JESUS CAME TO GIVE LIFE IN ABUNDANCE

JESUS WAS HERE TO GIVE LIFE ABUNDANT
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 10:10, "I am come that they might have life, and that
they might have it more abundantly."
Darby Bible Translation
The thief comes not but that he may steal, and kill, and
destroy: I am come that they might have life, and might have
[it] abundantly.
World English Bible
The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that
they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
Young's Literal Translation
The thief doth not come, except that he may steal, and kill,
and destroy; I came that they may have life, and may have it
abundantly.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES

Life And Abundance
John 10:10
J.R. Thomson
Sad indeed is the perversion of Divine gifts, which takes place whenthose who
teachand lead mankind use their influence for moral harm. Yet so it was, our
Lord Jesus tells us, with many who came before him with greatprofessions
indeed, yet with no help for the spiritually necessitous. Some suchhad
altogethercarnalnotions of what deliverance, salvation, means. Others were
animated by selfishness andambition. The purpose of many who made great
claims was in reality far from benevolent. Jesus does not hesitate to designate
them as thieves, entering God's flock with the intention of stealing, killing, and
destroying. This was a heavy charge;and our Lord would not have brought it
had there not been goodreasonand justification for so doing. The aim and the
conduct of such pernicious leaders was contrastedby Jesus with his own. He,
too, came claiming to shepherd the flock of God. But his one purpose was this,
that through his ministry of devotion and sacrifice the sheep of the fold might
have life and abundance.
I. THE BLESSINGS WHICHTHE GOOD SHEPHERD CAME TO BRING
TO THE FLOCK.
1. Life. Jesus was "the Life;" "in him was life." What he possessedin himself
he came to communicate to his own.
(1) This was spiritual life. Notpsyche, but zoe. Of this man only, amongstthe
living inhabitants of this teeming world, is capable.
(2) This life is salvationfrom death. Our Lord himself contrasts it with
destruction. To this terrible fate, to spiritual death, this human race was

hastening. But Christ, as a greatPhysician, undertook the case ofthose who
were ready to perish. He came to save.
(3) This life is a new and Divine principle. Its origin is in the nature of God; its
seed-germis implanted by the Divine Spirit; its spring-tide and growth are the
result of heavenly influences.
(4) This life is distinguished by progress, and is not, like terrestrialand bodily
life, subject to decayand dissolution.
(5) This life is itself immortality. "He that liveth," says Christ, "and believeth
on me shall never die."
2. Abundance. If we translate the word as in the margin of the Revised
Version, we understand not the enrichment add perfection of life
(abundantly), but the provision made for the life preserved, quickened,
perpetuated. The goodShepherd, having saved the flock from destruction,
and conferredupon eachmember of the flock a new and spiritual life, secures
for those whom he has savedand divinely quickened a suitable and sufficient
provision for all their wants. The fold, the pasture, the living waters, the
Shepherd's guardianship and care, may be all included in this word. The
wants of those who receive are many and various, but the bounty and
benevolence ofthe greatGiver are adequate for their full satisfaction.
II. THE AGENCY AND METHOD BY WHICH THESE BLESSINGS ARE
BESTOWED.

1. Christ, the living Person, himself confers them. There are many who look
rather to the under-shepherds than to the chief Shepherd. But all who serve
the flock are merely the ministers and messengers ofthe eternal Lord. Not
only did he, by his own personal ministry and sacrifice, save the flock from
destruction; he, by his perpetual presence andspiritual care, supplies in
abundance the ever-recurring wants of his sheep.
2. Christ securedthese blessings by his coming to this world. The method by
which he soughtand savedmankind was mediatorial; it involved his
incarnation and advent. This was his conscious aim. "I am come," saidhe,
implying that his was a mission, yet one voluntarily undertaken and cheerfully
fulfilled.
3. Even this Divine Person, in executing a purpose so gracious, found it
necessaryto submit to suffering, to offer himself a sacrifice, to consentto
death. He gave up his life (not zoe, but psyche) that we might live spiritually
and immortally.
4. And the redemption was completed by our Lord's resurrectionand
victorious reign. It is observable that in this conversationour Lord Jesus no
soonerforetells his death than he declares his intention of rising again. And in
fact he resumed life, not only in vindication and assertionofhis proper
dignity, but in order to exercise from the vantage-ground of his risen life and
reign the powerhe delights in, because it contributes to the abundance of his
people's privileges and joys. - T.

Biblical Illustrator
He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold.
John 10:1-13
Shepherdhood
Bp. S. S. Harris.
The simple lessonwhich our Lord intended to teach in this familiar passage
has often been strangelymistaken. The minds of men have been so fixed upon
certain ecclesiasticalconclusionswhichhave been commonly derived from it,
that the simpler but far profounder teaching which the Masterhad in mind to
give has been overlooked. He was not defending the formal authority of His
own or of any office. He was not discussing the regularity or lawfulness of His
own or of any ministry. He was not pointing out the mode of entrance into
shepherdhood, but He was telling how the function for all true shepherdhood
must be discharged. He was laying down the rule of goodconduct and right
service in all true leadership — a rule which He Himself exemplified and
fulfilled, and which all must obey who hope in any degree to be worthy leaders
of men. He was propounding a lessonwhichit behoves all men to ponder well
who hope to influence their fellow men for goodrank, office, order, culture,
property — be the authority, the privilege, the right of these what they may,
the eternallaw of God, as exemplified in the life of His Son, and taught in His
Holy Word, and illustrated in human history, is this: that none of these, no

matter how commissionedor sent, can exercise anyreal shepherdhood over
men exceptas they are in sympathy with them. This is true in Church and
State;of the employers of labour; of the heads of households;of civil rulers
and political leaders;of bishops, priests, and deacons — the power to lead
men lies in sympathizing with them, and walking in the same way with them.
The man of influence is the man of sympathy; the man of poweris the man of
service. He that loves is he that leads. He that serves is he that rules. Think for
a moment, and you will see why it must be so. Man is free, The soul is free in
the truest, deepestsense ofthe word. God royally made it so, and even He
cannot controlit by any merely external force or power. It is free to think, to
will, and choose, to love, and no mere force or authority from without can
control it in these operations in which its sovereignselfhoodis realized. You
may chain the limbs of a man — you may coerce his actions or even his
words; but how can you getinto communion with the soul, and rule its will
and affections? There is only one way. If you would influence men intimately,
profoundly, really, no matter what your authority or station, you must enter
into sympathy with them. You must walk in the same path and enter in by the
same door, or you can never be the shepherd of the sheep. This is what St.
Paul meant when he sang the praise of love (1 Corinthians 13). Among men
love is power. And a greaterthan St. Paul taught the same lessonand
confirmed it by His own Divine experience. The Good Shepherd proved and
illustrated His own goodshepherdhood by sympathy and love. It was by no
flash of splendour or miracle of external power that He proved His Divine
leadership over the hearts of men; but by coming to walk with them, to toil
and hunger, and suffer with them. He enteredinto mortal life by the same
lowly door of human birth; He passedthrough it by the same path of toil and
daily care;He made His exit from it through the same portal of suffering and
death. In life and death He walkedwith the sheep. Therefore He could say, "I
am the GoodShepherd, not merely because I am commissionedand sent of
My Father, not merely because I wield the powerof omnipotence," but "I am
the GoodShepherd," He said, because "I know My sheep and am known of
Mine."
(Bp. S. S. Harris.)

Jesus the GoodShepherd
C. S. Pomeroy, D. D.
Note —
I. THE INDIVIDUAL CARE AND GUIDANCE OF OUR LORD for every
soul that trusts Him. In modern stock raising in Westernlands there is
nothing of that personalknowledge and attachment which bound togetheran
Oriental shepherd and his flock.
1. It is an infirmity of Christian people to suppose that they are lost in the
crowd, that God deals with them in the gross as a generalmight deal with his
army, with rare notice of individuals leastof all of privates. Yet in nothing do
we wrong Him more. "The hairs of our head are all numbered."
2. Christ showednothing clearerthan His attention to every personalwant
within His reach. We have reasonas Paul had to appropriate His atoning
work as though it were our monopoly (Galatians 2:20; Hebrews 2:9). Indeed
He promises a friendship so intimate that it becomes a systemof cipher
messages betweenthem and their Lord (Revelation2:17).
3. We talk about how to convert"the masses,"whenwe had better think of
single souls.
II. THE SINGULAR COMMUNITYOF SYMPATHY BETWEEN CHRIST
AND CHRISTIANS (ver. 4, 14, R.V.). It is compared for closenessanddepth
to that which subsists betweenthe Father and the Son.
1. In Christ's case we might charge His knowledge onHis omniscience, but we
cannot so accountfor ours. Take Christ upon His more human side and you

have the explanation. Who has not felt the mystic thrill of sympathy and
repulsion when we discoverthe congenialoruncongenial to ourselves in
another character. So Christ felt the unlikeness to Himself of hatred,
falseness;but He was drawn with unerring affinity towards the faintest
uprisings of human penitence and trust.
2. "My sheepknow Me";not merely something about me. Not by the mere
investigationof the shepherd's clothing or crook, to see if both are genuine, as
men puzzle themselves over churches, creeds, ordinances. Butas one friend
recognizes anotherby a glance if he can be seen;by his voice if out of sight.
The testof truth is the characterwithin us. We know God by resembling Him.
These Jews couldnot be satisfiedwith our Lord's credentials, but certain
Samaritans felt the Divine life (chap. John 4:42).
III. GOD'S EXCLUSIVE WAY OF MERCY. Thebes had a hundred gates,
but salvationonly one (ver. 9). An engine off the track is not more a failure
than a man off the track of God's conditions. All entrance to spiritual hope
and safetyis through Christ. He will endure no rival. Mingle anything with
Him as our hope and the mixture fails.
IV. THE ADVANTAGES TO WHICH CHRIST OPENS THE DOOR (ver. 9).
1. Safety. It reminds us of some fugitive running for his life to the city of
refuge.
2. Liberty. A Christian is no jailbird, so closelyguarded that he finds himself a
prisoner. No slave on a plantation, but a child in the family. He knows the
truth, and that makes him free to go where and do what he pleases if he only
pleases right.

