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SUBJECT: John 10:7-10
QUESTION: In these verses, who are the thieves and
robbers?
ANSWER:
John 10:7-10
7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but
the sheep did not hear them.
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.
10 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.
Christ is our protector, guarding us spiritually from
attack, just as shepherds protect their flock by guarding
the sheep pen. Many people think Christians are wrong to say
that Jesus is the only way to salvation. They seek other
ways to bridge the impenetrable chasm between God and
man--such as good moral behavior or religious rituals. Yet
Jesus Himself said that He is the only way to eternal life.
Others have come in the past and will come in the future
claiming to be the way to God. Jesus called them thieves and
robbers. Only Christ fulfilled all the prophecies concerning
the Jewish Messiah written about in the Scriptures.
In contrast to thieves, who are only interested in what they
can take, Jesus was only interested in what He could give.
He gives life--full of abundance and richness. This life is
eternal, yet it begins the moment we give control of our
lives to Him. Life in Christ is lived on a higher plane
because of His overflowing forgiveness, love, and guidance.
Notice a commentary:
John 10:8
All that ever came before me are
thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
[All
that ever came before me]
This does not refer to the prophets, but to those who came
pretending to be the pastors or guides of the people. Some
have supposed that he referred to those who pretended to be
the Messiah before him; but there is not evidence that any
such person appeared before the coming of Jesus. It is
probable that he rather refers to the scribes and Pharisees,
who claimed to be instructors of the people, who claimed the
right to regulate the affairs of religion, and whose only
aim was to aggrandize themselves and to oppress the people.
See the notes at John 1:18. When the Saviour says that "all"
were thieves, he speaks in a popular sense, using the word
"all" as it is often used in the New Testament, to denote
the great mass or the majority.
[Thieves
and robbers] See John
10:1; also Jeremiah 23:1: "Woe be unto the pastors that
destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture;" Ezekiel
34:2-3: "Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed
themselves! Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool,
ye kill them that are fed; but ye feed not the flock." This
had been the general character of the Pharisees and scribes.
They sought wealth, office, ease at the expense of the
people, and thus deserved the character of thieves and
robbers. They insinuated themselves slyly as a thief, and
they oppressed and spared not, like a robber.
[The
sheep] The people of
God-the pious and humble portion of the Jewish nation.
Though the great mass of the people were corrupted, yet
there were always some who were the humble and devoted
people of God. Compare Romans 11:3-4. So it will be always.
Though the great mass of teachers may be corrupt, yet the
true friends of God will mourn in secret places, and refuse
to "listen to the instruction that causeth to err.”
-from Barnes' Notes
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