WHICH VOICE?

John 10:1-5
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

“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! 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 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. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”


We remember the cartoons with a character being drawn by two opposing forces. They picture the red devil with a pitch fork on one shoulder and an angel dressed in white robes on the other. If only it were so easy to differentiate in real life. We are constantly being courted by the opposing forces of good and evil. How do we know which voice we hear is the one to which we should listen?

In this parable of the good shepherd, Jesus emphasizes that where there is relationship, there is recognition. The sheep know the voice of their shepherd because they have a close relationship. They won’t follow the voice of a stranger.

We grow close in our relationship to the Lord through prayer, Bible study, worship and Christian service. When we are actively and regularly growing our relationship to Jesus, we won’t have a problem recognizing His voice. The Holy Spirit in us won’t let us be fooled by the voice of a stranger. Our spirit will be drawn to the familiar voice of our Savior and be repulsed by the evil voice of the deceiver.