3. Plenty.
V. THE GRAND PURPOSE OF CHRIST'S ADVENT (ver. 10). Nothing is so
precious as life. It was forfeited by sin; but Christ restoredit at the expense of
His own (ver. 11). And it is to be had now. The young are eagerto "see"and
"enjoy life." And they are right if they will not look for it in the wrong way. In
Christ is the way to gain it, not in the low average ofworldly attainment, but
"more abundantly" in all that makes life worth living.
VI. THE METHOD OF CHRIST'S RULE. "Leadeth" — "goethbefore." An
Easternshepherd does not drive his flock;and Christ goes before, never
behind, saying not "Go," but "Come."
(C. S. Pomeroy, D. D.)
The Shepherd and the flock
C. S. Robinson, D. D.
I. THE APPROPRIATENESSOF THE SIMILE.
1. To Israelites. Fromthe beginning they had been shepherds; hence all along
God had been calling Himself their Shepherd.
2. To Christians. The gathered force of all that psalmists sang and prophets
spoke has come down to the "little flock."
II. THE ANALOGIES SUGGESTED BYTHE SIMILE.

1. The shepherd is the rightful owner of the fold, and treats his fleck in an
honest way. He enters by the door, is recognizedas the master, and has no
semblance of the thief, etc.
2. The shepherd is the true pastor of the sheep. He admits responsibility for
the care he has assumed. A hireling would flee, a robber stealand kill, but the
goodshepherd has thoughtful and affectionate care forthe whole flock.
3. Betweenthe pastor and the flock there is the relation of individual
acquaintance.
III. THE APPLICATION OF THE SIMILE.
1. Christ as a Saviour sustains an individual relationship to every soul He
saves, Eachneeds the atonement and the work of the Spirit preciselyas each
needs the entire sunshine and atmosphere in order to see and breathe.
2. Christ as a leader is acquainted with every Christian personally. He knows
if he is absentfrom the communion table, and looks at him when he imagines
himself out of sight as to love or duty.
3. Christ as a model expects eachbeliever to be wholly conformedto His
likeness. It is not to be supposedthat one Christian is to exhibit gentleness and
another force, etc.

4. Christ as a master is speciallydirect in laying His commands on every
individual He chooses. He knows the one He wants and calls him by name —
Samuel, Zacchaeus, Mary, Simon, Saul.
5. Christ as a comforter deals with eachbeliever as His personalfriend (Isaiah
43:1-2).
6. Christ as a judge will close His last accountwith eachindividually and
alone (Matthew 25).
(C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
The fold of the sheep
S. S. Times.
A place of —
I. SEPARATION.
II. SUPERVISION.
III. SAFETY.
(S. S. Times.)
The fold and the door

S. S. Times., S. S. Times.
Not to enter by the door is a characteristic ofOriental thieves, from the Nile to
the Ganges.Whena tent is to be attacked, the common method is to approach
it under cover of the darkness, cut a hole large enough to crawlthrough, and
then silently to enter and as silently to retire with the booty. Bolderrobbers
will occasionallydig through the walls of a house in the same way. The
experience of a British officerin India affords a curious illustration of the skill
of Oriental thieves. During the officer's absence in the evening, a man crept
quietly up to the tent without attracting the attention of the sentry on guard,
cut an opening in the rear of the tent, and beganto collecthis booty. While he
was engagedin this process, the officerreturned. The Hindoo instantly fixed
himself, silent as a statue, close to the tent wall, with arm drawn up and hand
slightly extended. The officercame in, and proceededin the half-darkness to
prepare for rest. Noticing the extended hand of the thief, and mistaking it for
a pin of some sort, he hung his helmet and his coatupon it. The thief stood
silently holding the helmet and the coatuntil the officerwas asleep, whenhe
retired as he came, taking the helmet and the coatwith the rest of his booty.
Next morning the hole in the tent and the missing "pin" told the whole story.
(S. S. Times.)
Climbeth up some other way. —
1. Even thieves and robbers seek a place within the fold.
2. The basestmotives may impel to a place in the fold.
3. Any waybut God's way suits base men.

4. Some climb up rather than walk in; they prefer works to faith.
(S. S. Times.)
Wrong ways to heaven
Let the Pagans, the Jews, the heretics say, "We lead a goodlife." If they enter
not by the door, what availeth it? A goodlife only profiteth if it lead to life
eternal. Indeed, those cannotbe said to lead a goodlife, who are either blindly
ignorant of, or wilfully despise the end of good living. No one canhope for
eternal life who knows not Christ, who is the Life, and by that door enters the
fold.
( Augustine.)
Entrance without qualification
H. O. Mackey.
George Moore tells the following striking incident: "After I had been about
two years in London, I had a greatand anxious desire to see the House of
Commons. I got a half-holiday for the purpose. I didn't think of getting an
order from an M.P. Indeed I hadn't the slightestdoubt of getting into the
House. I first tried to get into the Strangers'Gallery, but failed. I then hung
about the entrance to see whether I could find some opportunity. I saw three
or four members hurrying in, and I hurried in with them. The door keepers
did not notice me. I walkedinto the middle of the House. When I gotin I
almost fainted with fear lest I should be discovered. I first gotinto a seatwith
the name of 'Canning' upon it. I then proceededto a seatbehind, and sat there
all the evening. I heard Mr. Canning bring forward his motion to reduce the
duty on corn. He made a brilliant speechand was followedby many others. I
satout the whole debate. Had I been discoveredI might have been taken up
for breachof privilege."

(H. O. Mackey.)
Climbing up some other way into heaven
D. L. Moody.
I heard of a man some time ago who was going to get into heavenin his own
way. He did not believe in the Bible or the love of God, but was going to get in
on accountof his gooddeeds. He was very liberal, gave a great dealof money,
and he thought the more he gave the better it would be for him in the other
world. I don't, as a generalthing, believe in dreams, but sometimes they teach
goodlessons. Well, this man dreamed one night that he was building a ladder
to heaven, and he dreamed that every gooddeed he did put him one round
higher on this ladder, and when he did an extra gooddeed it put him up a
goodmany rounds; and in his dream he kept going, going up, until at last he
got out of sight, and he went on and on doing his gooddeeds, and the ladder
went up higher and higher, until at last he thought he saw it run up to the
very throne of God. Then in his dream he thought he died, and that a mighty
voice came rolling down from above: "He that climbeth up some other way,
the same is a thief and a robber," and down came his ladder, and he woke
from his sleep, and thought: "If I go to heaven, I must go some other way."
My friends, it is by the way of the blood of Christ that we are to go to heaven.
If a man has gotto work his way there, who will ever get there?
(D. L. Moody.)
Sheepto be fed, not sheared
Archbp. Trench.
These words do not constitute a tautology or mere rhetorical amplification
(Obadiah 1:5). The one and the other appropriate what is not theirs, but the
thief by fraud and in secret(Matthew 24:43;John 12:6; cf. Exodus 22:2;
Jeremiah2:26), the robber by violence and openly (2 Corinthians 11:26; cf.
Hosea 9:1; Jeremiah 7:11). The one steals, the other plunders, as his name in

the Greek (as our own from raub, "booty), sufficiently declares. The latter
should be substituted for the former in Matthew 21:13; Matthew 26:55;Luke
10:30;Luke 23:39-43.
(Archbp. Trench.)
Sheepto be fed, not sheared: — Dr. Johnson declined a rectoryin youth with
"I cannot in conscienceshearthe sheepwhich I am unable to feed."
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(10) The thief comethnot, but for to steal.—Comp. Notes onJohn 10:1; John
10:8. The description of the thief is opposedto that of the shepherd, who
constantly goes in and out and finds pasture. His visits are but rare, and when
he comes it is but for his own selfishpurposes, and for the ruin of the flock.
Eachdetail of his cruel work is dwelt upon, to bring out in all the basenessof
its extent the corresponding spiritual truth.
I am come that they might have life.—More exactly, I came that they might
have life. The pronoun should be emphasised. I came, as opposedto the thief.
He does not further dwell upon the shepherd, but passes onto the thought of
Himself, and thereby prepares the way for the thought of Himself as the Good
Shepherd in the following verse. The object of His coming is the direct
opposite of that of the thief, who comes only to stealand to kill and to destroy.
He came once for all, that in Him the sheepmay have life. (Comp. John 6:50-
51.)The Sinaitic MS. inserts the word “eternal” here—“thatthey might have
life eternal.” The word is probably not part of the original text, and the
thought is rather of the present spiritual life which every believer now hath,
and which will issue in eternal life. But comp. Note on John 10:28.

And that they might have it more abundantly.—Better, and that they might
have it abundantly. The word “more” is an insertion of the English version
without any authority, and it weakens the sense. It is not that a greateris
compared with a less abundance, but that the abundance of life which results
through Christ’s coming is contrastedwith the spiritual wants and death
which He came to remove. This life is through Him given to men abundantly,
overflowingly. We are reminded of the Shepherd-King’s Psalm singing of the
“greenpastures,” and“waters of rest,” and “prepared table,” and
“overflowing cup”; and carrying all this into the region of the spiritual life we
come againto the opening words of this Gospel, “And of His fulness did we all
receive, and grace for grace” . . . “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”
(John 1:16-17).
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
10:10-18 Christ is a goodShepherd; many who were not thieves, yet were
carelessin their duty, and by their neglectthe flock was much hurt. Bad
principles are the root of bad practices. The Lord Jesus knows whom he has
chosen, and is sure of them; they also know whom they have trusted, and are
sure of Him. See here the grace ofChrist; since none could demand his life of
him, he laid it down of himself for our redemption. He offered himself to be
the Saviour; Lo, I come. And the necessityof our case calling for it, he offered
himself for the Sacrifice. He was both the offerer and the offering, so that his
laying down his life was his offering up himself. From hence it is plain, that he
died in the place and steadof men; to obtain their being set free from the
punishment of sin, to obtain the pardon of their sin; and that his death should
obtain that pardon. Our Lord laid not his life down for his doctrine, but for
his sheep.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible

