I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.

John 10:1-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. ² But the one who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he puts all his own sheep outside, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Jesus told them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what the things which He was saying to them meant.

⁷ So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. ¹² He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock. ¹³ He flees because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd. ¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back. ¹⁸ No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. This commandment I received from My Father.”

¹⁹ Dissension occurred again among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰ Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” ²¹ Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who is demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of those who are blind, can it?”

Many people want to claim the promise of John 10:10 from today’s text. Jesus says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”  As with all scripture, it is important that we read it and receive in the context of all that Jesus said: In verses 1-5;7-9 He says: “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But the one who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts all his own sheep  outside, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers…  Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”  We cannot expect to have the abundant life in Christ if it is not His voice we listen to. It is vital if we are going to follow Jesus, that we know and listen to His voice. There are many voices we can listen to, but His is the voice of truth. If we follow the other voices we will know the loss, death and destruction of the thief.  

The abundance that we have in Christ is not necessarily like the abundance of the world. It is not more material things than we want. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.”   The abundant life Christ gives is more peace, joy and contentment than we could imagine. Ephesians 1:3 says: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing. Here’s the thing, it says that we are blessed in heavenly places, but that does not mean that those blessings are not ours and ours abundantly here on earth. Jesus taught us to pray saying: Your kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In Luke 17:21 Jesus says: “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”  In John 14:23 Jesus says: “If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him.” We are heavenly places. Not only is the kingdom of heaven in us, but the King of heaven and earth dwells with us and in us as well.

Jesus says: “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. This commandment I received from My Father.” 

If you never have before, today could be the day for you to listen to the voice of the good shepherd who laid down His life for you. Today could be the day that you begin to know the abundance of Christ. In Revelation 3:20 the Lord says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires, take the water of life without cost…  He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.