The thief.

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.

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 10:10

What does it mean that the Devil comes to kill , steal , and destroy.

From the early pages of Genesis to the final chapters of Revelation, he's attempting to take good things created by God and either steal them ( snatching people from God), kill them ( enticing humans toward self-harm), or destroy them ( destroying churches through persecution).

These words from Jesus may be very familiar to you. After all, we have an adversary—Satan. Have you ever stopped to ask why does God allow Satan to do this? Hidden within a question like this is another question that many have been asking for generations, why do bad things happen to good people?

I mean, isn’t God good?

Isn’t he more powerful than Satan? Can’t he stop Satan anytime he wants?

The answers to those questions are yes, yes, and yes. Well if the answer is yes, then why doesn’t he?

Let’s explore these thoughts a little more and see what truths we can discover.

Mystery Is A Reality We Must All Face.

The reality of life is: there will be some questions you won’t get answers to. I wish it were different, but it’s not. Notice what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:9-10:

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part [for our knowledge is fragmentary and incomplete]. But when that which is complete and perfect comes, that which is incomplete and partial will pass away. (AMP)

I know this doesn’t solve the problem but it does provide a little framework, letting us know that life is not always cut-and-dry or black-and-white. There are some gray areas. And we spend a lot of time living in those gray areas.

However, to best solve this problem, let’s first look at how Satan attacks the unbeliever and the believer.

Satan and the Unbeliever.

When I think of an unbeliever, I think ‘uncovered.’ If someone has not put their faith in Jesus for salvation, they are not under God’s protection. Not under God’s provision. Not under God’s promises. In effect you are all alone, ripe for the enemy’s picking.

Notice 1 Peter 5:8:

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Who are the ones most vulnerable to be devoured? Those who are not under God’s covering or those who are uncovered. In the life of someone who is an unbeliever, the enemy has free reign to operate, except God steps in by his grace. To reject Jesus is to reject the one who has the power to stop the workings of the enemy in your life.

When you reject Jesus, Satan can do pretty much what he wants, because there is no one there to police his activity. How then do we reconcile this in the life of the believer?

Satan and the Believer.

For those who are in Christ, consider 1 Peter 5:9:

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Understand the process. The enemy comes in looking to devour and Peter says resist him. Remember this letter was written to Christians. As believers, the enemy does not have free reign in our lives. We have the power to fight back. Remember James:

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. – James 4:7

The enemy will attack...after all, he is our enemy. The difference is we have the power to resist, cast out and fight back. In Christ, we are not victims but victors. This doesn’t eliminate the challenges of life; it just gives us weapons to deal with them.

A Counterfeit ‘Ruler’ of This Fallen World.

Two other realities we must face in this life (in addition to some things being beyond our understanding) are:

1. We live in a fallen world. When Adam ate the fruit and disobeyed God, sin entered the world. Since then we have had to live with the consequence of his decision. His sin brought sickness, hatred, disease, separation from God and death into the world.

God has allowed this to continue and it will continue until Jesus comes again.

2. Satan is the god of this world. Though God is still sovereign, we see the impact of Satan’s influence in this world. Consider 2 Corinthians 4:3-4:

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

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” ( 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.