The thief cometh not ... - The thief has no other designin coming but to
plunder. So false teachers have no other end in view but to enrich or
aggrandize themselves.
I am come that they might have life - See the notes at John 5:24.
Might have it more abundantly - Literally, that they may have abundance, or
that which abounds. The word denotes that which is not absolutelyessentialto
life, but which is superadded to make life happy. They shall not merely have
life - simple, bare existence - but they shall have all those superadded things
which are needful to make that life eminently blessedand happy. It would be
vast mercy to keep men merely from annihilation or hell; but Jesus will give
them eternal joy, peace, the societyofthe blessed, and all those exaltedmeans
of felicity which are prepared for them in the world of glory.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
10. I am come that they might have life, and … more abundantly—not merely
to preserve but impart LIFE, and communicate it in rich and unfailing
exuberance. What a claim! Yet it is only an echo of all His teaching;and He
who uttered these and like words must be either a blasphemer, all worthy of
the death He died, or "God with us"—there can be no middle course.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Look as it is with the true shepherd, that owneth the sheep, and whose the
flock is; he cometh regularly into the care and conduct of it; he comethinto
the sheepfold, to take care of the life and welfare of his sheep: but a thief and
a robber, that climbeth into the window, and so gets into the sheepfold, he
comes not there out of any goodwill to the sheep, but merely, by destroying
the sheepto provide for himself. So it is with them that, without any callor
derivation of authority from me, thrust themselves into the care and conduct
of the church of God; they do it with no gooddesignto the souls of people, not
out of any care or respectunto their good, but merely that they may serve

themselves in the ruin of my people’s souls. But that is not my end in coming
into the world: I am not come to destroy them, but to save them; I am come,
that they might have a spiritual life, and at last eternal life; that they might
live the life of grace here, and not fail of the life of glory hereafter;and not
only that they may barely live, but that their life may abound, through the
upholdings, strengthenings, quickenings, and comfortings of my holy and
gracious Spirit; that my beloved may not only drink, but drink abundantly;
not only live, but live abundantly furnished with all the affluences and
accommodations ofa spiritual life.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
The thief cometh not but for to steal,....Thatis his first and principal view; to
steal, is to invade, seize, and carry awayanother's property. Such teachers
that come not in by the right door, or with a divine commission, seek to
deceive, and carry away the sheepof Christ from him, though they are not
able to do it; and to stealawaytheir hearts from him, as Absalom stole the
hearts of the people from their rightful lord and sovereign, David his father;
and to subject them to themselves, that they might lord it overthem, and
make a property of them, as the Pharisees did, who, under a pretence of long
prayers, devoured widows'houses.
And to kill and to destroy; either the souls of men by their false doctrines,
which eat as doth a cancer, and poison the minds of men, and slay the souls
that should not die, subverting the faith of nominal professors, thoughthey
cannot destroyany of the true sheepof Christ; or the bodies of the saints, by
their oppression, tyranny, and persecution, who are killed all the day long for
the sake ofChrist, and are accountedas sheepfor the slaughter, by these men,
they thinking that by so doing they do God goodservice.
I am come that they might have life; that the sheepmight have life, or the elect
of God might have life, both spiritual and eternal; who, as the rest of
mankind, are by nature dead in trespasses andsins, and liable in themselves
to an eternaldeath: Christ came into this world in human nature, to give his
flesh, his body, his whole human nature, soul and body, for the life of these

persons, or that they might live spiritually here, and eternally hereafter;and
so the Arabic version renders it, "that they might have eternal life"; Nonnus
calls it, "a life to come";which is in Christ, and the gift of God through him;
and which he gives to all his sheep, and has a power to give to as many as the
Father has given him:
and that they might have it more abundantly; or, as the Syriac versionreads,
"something more abundant"; that is, than life; meaning not merely than the
life of wickedmen, whose blessings are curses to them; or than their own life,
only in the present state of things; or than long life promised under the law to
the observers ofit; but even than the life Adam had in innocence, whichwas
but a natural and moral, not a spiritual life, or that life which is hid with
Christ in God; and also than that which angels live in heaven, which is the life
of servants, and not of sons:or else the sense is, that Christ came that his
people might have eternal life, with more abundant evidence of it than was
under the former dispensation, and have strongerfaith in it, and a more lively
hope of it: or, as the words may be rendered, "and that they might have an
abundance":besides life, might have an abundance of grace from Christ, all
spiritual blessings in him now, and all fulness of joy, glory, and happiness
hereafter.
Geneva Study Bible
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come
that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
John 10:10. The opposite of such a one as entered διʼ ἐμοῦ, is the thief to
whom allusion was made in John 10:1; when he comes to the sheep, he has
only selfishand destructive ends in view. Comp. Dem. 782. 9 : ἃ φησι
φυλάττεινπρόβατα, αὐτὸς κατεσθίων.

ἐγὼ ἦλθον, etc.]Quite otherwise I! I have come (to the sheep), etc. By this new
antithesis, in which Christ contrasts Himself, and not againthe shepherd
appointed through Him, with the thief, the way is prepared for a transition to
another use of the figure which represents Him no longer as the door (from
John 10:11 onwards), but as the true Shepherd Himself (Matthew 26:31;
Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter2:23). Compare the promise in Exodus 34:23;Exodus
37:24, in contrastto the false shepherds in Ezekiel34:2 ff.
ἵνα ζωὴν ἔχωσι]. The opposite of θύσῃ κ. ἀπολ.;the sheepare not to be
slaughteredand perish, but are to have life; and as the nature of the reality set
forth requires, it is the Messianiclife in its temporal development and eternal
perfection that is meant.
καὶ περισσὸν ἔχ.] and have it abundantly (over-flowingly), i.e. in the figure:
rich fulness of nourishment (comp. Psalms 23); as to the thing, abundance of
spiritual possessions(grace andtruth, John 1:14; John 1:17), in which the ζωή
consists. IncorrectlyVulgate, Chrysostom, Euth. Zigabenus, Grotius, and
many others, compare also Ewald, who interpret the passageas though
περισσότερον were used, more than ζωή, wherewithis meant—the kingdom
of heaven; or, according to Ewald, “Joy, and besides, constantlyincreasing
blessing.” The repetition of ἔχωσιν gives the secondpoint a more independent
position than it would have had if καί alone had been used. Comp. John
10:18;Xen. Anab. i. 10. 3 : καὶ ταύτηνἔσωσαν καὶ ἄλλα
ἔσωσαν.
Expositor's Greek Testament
John 10:10. The tenth verse introduces a new contrast, betweenthe good
shepherd and the thieves and hirelings.—ὁ κλέπτης … ἀπολέσῃ. The thief has
but one reasonfor his coming to the fold: he comes to stealand kill and

destroy; to aggrandise himself at the expense of the sheep. θύσῃ has probably
the simple meaning of “kill,” as in Acts 10:13, Matthew 22:4; cf. Deuteronomy
22:1. With quite other intent has Christ come:ἐγὼ ἦλθον … ἔχωσιν, that
instead of being killed and perishing the sheep “may have life and may have
abundance”. This may mean abundance of life, but more probably abundance
of all that sustains life. περιττὸνἔχειν in Xen., Anab., vii. 6, 31, means “to have
a surplus”. “The repetition of ἔχωσιν gives the second point a more
independent position than it would have had if καί alone had been used. Cf.
John 10:18; Xen., Anab., i. 10, 3, καὶ ταύτηνἔσωσαν καὶ ἄλλα … ἔσωσαν,”
Meyer. Cf. Psalm 23:1.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
10. and to kill] To slaughter as if for sacrifice.
I am come]Better, I came. ‘I’ is emphatic, in marked contrastto the thief.
This is the point of transition from the first part of the allegoryto the second.
The figure of the Door, as the one entrance to salvation, is dropped; and that
of the GoodShepherd, as opposed to the thief, is takenup; but this
intermediate clause will apply to either figure, inclining towards the second
one. In order to make the strongestpossible antithesis to the thief, Christ
introduces, not a shepherd, but Himself, the Chief Shepherd. The thief takes
life; the shepherds protect life; the GoodShepherd gives it.
that they might have] Rather, in both clauses, thatthey may have.
have it more abundantly] Omit ‘more;’ it is not in the Greek, and somewhat
spoils the sense. More abundantly than what? Translate, that they may have
abundance.
Bengel's Gnomen

John 10:10. Ἵνα κλέψῃ, that he may steal)That is peculiarly the actof a thief.
There follow worse things. A thief, 1) steals for the sake ofhis own advantage:
2) he inflicts loss on others, a) by killing the sheep, b) by destroying the
remainder of their food. There is a climax in the division, not in the
subdivision: ἀπώλεια, the destruction causedby a thief, is not spiritual, but
civil; but a spiritual injury is metaphorically described by it, just as by theft
and murder.—καὶ θύσῃ and that he may kill) In antithesis to life.—καὶ
ἀπολέσῃ, and that he may destroy) In antithesis to abundance [περισσόν]:
concerning which see Psalm23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not
want,”
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 10. - The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy.
Christ, elaborating, evolving, what is containedin the image of "thief,"
regards his rival as the thief of souls; he whose pretensionto be a way to God
is basedon no inward and eternalreality, who comes forno other purpose
than to make the sheephis own, not to give them pasture; to sacrifice them to
his selfishends, to use them for his own purposes, not to deal with them
graciouslyfor theirs; but to destroy, since in the pursuit of his selfish ends he
wastes both life and pasture. A terrible impeachment, this of all who have not
recognizedthe true Doorinto the sheepfold, who would shut up the way of life
that they may exalt their own order, would diminish the chances ofsouls in
order to secure their own position. This forms the transition to the second
interpretation of the parabolic words; for he adds, I came that they might
have life, and that they might have it abundantly; more even than they can
possibly use. This is one of the grandestof our Lord's claims. He gives like
God from overflowing stores (Titus 3:6). Those who receive life from him have
within them perennial sources oflife for others - fullness of being (see notes,
John 7:38; John 4:14). One of the differentiae of "life" is "abundance" of
supply beyond immediate possibility of use. Life has the future in its arms.
Life propagates new life. Life has untold capacities aboutit - beauty,
fragrance, strength, growth, variety, reproduction, resistance to death,
continuity, eternity. In the Logos is life - and Christ came to give it, to
communicate "life to the non-living, to the dead in trespasses,and to those in
their graves" (John5:26).

Vincent's Word Studies
The thief (ὁ κλέπτης)
Christ puts Himself in contrastwith the meaner criminal.
I am come (ἦλθον)
More correctly, I came. I am come would be the perfecttense.
More abundantly (περισσὸν)
Literally, may have abundance.
END OF BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
WILLIAM BARCLAY
Jesus claims that he came that men might have life and might have it more
abundantly. The Greek phrase used for having it more abundantly means to
have a superabundance of a thing. To be a followerof Jesus, to know who he
is and what he means, is to have a superabundance of life. A Roman soldier
came to Julius Caesarwitha request for permission to commit suicide. He

was a wretcheddispirited creature with no vitality. Caesarlookedathim.
"Man," he said, "were you ever really alive?" When we try to live our own
lives, life is a dull, dispirited thing. When we walk with Jesus, there comes a
new vitality, a superabundance of life. It is only when we live with Christ that
life becomes reallyworth living and we begin to live in the real sense ofthe
word.
ALBERT BARNES
Verse 10
The thief cometh not … - The thief has no other design in coming but to
plunder. So false teachers have no other end in view but to enrich or
aggrandize themselves.
I am come that they might have life - See the notes at John 5:24.
Might have it more abundantly - Literally, that they may have abundance, or
that which abounds. The word denotes that which is not absolutelyessentialto
life, but which is superadded to make life happy. They shall not merely have
life - simple, bare existence - but they shall have all those superadded things
which are needful to make that life eminently blessedand happy. It would be
vast mercy to keep men merely from annihilation or hell; but Jesus will give
them eternal joy, peace, the societyofthe blessed, and all those exaltedmeans
of felicity which are prepared for them in the world of glory.

