Abundant Life | John 10:1-22

INTRODUCTION

Shepherd is one of the figures of speech mentioned in the Bible to describe God. Both in the OT and the NT, God is the good shepherd. Jesus in his public ministry stated many times, “I am the good shepherd.” Jesus talks about his shepherding heart also talks about the thief or a robber, in other words, they are the wicked shepherds. Through this message, we are going to discern by God’s grace as to who is the wicked shepherds, so that our lives are protected and safe. We will also look at the condition of the sheep and the true nature of the good shepherd, Jesus.

John 10:1-22

¹“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Jesus the Good Shepherd

¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

¹⁹The Jews who heard these words were again divided. ²⁰Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

²¹But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

²²Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem.

In this passage we find major statements about the identity of Christ.

John 10:30

I and the Father are one.

John 10:11

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Doctrine for the perseverance of the saints & eternal life.

John 10:27-28

²⁷My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

This morning we will focus on the most popular verse of all times: John 10:10

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10 is a passage that is remarkably rich in its meaning and precious to many of us. It is a favorite chapter for most Christians. This text on abundant life has achieved great prominence.

On Google, Abundant life has almost 38 Crore hits.

This is people’s favorite passage. There are tons of abundant life promises, stickers, magnets, wall papers, wall hangers etc.

This is a signature verse for the entire movement for the modern prosperity doctrine or the health and wealth gospel, or the word of faith movement or the name it and claim it doctrine.

What does the abundant life look like?

What does life to the full mean to you?

Is the abundant life really about improved health, increased wealth?

Inter-testament Context

The context is John 10:22 – The Feast of Dedication

John 10:22

Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem.

What is the Feast of Dedication? It is also called the Feast of Hanukkah. The background for our text is Hanukkah. When you take the account of Hanukkah, many of the pieces of this text fit together: Abundant life. We also get the identity of the the good shepherd, the false shepherd, the thieves and robbers. All of this becomes clear if we have some understanding of the context.

What was Hanukkah about?

Hanukkah is a celebration of an event that actually took place between the Old Testament and the New Testament, an event that happened roughly around 145-146 B.C. The word Hanukkah in Hebrew just means dedication, and it refers to the rededication, the cleansing of the temple. It is the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after it had been defiled by the Greek oppressor, the ruler of that time, whose name was Antiochus Epiphanes.

Antiochus was not a Jew, he was a Greek Seleucid emperor. He was the ruler, a descendant of the empire of Alexander the Great. He was hell-bent on a program of rapid Hellenization. Hellenization is trying to impose Greek language, culture, and religion. He tried to impose on the Jews Greek customs offending Jewish sensibilities. Antiochus made the Sabbath and the practice of circumcision illegal. He required them to eat swine flesh because the pig was viewed as sacred to the Greeks. He offered pig as a sacrifice at the Jewish temple and desecrated it.

By the way, how did Antiochus Epiphanes pull off this 11-year reign of terror that included the slaughter of many faithful Israelites who opposed him? Well, it happened because of the complicity of Israel’s compromising spineless priests. It was through the religious establishment going along to get along. In fact, even paid Antiochus ever greater bribes so that they would be appointed to priestly offices.

After the defeat of Antiochus Epiphanes, the temple was rededicated. In Jesus’ day, they recognized that not only did the temple need to get cleaned, but the priesthood, the religious leadership, the establishment needed to be cleaned. So it was traditional on Hanukkah the background of our text at the time of Jesus they would read from Ezekiel 34. That was the lectionary reading.

Hanukkah is about shepherds and God’s word against them. This was application in the days of Ezekiel, in the period of Antiochus Epiphanes period, in Jesus period, and indeed even to this day.

OT Context

Ezekiel 34:1-6

¹The word of the Lord came to me: ²“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; (This is Hanukkah. Hanukkah is about shepherds and God’s word against them. It applies in Ezekiel’s period, Jesus’ time and also in our time.) prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? ³You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.

⁴You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. ⁵So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. ⁶My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

What would God do with that kind of false leadership?

What would God do with that kind of tainted priesthood? Those false shepherds who cared for nothing for the sheep, who are more interested in fleecing them than in feeding them.

God promises in Ezekiel to judge them

Ezekiel 34:11-16

¹¹“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. ¹²As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

¹³I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. ¹⁴I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁶I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

God personally shepherd his flock but he is also going to set up a new David, an escalated David, someone of the line of David and David is going to shepherd them too.

Ezekiel 34:23-24

²³I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. ²⁴I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.

