John 10:10

John 10:10. The thief cometh not but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy. This verse forms a link of connection between John 10:9 and John 10:11, presenting first the contrast between a true shepherd and ‘the thief,' and then preparing the way for the highest contrast of all, that between the thief and the Good Shepherd. The rightful Shepherd has entered (John 10:9) that He may lead out His flock to the pastures; the thief cometh only to steal and kill, feeding himself and not the flock, even seeking its destruction.

I came that they may have life, and that they may have abundance. To this point the figure contained in ‘I am the door' has been more or less clearly preserved, for the shepherd has, and the thief has not, entered the fold by the door. The language now before us does not really depart from this conception (for in opposition to those who ‘ came before' Him professing to be ‘the door of the sheep,' Jesus here says ‘I came '), although it agrees still better with the thought of John 10:11. In fact the words ‘I came' stand in double contrast, with the words of John 10:8, and with the first words of this verse ‘the thief cometh.' By whatever figure Jesus is represented, the object of His appearing is the same, that His sheep may live. The life and abundance are the reality of which the pasturage (John 10:9) has been the symbol. As in chap. 7 the blessings of Messiah's kingdom are represented by abundant streams of living water, so here the regions into which Jesus is leading His flock are regions of life and of abundance. To His people He gives eternal life; there shall be no want to them for maintaining their life in all its freedom and joy; their ‘cup runneth over.'