My Sheep Hear My Voice – John 10:27
By Pastor Joel – Open Heaven Christian Church – Fisher, Arkansas
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” — John 10:27 KJV
There is something deeply powerful about these words of Jesus. He did not simply say that His sheep believe in Him. He said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
That statement forces us to examine something important: Do we really know the voice of the Shepherd? Are we listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit?
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” — Romans 8:14 KJV
In John 10, Jesus was speaking to people who had heard His teaching and witnessed His works, yet many still refused to believe Him. He told them:
“I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.” — John 10:25 KJV
Jesus had already given them evidence. His words and His works testified of who He was. Yet their problem was not a lack of information. Their problem was that they would not believe.
Then Jesus made a statement that goes even deeper:
“But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.” — John 10:26 KJV
The fact that Jesus made this statement in verse 10 reveals that God is not interested in how many spiritual experiences or one may witness, or how many scriptures one can memorize or quote as the religious people that Jesus was speaking to did, or how many miracles of deliverance one can witness because seeing God preform miracles does not necessarily mean that one is hearing and following the Lord. God is more interested in knowing us, and we knowing Him and hearing His voice as we believe and draw near to the Lord. This is more important then any experience or miracle.
The Sheep Know the Shepherd’s Voice
Jesus continued:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” — John 10:27 KJV
Notice the progression:
They hear.
He knows.
They follow.
Being one of Christ’s sheep is not merely about identifying ourselves as Christians. It is about having a relationship with the Shepherd that produces obedience and following.
A person can hear many voices throughout their lifetime.
There is the voice of family.
The voice of friends.
The voice of society.
The voice of tradition.
The voice of religious leaders.
The voice of our own desires.
And then there is the voice of the Shepherd.
The challenge is learning to distinguish His voice from all the others.
A person can experiences or even witness the Lord conduct many miracles of deliverance from demons as Jesus did all through scripture, and still not really know the Lord if they are not willing to have a relationship with the Lord and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in their life. This is why Jesus said these words to those who do not make it into the kingdom of heaven:
“21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” — Matthew 7:21-23 KJV
Notice what Jesus says to them that do not make it into the kingdom of heaven: “I never knew you”
Getting saved and inheriting eternal life to get heaven is not about how many miracles one experiences or witnesses, it’s not about how many miracles God preforms, it’s about knowing the Lord through an honest relationship and following His leading as we hear the Holy Spirit speaking directly into our hearts once we believed and put our trust in the Lord.
God is searching for “true” worshipers and not sensationalism. God wants our hearts in truth and faith.
“23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” — John 4:23-24 KJV
Not Every Religious Voice Is the Shepherd’s Voice
This is especially important because a person can sincerely listen to someone who claims to speak for God and still be led in the wrong direction, both fall into a ditch.
“Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” — Matthew 14:14 KJV
Jesus warned about false shepherds and false voices. Simply because someone carries a Bible, stands behind a pulpit, quotes Scripture, or calls himself a minister does not automatically mean that everything he teaches is from Christ.
The standard is not the personality of the preacher.
The standard is not popularity.
The standard is not how emotional the message makes us feel.
The standard is the “truth” of God’s Word as it is written.
This is why we must never become so attached to a person, denomination, tradition, or religious system that we stop testing what we hear against Scripture. In fact, believers are encouraged to test every spirit.
“Test all things; hold fast what is good.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:21 NKJV
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” — 1 John 4:1 KJV
A true sheep must ultimately follow the Shepherd—not merely a shepherd who claims to represent Him.
Jesus said follow me, he never taught to follow anyone else:
“If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” — John 12:26 KJV
What Happens When We Hear His Voice?
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
The evidence of hearing the Shepherd is that we follow Him.
Hearing without following is not the relationship Jesus described.
We may hear a sermon and agree with it.
We may read Scripture and say it is true.
We may sing Christian songs and speak Christian words.
But Jesus asks something deeper:
Will you follow Me?
Following Christ means that when His Word corrects us, we accept correction.
When His Word exposes our sin, we don’t hide from it.
When His Word tells us to forgive, we forgive.
When His Word tells us to love, we love.
When His Word tells us to turn away from something, we turn away.
When His Word contradicts what we have always believed, we are willing to surrender our belief to His truth.
That is what it means to follow the Shepherd.
The Comfort of Being Known
There is another beautiful part of Jesus’ statement:
“I know them.”
The Shepherd does not merely know that His sheep exist. He knows them.
He knows their weaknesses.
He knows their struggles.
He knows their fears.
He knows their failures.
He knows their hearts.
And yet He still calls them His sheep.
What an incredible comfort that is.
People may misunderstand us. People may abandon us. People may judge us according to what they see on the outside.
But Jesus knows what is happening inside.
He knows those who truly belong to Him.
No One Can Pluck Them From His Hand
Jesus then gives His sheep an extraordinary promise:
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” — John 10:28 KJV
The security of the believer rests in the Shepherd’s hand.
Jesus did not say His sheep would never face trouble or temptations.
He did not say they would never experience persecution.
He did not say they would never struggle.
He said they would never perish, and no man would be able to pluck them from His hand.
Then He went even further:
“My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” — John 10:29 KJV
The sheep are held in the hand of Christ, and the Father is greater than all.
What greater security could Jesus describe? God secures you in His hand when you follow Jesus!
“I and My Father Are One”
Jesus concludes this passage with one of the most powerful declarations in Scripture:
“I and my Father are one.” — John 10:30 KJV
Jesus was not presenting Himself as merely another religious teacher.
He was revealing His unique relationship with the Father.
The Shepherd who knows His sheep, gives them eternal life, and holds them securely in His hand declares, “I and my Father are one.”
This is why hearing the voice of Jesus matters so much.
We are not simply deciding which religious opinion we prefer.
We are deciding whether we will listen to and follow the One who came from the Father.
Are You Listening to the Shepherd?
John 10:27 gives us a question that every professing Christian should take seriously:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Are you hearing His voice? His voice is the Holy Spirit of God and His written Word the Bible.
More importantly, are you following Him? Are you hearing and listening to anther voice?
It is possible to become so familiar with religion that we no longer recognize the difference between the voice of Christ and the voice of religious men who contradict or twist the word of God to fit their agendas and motive operandi,
We can become comfortable with traditions and patterns so that can’t hear His voice.
We can become loyal to personalities.
We can defend teachings simply because we have heard them all our lives.
But the sheep belong to the Shepherd and no other.
And when the Shepherd speaks, His sheep must be willing to listen and follow.
The answer is not to blindly follow every person who claims to speak for God.
The answer is to know the Word of God so well that when another voice speaks, we can recognize whether it agrees with the Shepherd.
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
The question is not simply, “Do I call myself a Christian?”
The deeper question is:
“Do I know the Shepherd’s voice—and am I willing to follow Him wherever His truth leads me?”
Because the true sheep do not merely hear the Shepherd.
They follow Him.
“13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” — Matthew 7:13-14
The straight gate is JESUS and no other.