Micah prophesied that he will be born in Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

though you are small among the clan of Judah,

out of you will come for me

one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from of old,

from ancient times.”

God is going to do the shepherding all by himself and also David. How is that possible? No wonder Jesus declares himself to be the good shepherd;

John 10:11

“I am the good shepherd.

It all comes together in the ministry of Christ.

Jesus shepherding is same as the Father’s shepherding.

John 10:30

I and the Father are one.

If you have Jesus as the shepherd, you have the Father God as your good shepherd.

Immediate Context

What is the background for our text? It is of course Ezekiel 34.

But it is also what has happened in Jesus own day:

Go back to John 9 and we see why Jesus is thinking about the false shepherds. Jesus had healed the man who had been born blind. The leaders of Israel are discovering that someone in their midst has been used of God to heal a man who was born blind. Such healing has never happened since creation. This is for them to recognize that, “Now God is amongst us, ministering through Jesus.” They could see in him the fulfilment of Isaiah’s threefold promise of the Messiah who would come and open up the eyes of the blind. This is to establish Jesus’ identity in unmistakable terms that he is the Messiah who is to come.

What did the shepherds of Israel do instead? These false shepherds, the Pharisees, in John 9, they interviewed the man who was born blind and is now seeing. They interviewed his parents. Finally, they asked the neighbours. They threw the guy out, excommunicated him. The false shepherds threw him out.

Then the Bible says Jesus, the good shepherd went and found him. He is the good shepherd who finds the lost, the scattered.

John 9:35-38

³⁵Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

³⁶“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

³⁷Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

³⁸Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

To be healed to have vision restored is a wonderful miracle, but Jesus also gave him spiritual vision. Tragically, the Pharisees who could physically perfectly well, they could not see Jesus and so Jesus said:

John 9:41

Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

John 9:39

Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

Jesus is the fulfilment of these great hopes.

Understanding John 10

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Who is this thief in John 10?

In the context of Ezekiel, the evil shepherds of Israel are the kings of Judah: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. Their self-interests controlled them.

In the context of the inter-testament period it is the Jewish rulers who sided with the Seleucids and desecrated the temple.

Well in the immediate context of John 10, it is the Pharisees, those false shepherds.

John 10:1

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.

In the 21^st Century, in our context the false shepherds are pastors, prophets and ministers of God who exploit the sheep.

How Do You Identify These False Shepherds Today?

1. False Doctrine. Teach what is popular than what is true.
2. Money-Minded.
3. Self-Exaltation. They take all the glory to themselves. Make people talk about their glory.

1 Corinthians 3:5-7

⁵What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

The false shepherds steal not only of money but of glory.

4. Blind Acceptance.
5. Self-promotion.

Jesus talking about these false leaders sees behind them to the one who is their inspiration, whose agent and instrument they are, whose likeness they bear. The ultimate Thief who is the enemy of our souls.

John 8:42

⁴²Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The spirit behind the false shepherds is the Devil himself. He is a murderer and a liar and so are they, deceiving the flock, misleading them and leading them into a path that will surely end in death.

Jesus insists in this John 10:10 passage that before you can know about the abundant life, you got to know what the problem is, and the problem is we have an enemy. We have to take account of the fact that it is not just us folks here. There are spiritual forces of evil that stand behind the kinds of problems with which we struggle. We have got to take account of the spiritual dimensions of our battle in life. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Yes, the false leaders do want to steal quite literally, they want to fill their wallets, they want to feather their nest just like those false priests in Ezekiel’s day and in the day of Antiochus often are motivated by money.

The Sheep

We are the sheep.

We are to recognize ourselves through God’s word and it is tremendously liberating.

And we are liberated to live for the one who died for us.

Sheep are insecurity personified.

We are destined for God’s wrath.

Sheep are stubborn, dumbest of animals. The only animal that you cannot release and have them survive. If goats are let go, they are fine. Camels live on. Sheep have to be utterly dependent on their shepherd. They cannot even run away from their predators. They cannot find water unless the shepherd leads them right into the water place. Or they will starve to death as they just eat the grass to the root at one place, but just at their eyes there is visible to them is this lush green grass. That is what sheep are.

They are not resourceful.

They do not know what to do for themselves.

And they have the potential to get lost.

ILLUSTRATION

In July 2005, a newspaper in Turkey carried a caption: 1,500 sheep take suicide to leap off a cliff. The report referred to an incident in Gevas, a town in eastern Turkey when sheep leapt to death from a cliff. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported.

