Hearing the Shepherd’s Voice
Necton and North Pickenham 26/4/2026
Acts 2: 42-47, John 10: 1-10
Our reading from John’s gospel begins in the middle of a conversation Jesus is having with some Pharisees at the end of chapter 9. A chapter that tells the story of a man born blind whom Jesus healed; a chapter that raises the question – Is Jesus sent from God or not? Is he the Son of Man that the prophet Daniel speaks of – Israel’s messiah, God’s anointed one?
Jesus says to the man born blind who can now see: (John 9: 35-41)
“Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
Who is he sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so I may believe in him.”
Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped him.
Jesus said, “For judgement I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
Some pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
Jesus continues into chapter 10 by taking a theme that would be very familiar to the Pharisees; familiar to those who knew and studied the Hebrew scriptures and the prophets, like Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Isaiah; prophets who often spoke about God and their kings as shepherds – as shepherd kings.
In fact, the psalm set for today is the 23rd psalm, composed by David the shepherd boy who became Israel’s king, who writes – The Lord is my shepherd – God our shepherd king.
You see within the whole of chapter 10 John recalls these moments here with the Pharisees and later in the temple courts where Jesus is saying this is what I am – your shepherd king. He uses a series of parables, pictures or figures of speech. In our reading this morning he takes the picture of the sheep fold. A picture of the people of God both then and now.
What is important is that we don’t think we are looking at something like the TV programme of years ago – ‘One Man and His Dog’. The fold is not some hurdles put together for a shepherd shouting or whistling at their dog to drive the sheep into. The sheep fold we should be thinking of may have been more substantial to protect against wild animals and sheep stealers. We must remember too that Middle Eastern shepherds don’t have dogs but call their sheep and walk ahead of them.
We may be looking at a sheep fold but Jesus is talking about three people:
The Shepherd, the sheep and the thief or robber.
He starts by speaking about the thief, the one who seeks to enter the sheep fold, not by the gate but some other way to steal sheep. But who is Jesus referring to? In the first instance it could be the Pharisees he was talking to, who failed to recognise who he is and had condemned the man born blind as a sinner.
In the second part of our reading, in verse 8, Jesus says:
“All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers but the sheep did not listen to them”
Who did he mean here, surely not the Old Testament prophets, or people like Moses and King David who spoke of Him? He could have meant, I suppose, those dreadful kings that Israel and Judah had leading up to the exile in Babylon. Kings who were hardly shepherds. But perhaps he meant, the false messiahs of his own time. Those that were calling for rebellion against the Romans, the Zealots. Those like Herod who toadied up to the Roman authorities. Those amongst the Sadducees, the ruling priestly class, who disagreed with the Pharisees over the question of resurrection and the Day of Judgement. Indeed, anyone who might be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
So, what do we learn from the sheep? This is summarised in verse 27 of chapter 10 where Jesus says:
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
Those sheep are the ones kept safe in the sheep fold.
In fact, they listen, for the shepherd calls them by name and he leads them out as Jesus says in verse 3. The shepherd goes on a head like all Middle Eastern shepherds and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. The interesting thing is that they will not respond to a stranger’s voice, only the voice of the shepherd.
You see Jesus is really telling them what they all knew about shepherding sheep. However, the Pharisees don’t seem to get it. Perhaps their problem was the shepherd.
Jesus first tells us that the man who enters the sheep fold by the gate – the proper way in – is the shepherd of his sheep. The sheep in that fold are his. Maybe the Pharisees, the self-imposed teachers of Israel, the so-called shepherds, think these sheep should be theirs?
So, Jesus changes the figure of speech. This time rather than speak of a watchman at the gate he says he is the gate. Now many have interpreted this to mean that first century Jewish shepherds would lay across the entrance to the fold, but this is not necessarily the case as there is no historical evidence of this. So, this might have been somewhat strange for his hearers – so making the point. The shepherd is there to protect the sheep from any who would come in and steal, any who would come in to kill and destroy.
King David in the 23rd psalm speaks of a shepherd who cares for his sheep in a dry wilderness like the Judean hills in full summer, who finds good pasture for the sheep to eat and clean water for them to drink, who protects them in times of danger. He leads them to these good places, places of abundant life as well as through those valleys of shadow and death, where his rod and staff comfort them.
But there is one thing this shepherd can do that the thieves and robbers cannot do. Jesus says:
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.”
This shepherd king is the way we may enter the sheep fold, the kingdom of God. It is he who will lead us out to find good pasture.
Later on, in chapter 14 Jesus reminds his disciples that the only way to the Father, the way into His kingdom is through Him who is the Way and the Truth and the Life.
