Voices

John 10

“The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers. 

I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10)

I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s not that simple. Maybe, I’m not listening hard enough. Or, perhaps, my spiritual ears are just too full of wax. But for whatever reason, I hope you find these words of Jesus more of a comfort than I do.

Why? Why does it seem so hard to hear His voice? I can answer only for myself, but for me, it’s because so many other voices work to drown Him out, the Good Shepherd, the voice of Jesus.

From the Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome

And some of those other voices speak with authority. They cannot be ignored. For example, my husband. He speaks and as his wife, I must listen.

Oh, and by the way, I am a woman, married to a man in my Judean village in what you call the second century.

And there’s the first problem, the first voice competing with the voice of the Good Shepherd. My husband.

You see, I am a Christ-follower, one you will call “Christian.” My husband, on the other hand, is not. He believes the stories about Jesus of Nazareth are false, and he spares no effort reminding me that my faith in Jesus is foolish.

What’s more, my husband is a lifelong friend with our local rabbi. This man, who commands the respect of our entire village, is a bit more tactful than my husband. And if you knew my husband, you’d agree: that’s not hard!

In any case, I respect our rabbi too. But even in his gentle words of criticism, I can tell that he does not approve of my faith. His voice, a voice of leadership among our neighbors, warns against the faith that I have chosen. I have no choice but to listen to him, even though I don’t agree.

And, my extended family, parents, brothers and sisters? I won’t even go there! You get the message; I am alone in my faith. Most of them think I’m crazy, and to one degree or other, I am shunned by my relatives.

It gets worse. Those who follow Jesus in what we call The Way, are also subject to roving preachers, ones who claim to have known Jesus and to have heard God’s voice. These so-called prophets roam from town to town, attracting the biggest crowd that they can muster, and claiming to be the voice of our new faith. And, they take money from those who would listen.

You may not believe this, but a few of them even claim that Jesus was not the Messiah! They insist that Jesus was merely a prophet, sent to announce the arrival of – guess who? – them! And so, they have laid claim to superiority, to Moses, Elijah and even to Jesus.

Jesus spoke of this, and warned us:

“Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray.” (Matthew 24)

I’m finding it hard to avoid arguments. Those few of us who follow Jesus sometimes feel under attack, first from those who reject Him as the Messiah, and second, from those who would replace him as the anointed one from our YHWH God.

I ask myself: Do I in fact, hear His voice, the voice of the Good Shepherd? Do I? Am I willing to follow that voice and avoid all of the attacks and distractions that I face each and every day?

I know not to, as Jesus said, “follow a stranger.” The roving preachers are not convincing to me. Their voices are false, and they just want money. Sad to say, some of my neighbors, though, have been caught in their web.

But again: do I in fact, hear His voice, the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd?

I have to say that I do. Yes, I do. But it’s not like the voice of my husband (thank goodness!) or of any other living person. No, hearing the voice of Jesus is different. Let me try to explain.

First, you should know that I’m not completely alone in my new faith. There are others, just a few in my village, who, like me, believe Jesus of Nazareth, who died and was raised, is the Son of God.

We share our faith with one another. Stories about Jesus, passed down from eyewitnesses to His life and teaching, come to us. And we savor them. Each one of us is free to express how His stories and teachings personally speak to us. I believe, when that happens, we are hearing His voice.

And what’s more, we share our lives together. It’s not that we meet in secret, but I suppose you’d say that we meet in private. So, there is a shared confidence among us, giving us the freedom to express our faith without judgment. We share life’s struggles and also its joys. It’s like we’re brothers and sisters, and when we meet, we can sense His presence. In so many words, through one another, we hear His voice. As Jesus said:

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18)

I would never tell you that it’s easy, and my hope is that in your time, you will not face so many other voices. Yes, my hope is that you may hear His voice without the distractions that I live with. I hope there are no other voices who claim authority over your faith, and I also hope you are spared the pretenders who offer a false gospel.

This is hard to explain, but the words of Jesus, as they have been passed on to me, speak, not only to my mind, but also to an inner place, one that you may call my heart. It’s as if His words and really, His life, shine a sort of light inside me. Yes, a light unlike the physical light from a candle or lamp, but one that creates a glow, a glow that cannot be put out, even in the midst of so many competing voices.

How can a voice seem like a light? I don’t know. All that I can say is that I feel it, and what’s more, it seems to carry a quality of truth that rises above all other claims for truth. Yes, the words and the very life of Jesus speak a truth that cannot be equaled by any other.

Does this make any sense to you? I fear not. But it’s the best that I can do. The words of Jesus reach a place inside of me that no one else’s words can. And so, as He said, I know His voice and I can follow His voice. The voice of the Good Shepherd.

And what about the other voices in my life? Well, I can’t ignore them, though I wish I could. They are real and I must contend with them every day, especially, unfortunately, the voice of my husband!

A letter from the Apostle Peter has been read in our small Christian group. Part of that letter speaks to me and how I must listen to my husband. Here is what Peter wrote:

“Wives, in the same way, be subject to your husbands, so that, even if some of them do not obey the word, they may be won over without a word by their wives’ conduct, when they see the purity and respect of your conduct.” (1 Peter 3)

I’m going to give this a try. Please pray for me! I’m going to need all the help I can get!