“Hearing Christ’s Voice” -- John 10:1-18

As you know, I’m a big fan of the Beatles. I’ve listened to their music from the first, and as the years go by, I’ve come to appreciate the music more and more.

Inevitably, Kim and my children have been privileged to also get to listen to the band. They might say they’ve had to endure listening to the Beatles, but let’s not quibble over semantics. On more than one occasion, Kim has said she can’t tell who is singing which song. And that puzzles me. It’s almost always clear to me who’s singing, whether it’s John or Paul or George or Ringo. Each has a distinct voice and they’re easy to tell apart. Even when they’re singing harmonies.

By the same token, Kim knows instantly which of our children is speaking to her, as do I. We all can differentiate the voices of those we love, know well or converse with on a regular basis. Voices, like faces, become distinctive.

That’s particularly true when it comes to Jesus’ voice. It is distinctive from all the rest.

I know what many of us are thinking: “What in the world is he talking about? I don’t even know if I’ve ever had Jesus speak to me, much less hear His voice.” I readily concede the point.

It isn’t often that Jesus speaks to most of us, but that doesn’t mean He doesn’t speak to us. He speaks in a number of ways to us—as we prayerfully seek His will, as we study His word, as we worship Him corporately or individually. Jesus speaks to us. The distinction of His voice doesn’t necessarily come in the way other voices are distinctive. Jesus’ distinct voice comes in the words that are said. Once we learn to listen to and distinguish His voice, then we are able to follow Him and obey Him.

Background

When Jesus uses the phrases found in this passage, He is harking back to a familiar image for His listeners. The concept of a shepherd and sheep is a common metaphor in the Bible. There are numerous times God refers to the nation of Israel as sheep and God as the Shepherd. The most common idea is the first verse of Psalm 23, but there are other references throughout the prophets.

Throughout John’s gospel account, Jesus is quoted as making seven “I am . . .” statements. The significance of the statements is that it is an indirect reference to His divine nature, recalling the name God told Moses when Moses asked what he should say when the Israelite elders ask which god sent him. “I am that I am” is one translation of the word. For Jesus to say, “I am the Good Shepherd” is to let His hearers know that He identifies with God and is the extension of God on our earth. He is the One who tends His flock and protects us.

A significant part of the proclamation is in the way that the sheep identify with Jesus. Throughout the passage, Jesus refers not to His appearance, but His voice that alerts the sheep when their shepherd is near. It is His voice that lets us know He is watching over us and leading us into the green pastures beside the still waters.

Central Truth: Jesus’s followers know when Jesus is speaking with them.

When believers hear Christ’s voice:

They follow Him (1-6)

Jesus begins His discourse by speaking of sheep in a pen, and the difference between a false shepherd and the true shepherd. The first distinguishing mark of difference is that the false shepherd enters the pen by some other means than the gate. The true shepherd enters through the gate, where the gatekeeper can recognize and allow the shepherd in.

Satan is good at disguising himself. He appeared to Adam and Eve as a serpent from the garden. He has appeared in numerous guises and appearances. Paul writes that Satan can appear as an angel of light in 2 Corinthians 11:14-15. Writing of false prophets and apostles, Paul writes that “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.” Jesus warned in the Sermon on the Mount that Satan can be disguised as wolf in sheep’s clothing.

But Jesus says that, though a false shepherd should enter the pen, the sheep will not follow him. “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” (John 10:2-5).

Jesus’ declaration is that the sheep will follow Jesus but not the false prophet simply because of the voice of the one who seeks to lead them. Notice how the process goes. The first thing sheep do is listen to the voice of the shepherd. Recognizing the voice of Christ is something we learn to do, and once we recognize that voice, we listen to Him when He speaks. Remember the old EF Hutton ads? It’s like that. When Jesus speaks, people listen.

One of the ways we come to distinguish the voice of Jesus is through our close relationship with Him. The second part of following Jesus after we listen to Him is that we realize He knows us. About a month before football season was to start, one of the local coaches stepped down as head coach. That necessitated the hiring of a new coach, obviously. There were those who speculated the head coach had stepped down when he did in an effort to encourage one of his staff to be promoted. Instead, the school board selected a coach from another district. I remember reading an interview with the new coach. He said that the first week or two of practice, he had to have the names of all the players written onto tape that was attached to the players’ helmets. He had to do that until he could get to know the players. The fact that Jesus calls us by name lets us know that we are not just a group of people He’s vaguely familiar with. No, He knows us and He knows our names. Because He calls us by name, we let Him lead us.

Finally, having been led out of the pen by the familiar voice of the Shepherd, the sheep continue to follow because of the voice of the One who is leading them. He goes on ahead because He knows the way He is going and the way that is best for the sheep. Jesus says His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. The familiarity and the confidence we have in the One who is speaking to us and with us gives us the assurance that following Him is the best course and the safest way.