CHRIS BENFIELD
Experiencing Life More Abundantly
John 10: 9-10
Intro: "Two men were called on, in a large gathering, to recite the Twenty-
third Psalm.
One was a renownedorator trained in speechtechnique and drama. He
recited the psalm in a
powerful way. When he finished, the audience cheered, requesting an encore
that they might
hear him speak once again. "Thenthe other man, who was much older,
repeatedthe same
words--'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want...'But when he finished,
not a sound came
from the listeners. Instead, they satin a deep mood of devotion and prayer.
Then the first man, the great orator, stoodto his feet. “I have a confessionto
make,'he
said, „the difference betweenwhat you have just heard from my old friend
and what you heard
from me is this: I know the Psalm, my friend knows the Shepherd.'"
Often in the Bible we are referred to as sheep. Sheepare ignorant and
needful animals.
They cannot survive without the watchful care of a shepherd. I fear that many
sheeptoday
may know the Psalm, but few actually know the Shepherd. In Him is life more
abundantly. I
want to considerthis wonderful discourse that our Lord gave as we discover
the precious

truths revealed concerning:Experiencing Life More Abundantly.
I. The Door (9) – I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
and shall go in
and out, and find pasture.
A. The Assurance of the Door – Jesus declares thatHe is the door. He is not a
door, or one
of many doors;He is the door. He is the only means of entrance into abundant
life and
forgiveness ofsin. If man desires to be savedand live eternally, he must come
through the
Doorthat is Jesus.
 Jn.14:6 – Jesus saithunto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh
unto the Father, but by me. Acts 4:12 – Neither is there salvationin any other:
for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
 We need to understand what Jesus was speaking ofhere. He was painting a
mental
picture that all who heard would comprehend. He is not speaking ofa door
like the ones we
are familiar with. In that day, sheepwere kept in an enclosure ofstone or
branches formed into
a wall. An opening was left for an entrance, but there was no literal door hung
on hinges. The
shepherd became the door of the sheep-foldas he laid in the narrow passage
way. He was
literally their door, their defense, and stay.

B. The Accessto the Door – Jesus also reveals the means of accessto the Door.
It was not
limited to a selectorelite few. It was available to whosoeverdesiredto enter:
“If any man enter
in.” He had not come to save only the wealthy or well known. He had not
come just for the
powerful and educated. He came to save any that would enter in. Jn.3:16 –
For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begottenSon, that whosoeverbelieveth in him
should not
perish, but have everlasting life. Rom.10:13 – For whosoevershallcallupon
the name of the
Lord shall be saved. 1 Tim.2:4 – Who will have all men to be saved, and to
come unto the
knowledge ofthe truth. I rejoice to be a “whosoever!” I am gladthat He came
to me one day,
placing a desire in my heart to enter the Door!
C. The Accommodations through the Door – Jesus reveals that passing
through the Door
affords one untold benefits and blessings.
1. Salvation – I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and
shall go in
and out, and find pasture. Jesus alone is the source of our salvation. All who
come to Him
shall be saved. He doesn‟treveala chance of salvation, but a certainty of
salvation. Jn.6:37 –

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I
will in no wise cast
out.
 Keep in mind that a door serves two purposes. It allows one to enter in and
it also
serves as a barrier betweenthe dwelling and the outside. Jesus is that Door!
He provided the
means for my salvation, allowing me to enter in, and He now stands as the
door, keeping and
guarding my soul.
2. Security – We also have the glorious privilege of going in and out. Now,
don‟t
misunderstand the text. Jesus is not referring to multiple salvation
experiences. He is not
saying that we cantravel back and forth betweensalvationand
condemnation. The saved are
eternally secure in Him.
 This is referring to the liberty and assurance thatwe have in Christ our
Lord. We no
longerhave to fear death or the storms of this life. We have confidence that
we are going to
make it through the powerof Christ. 2 Tim. 1:12 – For the which cause I also
suffer these
things: nevertheless I am not ashamed:for I know whom I have believed, and
am persuaded
that he is able to keepthat which I have committed unto him againstthat day.
1 Pet.1:5 – Who

are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvationready to be
revealedin the last time.
Aren‟t you glad for the assurance we have in Christ? Mine is not a “hope so”
or “maybe so”
salvation.” I am part of a sure thing! I am safe and secure in Christ my Lord!
3. Satisfaction– Jesus also promised that those who come through the Door
will find
pasture. This is a conceptthat many in Jesus‟ daywere familiar with. The
shepherd led the
sheepto abundant pastures. It has the idea of “plenty, not wanting or lacking
the necessities of
life.”
 It is goodto be led of the Great Shepherd to His pastures green. I have never
found
Him to be lacking in His care for me and I have never wanted while feasting
upon His
abundant supply. The world has nothing to compare with the pastures of the
Lord. I have
nothing to look back or turn back to. I have left the dusty plains of this world
for the bountiful
pasture of the Lord. Aren‟t you glad we can lie down in greenpastures?
I. The Door (9)
II. The Danger(10a) – The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy: Jesus
warns of the danger present outside the fold. The thief wanders about seeking
to steal, kill, and
destroy. Notice:

A. His Approach – To really appreciate the danger involved we need to fully
graspthe nature
of the thief. The word literally means “an embezzler or pilferer; it was also
used to describe one
who abused the confidence and trust of others for their own gain.” Clearly it
describes one who
is cunning and deceitful, seeking his goodat the expense of others.
 That is a clearrepresentationof the adversary. He is present in the world
among us. He
seeks to pilfer the blessings and abundance of God in our lives. He does so by
much trickery
and deception. Gen.3:1 – Now the serpent was more subtil than any beastof
the field which
the Lord God had made. And he saidunto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye
shall not eatof
every tree of the garden? 3:4 – And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall
not surely die:
he will never show you the end result of sin. He is a masterof deceptionwith a
desire to defeat
as many as he can.
B. His Agenda – Jesus warns that the agenda of the enemy is clear. He seeksto
steal, kill,
and destroy. He wants nothing more than to hinder our walk with God. He
wants to stealour
joy. He cannottouch our soul, and he even has to getpermission from God to
attack us, but he

desires to kill us spiritually. He wants to render us ineffective in our spiritual
journey. He wants
to destroy our lives and our testimony.
 You may feel as if it could never happen to you, but I assure you that Satan
is watching
our lives, especiallyif we are being fruitful for the Lord. He would like
nothing more than to
destroy eachof our homes and render this body of believers unable to reach
the lost. He
would like to defeat us so that we no longer gatheredto worship God.
III. The Defender(10b) – I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more
abundantly. Remember that Jesus is the Door. He is the Shepherd who guards
and defends
the sheep. This verse reveals much about the characterand commitment of
Christ for His
sheep. Notice:
A. His Person– He refers to Himself as the I Am. These verses speak ofone of
the “I Am‟s”
found in the Gospels. This clearlybrings to mind Moses‟encounterwith God
at the burning
bush. Jesus is the I Am; He is the Almighty, self-existentGod.
 What are we to fear as long as the I Am is guarding our lives and keeping
our souls? I
am not depending upon one who is weak and frail. I am trusting and resting
in the all powerful,
all knowing, all seeing God!

B. His Presence – Jesus said, “I am come.” The scoffers and doubters of that
day denied that
Jesus was the Christ. They refused to believe that the Messiahhad actually
come, but Jesus
had come and was in their midst.
 Many today continue to doubt the coming and even the existence of our
Lord, but that
doesn‟tdiminish or hinder His power. He came the first time just as the
Scriptures declared. He
fulfilled salvation‟s plan, fully defeating sin, death, and Satan. He left with the
promise that He
would come again!I have no doubt that our Lord will return just as He said.
In the mean time,
we have the blessedHoly Spirit abiding in us to guard and guide our lives.
C. His Purpose – I am come that they might have life. With the first of God‟s
creation, sin
entered the hearts of men. BecauseofAdam‟s fall, all are born in sin and
condemned to death.
Jesus came to redeemus from our fallen state and provide eternal life.
Rom.6:23 – For the
wages ofsin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord.
 Jesus did not come to discoverthe state of affairs here on earth. He did not
come to
establishHimself as God. He came to offer Himself as a Sacrifice for the sins
of humanity and

grant those who come to Him eternallife. That was His divine plan and
purpose.
D. His Provision – I am come that they might have life, and that they might
have it more
abundantly. Jesus didn‟t come just to secure life; He came to secure life more
abundantly. This
reveals a beautiful and promising hope for all who belong to Jesus. It means
“exceeding a
fixed measure or need; over and above that which is necessary; superior,
extraordinary,
surpassing.”
 I am convincedthat God has much more for us than what we currently
enjoy. All the
savedwill enjoy life beyond our wildest expectations in heaven, but we are
promised abundant
life today. Christ wants us to experience life in its fullness through Him. We
could enjoy life
over and above that which is necessaryif we would only commit to seeking
and serving our
Lord. The Shepherd knows what is best for His sheep, but often we are
determined to seek out
our own pasture. I want to abide in His abundance, enjoying all that He has
for me!
As I close today I have to ask, have you entered in through the Door? It is
open to all

who desire to pass through. We need to make our abode within the fold,
depending on the
Shepherd to guard and guide us. There is a clearand present danger outside
of the sheep
fold. If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, I beg you to come to
Him today.
Christian, are you enjoying the abundant life that Jesus promised? Are you
fully resting
in Him? I fear that many of us never reachthe abundance of life that we could
enjoy on this
side of heaven. If your life is not where it should be, why not come and seek
the Lord so that
you to might have life more abundantly?
CALVIN
Verse 10
10.The thief cometh not. By this saying, Christ — if we may use the expression
— pulls our ear, that the ministers of Satan may not come upon us by
surprise, when we are in a drowsy and carelessstate;for our excessive
indifference exposes us, on every side, to false doctrines. For whence arises
credulity so great, that they who ought to have remained fixed in Christ, fly
about in a multitude of errors, but because they do not sufficiently dread or
guard againstso many false teachers?And not only so, but our insatiable
curiosity is so delighted with the new and strange inventions of men, that, of
our own accord, we rush with mad careerto meet thieves and wolves. Not
without reason, therefore, does Christ testify that false teachers, whatever

