Read: John 10:14-30
My sheep hear my voice . . . and they follow me. (v. 27)
Who are the “other sheep” to whom Jesus refers (v. 16)? They are all those people, in every time and place, from every tribe and language and race, who belong to him and who will be brought eventually to salvation through him.
Notice the present tense: “I have other sheep.” Jesus doesn’t say, “I will have other sheep someday, once my missionary forces go out and win converts.” His sheep already belong to him. He knows who they are, every last one of them. When we proclaim the gospel to the world, it’s not in the uncertain hope that someone, somewhere, will believe it. It’s in the sure confidence that Jesus’s sheep are everywhere, and when they hear his voice they will follow him.
For a number of years Words of Hope partnered in broadcasting the gospel to Southeast Asia in the Hmong language. I was visiting the producer of those programs in his office. “Let me show you something,” he said, handing me a stack of pages with hundreds of names written on them. “These came in the mail, with a simple request: ‘Pastor, we heard you speaking on the radio about the Lamb’s Book of Life, and we would like you please to record our names in it.’ ” Of course, the pastor assured his listeners that they need not worry. Their faith in Jesus was evidence that their names had already been recorded in the Book long ago, by the Lamb himself.
As you pray, thank God for the assurance that your name is written there.
About the Author
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and eight grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.
