The Quick Church

The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy - An exegesis on John 10v10

John 10:10 records Jesus saying, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” This verse sets up a contrast between “the thief,” the destroyer; and Jesus, the life-giver.

Looking at the verse in context, we see that Jesus is presenting Himself as the Good Shepherd. He is essentially telling the Pharisees that He is Messiah, the same Lord that David called “my Shepherd” in Psalm 23:1.

Just prior to Jesus’ discussion of shepherds and sheep, He had healed a man born blind (John 9). The man was taken to the Pharisees, who investigated the healing but refused to acknowledge Jesus as the healer; in fact, they mocked the healed man for trusting Jesus. When Jesus heard what happened, He went to the previously blind man, revealed Himself as the Son of Man, and accepted the man’s worship of Him.

Then Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (John 9:39). Some Pharisees overheard this and, taking offense, asked, “What? Are we blind too?” (John 9:40). Jesus replied, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. 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. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep” (John 9:41—10:2).

Jesus continued talking about the gatekeeper and how the shepherd calls out his sheep. Sheep will only follow the shepherd whom they know (John 10:3–5). Jesus then interpreted His words: “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 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 10:7–10). With these words, Jesus declares that He is the only way to salvation and the fullness of life. But who is the thief? And what does it mean that the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy?

The Greek word for “thief” used in John 10:10 means “one who steals” (see Matthew 6:19–20); figuratively, the same word is used to refer to false teachers. Anyone who claimed a way of salvation other than Jesus was “robbing” the people of truth. Just as a thief clambers over the wall of the sheepcote, bypassing the gate, false teachers attempt to bypass Jesus. Those who, like the Pharisees, put manmade requirements on people for salvation are false teachers who “steal” people’s ability to see the true means of salvation. The result of such thievery is death and destruction, as Jesus said the thief’s plan is to “kill and destroy.” It should be stated that the Law and the Prophets, though they came before Jesus, are not thieves and robbers. The Law and the Prophets did not offer another way of salvation but pointed forward to the one way of salvation (John 5:39).

False teachers are thieves who may claim to offer salvation, but their intentions are not good. Jesus had earlier told some unbelievers, “You 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” (John 8:44). Ultimately, these false teachers/thieves are carrying out Satan’s intentions. Rather than bring life, they bring death. Rather than give, they steal. Rather than build up, they destroy.

Dealing with spiritual thieves is a serious matter. Twice, Paul told the Galatians that “if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!” (Galatians 1:8–9). There is only one gospel, and that is the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3–5). Any other so-called gospel is to be rejected.

We are not free of false teachers today. Peter wrote, “There will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping” (2 Peter 2:1–3).

Praise the Lord, God’s sheep are protected from the thief by their Shepherd. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). The sheep “follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice” (John 10:4–5). It is by knowing truth, knowing God’s voice, that we defend against the deceptions of those who would seek to steal, kill, and destroy. Life is in Jesus and Him alone.

MANSIONS IN HEAVEN?

What did Jesus mean when He said, “in my Father's house are many mansions (John 14:2)" ?

This teaching is part of what’s known as Jesus’ Farewell Discourse (John 14-17).

He’s in the Upper Room celebrating the Passover with the Twelve. They’re only hours away from his arrest, trial and ex*****on. The purpose of these last words is to prepare the disciples for his departure, and for the extreme time of trial that they too, will face. He tells them that very shortly He’ll leave them for a place to which they cannot com (13:33)

Jesus then gives this lovely picture of him going to his Father’s house in which there are many rooms, or, in the old KJV, many “mansions”. It’s a word today that conjures up images of large celestial estates.

The KJV word rendered as ‘mansion’ is mone, which most modern versions translate more accurately and prosaically as ‘place’. It simply means ‘room’ or ‘dwelling place’. And it only appears twice in the New Testament—both times in this chapter. The other occurrence is in v.23: “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them and we will come to them and make our home [our mone] with them”.

But it doesn’t stop there. The verbal form of the noun mone, is meno, which means to ‘room with’ or ‘stay with’. Most Bible versions render it, ‘remain’ or ‘abide’. The theme of abiding with Jesus in the room he prepares for us, which began in 14:2, then continues into chapter 15. It’s another instance where the insertion of a chapter break tends to obscure the flow of the passage. Here Jesus switches metaphors from a home to a vineyard.

Using an image rich in Old Testament associations (e.g. Isaiah 5) he encourages his disciples to “remain in me” and assures them that he will also remain in them (15:4). This is precisely what he’s promised from the beginning of the discourse: the mutual dwelling together of the Triune God and his people.