may be the mildness and plausibility of their demeanour, always carryabout a
deadly poison, that we may be more carefulto drive them awayfrom us. A
similar warning is given by Paul,
See that no man rob you through vain philosophy,
(Colossians2:8.)
I am come. This is a different comparison;for Christ, having hitherto called
himself the door, and declaredthat they who bring sheepto this door are true
shepherds, now assumes the characterofa shepherd, and indeed affirms that
he is the only shepherd Indeed, there is no other to whom this honor and title
strictly belongs;for, as to all the faithful shepherds of the Church, it is he who
raises them up, endows them with the necessaryqualifications, governs them
by his Spirit, and works by them; and therefore they do not prevent him from
being the only Governorof his Church, or from holding the distinction of
being the only Shepherd For, though he employs their ministry, still he does
not ceaseto fulfill and discharge the office of a shepherd by his own power;
and they are masters and teachers in such a manner as not to interfere with
his authority as a Master. In short, when the term shepherd is applied to men,
it is used, as we say, in a subordinate sense;and Christ shares the honor with
his ministers in such a manner, that he still continues to be the only shepherd
both of themselves and of the whole flock.
That they may have life. When he says that he is come, that the sheep may
have life, he means that they only who do not submit to his staff and crook
(Psalms 23:4) are exposedto the ravages ofwolves and thieves; and — to give
them greaterconfidence — he declares that life is continually increasedand
strengthenedin those who do not revolt from him. And, indeed, the greater
progress that any man makes in faith, the more nearly does he approachto
fullness oflife, because the Spirit, who is life, grows in him.

STEVEN COLE
The Doorto Abundant Life (John 10:7-10)
RelatedMedia
May 18, 2014
The “American dream” is to pursue what is called“the goodlife.” This
usually means owning your own home, having a couple of late model cars in
your garage, taking nice vacations, andretiring to a comfortable life of doing
whateveryou like. The rich and famous, who supposedly enjoy this goodlife,
are splashedacross the pages ofmagazines like People so that we all can
vicariously enter their lives and dream about striking it rich ourselves.
But while many Americans who are financially comfortable may have
achieved“the goodlife,” most of them have missed the abundant life that
Jesus promised to all who follow Him. But what is the abundant life? Many
who follow the “prosperity gospel” have just baptized the materialistic
American dream with some Christian labels. Exceptfor their outlandish
hairdos and Christian jargon, the prosperity preachers look pretty much like
unbelieving Americans in their pursuit of stuff.
But the abundant life that Jesus promised has nothing to do with collecting
more stuff. It has everything to do with being right with God through faith in
Christ and having the hope of eternity spent in His presence. The apostle Paul
wasn’t rich in this world’s goods, but he enjoyed the abundant life that Christ

offers. He was content with just food and covering (1 Tim. 6:8), but he was
rich toward God(Luke 12:21;Eph. 2:7). He gainedthose riches by coming to
know the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:8).
In our text, Jesus claims to be the door through which His sheep enter to
experience the abundant life. This is the third of Jesus’seven“I am”
statements (for the others, see John 6:35; 8:12; 10:11, 14;11:25; 14:6; and
15:1, 5). This means that the Lord’s messageis Himself. Christianity is not
primarily a bunch of rules or rituals; Christianity is Christ Himself. Our text
teaches us that…
Jesus is the only door to abundant life for all who enter through Him.
Jesus againuses “truly, truly” to alert us that what follows is important (John
10:7): “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.” We have four
verses with four important truths:
1. Jesus is the only door of the sheep (10:7).
In John 10:2-3, the scene was a common sheepfold in the village where the
different shepherds would bring their sheepeachnight. There was a hired
doorkeeperto guard the entrance. But now, the scene probably has shifted to
the country, where the shepherd would take his sheep for summer pasture
(William Barclay, The GospelofJohn [Westminster], rev. ed., 2:58). The
shepherd would build a protective enclosure forthe sheepso that they could
go in for protection and go out to feed. The shepherd himself would lay across
the opening to the shelter at night. Thus Jesus could be both the shepherd and
the door. Any intruders had to getby him to get to the sheep. As the door, He
let in the true sheep, but He excluded predators or thieves that would harm
the sheep.

G. Campbell Morgan(The GospelAccording to John [Revell], p. 177)tells of
a conversationhe had with Sir George Adam Smith, a scholarwho had spent
much time in the NearEast. Smith told of meeting a shepherd there who
showedhim the fold where the sheepwere led at night. It consistedof four
walls with a way in. Smith asked, “Thatis where you go at night?” “Yes,” the
shepherd said, “and when the sheepare in there they are perfectly safe.” “But
there is no door,” said Smith. “I am the door,” the shepherd replied. He was
not a Christian man, but rather an Arab shepherd. But he was using the same
language that Jesus used. He explained further, “When the light has gone, and
all the sheepare inside, I lie in that open space, and no sheep ever goes outbut
across my body, and no wolf comes in unless he crossesmy body; I am the
door.”
Jesus is the only door of the sheep. J. C. Ryle (Expository Thoughts on the
Gospels [Baker], 3:184)points out that no apostle or prophet could make such
a claim. Only Jesus the Messiahcouldlegitimately claim, “I am the door.” It’s
the same thing that He later claims (14:6), “I am the way, and the truth, and
the life; no one comes to the Fatherbut through Me.” Jesus was claiming to be
the exclusive, only way to God. Just as there was only one door into the ark
and only one door into the Tabernacle, so Jesusis the only door to salvation
and God’s presence. The apostle Paulput it (Eph. 2:18), “Forthrough Him we
both [Jewishand Gentile believers] have access inone Spirit to the Father.”
Unbelievers are okaywith it if you say, “Jesus is a door to God.” They think,
“That’s fine! Mohammad is also a door and Buddha is a door and nature is a
door. All religions lead to God. There are many doors.” But when you draw
the line that Jesus drew and insist, “No, He is the only door,” you get accused
of being intolerant and bigoted. Even C. S. Lewis, in his otherwise mostly
helpful Mere Christianity ([Macmillan], pp. 176-177)wrote,

There are people who do not acceptthe full Christian doctrine about Christ
but who are so strongly attracted by Him that they are His in a much deeper
sense than they themselves understand. There are people in other religions
who are being led by God’s secretinfluence to concentrate onthose parts of
their religion which are in agreementwith Christianity, and who thus belong
to Christ without knowing it. Forexample, a Buddhist of goodwill may be led
to concentrate more and more on the Buddhist teaching about mercy and to
leave in the background(though he might still say he believed) the Buddhist
teaching on certain other points.
But Lewis is missing the factthat all people, whether Buddhists “of goodwill”
or “good” Catholics or“good” Baptists are allsinners by nature and can only
be saved through faith in the death of Christ to atone for their sins. As Peter
put it to the “good” Jews ofhis day (Acts 4:12), “There is salvationin no one
else;for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men
by which we must be saved.” Since Jesus is the only door …
2. All others claiming to be the door are thieves and robbers (10:8).
John 10:8: “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep
did not hear them.” Obviously, Jesus was notsaying that godly men like
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other prophets were thieves and robbers. In the
context, He is referring to those who preyed on the sheepand used them for
their own selfishends. And, He was especiallyspeaking ofthe thieves and
robbers who were standing before Him, the Phariseeswho were not godly
shepherds over Israel. They were like the false shepherds that Ezekiel34
castigates.Or, as the Lord says (Jer. 23:1-2):
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheepof My
pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel
concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: “You have scattered

My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am
about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord.
The Lord goes onto describe how He will re-gatherHis flock and raise up a
righteous Branch for David, adding (23:6):
“In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israelwill dwell securely;
And this is His name by which He will be called,
‘The Lord our righteousness.’”
In John 10:8, Jesus repeats the truth that He statedin 10:5, that His true
sheepwill not hear or follow a false shepherd. They will persevere by
following Jesus. Sometimes, the Lord’s true sheepmay be led astrayby a false
shepherd for a while, but as Jesus promises (10:27-28), He will keepthem:
“My sheephear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;and I give
eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them
out of My hand.” John indicates that if people are not true sheep, eventually
they will leave the church (1 John 2:19): “Theywent out from us, but they
were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained
with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of
us.”

So, Jesus is the only door of the sheep. All others who claim to be the way to
God are thieves and robbers. But, what are the spiritual implications of Jesus’
claim to be the door?
3. As the door, Jesus provides salvation, safety, and sustenance for any who
will enter through Him (10:9).
John 10:9: “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and
will go in and out and find pasture.” There are two things to considerhere:
A. Jesus is the only source ofsalvation, safety, and sustenance forHis sheep.
Jesus says that whoeverenters through Him will be saved. “Going in and out”
pictures safety. And, “finding pasture” pictures the sustenance our good
shepherd provides.
1) JESUS PROVIDES SALVATION FOR HIS SHEEP.
In the context of the sheep analogy, being savedrefers to protecting the sheep
from predators that would kill them. But Jesus obviously has the idea of
spiritual salvationbehind His words. As we saw (John 3:17), “For God did not
send the Soninto the world to judge the world, but that the world might be
savedthrough Him.” (See, also, 5:34;12:47).
As I’ve often said, we often toss around the word “saved” without thinking
about just how radical it is. If you’re doing basicallyokayon your own, you
may appreciate a helpful word of advice or a bit of encouragement, but you
don’t need to be saved. You only need to be savedwhen you are helplessly,
hopelesslylost. Instead of being saved, maybe we should use the word
“rescued.” Youdon’t need to be rescuedif you’re doing fine on your own.
You only need to be rescuedwhen you’re unable on your own to get out of a
situation that will soonlead to your death.

