The sheep - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger.
John 10:4–5

The sheep
Once, a tourist in the Middle East stopped at a well where shepherds were watering their sheep. “Three herds,” he recounted, “were mingling there, belonging to three shepherds. The animals wanted to go to the stone water troughs. When I saw the sheep running around in confusion, I wondered how each shepherd would recognise his animals. But when the animals finished drinking, one of the shepherds took his staff and called out, ‘Mehn-ah!’ (Follow me!)

Immediately, his sheep separated from the others and gathered behind him. Then the second shepherd called out ‘Mehn-ah!’, and soon he too was surrounded by his sheep.

Then I asked the third shepherd if his sheep would follow me. His response was simple: ‘Try it!’ I called, ‘Mehn-ah! Mehn-ah!’ The sheep raised their heads, looked at me in surprise, but not one of them moved.

‘Do they never follow anyone else but you?’ I asked him. – ‘Never! Except if a sheep is sick; otherwise, it never follows anyone else.’”

In John 10, the Lord Jesus uses the imagery of a shepherd and his flock to show us that He, the Son of God, is the good shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. Who are the sheep? They are people who belong to Him through faith. Of them, Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27–28). What security and shelter it is to know the good shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, to stand under His protection, and to follow Him!

Today’s reading: Exodus 6:9-30 · Luke 2:21-35