My sheep hear my voice,.... The voice of Christ in his Gospel, both externally and internally; John 10:4,
John 10:16; and since therefore these Jews did not, it was a plain case they were not of his sheep:
and I know them; John 10:14; but Christ knew not these as the elect of God, or as the Father's gift to him, and therefore they could not be his sheep:
and they follow me; both in the exercise of grace, and in the discharge of duty, and whithersoever he the good shepherd leads them; John 10:3,
John 10:4. But now, whereas these Jews did not follow Christ, but turned their backs on him, and rejected him, it was notorious that they were none of his sheep; but both happy and safe are those persons, that are the sheep of Christ, as appears from what is next said of them.