In spiritual terms, the Bible is clearthat before you believe in Christ, you’re
not just going to die; you were already dead in your trespassesand sins (Eph.
2:1). As such, you were what Paul calls a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3). In John’s
terms (3:36), the wrath of God was abiding on you. You were under God’s
righteous condemnation for your sins. Being spiritually dead, there was no
way that you could rescue yourselfor do anything to help out with your own
rescue. You required God’s intervention.
That’s exactlywhat God did when He sentHis unique Son into this world.
Jesus came to seek andto save lost sinners (Luke 19:10; John 12:47). On the
cross, He bore the wrath of God on behalf of all who believe in Him. Using the
shepherd and sheepanalogy, 1 Peter2:24-25 puts it like this:
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin
and live to righteousness;for by His wounds you were healed. For you were
continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd
and Guardian of your souls.
Have you takenrefuge in Jesus as your Savior? He is the only source of
salvationbecause no one else can bear God’s wrath on our behalf. No one else
can pay for our sins.
2) JESUS PROVIDES SAFETYFOR HIS SHEEP.
This is the main idea behind the picture of sheepgoing in and out to find
pasture. Barclay(ibid. p. 59)says that this “was the Jewishwayof describing
a life that is absolutelysecure and safe.” If the country was under siege,
people had to stayinside the city walls. But when they were at peace and the
ruler was upholding law and order, people were free to come and go as they

wished. Moses usedthis language in praying for his successor(Num. 27:16-
17), “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the
congregation, who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead
them out and bring them in, so that the congregationofthe Lord will not be
like sheepwhich have no shepherd.” (See also, Deut. 28:6; 1 Kings 3:7; Ps.
121:8.)So when Jesus, the goodshepherd, guards the flock, they are secure to
go in and out and find pasture.
The term also was a Hebrew expressionthat connotedfamiliar access. In Acts
1:21, Petermentions “the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among
us.” Acts 9:28 mentions how after Paul’s conversion, when Barnabas
introduced him to the apostles and they came to trust that he really was
converted, Paul was with them, “moving about freely in Jerusalem.” Literally,
the Greek reads, he was “going in and out” in Jerusalem.
So the spiritual picture is that if you have enteredthe fold through Jesus, who
is both the shepherd and the door, He provides safetyand familiar access.He
is guarding all of your ways. You cango out to the rich pasturelands that He
provides and come into the safety of His fold as you please.
3) JESUS PROVIDES SUSTENANCE FOR HIS SHEEP.
This is the picture behind “pasture,” as wellas the idea of “abundant life”
(10:10). It’s not pointing to having an abundance of material goods, but rather
to the soul satisfactionthatcomes when you know that the Lord is your
shepherd. You know that He is caring for you and He prepares a table before
you even in the presence ofenemies, so that your cup overflows (Ps. 23:5). He
goes with you even through the valley of the shadow of death. In other words,
Jesus isn’t promising an easylife where there are no trials or where you get
instant deliverance from your trials. Rather, He is promising to meet all of our
spiritual needs if we will enter through Him as the door. John G. Mitchell (An
Everlasting Love [Multnomah Press], p.193)once askedW. R. Newell, who

wrote a commentary on Romans, how many times he had taught Romans. He
answered, “Ihave taught the book of Romans some eighty times, and the
pastures are still green.”
As you may know, I’m not a fan of those who mingle psychologywith the
Bible. Nor am I favorable towardthe popular 12 Step programs. Sometimes
I’ve been asked, “Ifpsychologyor 12 Step groups help people deal with their
problems, what’s wrong with that?”
In a nutshell, what’s wrong is that these approaches “help” people without
directing them to Christ alone for salvation, safety, and sustenance.I used to
be supportive of these methods, but then I read a book where the author, a
well-knownChristian psychologist(Henry Cloud, When Your World Makes
No Sense [Oliver Nelson], pp. 16-17), states thathe had tried the “standard
Christian answers,” by which he means, faith, obedience, more time in the
Word and prayer, etc. But he calls these things “worthless medicine” and then
turns his readers towardhis approach, which he claims, works. But his
approachis essentiallydevelopmentalpsychology, not the all-sufficiencyof
Christ for our souls.
The same is true of self-help programs, such as the 12 Steps. They are not
Christ-centered. Their approach is not to bring people under the lordship of
Christ. Rather, they just “use” Christ (howeveryou define Him) or, if you
wish, some other “higher power,” to getwhat you want. “Do you want
sobriety? Work the Steps—the Steps will give you sobriety. Are you dealing
with an alcoholic family member? Try the Steps—theywill give you the
stability you’ve been looking for.” So “Christ” (howeveryou conceive Him to
be) becomes merelya means for you to achieve your agenda. But He is not the
source of your salvation, your safety, and your sustenance.As the door, Jesus
provides salvation, safety, and sustenance. He meets all of our spiritual needs.
But, it’s not automatic.

B. Jesus’blessings are for any and all who enter through Him.
The condition is (10:9), “if anyone enters through Me.” The invitation is open
to “anyone” and everyone, but you must enter through Jesus alone. Any other
way is illegitimate.
How do you enter? Well, that’s the theme of the entire Gospelof John. He
wrote these signs that Jesus did (20:31), “so that you may believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”
Or (1:12), “But as many as receivedHim, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” Or (3:16), “ForGod
so loved the world, that He gave His only begottenSon, that whoeverbelieves
in Him shall not perish, but have eternallife.”
To enter through Jesus the door means to believe in Him as the Christ, the
Son of God, who died for your sins and was raised from the dead. Have you
done that? Have you put your trust in Jesus as your only hope for eternal life?
Maybe if you’re a young personyou’re thinking, “I’ll probably do that
someday, but I want to have some fun first. I want to enjoy some of the
pleasures that this world offers while I can. Later, maybe I’ll trust in Jesus.”
But that is a serious mistake.
4. Jesus’purpose for His sheep is radically opposedto the purposes of false
shepherds: abundant life versus destruction and death (10:10).
John 10:10: “The thief comes only to stealand kill and destroy; I came that
they may have life, and have it abundantly.” There are only two ways to live
your life: You canpursue this world for satisfaction, oryou can seek after

God to satisfy. The world, under the dominion of Satan, will rob, kill, and
destroy your soul. Jesus offers life, and that more abundantly.
The Eskimos have an interesting way of killing wolves. Theytake a sharp
knife, dip in in sealfat, and plant it blade up in the snow. A hungry wolf will
smell the sealfat, which he loves, find the knife, and begin to lick it. As soonas
he licks it, he tastes blood—his ownblood. But he loves the taste of blood, so
he licks more and more, until he finally kills himself. What he thought at first
was really living was actually killing him.
Gorging yourself on the world and its sinful pleasures is like that. At first it
tastes good, but it’s really destroying you. Only Jesus ultimately satisfies the
soul. Only Jesus canreconcile youto God and give you real life—abundant
life—that begins now and continues through all eternity.
Matthew Henry, the well-knownpastor and Bible commentator, was on his
deathbed in 1714, atage 52. He had suffered the loss of his first wife and of
three children. He was relatively young. He could have complained about his
early death. But he said to a friend, “You have been used to take notice of the
sayings of dying men. This is mine—that a life spent in the service ofGod, and
communion with Him, is the most comfortable and pleasantlife that one can
live in the present world” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible
[Revell], p. 1:xiv).
Conclusion
Years ago there was a TV game show called, “Let’s Make a Deal.” The
contestants had to choose betweena prize that was visible to them or another
prize that was concealedbehind a curtain or door. The visible prize was
usually a nice item, like an expensive stereo orTV set. Sometimes the unseen
prize turned out to be a joke, suchas 10,000boxes oftoothpicks. But at other

times the personchose the visible gift and discoveredto their horror that they
had passedup, behind the curtain, a new car worth thousands of dollars.
Whenever that happened, you felt with the contestantthat awful feeling in the
pit of your stomachthat comes from making a major wrong choice.
Don’t make that mistake spiritually. The visible prize is all the stuff you see in
this world. But when you enter through Jesus as the door, you gain things that
eye has not seenand earhas not heard, which have not entered into the heart
of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9).
Application Questions
Someone says, “Jesus is fine for you, but I have my own beliefs.” How would
you reply?
How should you respond to people who are worldly, successful, and happy,
while you’re suffering (see Psalm73)?
How would you answera believer in the “prosperity gospel,”who says that if
you have enough faith, you’ll be healthy and wealthy? (See Heb. 11:33-39.)
Why is any “solution” to your problems a false solution if it doesn’t help you
lay hold of the true riches in Christ?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2014,All Rights Reserved.
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 10
Impostors" aims are ultimately selfish and destructive, but Jesus came to give
life, not take it.

"The world still seeks its humanistic, political saviours-its Hitlers, its Stalins,
its Maos, its PolPots-andonly too late does it learn that they blatantly
confiscate personalproperty (they come "only to steal"), ruthlesslytrample
human life under foot(they come "only ... to kill"), and contemptuously
savage allthat is valuable (they come "only ... to destroy")." [Note:Carson,
The Gospel. . ., p385.]
Jesus on the other hand not only came to bring spiritual life to people, but He
came to bring the best quality of life to them. The eternal life that Jesus
imparts is not just long, but it is also rich. He did not just come to gain sheep
but to enable His sheepto flourish and to enjoy contentment and every other
legitimately goodthing possible.
LIFE ABOUNDING
Dr. W. A. Criswell
John 10:10
11-8-87 8:15 a.m.

We welcome the throngs of you who share this hour on radio. You are now a
part of our dear First Baptist Church in Dallas. This is the pastorbringing the
messagefrom the tenth chapter of the Gospelof John. It is a textual sermon.
It is a presentation of the tenth verse of the tenth chapterof John. “The thief
cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they
might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” [John 10:10],
the abundant life bestowedupon us by our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” Nothing is
so simple as destruction.
Immediately in front of our church was the fourteen-storyYMCA building.
When I came here, there was a godly man in the church, DeaconScott, who
had built that structure. He presided over the YMCA in the city of Dallas and
was so very inordinately proud of that beautiful, tall fourteen-story building
that housed the Y. I was so grateful that, in the providences of life and in the
length of days, he was dead when we imploded that building. And it was done
in a secondor two, so easilydestroyed.
I lookedat the famous Portland Vase in the British Museum. We have a copy
of it in our parsonage, createdhalf a millennium before Christ. A crazed
person seizedit in the museum and dashed it to the floor; took a genius to
reglue it—in a moment, to destroywhat only genius and inspiration could
create. A beastcan crush a flower. Who can put it togetheragain? A man
can take his life, but who can create it? A simple thing to destroy.
Then why do we listen to men who destroy the most precious
bestowments and endowments in life? An infidel, standing a few inches tall,
with a loud voice, decrying the faith: that’s not life. That’s death. A secular
humanist, with pseudointellectualwords, scoffing at the gospelofChrist:
that’s not life. That’s death. A legalmaterialist, bringing suit against
kindergartenchildren saying grace atthe table, or prohibiting by law the

reading of God’s Word in the school:that’s not life. That’s death. How
different the ministry of our Lord, coming into this world to teach us the
everlasting ways of God. If I could sum up the ministry of our Saviorin one
word, I would sum it up in the word “life.” In this Gospelof John through
which I am preaching, how oft was it on His lips?
In John 3:14-15: “As Moses lifted up the serpentin the wilderness, so the Son
of Man lifted up: That whosoeverbelievethin Him should not perish, but
have eternal life.”
And the great, memorized, oft-quoted passage ofJohn 3:16: “Thatwe might
have everlasting life.”
And John 3:36: “He that believeth on the Sonof Man hath everlasting life.”
Or John 5:24: “Verily, verily, truly, truly, I say unto you, He that hearethMy
word, and believeth on Him that sent Me … shall not come into death, but is
passedout of death into life.”
[John 6:35]: “I am the bread of life.”
[John 6:63]: “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are
life.”
[John 11:25]: “I am the resurrection, and the life.”
John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” And the apostle John,
in his old age, summed up the whole ministry of Christ in the beautiful
introduction to his Gospel:“In Him was life; and the life was the light of men”
[John 1:4].
And in his old age, writings from the Mamertine prison in Rome, the apostle
Paul summed up the work of our Lord in 2 Timothy 1:10: “By the appearing
of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, He hath abolisheddeath, and hath brought life
and everlasting life to light.”
What is life? It is like God. It is an unfathomable and impenetrable mystery.
It is as common as the sands on the seashore, but is explicable as God Himself.

