If Jesus is your shepherd, you’ll know His voice …

A person’s voice is a distinct part of their identity. If you were placed in a completely dark room and, without looking, several of your friends entered the room without announcing themselves, you likely would be able to identify who has joined you in the room just by listening to the voices of the people as they speak.

It’s interesting that shepherds have historically used their voices as a chief means of organizing and leading their flocks of sheep. H.V. Morton gives an account of this sort of thing in “In the Steps of the Master”:

“Early one morning I saw an extraordinary sight not far from Bethlehem. Two shepherds had evidently spent the night with their flocks in a cave. The sheep were all mixed together and the time had come for the shepherds to go in different directions. One of the shepherds stood some distance from the sheep and began to call. First one, then another, then four or five animals ran toward him; and so on until he had counted his whole flock.”

In “The Historical Geography of the Holy Land” George Adam Smith similarly tells of three or four shepherds separating out their flocks solely by their peculiar calls.

Jesus used this knowledge of shepherds using their voice to gather and guide their sheep in His teaching …

“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice,” John 10:1-5.

Jesus had to explain His story because those who heard the illustration didn’t understand it. In part of His explanation, He said:

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep,” John 10:14-15.

But in the fashion of shepherds using their voice, Jesus also said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me,” John 10:27.

In our busy lives and this fallen world, there are many voices that try to direct us in various ways. But for those who are of the flock of God, they know that Jesus is the good shepherd, and they know and listen to His voice which is revealed to us through the Bible.

Do you spend enough time in the Word so that you can detect the voice of your Shepherd above all the other voices in your life? When you hear your shepherd’s voice, do you follow Him?

Scotty