“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:3-5 WEB).

Did you ever wonder about these sheep? How did they know the shepherd’s voice so well? How did they know so clearly to run away from other voices? It just doesn’t seem that simple, does it? But the scripture just states plainly that the sheep know His voice and flee from the voice of a stranger because they don’t know those voices.

I remember thinking and praying about this, thinking that we make things complicated, that sheep were dumb and just simply followed without asking questions. I prayed, “Lord, make me a dumb sheep.” It seemed like God laughed gently at me, at my thought that I was something other than a dumb sheep already.

So, if we’re already dumb sheep, those of us who have entered into the fold through the gate, why does it seem not so clear and easy to discern the voice of God? I think the answer is in verse 3, “…the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.” The sheep recognized His voice as the one to follow because they had been listening. They had also been following as He led them. In the practice of listening and following (obeying what we heard), is the development of our discernment in knowing His voice.

There’s one other piece there. It says that He called His own sheep by name. That’s one-on-one intimacy. That’s face-to-face conversation. That’s not Jesus preaching to the multitude; that’s Jesus telling you He loves you and you are His. It’s spending time in relationship with Jesus, where He calls you by name and lets you know that you are His, and you let Him know He is your choice too. That’s where we hear and make the choice to follow. That’s where we develop the ear of a disciple to know the Master’s voice and to follow it alone.