“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me” (John 10:27-28).
This is an occasion when Jesus confronted the religious leaders who refused to believe Him. They had challenged Him to tell them whether or not He was the Messiah. He responded by reminding them that He had told them but they didn’t believe Him. Then He explained why they didn’t accept His word. “You do not believe because you are not my sheep.”
Jesus then explained what it means to one of His sheep. His sheep listen to His voice, He knows them and they follow Him. This entire passage of Scripture focuses on Jesus as a Good Shepherd. Being a Christian is more than following a set of rules. It is having a personal relationship with Jesus. We take seriously what He says and we follow Him. Our lives are totally influenced by what Jesus has done for us.
While many don’t take Jesus’ words seriously, we do. While many disregard the way He lived, we don’t. Just as sheep depend on a shepherd for guidance and safety we depend on Jesus. The enemy can’t snatch us out of His hand because our Shepherd protects us and secures us from assault by the destroyer who wants to harm us. This is much more than religious philosophy. This is a living relationship with a Savior.
