Continuing in John 10, I have always heard you do not eat any animal you have named. My wife had 125 rabbits at one time, and each one had a name. One day dad decided his feed bill was too high and they needed to eat "boppy" and his 124 other brothers and sisters. Jesus knows our names. Some sheep were given new names while on earth. Remember Simon was named Peter by Jesus. Does Jesus give us nick-names? Jesus says he calls His sheep by name, they hear His voice, and go out of the pen to find pasture. Names are personal. The word "name" signifies identity and authority. A name, though shared with others most of the time, often distinguish us from others within a particular group. Names provide some distinction. In Rev.2:17 there is mention there about a new name to be given to His people. Rev.3:5 speaks of our names being blotted out of the Book of Life, and our names being acknowledged before the Father. I prefer an introduction to an erasure. Rev.3:12 speaks of His writing on us the name of God. Rev.13:8 speaks of those who names have not even been written in the Book of Life. Rev.14:1 speaks of 144,000 who have Jesus and the Father's names written on their foreheads. Minimally the sheep Jesus calls by name are those who have put their faith in Him. The named sheep know Him.
Voice recognition technology is amazing. We speak to a device, it recognizes our voice, and responds. Babies learn to recognize the voices of those they hear most often, and associate those voices with a certain emotion. Some hear voices in their heads and when they believe these are real we put labels on them and lock up the guns. But, actually we all hear voices in our heads, even if it is our own. I often tell people to let Jesus be the loudest voice in their heads. But, how can this happen unless they spend time with Him and know Him and know what He would think? Having the mind of Christ is essential to having the voice of Christ in our heads. For the sheep it was a matter of who to follow. We tell our children not to follow a stranger. Little Red Riding Hood knew something was up when grandma's voice was too deep (along with the big nose and teeth). Men have tried to imagine what Jesus would sound like if He were here today speaking through human vocal cords. Movie directors have given instructions to on-screen Jesus' to help them be convincing. I heard one Jesus with a British accent. In the Passion Jesus spoke Aramaic. At least we heard the right language.
I love what Jesus says in 10:5 (NASB), "And a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." Two actions are contemplated here for sheep who hear strange voices. The first is to stop and not follow. The second is to run. Appropriate fear which helps us to know when to run is natural in some cases, but has to be taught in others. For years I directed our Kids' Safety Rally. One purpose was to train children to know when to flee, and how to do so. In 1 Timothy 6 and 2 Timothy 2 Paul tells us what to pursue and what to flee. Paul says to flee the pitfalls associated with the love of money and youthful lusts. He instructs us to pursue seven virtues: righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, gentleness, and peace. This is the voice of Jesus. These words describe what Jesus sounds like. These are the types of things that the Jewish leaders neglected (Matt.23). So a good place to begin in getting to know the voice of Jesus would be with these seven words.
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