If you are a true child of God, as is everyone who has genuinely placed his or her trust in Jesus for salvation, you may sometimes find yourself worrying that you will fall away from Him—or perhaps that you have irrevocably fallen from Him. When we look at our own weaknesses and all of the things that are trying to pull us away from Jesus, it can be very easy for us to become anxious, and to think that we could not possibly hold on to Jesus for the rest of our lives. And do you know what? That would be true, were it not for this:
Jesus is holding on to you.
One of the most comforting passages in the Bible teaches us that, and it is found in John chapter 10. In it, Jesus said,
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (NIV, John 10:27-29)
What does this wonderful passage have to say about those who are truly disciples of Jesus?
1. They listen to His voice. Once I read of a man who witnessed two shepherds bringing their flocks of sheep to a water source. As they drank, the two flocks of sheep appeared to have become hopelessly mixed together. “How will they manage to separate the flocks again?” he wondered. Then one of the shepherds called for his sheep, and they all came to him, leaving the other flock behind. The true sheep of Jesus are like that. They recognize his voice, and listen to it. In other words, they love the Word of God and seek to understand and obey it. They listen to the promptings of the Spirit of God. They will not follow a false teacher or the leaders of a cult, because they recognize that is not the voice of their shepherd.
2. He knows them. Just like we know our close family members and friends in a special way and have a relationship with them, Jesus knows his sheep. Oh, to be sure, God knows every detail of everyone’s life. But he does not know everyone in the way that Jesus is speaking of here. He is speaking of a close relationship here.
3. They follow him. “But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice," Jesus said of his sheep in John 10:5. In this regard, the true followers of Jesus are to be distinguished from other sheep. Christ’s sheep obey him, even when it means not following the crowd. The world has another shepherd. But the sheep of Jesus follow Him instead.
You might be thinking, “But I don’t do these things perfectly. I often fall short. Does this mean that I am not one of His sheep?” Jesus did not say that His sheep always do these things. Why do you think that a shepherd carries a rod and a staff? Sometimes He has to prod His sheep when they start to go astray, and sometimes He needs to discipline them, too. That is one reason why King David wrote in psalm 23, “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”
But these are characteristics of His sheep. If listening to, following, and communing with Jesus does not characterize you, that is probably a sign that you have not truly trusted in Him, or perhaps that you are saved, but have back-slidden from Him. If so, you can remedy that by placing your trust in Him to save you, or by turning back to Him in heart-felt repentance. If you are willing to allow Him to do so, He can and will transform you into someone who has these characteristics.
Don’t think that God will be reluctant to do this because of your past sins. That is a lie that comes from our own self-condemning hearts, and from our accuser, Satan and his demons. Why do I say this? Because Jesus compared himself to a shepherd who left ninety-nine of His sheep to look for one who was lost, and rejoiced when He finally found it!
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. ” (NIV, Matthew 18, 12–13)
He also compared Himself to the Prodigal Son’s Father, who ran to welcome his son back when he came to his senses and repented:
“So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (NIV, Luke 15:20)
Like that shepherd and like that father, Jesus can’t wait for you to turn from sin to Him! He will receive you with open arms.
The sheep of Jesus follow Him because He loves them and cares for them. And just how much does He love them?
4. He gives them eternal life. Jesus did not say that He will (future tense) give them eternal life if they measure up. They do not have to consistently meet God’s standards in their daily lives until they die in order to receive eternal life. Instead, He said that He gives them eternal life now, in the present tense. Jesus said something very similar in John 5:24:
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”
His sheep, those who listen to Him and believe in (trust) the Lord, already have eternal life. They have already (past tense) crossed over from death into life.
5. They will never perish. They will not be condemned to hell, for their sins have been graciously forgiven.
6. No one will snatch them of His hand. His sheep are safe. No lion, wolf, bear, or crafty person can steal them away from Jesus.
7. His sheep were given to Him by His Father. Each of His sheep is a precious, unique gift chosen by God the Father and given to Jesus. He loves, treasures, and cares for each of them.
8. His Father is greater than all, and no one can separate Christ’s sheep from the Father’s hand. Lest we might worry that something or someone might be able to pull us from God, Jesus reminds us that there is no one greater than His Father. The apostle Paul expresses the same sentiment in Romans 8:31-39:
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written:
‘For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Just think of that! “Nothing in all creation” can separate the sheep of Jesus from Him! Does that include even our own weaknesses and mistakes? Yes, it does, for when God’s children sin, He disciplines them as needed:
“And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: ‘My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.’ Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?”
If, through faith in Jesus, you have become a true child of God, then there is no need for you to be anxious, for you have a loving shepherd watching over you, protecting you, and even disciplining you when you need it. So please don’t lose heart if you are enduring the consequences of past sins. That’s actually a sign that God loves you, not that He has deserted you or that you are not one of His children. Jesus won’t let a true child of God live in unrepentant sin without the person eventually reaping the consequences. He cares about you too much to allow otherwise.
No matter what may come against you, whether it be trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger or sword, nothing and no one can snatch you away from our Lord. You are His, and he is yours, and He is not going to let go of you. So set your mind at ease, rest and find comfort in the arms of your wonderful shepherd. He is not going to let anything or anyone snatch you out of His hands. He paid too great a price for you to let you go from those nail-scarred hands. He will keep you safe.