KNOWING THE VOICE OF JESUS

John 10:1-6 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But He that entereth in by the door is the Shepherd of the sheep. To Him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear His voice: and He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which He spake unto them. (Reading Vss. 7-18 confirms this lesson)

Among bible scholars there seems to be some debate whether the events depicted in this text occurred immediately after His discourses recorded in the previous chapter or some time later. The reason for this debate comes from verses 21 and 22, which follow. Verse 21 reinforces Jesus teaching by referring to the man, being blind from birth, was compassionately and miraculously given his sight by Jesus in the preceding chapter 9. However, verse 22 begins with the statement that Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. From this, scholars say that these teachings of Jesus must have occurred some two months after the events recorded in chapter 9. To reconcile these differences of opinion, it can be said that a break in the time frame occurred between verses 21 and 22 and not at the end of chapter 9. It is not always the case, but it often occurs that a complete chapter of the bible does not continue uninterrupted by a lapse of time. That chapter 22 is a continuation of chapter 21, seems to be the logical explanation to have taken place in this portion of John's gospel.

With the opening of this chapter of John, we find an extremely important doctrinal message taught by Jesus. It is emphasized by the first words Jesus uttered. Verily, verily, I say unto you, alerts the hearers that what He is about to speak to them is worthy of hearing, believing, and obeying. Twenty-three times Jesus uses these same words to give importance to His teaching, as recorded by the apostle John, and twenty-four times when Verily, verily, I say unto thee is included. In other words the teaching He is about to deliver to both the common Jewish people as well as to their religious leaders, is a very import message delivered to them directly from God by His Son, Christ Jesus (See Vs. 18b below). It is in the form of a parable, which is used extensively in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but only in this instance in John's writings.

Jesus begins this parable with this saying: He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. A teaching illustrated by sheep, a sheepfold, a porter (gatekeeper), a shepherd, and sheep thieves, could be understood by all present at this time. This profession was widely known and practiced throughout the Jewish nation. And, today, it is also easily understood. A sheepfold is a large containment enclosure without a roof, but securely fenced, not only to keep the sheep from straying but also to protect the sheep from robbers and beasts of pray. There is always a large door allowing entry to the sheep and their shepherd but, afterwards, closed at night to protect them from those that are intent on doing them harm. Once closed, to enter the sheepfold one must tear down the wall or, in this case, to climb over it, in order to enter. Those that may do so are not there by invitation, are unwanted, and are considered to be thieves and robbers.

The porter has knowledge of who is to be let into the sheepfold, and to each known shepherd he will open its doors. The shepherd will then call his sheep. Upon hearing his voice calling to them, his sheep will come to him and he will lead them either in or out of the sheepfold. When leaving the sheepfold, the shepherd will lead the sheep and they will follow him, and only him, for they know his voice. Once their shepherd's voice is known, sheep will not follow the voice of a stranger, rather they will flee from him. It is obvious that in this parable, the shepherd and the door represent Christ, the sheep are His disciples, the porter and the sheepfold represent the defensive protection afforded by God, and thieves and robbers represent false teachers. They threaten the souls of Christians by replacing God's truthful wisdom with the erring wisdom of men. However we are assured that by knowing the voice of Jesus, we cannot be led astray.