1, 2. (a) How does Mary react when Jesus calls her by name, and what earlier statement of Jesus is illustrated by this event? (b) What enables us to stay close to Jesus?

THE resurrected Jesus observes the woman standing near his empty tomb. He knows her well. It is Mary Magdalene. Nearly two years earlier, he had cured her of demon possession. Since then she has accompanied him and his apostles, caring for their daily needs. (Luke 8:1-3) Today, though, Mary is weeping, overcome by grief because she saw Jesus die, and now even his body has disappeared! So Jesus asks her: “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Thinking he is the gardener, she answers: “Sir, if you have carried him off, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Then Jesus says: “Mary!” Immediately, she recognizes the familiar way he speaks to her. “Teacher!” she joyfully exclaims. And she embraces him.​—John 20:11-18.

² This account illustrates in a touching way what Jesus stated some time earlier. Comparing himself to a shepherd and his followers to sheep, he says that the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and they know his voice. (John 10:3, 4, 14, 27, 28) Indeed, as a sheep recognizes its shepherd, so Mary recognized her Shepherd, Christ. This also holds true for Jesus’ followers today. (John 10:16) Just as a sheep’s discerning ear enables it to stay close to its shepherd, so our spiritual discernment enables us to walk closely in the footsteps of our Fine Shepherd, Jesus Christ.​—John 13:15; 1 John 2:6; 5:20.

16. (a) How does the behavior of literal sheep illustrate the truthfulness of Jesus’ words found at John 10:4? (b) What does the Bible encourage us to do?

¹⁶ How, though, do we know for sure whether we are dealing with a friend or a foe? Well, Jesus says that the sheep follow the shepherd “because they know his voice.” (John 10:4) It is not the literal shepherd’s appearance that moves the sheep to follow him; it is his voice. A book on Bible lands relates that a visitor once claimed that sheep recognize their shepherd by his dress, not his voice. A shepherd answered that it was the voice they knew. To prove this, he exchanged clothing with the stranger. Dressed in the shepherd’s garb, the stranger called the sheep, but they did not respond. They did not know his voice. Yet, when the shepherd called them, though he was disguised, the sheep came at once. Thus, someone may look like a shepherd, but for sheep, that does not prove that he really is one. The sheep, in effect, test the caller’s voice, comparing it with the shepherd’s voice. God’s Word tells us to do the same​—“test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God.” (1 John 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:13) What will help us to do so?