John 10:11–18

¹¹ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³ He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may 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 I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus says that the chief identifying mark that He is the Good Shepherd is that He lays down His life for you, His sheep. Jesus has the authority to lay down His life and the authority to take His life up again. Your Good Shepherd wants you to know Him as the Good Shepherd precisely because He is crucified and risen for you. And Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gives the clear identifying mark of His sheep – the sheep of the Good Shepherd listen to His voice (Jn. 10:16).

This is such a beautiful image, but to get the picture something needs to be clear: Jesus isn’t referring to a shepherd with large ranch. When I was younger, I imported my idea of what a ranch is to this image. My grandpa was a veterinarian in South Dakota, and when we’d visit, I would periodically go with my grandpa to these large cattle ranches to help him do his work. The average size of a cattle ranch is about 1,000 acres. Sheep are what, maybe ¼ the size of a cow? So, I figured sheep ranches were around 250 acres, but that isn’t the picture here.

In Jesus’ day, everyone owned a handful of sheep because that was how they would get their winter clothing, their milk, meat, and leather. Every family needed to have a few sheep, but they couldn’t only take care of those sheep. So, when a whole block of families each have a handful of sheep, you’ve got a decent flock – 60, 80, 100 sheep. Typically, one person from that block had the responsibility of being the shepherd for that block’s flock of sheep. 

During the day, the shepherd would lead the sheep where they had good grass to eat and clean water to drink. But as the sun would set, the shepherd would lead his sheep back into the village where there was a large pen where all the different flocks would spend the night together so the shepherds could go home and sleep. They hired some college student to watch the 400-500 sheep through the night. Then in the morning, the shepherds would return to that pen where all of the flocks were mixed together. But that wasn’t a problem because each shepherd would call his sheep by name, “Come on, Long-ears. Time to go, White-nose. Get a move on, Stubby-legs.” And each sheep would hear the voice of its shepherd calling its name, and they would all follow him to go out in the fields for the day. That’s the picture Jesus is using throughout John 10.

At the beginning of the chapter (Jn. 10:1-5), Jesus says that the gatekeeper opens the pen for the Shepherd. The sheep hear the voice of their Shepherd, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought His own sheep out, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him. Keep that order in mind. The Shepherd leads and the sheep follow because they know His voice. Those sheep won’t follow the voice of strangers. A little bit after our text (Jn. 10:27), Jesus says His sheep hear His voice. He knows them, and they follow Him.

Now, with that imagery and context in mind, listen again to what Jesus says in v. 14-16, “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd.” In other words, Jesus says to these crowds in Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago, “I’m going to gather some other sheep into My flock as well.”

Now, you have to recognize that this is the second week in a row where Jesus directly speaks about you. Last week, after Thomas saw Jesus and confessed that Christ is his Lord and God, Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”(Jn. 20:28-29). Jesus had you in mind when He said that. Now here, Jesus had you in mind when He talks about bringing in other sheep who will listen to His voice and be part of the one flock with Him as the Good Shepherd.

Isn’t that beautiful? The voice of your crucified and risen Good Shepherd is what brings you into the flock, keeps you in His flock, and calls you back to the flock if you have strayed. In your Baptism, Jesus put His name on you, and He also calls you by name. By that calling, you belong to Him (Is. 43:1). As part of His flock, Christ’s voice continues to call, gather, lead, guide, and direct you. And as His sheep, you follow Him. Wherever He leads, you follow – whether it’s to green pastures and still waters or through the valley of the shadow of death. 

My fellow sheep, you need to be attentive to the voice of your Good Shepherd. What does that mean because, of course, there’s no recording of Jesus’ voice? You don’t know the tone, timbre, and pitch of His voice. So, how can you recognize His voice if you don’t know what His voice sounds like? It’s simple – to know the voice of your Good Shepherd is to know what He says, which means knowing your Bible. Knowing the Scriptures is how you recognize Jesus, your Good Shepherd. You can’t follow the Shepherd without hearing and recognizing His voice.

My fellow sheep, be in the Bible daily. People talk about wanting to hear God’s voice. If you want to hear God’s voice, read your Bible. If you want to audibly hear God’s voice, read it out loud. Scripture is clear that faith comes by hearing (Ro. 10:17), so hear the voice of your Shepherd from His holy, inspired, infallible, inerrant Word.

Spend specific time in God’s Word several times each day. If you aren’t doing that already, start today. Start small and build on that. Even if it’s just one short chapter (even the same chapter) every day – do it. Read it. Mediate on it. Write out specific verses that are comforting, encouraging, and challenging on note cards where you will see them as you’re brushing your teeth or doing the dishes. Be in God’s Word. Know what He says in it. Paraphrases like The Message and The Living Bible shouldn’t be considered the same way as a translation. Think of them as commentaries. There can be times where they are helpful. But if you had a letter from your parents or grandparents, you wouldn’t want a paraphrase, you’d want the real thing.

Also, know that Your Shepherd’s voice isn’t always going to say what you want to hear. It might be calling you back to the flock if you are straying. Your Shepherd will always say what’s good for you. When God’s Word is difficult or confusing, you can always come to me and ask me about it. I might not always have the answer right away, but I’ll do some digging and help you understand what your Shepherd is saying. That’s part of my job and calling as a pastor, which is to be an under-shepherd of the Good Shepherd.

Jesus’ voice, which calls to you from the Scriptures, is how you recognize Him. Remember, your Good Shepherd leads, and you follow. Jesus doesn’t drive you from behind with a whip yelling at you. No, He walks ahead of you. Your Good Shepherd leads where He knows will be good for His flock. Jesus will not lead you to places you can’t handle. And if you stray, He will seek you out. Jesus, your Good Shepherd, leads and what follows you? His goodness and mercy follow you all the days of your life, and you will dwell in His house forever (Ps. 23:6). Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.