They had become accustomed to the pattern and sound of God’s voice, and so when Jesus called them to follow Him, they looked at what He did and what He said, and recognized Him as having come from God. No, they were believers in God who followed Him and His ways for their life. These sheep were not unbelievers before they came to Jesus. The sheep which belong to Jesus have already become accustomed to hearing the voice of God, and so when they hear the voice of Jesus, the recognize His voice as the voice of God, and so they come to Him to follow Him. My Sheep Hear My VoiceĪll of this also explains why Jesus talks about His sheep hearing His voice (John 10:3-4).

The ultimate goal, of course, is to bring both groups of sheep into one flock and under one Shepherd (John 10:16 Eph 2:13-18). This is exactly what occurs in the book of Acts (cf.

What is He talking about? Since He is talking to Jewish people about those who come to Him from the Father, the “other sheep” are Gentile God-fearers who will also be given to Him by God. That this is what Jesus means is seen from John 10:16 where Jesus says that He has “other sheep” which are not of this sheepfold. This imagery has great support from numerous Old Testament texts (cf. So when Jesus speaks of “sheep” in John 6, He is referring to the Jewish people who came to Him from the Father. As Jesus engages in His earthly ministry, He frequently explains that those who know God, follow God, listen to God, and hear from God, will naturally and automatically know, follow, listen, and hear Himself as well, since He is from God (John 8:19, 42, 47 14:7 15:23 16:3). We see this sort of thing happening all over in the Gospel of John.

Jesus has come from God as the promised Messiah, and to help Him accomplish His earthly task, God has given to Jesus all those who were faithful followers of God. The truth that was seen in John 6 is important here as well. The imagery of “sheep” is prevalent in John 10, and to understand what Jesus is saying in John 10:26, we must understand what He is saying about sheep, and Himself as the Shepherd. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice and there will be one flock and one shepherd (John 10:14-16).īut you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you (John 10:26).

As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father and I lay down My life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. John 10:14-16 are three verses in particular which help explain what Jesus is saying in John 10:26. Pink writes that the elect “are ‘sheep’ before they believe, yea, before they are born” (Pink, Sovereignty of God, 338).Īnd while John 10:26 does pretty clearly state that some people do not believe because they are not God’s sheep, the meaning of the passage depends entirely upon the broader context, and especially what Jesus means by “sheep.” John 10:26 in Context This text is also sometimes used to defend the idea that regeneration precedes faith, and that God selects who will be His sheep from eternity past.Ī. On this text, John Piper writes, “We believe because we are God’s chosen sheep, not vice versa” (Piper, 5 Points, 54). John 10:26 is often cited by Calvinists as a clear statement about Unconditional Election and how people do not become God’s “sheep” because they believe in Jesus instead, they believe in Jesus because they were already God’s sheep.

John 10 my sheep hear my voice