"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman 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." Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.—John 10:1-6
John 10:1-6 uses the image of a shepherd and his sheep to describe our relationship with God. If you are a student of the Bible, then you are familiar with this image.
Our first reaction to this word picture is to think of the care and concern that the shepherd has for his sheep as being an illustration of the comfort and assurance God provides for us. We may also think of that well-known passage in Psalm 23.
Beyond that, in the Gospel of John we read that Jesus, the Shepherd of our souls, cares for us to the extent of laying down his life for us.
But, there is another note sounded in our passage today, added to the care and concern that the Lord has for us. Our passage talks about our Master's voice and how we, as his sheep, know that voice and respond to it.
