Nonna’s
kNOWledge by Carolyn Joy Be Still and Listen for the Voice of God
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id you know that sheep in the first century recognized the voice of their shepherd? Likewise, Jesus related this fact to those watching and listening to Him preach. In John 9, Jesus heals a blind man and restores his sight. The nearby Pharisees and Jews were more concerned about the man’s sin than they were about his healing miracle. Jesus spoke in a parable to them in John 10:2-5 (ESV), “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used illustrations that Pharisees, Jews, and Gentiles could relate to. In Jesus’ time, the shepherds would graze their sheep during the day. At night, they found a sheepfold, a stone wall about four feet high with only one opening. Each shepherd usually tended about a hundred sheep. Eight to ten shepherds would gather their sheep into one sheepfold. One shepherd, called the porter, would stay at the opening of the sheepfold
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to guard the sheep from predators. The other shepherds would go to town to sleep. In the morning, the shepherds returned and called to their sheep. The sheep knew the voice of their own shepherd and followed him out of the sheepfold. Because of their relationship, the sheep recognized their shepherd’s voice and followed him. In John 10:27 (ESV), Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Jesus taught the crowd who gathered that those who believed in Him— who had a relationship with Him—would know His voice and follow His teachings.
God created us with a desire to be in relationship. In many modern-day set-ups, shepherds and farmers no longer need a personal relationship with their sheep. Farmers brand their sheep with a marking so everyone knows who owns which sheep. They often use electronic fencing to keep the sheep in place and helicopters to
