wolf comes because he doesn't really care. The Good Shepherd does the opposite: He lays His life down.
27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30I and the Father are one.
At the Feast of Dedication the leaders demanded a plain answer: are you the Christ? Jesus tells them why they can't see it - they don't believe because they are not among His sheep. They knew enormous amounts about God, yet were more blind than the man born blind. When Jesus says "I and the Father are one," they pick up stones. If they truly knew the Father, they would have recognized Him in Jesus.
The message
Three marks of His sheep
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
John 10:27 - one verse, three marks of everyone who belongs to Jesus.
Mark 1 · Hear
They hear Jesus
People who belong to Jesus hear Jesus. You heard His call to come to Him, and you keep hearing His voice now. The Jews rejected Him because they didn't truly belong to God - "Whoever is of God hears the words of God" (John 8:47). Hearing Him is the first sign you are His.
Mark 2 · Know
They know Jesus intimately
"I know them" - and they know Him. Jesus gives His sheep eternal life, and eternal life is a relationship with God through Jesus that starts now and continues forever. It isn't only something that happens when you die; it begins the moment you come into a saving relationship with the One who came to give you abundant life.
Mark 3 · Follow
They follow - they obey Jesus
"They follow me." The clearest indicator of a Christian is that they follow Jesus - they hear His voice and obey it. Picture a teacher giving instructions and a student doing the opposite: you know they aren't following the teacher, because they aren't following the instructions. Obedience is the evidence of belonging.
Tune your ear
Where to listen for God's voice
God still speaks. These are the ordinary places His sheep learn to recognize His voice.
Your conscience
A conscience ruled by the Holy Spirit becomes a place where God confirms what is true and checks what is not.
Romans 9:1The Bible
All Scripture is breathed out by God - His clearest, most reliable voice, equipping you for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17Prayer
When you don't even know what to pray, the Spirit Himself intercedes for you and aligns you with the will of God.
Romans 8:26-27Your circumstances
Like the Son, who did what He saw the Father doing, watch what God is already up to around you - and join Him.
John 5:19The body of Christ
God speaks through His people. Without counsel plans fail, but with many wise advisers they succeed.
Proverbs 15:22Live it out
Steps to take this week
Hearing leads to following. Pick one or two and act on them before next Sunday.
Name the noise
What is the loudest competing voice in your life right now - a screen, a worry, a relationship, a habit? Name it, and silence one source of it this week.
Open the Word daily
God's clearest voice is His Word. Read John 10 again slowly, then carry a short reading into each day this week.
Make space to pray - and listen
Set a daily rhythm of prayer that isn't only asking. Build in quiet to listen, trusting the Spirit to pray in you.
Follow your conscience
Pay attention to the Spirit's check before you speak or act. When you sense the prompt, obey it the same day.
Read your circumstances with the Father
Ask of one situation: "Father, what are You doing here?" Then take the next step you can see Him taking.
Bring it to the body
Take one decision you're facing to a trusted, godly friend or your group. Invite their counsel before you choose.
Check the fruit - then follow
Obedience is the evidence of belonging. Identify one place Jesus is asking you to follow, and obey there this week.
Go deeper
Questions for reflection
Look at the text
Look at your life
This week
"A stranger they will not follow." Whose voice have you been following - and what would it look like to follow the Shepherd's instead?