This illustration of Jesus as shepherd and also as a gate for the sheepfold is about the only time John emphasizes a parable from Jesus' teaching; he mostly focuses on how Jesus identifies himself as the Messiah and on his work for God.
Like the parables related in the other three gospels, this one turns on an idea that would have been pretty familiar to most of people listening. We tend to think of shepherds as having large flocks of dozens or even hundreds of animals, but most shepherds at the time would not have had so many. They would take their small flock out during the day to graze and drink, then bring it inside an enclosure for the night to protect it from predators and keep strays from wandering off. Often several would join to build the enclosure and use their greater numbers to offer greater protection. In the morning, each shepherd would call his own sheep to lead them out for the day's business and although they were not trained to respond to commands the way a dog is they usually did recognize the voice of their own particular shepherd. The ones who got confused could be sorted out by the shepherds.
Jesus' suggestion is that his own followers will continue to follow him because they know his voice like the sheep know the voice of their own particular shepherd.
A lot of interesting ideas grow from this image. One is that the sheep are not born knowing the voice of their shepherd. As lambs, they follow the adult sheep and only learn it as they get older. If we translate the image into our own modern context as a representation of the church, then we see the importance of teaching younger members about the voice of our shepherd, Jesus. The idea that we won't influence them and we'll let them decide for themselves when they're old enough doesn't make much sense if Jesus' image of the shepherd and his sheep relates to the modern church in any way.
This idea doesn't just apply to young church people -- we all have to learn the voice of the shepherd in order to know how to follow him. Remember, the image Jesus uses in John is of sheep called forth from the fold to follow the shepherd, who walks in front of him. But unlike sheep, we have the opportunity to not follow him. We can identify ourselves with some other shepherd-figure we'd like to follow. We might choose to follow a path of satisfying desires and enjoying ourselves. We might choose to follow one of wealth or political power, or something else entirely.
There are plenty of other shepherds who'd call us to be in their flocks. And unlike a sheep that won't answer a stranger's voice, we can and often do so. But experience will teach us that these other paths, no matter what they may promise, don't lead to the fulfilling life we really want. The promises of meaning, purpose, direction and satisfaction are false in the mouths of every shepherd but the good one -- our Savior.
Perhaps we begin following him by tagging along behind other sheep that are already with him. And since we're not talking about sheep but people, we can see this path opened for us by invitation. No sheep ever says to another, "Well, this guy's really good to us. Give it a try." But because our following Jesus is an act of will rather than mindless instinct, we're better led by invitation. I've mentioned to you before that a lot of studies show what draws people into a church and while studies can have a lot of variables in them they agree enough on this that I believe it. It's not music, programming, excitement or superstars behind the pulpit: It's an invitation from someone they know.
Then, once we tag along, we start to learn the voice of the shepherd. It's different from the other voices that call to us. It doesn't promise easy street or the best of everything or the satisfaction of every wish. But the more we hear it and the more we listen to it we begin to believe that what it does promise -- that this shepherd will always be with us and will never abandon us -- is a true promise. It has a weight the other promises claimed to have but couldn't match. This shepherd calls us and the more we tune our ears to what he says more meaningless the noise from the others becomes.
Listen for our shepherd. In the voices of others, in the quiet times of early morning or late night, in the word he gives us, in the testimonies of those who followed him before, in the acts he gave us to remember him and his work, in more ways than we can count he will speak to us. And the more we listen, the more we will hear him, the only one who calls us by name
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