We meet life on every common road in every common day, but what is it?
The scientistsays to us that life is universal. It is on every invisible particle of
air. It is in every tiny piece of dust. It is in every drop of water.
What is it? Having been a pastor for these sixty years and endlessly
conducting memorial services for those who have died, I look into the face of a
corpse in a casket. The directorof the funeral home has done everything
possible to give life-likeness to the one who is being buried away, but he just
emphasizes the tragedy of death.
What is life? Unlike Prometheus, we cannotstealthe flame from God, nor
can we create it. It is something in God Himself, and yet we see it wave in the
grass, dance in the butterfly, and look at us from the depths of the innocent
eyes of a child; life. “I am come that they might have life, and have it more
abundantly” [John 10:10]. The life that Jesus brings to us is not existence.
We, born into this world, with all the other creatures that God hath created,
share a common existence. It’s another dimension. It’s another definition. It
moves in another world and another area. I said to a successfulbusinessman,
head of a corporationhere in Dallas, I saidto him, “You’ll never be happy,
howeveryou succeed, whereveryougo, whatever you do, you’ll never be
happy until you are savedin the Lord.”
Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progressbegins with the Pilgrim, dressedin rags, a
burden on his back, his face turned away from his city, and crying, “Life,
eternal life.” Life apart from God is a storm and the wind never ceasesto
blow. It’s like a sea that is never calm. It is like death and darkness. “O
wretchedman that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?”
[Romans 7:24]. Our life in Christ is a re-creation;it is a new dimension. “If
any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation” [2 Corinthians 5:17].
Things change. And the life bestowedupon us by our Lord is separate from
and not dependent upon things or circumstances.

I sometimes marvel in reading Christian history. At the height of the glory
and joy of those who suffered the most for the Lord:
Our fathers chainedin prisons dark
Were still in heart and consciencefree;
How sweetwould be their children’s fate,
If we, like them, could die for Thee!
[from “Faith of our Fathers,” Frederick William Faber, 1849]
A life absolutelyseparate, not dependent upon things and circumstances.
Our Lord was offereda crown and refused it [John 6:15]; offered a kingdom
and turned aside from it [Matthew 4:8-9]; through the ableness and power of
Satanwho is the ruler of this world [John 12:31], offeredall the kingdoms and
the glory of them, and refusedto bow down to acceptit [Matthew 4:8-10]. His
family said, “He is beside Himself” [Mark 3:21]. The scribes said, “He has a
devil” [John 10:20]. The Pharisees said, “He blasphemes” [Luke 5:21]. And
the throngs said, “He deceives the people” [John 7:12]. And finally, all of
them said, “Crucify Him!” [Luke 23:21].

But beyond the providences and circumstances ofthis life, He reachedtoward
an immortality and a resurrectionthat blesses us who find faith and life in
Him to this present day. And that leads me to my final avowal. This
abounding life; “I am come that they might have life, and have it more
abundantly” [John 10:10], this abounding life is bestowedupon us now. We
possessit now. That’s not immortality as such. When we come into this
world, we are born with a life that never shall end. This abounding life
bestowedupon us in Christ is a citizenship in heaven. And it is a glory
bestowedupon us now [Philippians 3:20-21].
Oft times will I hear a youth reply, when he’s pressedto give his heart to the
Lord, “I want to have a good time first. Then, after I have been in this world
and have enjoyed all of its emoluments and happinesses and tastedall of its
successes,then I’ll give my heart to the Lord and be a Christian.” How folly
wide the mark? The gladnesses oflife and the glories of life are found in the
Christian faith and in the Christian pilgrimage. Psalm 34:5, “They looked
unto Him, and were radiant.” The victorious life, the joyous life is the life of
the Christian pilgrimage. It has meaning. I could not think of the sterility
and emptiness of days as living without meaning, without God. How full and
how rich the life that finds a purpose, and a meaning, and a commitment, and
a service in our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the abounding life bestowedupon us in Christ [John 10:10], is an
awakening, a sensitivity to the presence ofGod; see Him everywhere;sense
His presence in everything.
The beautiful word of Wordsworth, the English poet:
Primrose by the river’s brim,

A purple primrose was to him,
And nothing else.
[“PeterBell,” Wodsworth]
Can’t see God anywhere. Or Alfred, Lord Tennyson:
Flowerin the crannied wall,
I pluck thee out of the crannies;
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower—if I could but understand
What you are, root and all, all in all,
I should understand what God and man is.
[“Flowerin the Crannied Wall,” Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1869]

See Him in the creationof the tiniest, humblest flower—the abounding life
brought to us by Christ, awakened to the presence of the Lord and see Him
everywhere [John 10:10].
It is a marvelous, wonderful thing to be sensitive to the presence ofGod; like a
blind person: the ends of their fingers are so very sensitive, and they cantake
a page of Braille and run their fingers over it and read. What an amazing
thing, what Jesus does for us, making us sensitive to the presence ofthe Lord.
Or like those jungle children: their eyes are so keenand their ears are so
sensitive. In the Amazon jungle, when that little one-seatedairplane fell with
Floyd Lyon, the pilot, and me, he maneuvered it into a little creek, water
about three or four inches high, deep. And in the providences of God, the
only jungle village in a hundred thousand square miles was right there
beneath us, below us. He called on the radio that still would work—fromthe
little creek in which he had maneuvered the plane with those big pontoons—
he called on a Presbyterianmission locatedon the Ucayali River, who
transmitted the appealto the jungle camp in Yarinacocha where we were, and
asking for a little wheel-plane to come and—in the middle of those little
thatched huts gatheredround, built round in a circle—thatthey could land
there and could pick us up.
When we walkedinto the middle of that jungle village, it was full of holes,
some of them waist deep, dug up by hogs. And the villagers, there in that
jungle, all of them, little children, men, women, everybody, furiously beganto
work to fill up those holes, so that the little wheel-plane could land. They
worked—this was earlyin the morning that their plane came down, and by
the first part of the afternoon, it was smooth.

And while we were standing there, waiting for the wheel-plane to come, those
little jungle children in the Amazon came around me, just a whole circle of
them, and they began to jump up and down and to shout, saying to me,
“Viene, Viene, Viene, Viene!” I had no idea what they were doing or what
they were saying.
And I turned to the pilot and I asked, “Whatare these children jumping up
and down about? And what are they saying, ‘Viene, Viene’”?
And he said to me, “Viene:‘He is coming, he is coming, he is coming!’”
Well, I said, “I don’t see a thing nor do I hear a thing; just a blue sky above
and the infinity of the arch of the heaven. I don’t see anything. I don’t hear
anything.”
And he said to me, “But these jungle children have eyes far keenerthan yours
and ears that are far more sensitive than yours, and they see that little wheel-
plane in the sky, and they hear the wheel-plane coming: ‘Viene, viene!”” And
as I watchedand lookedup into the heavens, finally, there I lookedand there I
heard; sensitive to the coming of the Lord.
I have stoodby the bedside of some of our sainted people, and they will say,
“Pastor, Isee the face of Jesus, andI hear the angels singing.” I could reply,
“You are mad! You have lost your reason.” No. Theyhave been made
sensitive to the presence ofthe Lord, and they hear the voice of the
Bridegroom, and they see the land afaroff. God does that for us. He makes
us sensitive to His presence, and we hear the voice of the promise of His
coming. Viene! He is coming! He is coming! Beyond every providence in life

and every hurt or sorrow ever experienced, He is coming, Jesus ourLord
[Hebrews 9:28].
Now, Brother Doug, let’s sing us a song, and while we sing the hymn of
appeal, to give your heart to the Lord: “Pastor, this is God’s day for me, and
here I stand.” Or a family coming into the fellowshipof our dear church, a
couple you, or one somebodyyou, while we make this appeal, sing this song:
“Pastor, I’m on the way.” In the balcony, down a stairway, in the throng on
this lowerfloor, down one of these aisles:“This is God’s day for me, and here
I come.” Do it. May angels attend you in the way and make your heart glad
as you open heart and soul to the blessed, living Lord [Romans 10:9-10].
Come, and welcome, while we stand and while we sing.
GreatTexts of the Bible
The GreatestThing in the World
The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that
they may have life, and may have it abundantly.—John 10:10.
Jesus is here contrasting Himself with other teachers;with those who taught
the people only in order to win their following, while He, in the spirit of
disinterestedlove, taught them for their own good. Those were more worthy
of the title “thieves” than “shepherds,” fortheir object was a selfishand a
sectarian, not a humanitarian one. They wanted men for their church. He
wanted men for their salvation. He claimed to be the “GoodShepherd”