Jesus’ sheep hear His voice, and as a result, we follow Him.

They disregard other voices (7-10)

As Jesus is wrapping up the first part of the first paragraph, He says, “they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice” (v. 5). He carries that idea over into the next paragraph, vs. 7-10, when He says, “All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them” (v. 8).

One of the most important parts of living is learning the difference between right and wrong, and choosing that which is right. As we grow and learn, we soon realize that there are a lot of ways that seem good initially but turn out to be wrong. The right way may be the only way, but it is also a difficult way. The temptation to cut corners, to take a short cut, is a temptation to do what is wrong. For the Christian, it is always the means that justify the end, not the other way around.

The voices that call us to circumvent that which is right are many and alluring. Throughout the temptations of Jesus, the voice of Satan was constantly trying to get Jesus to find another way to avoid the cup that awaited Him. We saw it when Satan tempted Jesus in the desert, and we saw it when he tried to influence Jesus through His family and friends. Jesus showed us through those incidents that Satan cannot be trusted and can be defeated only when we listen to the Word of God, which is Jesus.

As we come to distinguish Jesus’ voice from the other voices that call to us, we learn to disregard the other voices, to turn away from them as we follow the One who leads us, the Good Shepherd. We hear His voice and all other voices cause us to run from them.

The benefits of fleeing other voices and following only Jesus are significant. “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (vs. 9-10). The promise from Christ is that following Him leads to salvation, nurture and life.

Jesus’ followers disregard the other voices.

They find protection (11-13)

Jesus draws away from the idea of the voice of the Shepherd in these verses to let us know the important part the Shepherd plays in our lives. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (v. 11). Jesus follows this with a lesson on what the hired hand does. Since the sheep do not belong to him, the hired hand isn’t willing to protect the flock when danger comes. If it’s a choice of protecting the flock or protecting himself, the hired hand chooses the latter every time.

Not so the Shepherd. He has invested in His sheep, and is committed to their protection, even to the point of laying down His life for the sheep. Later on, in vs. 17-18, Jesus says, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 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.”

The significance of Jesus’ words here is twofold. First, it lets us know of His commitment to us. He is willing to give up His life for us, His followers, His sheep. Jesus gave up His glory in heaven to come and live among us, to become God with us, fully God and fully man. He did this because of His love for the Father and for us. It is this love that led Him to go willingly to Calvary, there to die on the cross, to pay for our sins and thus redeem us from eternal condemnation. By His willingness to lay down His life, Jesus gives us life. He saves us and sets us free to become the children of God.

The other significant event about this statement is that it lets us know that it is Jesus who is in control and that His crucifixion was a voluntary act on His part. Jesus wasn’t dragged to Calvary. He wasn’t forced there by the power of Rome or the hatred, jealousy and fear of the religious leaders. No, Jesus went to Calvary because He chose to do so. Arising from His anguished prayers at Gethsemane, Jesus stood before His accusers and Pilate, and throughout the process, Jesus was the One in control. He who could have called upon the angels of heaven to establish His kingdom on earth knew that the only true way, the only right way, God’s way, was through the horrors of the cross. And so Jesus lay down His life, only to take it up again as evidenced by the empty tomb of Easter and the appearances of Jesus numerous times after Calvary.

Because we hear Jesus’ voice and follow Him, because we believe, He protects us.

They find fellowship (14-18)

Finally, in verses 14-16: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—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.”

Jesus returns to the idea of His voice and the effect it has on the sheep. He again reminds us of the close relationship that is between us and Him. He knows the sheep and the sheep know Him. The knowledge He speaks about is the intimate relationship that is reflected in the way Jesus relates to the Father. It is the relationship of a child and the Father, with all that it implies. We find comfort, guidance, love and provision from God through Jesus and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus refers to other sheep, and those other sheep are us. Jesus was speaking to a Jewish crowd when He spoke of being the gate and the Good Shepherd. The “other sheep” were to include the Gentiles, those who were not of the Jewish faith or related to one another through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. As the word of God spread throughout the world, others have come to know Him and follow Him. People from all races and ethnic groups have come to know and follow the comforting voice of Jesus, and we are all one in Him through the work of the Holy Spirit.

We have fellowship with one another because we hear and follow the voice of Jesus.

Conclusion

There’s something special about hearing the voice of a loved one when they call us. Nowadays with caller id, we often know who is calling us, but in the days before we had it, it was always a joy to hear a familiar voice on the other end.

We live in a world where many voices vie for our attention. In this cacophony of noise, it’s important to hear the one true voice, the voice of Jesus. When we hear His voice, we must follow Him, for He alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Do you hear the Savior’s voice? Do you know it? Do you follow that voice?