Series on John:
(0), (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11),
 (12), (13), (14),(15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (final)

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

In the ancient Near East, as well as in some places today, it is not unusual for multiple flocks of sheep to graze together in the same field or share a communal pen. Despite the mingling, when it comes time to separate them, each flock responds only to the voice of its own shepherd.