because He securedfor the sheep life at the costof His own. And not merely
that. It was not bare life that He securedfor them, but abounding life, life that
it is a joy to live.
The sheepfoldof the Eastis an enclosure made of high stakes orpalings. As
the evening closes in, the shepherd comes from the pasture-land leading his
flock of sheep. It is a small flock always, suchas he canoversee easily;and he
knows every sheepby nature and by name. He leads the flock into the fold.
Another shepherd comes with his flock. And when all the flocks are housed,
the porter shuts the door (eachshepherd having gone home to his cottage in
the neighbour village), and stays beside the flocks till morning. In the night a
thief comes stealthily, climbs over the palings, and slips down noiselesslyinto
the fold. He lays hold of one of the sheep, but the porter has seenhim. There is
a struggle. If not the porter himself, at leastthe sheepthe thief has seized is
killed, and probably destroyed. He escapesbefore the shepherds arrive in the
morning. With the early dawn the shepherds come. Eachshepherd knocks at
the door of the sheepfold; the porter opens. He calls his own flock by name,
and they follow him awayto the pasture-ground for the day.
Jesus is the Shepherd of the sheep. The Pharisees andSadducees are the
thieves. Jesus comes to give: they come to steal. Jesus comes to give life: they
come to take life away. Jesus comes to give life in abundance: they come to
destroy it altogether. The Pharisees andSadducees ofto-day are the enemies
of Christ, be they who they may. They are the world, the flesh, the devil. The
sheepare those for whom the choice is waiting. Choose ye this day. We are the
sheepof some one’s pasture—His or the Devil’s. We may follow Him to
receive, to receive life, to receive life in abundance. We may follow Satanto
lose, to lose life, to lose it utterly!
1. The thief takes:the Shepherd gives. “The thief comethnot, but that he may
steal:I came that they may have.” This is the ineffaceable distinctionbetween

the world and the Saviour. The world cries, “Give me”: the Saviour cries, “I
give thee.” The world is selfish: the Saviour is unselfish. The princes of this
world exercise lordship: I am among you as He that serveth. Selfishness, they
say, is the essenceofsin: it is certainly the essence ofthe world, which is the
sphere of sin. The world says—andpractises it—that it is more blessedto
receive than to give: Jesus says it is more blessedto give than to receive;and
He gave His life a ransom.
2. The thief takes life: the Shepherd gives life. “The thief cometh not, but that
he may kill: I came that they may have life.” Life and death are the great
words of Scripture, and their meaning must be watched. “Death” on the lips
of Jesus is not physical, but spiritual. “The maid is not dead, but sleepeth”—
and they laughed Him to scorn. As if they did not know when a person was
dead! But He spake notof the death of the body. That was not death. “She
that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” So also with “Life.” Life was
not physical health and strength, it was fellowshipwith God, in the language
of Jesus. Life, saythe men of science, is correspondencewith the things
around us; death comes whenwe getout of touch. Spiritual life is
correspondence withHim who is a spirit; it is trust, it is truth. Every
antagonistof God—the world, the flesh, the devil—seeks to break our
fellowship with God. Till Satancame, Adam walkedwith God; then he hid
himself. Jesus comes to the hidden Adam that He may restore the fellowship.
“Thatthey all may be one as we are: I in them, and thou in me.” “If a man
love me, he will keepmy words:and my Fatherwill love him, and we will
come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
3. The thief comes to destroy: Jesus comes to give life abundantly. Before the
thief—be he world, flesh, devil—can destroy, he must get us in his grasp. This
is a late stage ofthe process. We lose whenwe begin to follow the world; then
we are killed, the very consciencebecoming blunt and blind; then we are
utterly destroyed, generallybody and soul, though the body does not always
visibly show it. Before Jesus cangive us life in abundance, He must give us

life. We are first born again, and then we are changedinto the same image
from glory to glory.
I
Life
1. Suppose we were askedany of the following questions:—Can you tell me in
a word the subjectof the New Testament? Or, can you explain, just as briefly,
the objectwith which Christ came into the world? Or, can you indicate the
final purpose of the multitude of various religious organizations and
movements which we find at work all round us, many of them tending, like
other kinds of modern machinery, to become more and more complex? Can
you saywhy all the sermons are preached, why all the various services are
held, why all our Communions are made?
Will not a single word answerall these questions? Surely the one word “life”
is a sufficient reply to them all. Is not life the one subjectof all Christian
teaching and study? Is not life the one object of every kind of Christian effort?
2. From time to time in the course of His ministry our Lord briefly, yet quite
comprehensivelyexpressed, by means of some pregnant phrase, His whole
purpose and object. For instance, in the hearing of the Pharisees, He said it
was “for judgment” that He came into this world. Then He told Pilate that He
came “to bear witness of the truth.” But never more fully or completely did
our Lord express the whole purpose of His mission than in these words of the
text—“I came that they may have life.”

Sum up the gospelin a single word, and that one word is “life.” Get at the
heart of all Christ had to teach, and life is nestling againstthat heart. One
thought determines every other thought; one fact interprets and arranges
everything, and that one fact, so dominant and regal, is the deep fact of life.
Deeperthan faith, for faith is but a name, unless it issue from a heart that
lives; deeper than love, though God Himself be love, for without life love
would be impossible, life is the compendium of the gospel, the sweetepitome
of all its news;it is the word that gathers in itself the music and the ministry of
Christ. “The words that I speak unto you,” He said, “they are spirit, and they
are life.” “I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” “I am
the way, and the truth, and the life.” “I am the resurrectionand the life.” All
that He came to teach, all that He was, is summed and centred in that little
word.1 [Note: G. H. Morrison]
3. There are always two ways of interpreting such a word as “life,” when we
find it in Holy Scripture. There is the exclusive or distinctive meaning, in
which, e.g., life stands for the “life that is life indeed,” eternallife, the highest
life of the soul. And there is the inclusive or generalmeaning, in which the
word gathers up and covers all the meanings of which it is capable, so that in
this case life would mean vitality in all its forms, from physical vigour up to
the highestenergies of man’s spirit inspired by the Spirit of God.
Before all things beware of narrow and unworthy conceptions of life. That
which God hath joined, let not man put asunder. The animal life, the social
life, and the spiritual life form one organic whole;and though we can have the
lowerwithout the higher, we cannot have the higher without the lower. The
sociallife is unsound if the animal life is stunted in the slums or the
monasteries, and the life to God is maimed if either the sociallife or the
animal life is counted profane. No doubt it is better to enter into life with one
eye than to be castinto outer darkness, but it is better still to enter having two
eyes. As the plant feeds on things without life, so the animal life feeds
ultimately on plant life, the sociallife feeds on the animal life, and the life to

God feeds on the sociallife.2 [Note:H. M. Gwatkin, in The Interpreter,
January, 1912, p. 146.]
4. Life as we see it is manifested in a successionofrising grades. Lowest, there
is the vegetable worldor plant life, with no volition or consciousness,tied
down by invariable laws. Higher, we witness in the animal world the rise of
life from the physical to the psychical; in even the lowestforms of animal life
there would seemto be some dawning consciousness andvolition. In man, the
inner, psychicallife shows itselfsuperior to the physical. It is lighted by
reason, capable ofdeliberate choice and self-direction, able to discern the
moral ideal, and it is the seatof spiritual aspirations.
We may therefore speak separately(1)of physical or natural life, (2) of
intellectual, (3) of moral, and (4) of religious or spiritual life.
(1) Physical Life.—Manis a self-conscious Personalitywith the power of self-
formation. Life is given us, a fresh supply comes to us day by day, given into
our hand, as it were, and in a large measure we can shape it as we choose—
make it larger and fuller, keepit much the same, or let it dwindle awayalmost
into nothingness. How we shall shape our lives will depend for the most part
on what we deem the true good. Eachman’s life is governedby that which
seems to him, from moment to moment, most desirable for him to attain to
and enjoy. We may not deliberately think about it, yet there is always some
end which we seek to gain. The greatness ofman and his responsibility lie in
the factthat he is capable of determining what his end in life shall be. He is
thus, so far, his owncreatorand the “masterof his fate.” He may remain
largely on the level of the merely vegetative life, dominated unconsciouslyby
moods and circumstances. Exceptwhen self-interestbecomes so keenas to
assertitself, he may be entirely a slave to what is outside himself. This cannot
be the true life of man. Or he may suffer himself to be swayed in the main by

the appetites and passions andnecessitiesofhis physical or animal nature,
thus also failing to rise to manhood.
The worship of material well-being, with its unceasing round of distractions
and occupations, cannotbring rest to its devotees. Nor, again, canthe nobler
activities and pleasures which attractothers exhaust their capacities orsatisfy
their nature. These at the best show life under the limitations of time, and, as
one of our greatpoets has said,
Life’s inadequate to joy,
As the soul sees it.
A man can use but a man’s joy
And he sees God’s.
Therefore by the necessityof our being we cry from the depths of our heart
for life, not for the instruments of life only or for the means of living; but for
life, for more life, fuller, deeper, more certain, more enduring; for the
prospectof untroubled calm with fruitful activity; of strenuous labour
without weariness;for the pledge of
Some future state
Unlimited in capability

For joy, as this is in desire for joy:
for a life, that is, reaching through the seeninto the unseen: a life able to unite
and interpret “all objects of all thought”: to satisfyand inspire all effort. So
the voice comes to us from the Gospels with a new meaning and a new power:
“I came that they may have life.”
(2) Intellectual and emotional Life.—Christ vitalizes the intellect and the
emotions. A man does not live until his intellectual nature is truly awake. Is
there anything more calculatedto quicken the mental faculties and arouse
intellectual enthusiasm than a considerationof those lofty and inspiring topics
that were the theme of the ministry of Jesus ofNazareth? He made everybody
think. Indeed, what is called “conversion” is often as much an intellectual as a
spiritual awakening. The Christian life tends to develop the thinking faculty
and is a culture by itself. Interest is arousedin questions that can be solved
only by thought and reflection, and spiritual awakening appears oftento be
accompaniedby an accessionofintelligence. Plain, uneducated people seem
suddenly to attain to a much greaterfulness of intellectual life. The man who
is “born from above” is raised to a higher plane of contemplation. He holds
commerce with largerideas, and is greatenedin his whole nature thereby.
And what is true of the intellect is true, and generallymuch more obviously,
of the emotions.
(3) Moral Life.—The moral life is higher than the merely intellectual and
emotional. “The honest man”—honestall over—“is king o’ men for a’ that,”
in spite of all that shines more brightly or that towers above him. The man
who can conquer and command himself in loyalty to the visions of justice and
duty which shine upon him, who dares to do right though the heavens should
fall, who will acthonestly whatever the consequencesto himself, who seeks
always to do justly in relation to himself and his fellows, to respectthem as

JESUS CAME TO GIVE LIFE IN ABUNDANCE

JESUS CAME TO GIVE LIFE IN ABUNDANCE

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