Our Scripture meditation to start this week is from John 10:14-15, which is from the Gospel reading for next week.
[14] I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
With a couple of dairy operations closing in our community, sheep now outnumber cows in the pastures in our rural neighborhood. These flocks can help in understanding Scripture passages such as the Gospel for next week.
The primary way sheep know their shepherd is through hearing. Sheep have pretty good peripheral vision, but have very poor depth perception. As strongly nearsighted animals, they can’t see their shepherds at any distance. As such, sheep rely on keen hearing. Sheep can move their ears to improve directional hearing, including identifying their shepherd.
It is fascinating to watch a shepherd call his or her sheep from a pasture holding several flocks. As the shepherd calls, some sheep raise their heads while other sheep continue to crop grass. Once the sheep have located the general direction of their shepherd, they start working their way toward the sound. Meanwhile, the other flocks remain in the pasture, seemingly not even tempted to follow the voice of any other shepherd.
How can we similarly identify the voice of Jesus, our Good Shepherd? After all, there are competing voices in society, trying to draw us to follow them. Whether supposedly sacred or secular, some of these siren songs are similar to Jesus’ own voice.
It starts by knowing Jesus from the Gospels. While the Gospels are the primary source of our knowledge of Jesus, the Old Testament and Epistles are indispensable for knowing Jesus’ voice. This also goes for Acts and Revelation.
The next level of being certain of knowing Jesus’ voice is understanding Scripture. This includes understanding Jesus’ teaching and understanding what the Bible teaches about Jesus. This is where personal study Bibles and group Bible studies are especially effective. Note that the consistency of learning and understanding God’s Word is key to know the Good Shepherd’s voice.
Kevin Wilson 360 