“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:27–28
Let’s consider this amazing verse phrase by phrase.
“My sheep hear my voice.”
Near the end of John’s gospel, Jesus shows how this works. We see Mary Magdalene standing outside the tomb, weeping on the morning of his resurrection. Jesus was dead, and now even his body was missing. Her life was already shattered. This only added to the pain. Then she turned around and saw someone she thought was the gardener. She said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” She’s just dying to find Jesus.
Then this amazing thing happens. The man she thought was the gardener was Jesus, but she couldn’t see him yet. Not until Jesus said her name. “Mary.”
That first Easter morning, Mary heard her Shepherd’s voice. Not even the angels could make her feel better, but when Jesus spoke, she instantly knew it was him. Her tears went from sadness to joy. With one word, he changed everything for her.
If you are in Christ, you know something of this voice, don’t you? He speaks to the deep places of our hearts. He uses our name in a way no one else can.
“And I know them.”
When he speaks, you hear because he’s speaking personally. You are not a nameless person among the crowd. Jesus knows you intimately. He knows exactly what you need. He knows the difficulties. He knows the joys. He knows the uncertainty you feel. He knows the depression and the anxiety. He knows the hopes and dreams. He knows the sins and failures.
Remember when Nathaniel met Jesus in John 1? When Jesus saw him, he said, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” That did it for Nathaniel. Whatever it was, it was the thing that made Nathaniel know that Jesus knew him.
Jesus knows you like that, too. He really, truly, deeply knows you.
“And they follow me.”
What else are you going to do if someone speaks to your heart so deeply? Who else knows you like him? Why would you not follow him? It’s the natural outflow of his grace.
“I give them eternal life.”
If you are in Christ, you have this promise in black and white: “I give them eternal life.” The life your heart most longs for, the life that is so deep and rich and meaningful, is yours forever in Christ.
“And they will never perish.”
Our greatest enemy is death. But in Christ, that enemy is defeated. His resurrection proved it. You will never perish because Jesus will never perish. You are as secure as he is.
“And no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
No wolf can sneak in and capture. No thief can come through the back door and steal. Satan cannot snatch you away. You can’t even ruin yourself. In Jesus’s mighty hand, you are safe and secure.
Jesus is the shepherd we’re all looking for—the one who will care for us powerfully, relentlessly, and everlastingly.