May 14, 2022

John 10: 4 (NIV)

“When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”

There’s a reason Jesus is called the “good shepherd” and not the “good cowboy.”*

The only first-hand knowledge I have of sheep comes from the one my cousins had as a pet when we were kids. His name was Baa and he butted like a goat, so we weren’t inclined to spend a lot of time getting to know his other character traits. My internet research into sheep behavior was a little more informative than my personal experience.

According to Wikipedia, “sheep have a strong tendency to follow and a leader may simply be the first individual to move.” If the first individual to move is another sheep, you can see how easily sheep could be led astray. In this verse, Jesus is referring to the shepherd’s programming of the sheep so that they will follow him. The one who has spoken to them since birth, the one who has fed them and cared for them, is the one they learn to follow. If a particular shepherd’s flock gets mixed in with another’s, his well-trained sheep will recognize his voice and separate themselves from the others to follow their shepherd.

Now that I have such vast knowledge of sheep behavior (!), I understand that this verse is not about the sheep but about the shepherd. I have always tried to read into it that the sheep have some responsibility to know the shepherd’s voice but Jesus called himself the “good shepherd” and he demonstrated good shepherding techniques. We know his voice because of his efforts to train his flock to follow him: care, feeding, protection. We may choose to ignore his voice, stupid sheep that we are, but he has done all that he can to make us want to choose him.

Don’t be one of those sheep who follows the first individual to move. The Good Shepherd has taught you his voice – follow him to safe pasture and abundant provision.

There is a difference between getting sheep into a pen and teaching them to respond to the voice of the Good Shepherd! . . . Sheep that are simply conditioned to inhabit a pen are easily lost. Sheep that have learned to hear and obey the voice of the shepherd never lack sustenance and direction.*