The Intimate Shepherd Who Knows Us

John Piper of Desiringgod.com says, “Jesus knows those who are His. What is this knowledge? John 10:3 is a close parallel to John 10:27. It says, “The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out.” So, when Jesus says, “I know them,” this means at least that He knows them by name; that is, He knows them individually and intimately. They are not anonymous, lost in the flock.

John 10:14-15 provide another insight: “I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father.” There is a real similarity (direct connection and union) between the way Jesus knows His Heavenly Father and the way He knows His sheep. Jesus sees Himself in the Father and He sees Himself in His disciples.

The apostle Paul puts it like this: “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His’ (2 Timothy 2:19). It is hard to overemphasize what a tremendous privilege it is to be known personally, intimately, lovingly by the Son of God. It is a precious gift to all His sheep, and it contains within it profound, personal fellowship and affection, and the promise of eternal life.”

King David said it this way in Psalm 139:2 -8

O LORD, You have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

You understand my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down;

You are aware of all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

You know all about it, O LORD.

You hem me in behind and before;

You have laid Your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.

No matter where we hide or where we go, He knows just where we are every moment of the day, why? He lives within us!

Surely, Goodness and Mercy pursue us every day of our lives to bring us to Him! There is no way over Him or around Him! We are His sheep… the sheep of His pasture!

He calls to us today to turn to Him, the one who loves us forever!