John 10:1–10 (NIV84)
There’s a joke going around about wearing masks in the grocery store with your spouse. Only when you get home you find out you took the wrong husband, so pay attention. It’s funny because of how terribly ridiculous it is. Even if everything was covered up and all you heard was their voice, you’d know it was them. It would take a total lack of attention to lose someone you love. People get distracted, but not even that distracted. While it is one thing to pay attention to the voice of the person you went to the grocery store with, today we recognize the voice of Jesus as our Good Shepherd.
This, I believe, is a voice you know. I think you know how beneficial this voice is to you and how much a blessing it is to hear him call you by name. I also think you know that there are thieves and robbers to your faith. There are many dangers we live with in this world. So when we see that the Good Shepherd is out of earshot, I can’t necessarily blame you. In those cases you didn’t wander, you were taken.
Jesus describes the voices of those who take what doesn’t belong to them by at first calling them strangers. And look at how sheep respond to strangers. “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.” Verse 5-6 A stranger’s voice causes them to scatter. They want absolutely nothing to do with that strange voice of that strange person.
But here’s the thing about these particular strangers, they’re thieves and robbers. I’d say they are the not-so-nice kind of thieves and robbers, but, then again, that’s the only kind of thieves and robbers there are. Anyone whose conscience gives them permission to take things that don’t belong to them is only out for themselves. Worse, when they come to take, you end up in ruin.
Understand the intent of the other voices. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Verse 10 The thief is not your casual acquaintance. Jesus talked about sheep and shepherds and a gate. Let me put it this way. If they are thieves and robbers, they are not your friend. There are certain voices that only want to mess with you. And if you end up messed up, that means nothing to them.
Who are these voices? One, Jesus says, they are not entering by the gate. This means they are trespassing into private property with no respect for what belongs to someone else, no respect for rules or authority. Jesus made his claim on us by the shedding of his holy blood. What other voice can say they’ve done that for you. Two, they came before Jesus. There were voices at the time of Jesus attempting to give a sense of right in a wrong kind of world. And this is the problem, they’re still out there. And they still are before Jesus, in the sense that we see them, hear them as more important than Jesus. So why don’t we cut and run?
We often talk about sheep as lesser creatures than people. But in this case, they are far superior. They are the example to us. Sheep scatter from strangers, people don’t. Sheep flock to their shepherd, people don’t. Sheep know there is only one voice they need, people don’t. At times it can look like we have no allegiance to any one voice. We’ve got this pocket for this voice, and that pocket for another voice, and it’s easy enough to tuck the voice of Jesus in the back pocket.
“Oh, here’s a stranger’s voice. Ok. What’s he got to say? Well, that sounds interesting. I wonder if he’s got more I can listen to. Seems entirely harmless. I’ll always have my Shepherd calling out to me. I don’t need to be on his heels all the time. There’s lots to explore.”
Do you ever think Jesus doesn’t want you to explore because he knows how dangerous it is? There are plenty of experiences we have to say no to. It’s not that Jesus doesn’t want you to have a good life; it’s that he doesn’t want you to wander into sin either knowingly or unknowingly. Thieves are crafty. They will make it seem like their voice is harmless, so appealing.
So how can you be sure the voice wants the best for you? Listen to Jesus. Jesus contrasts himself with the sheep stealers by calling himself your Good Shepherd. Jesus cares whether or not you end up messed up. That means everything to him. His goal for you is life. So he lived his life to give you life.
Do you think shepherds like being shepherds? Do you think it’s fun and enjoyable for them? Don’t picture them lounging around grassy fields with sheep plump and content. Picture dangers all around so that the shepherd has to keep constant watch. Picture slim pickings for grass so the shepherd is always on the lookout for the next grazing spot. Picture sleepless nights, sun leathered skin, hands at the ready to rescue a wanderer either from their own foolish waywardness or from the mouth of bears and lions.
And for what? The sheep aren’t good conversation. The sheep aren’t cuddly family pets. They’re work. And have little to give in exchange for it. But the goal for shepherds to give life for their sheep comes from the fact that they are his. “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” Verse 3 First, he calls them his own. He knows them by name. The size of the flock doesn’t matter. You matter enough to him that he knows your name. And second, he leads them out. He will not abandon them to fend for themselves, feed themselves, fight for themselves. For every hint and whisper that says, “They’re not worth it,” he reminds himself, but they’re mine. And you won’t give up on what belongs to you, no matter the price.
Even those who knew him best, who recorded eye witness accounts of his life in the gospels, there was no ear more familiar to his voice than the chosen twelve disciples, and even they scattered. “Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.” Zechariah 13:7 This happened at his arrest at Gethsemane when Jesus was in bitter suffering and on his way to be crucified. But did he give up? Did he leave them to the thieves and robbers, to the bears and lions, to hunger and starvation? No. Neither will he leave you.
Not a reason to come and go from his voice at your convenience. All the more reason to nip at his heels. He does not leave you in your sins, his voice forgives you. He does not leave you to the hands of thieves and robbers such as the devil, his voice surrounds you with protection and helps you bear up under it. And even if you end up taken, his voice keeps seeking to find those who are lost.
No other voice does that for you, only Jesus, your Good Shepherd, who calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. One voice so powerful, one voice so loving, one voice so intimately connected to his people that thieves and robbers don’t stand a chance. No matter what they take from us in this life here, in the end we will most certainly dwell in the house of the Lord forevermore.
To emphasize the one and only voice that his people need Jesus says this, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” Verse 9 Any other gate, that is, any other person, religion, or worldly thought cannot save you. Jesus saved you. The ear that knows the voice of their Good Shepherd is the one he will save. By faith we flock to him, stay with him, and by faith we will receive all we ever need in life, not only now but forever in heaven.
Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” Verse 10 Sometimes we consider a life that is full as one that has everything it wants, all the toys with all the bells and whistles. But Jesus doesn’t describe the full life by pointing to material things. He points to himself. This, me, I am the Good Shepherd. Listening to other voices only gets you lost at best and at worst killed and destroyed. But with Jesus you are found. With Jesus you are never lost. With Jesus no creature, not even the devil himself, can kill and destroy you. The body after death may rest here and decay, but when Jesus comes at the end of time, there will be life, abundant life, life to its absolute fullest.
If you lose your husband in the grocery store, you can always find him again. Even if Jesus is all covered up and hiding behind the pages of the Bible, when you hear his voice you know that it’s him. Don’t take home a voice that doesn’t belong to you. Take home with you the voice of your Good Shepherd. You are his very own. Amen.
Let’s pray:
Dearest Jesus, Great Shepherd of the sheep, we trust your loving care for us, your very own people. In your mercy forgive us for wandering, for letting down our guard and constant watch, and for listening to other voices that lead us away from you. Help us now to put no other voice before your own. Come with your almighty power to put up a strong defense against the thieves and robbers of our soul. Keep us ever in your care until the end where you will give us life abundantly in heaven. In your name we pray, Amen.
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