So, to what and when is Jesus referring in 14:2? We’ve readily assumed he’s referring to heaven. We’ve assumed he’s telling his disciples that, after he dies and rises again, he’ll go to heaven and while there, get a house ready for his people. Then at some time in the (distant) future, at what we call his ‘Second Coming’, he’ll take all his disciples to be with him in their new heavenly homes. But no.

The context of this verse is the coming of the Spirit (v16) to live in the disciples.
So, the only other reference to ‘place’/‘room’, in this farewell sermon, is where Jesus speaks about dwelling with his disciples now—in this new age, about to be inaugurated by his death, resurrection and the gift of the Spirit.

An example of Exegsis

WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED IN MY NAME

Matthew 18:20 is often used to justify a small prayer meeting or church service. The pastor might say something like “There are just a few of us here tonight, but we are glad that we don’t have to have a huge crowd for God to listen to us. After all, Jesus promises, ‘Where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there.’” This sounds comforting until it is properly checked in scripture and taken to its actual meaning.

One of the ways to properly interpret scripture is to check the verses before, and the verses after, to see what was being discussed or preached.

PICKING A VERSE IN ISOLATION WILL LEAD TO ERROR!

The discussion in Matthew 18v20 begins from Matthew 18v15-17.
Matthew 18:15–17 tells how to deal with sin in the church; it is a passage on what is commonly called “church discipline”: “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

Verse 18 then gives assurance that, when this process is followed, God is working in it: “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

And then, verses 19–20 give a final assurance: “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

The context of “where two or three are gathered together in my name” (Matthew 18:20, KJV) has to do with church discipline and the confrontation of the wayward sinner. In verse 16, the principle has been invoked of needing “two or three witnesses” in making an accusation (cf. Deuteronomy 19:15). The mention of “two or three” in verse 20 echoes that principle; the “two or three” are confronting sin in the church.

Jesus cites the Old Testament Law that said an accusation from a single individual is insufficient to bring action in a criminal case. However, two or three witnesses who agree are sufficient to establish a matter. The law in Deuteronomy regulated a human court. Jesus applies this to the “heavenly court.” When the erring brother or sister in the church is confronted by “two or three witnesses” and refuses to repent, these witnesses bring the matter before the church. Jesus assures us that, when this happens, it is not just the witnesses who are bringing action against the wrongdoer, but He is there with them. Church discipline is sanctioned by both the Father and the Son. This is important because we live in an age when it is not fashionable to confront or “judge” anyone’s lifestyle as sinful. Those who do step forward to call out sin in the church can take heart in the fact that they are not acting alone; Christ is with them in the endeavor.

The two or three who gather in Jesus’ name are not coming together in a prayer meeting or a worship service but in a matter of church discipline. The two or three witnesses have confronted the sinner in a spirit of humility ( Galatians 6:1), and the sinner has not repented. So the two or three take the matter to the Lord in prayer and then confidently move forward with the process outlined in Scripture, knowing that they are not being bullies or busybodies, for God endorses their efforts—Jesus is “with them.”

UNDERSTANDING SCRIPTURE (3) - The need for context

First, we remind ourselves of the meaning of hermeneutics. The word “hermeneutics” is derived from the Greek word hermeneuō which means to translate or interpret or to bring someone to an understanding of something.

Biblical hermeneutics is the science and art of interpreting the Bible. By means of various principles, it seeks to discover the precise meaning.

“They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”―Nehemiah 8:8.

On the road to Emmaus Jesus said:

“O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.―Luke 24:25-27.

A sound and trustworthy interpretation of the Scripture…is the root and basis of all revealed theology.


The world of the Bible is widely separated in its culture and customs from our world today. Therefore, there is the need to bridge that gap. There is a wide range of literary genres found in the Bible (e.g., poetry, prophecy, parables and so on) and there are ancient figures of speech, and this makes hermeneutics necessary for biblical interpretation. We all bring our own theological baggage to the task of interpretation, but hermeneutics is meant to be impartial and objective not biased and subjective. This is the problem with some approaches to interpretation, which are agenda-driven ~ such as, Liberation, Feminist, and Black theologies.

Careful hermeneutics will keep people from drifting into heresy or falling prey to different heresies based on various agendas.

Therefore, a sound hermeneutic is critical, especially a clear understanding of the differences which exist between the Old and New Covenants. This will help us to avoid making wrong deductions. Making wrong deductions from the Old Testament is a common mistake. Throughout church history, it has led to all sorts of abuses and atrocities.