The Bible invites us to see ourselves as sheep.

Isaiah 53:6

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

We go astray, we lose our way, we do not have any direction, we head where the crowd heads even when we think we are so clear and smart.

That is what we are.

Jesus Is The Good Shepherd.

What then is the life Jesus came to bring? It is the opposite to the false shepherds. It is abundant life.

John 10:10-11

¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. ¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

What has The Good Shepherd Done?

1. The Good Shepherd loves the Sheep

The shepherd will care for the 99 but he will also go out and seek out the lost sheep until he finds it; Luke 15.

2. The Good Shepherd Carries the Lost Sheep.

3. The Good Shepherd Celebrates the Joy of Restoration.

4. The Good Shepherd Gave His Life for the Sheep

v11. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. It is emphasised 5 times in John 10. The very fact that he had to die for us means that we were in a dreadful situation. We are living in sin. We are ignorant of our condition and we feel we are safe. Never had an eternal view. And we are living working for our earthly desires like; money, health, success, or lust that is driving us. His death was necessary to procure our redemption. You and I are loved by the good shepherd who gave his life for us.

The Good Shepherd is the Gate for the Sheep; v7, 9

The Good Shepherd Gives Abundant Life; v10

What is the abundant life Christ wants to give you? It is that for which he bled on the cross. Don’t settle in this life. It is eternal life with Jesus. All the other blessings of life are but frosting on the cake. They are fine, it is not evil, it is not that it is wrong to pray that you will pass your exam or that you will get the promotion. It is fine to ask God to bless your business decisions and all the rest of it, but don’t trade your birth right for a pottage. The real abundant life is far more costly than anything in this world. Indeed it could only have been purchased at the price of the death of Jesus.

John10:27-28

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand

The life is eternal life, an eternal life that starts now, it is a life that begins, it is not something you have to wait for until you pass from this existence into the next.

John 3:36

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

John 17:3-4

³Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

An abundant Life is a Relationship with Christ.

You want to know what eternal life is, it is knowing Jesus, it is having a relationship with God. The vitality of that relationship transforms everything. It turns blessings into better blessings and trials into good things that you rejoice over because you are going through them with him. It is the ultimate promise.

Abundant Life is Abundant Grace & the gift of righteousness.

Romans 5:17

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

Abundant Life is Promise of Giving all of God’s Riches to Us.

Romans 8:32

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for all of us-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things.

2 Peter 1:3

His divine power has given us everything that we need for life and godliness…

How do we respond to that?

We belong to the good shepherd.

We are his.

Psalm 100:3

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

A good shepherd is with us during our storms to build us and lead us. Because of his leading only good outcomes will come out of our trials. His ways are always perfect. Confess with your heart that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

Come to the shepherd of your soul and return to him. Give him your life. Enjoy his shepherd love that enfolds you, that surrounds you, that will strengthen you.

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me.”

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, as we reflect on the profound truths revealed in John 10, we are reminded of the immense love and care of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. He not only lays down his life for us but also leads us into abundant life. Let us heed his voice, follow him faithfully, and experience the fullness of life he offers.

LIFE APPLICATION POINTS

Recognize False Shepherds. Be discerning of leaders who prioritize self-interest over the well-being of the flock. False shepherds prioritize personal gain over genuine care for their followers, leading to spiritual harm.

Embrace Spiritual Vision. Allow Jesus to open your eyes to the truth of his word and his redemptive work. Spiritual vision enables us to see beyond the superficial and understand the deeper truths of God’s kingdom.

Trust in the Good Shepherd. Place your trust in Jesus, who lovingly guides, protects, and provides for his sheep. Trusting in the Good Shepherd brings security and peace amidst life’s challenges and uncertainties.

Listen to His Voice. Cultivate a heart attuned to the voice of the Good Shepherd through prayer, Scripture, and obedience. Actively listening to Jesus’ voice empowers us to follow him faithfully and experience the blessings of his guidance.

Seek Abundant Life in Christ. Pursue a deep, intimate relationship with Jesus, where true abundance is found. Abundant life in Christ transcends material blessings, offering fulfillment and purpose beyond worldly pursuits.

Yield Your life Fully to Jesus. Allow him to lead and transform you into his likeness. Surrendering to the Good Shepherd’s care involves yielding our wills and desires to his perfect plan, trusting in his wisdom and goodness May we continually seek the abundant life offered by our Good Shepherd, finding joy, peace, and purpose in following him wholeheartedly.