The picture we have been looking at is a sheep fold on some Judean hillside in the time of Jesus yet a picture of the Kingdom of God for all time. So, what does it mean for us now?
Occasionally folk say to me they don’t hear God speaking or they cannot hear his voice. In telling me this, it would appear there is a heart cry to hear from Him. Some folks have heard God speak audibly. I haven’t but whether you have or not is not the point. How are we going to hear his voice – the voice of the Shepherd King?
The trouble is, as we all know, there are many voices seeking our attention, whether it be on social media, the internet, TV and media outlets. I get tired of it all, don’t you? Some of it may seem plausible, possible, credible. But does it stand up to the test of scripture? In an age of fake news there are many thieves and robbers out there. It is going to be important to hear the Shepherd’s voice. But is the voice you hear one that says it is alright to go to church once a month and pray when I feel like it. Perhaps to leave the bible on the bookshelf.
Which voices are you hearing or listening to? They will have a bearing on your thinking, your mind and your very soul. Jesus in the last verse of our reading offers us a choice. Will we listen those voices that are thieves, that only come to kill and destroy, or will it be the voice of the shepherd king? For you see he promises life to the full.
In our reading from Acts we see what it is like to be a sheep in the sheepfold. Following the Holy Spirit coming in power on Pentecost, these first followers of the risen Jesus, the shepherd king, had a very different lifestyle to those around them. In fact, life in all its fullness.
‘They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer’
(Acts 2:42)
They continued this fellowship with great hospitality and generosity to one another.
‘They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all people.’
(Acts 2:46b – 47a)
And here is the key: ‘and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’
(Acts 2:47b)
Today in our difficult and sad world many are looking for something authentic to live their lives for. Maybe you are one of them? Maybe you don’t appear to have heard from Him in a while, if ever, or he seems to speak to others but not you?
Jesus says he is the gate, the one by which we may enter the sheep fold, God’s kingdom, the place where God is and he reigns. Jesus says that it is only through him can we be saved or put right with the Father. We need to become his sheep for that is how we will hear his voice.
Maybe we need to really read the 23rd Psalm to see who this Shepherd King is? This is the one who will really lead us into green pastures and by still waters. The one who can restore our souls, our lives. The one who guides us into all truth. The one who is with us and protects us in the darkest of times; the one who can take away our fears. The one who longs to bless us with good things to bring reconciliation and forgiveness into our lives. The one who wants us to be with him for ever.
This is the fourth Sunday after Easter. Many have doubted or scorned the seemingly impossible fact of the empty tomb. But ordinary folk such as Mary in the garden heard him say her name and saw him standing there. Cleopas and the other disciple’s hearts were warmed as the risen Jesus walked with them and explained the Hebrew scriptures to them of how he must rise again. Thomas who exclaims my Lord and my God on seeing Jesus and his wounds. All of these knew that life would never be the same and I am sure there are many here whose own encounter with the risen Jesus, however experienced, would echo that.
Jesus the Shepherd King is asking us to make a choice this morning whether for the first time or again because we have missed his voice. He is asking us to let Him be our shepherd king, to put our faith and trust in Him, the one who gave his all for us and rose to offer us life in all its fullness.
If we make that choice, how are we going to hear his voice? What does it mean if we are now one of his flock? Again, he says:
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
(John 10:27)
If we are to hear his voice, we need to believe that he will speak. If we make that choice then indeed, we have already heard his voice. He knows us intimately, more than we know ourselves, he knows what we need too. But to continue to hear his voice we need to follow for he, as our shepherd king, goes ahead of the flock. To continue to hear his voice we need to be obedient to his ways and to follow him. If we do then we can be sure we will hear.
But what about this sheepfold – All Saints Necton (St Andrew’s North Pickenham)? How are we going to hear together our shepherd king’s voice?
‘‘They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer’
(Acts 2:42)
‘They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God’
(Acts 2:46b – 47a)
He knows our situation as John writes in Revelation of the risen and ascended Jesus’ words to the church at Philadelphia
‘I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and not denied my name’
(Rev: 3:8b)
But if the Lord is to add to our number those who are being saved, we need to reflect on how much we mirror that early fellowship of believers, are we listening to Him? Are we prepared to follow where he wants us to go?
It is nearly 50 years since I made that choice by my bed as a student. I cannot say that I have always listened to the voice of the shepherd king as I should or that I have not listened at times the voice of the thief. But I have definitely heard him speak so many times when reading my bible, the still calm voice in times of prayer; then hearing him in the worship and preaching here and elsewhere, in odd moments of conversation with others, in the circumstances I have found myself, whether good or bad; in those moments of decision, in the glories of creation. In fact, in the whole of life!
David says in psalm 23 verse 6
‘Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life
Surely this life in all its fulness?
Amen