John 10:10 Quotes
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Source: John 10:10
Author: Unknown
"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly"
All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 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. (John 10:8-10, KJV)
Context
This line is spoken by Jesus of Nazareth in John 10:10.
Jesus and his crew are hanging in Jerusalem when the religious authorities start to question him about certain miracles he's been performing. Oh, heck no, Jesus thinks. Don't these fools know who I am?
So basically, Jesus starts in on a whole sermon about how he's just like a shepherd who's tending his sheep. (A good shepherd, if you will.) Since Jesus got this gig directly from God, God has no issues with opening the front gate and letting his shepherd in to tend the sheep.
But, of course, other folks are definitely not handpicked by God. Bummer. They're just thieves who try to jump over the fence and steal some sheep out of God's flock. That's a big no-no.
In other words, Jesus is the real deal. He's not like those other clowns who claim to have an in with God, but have yet to be let through the front door (we're looking at you, religious authorities). Jesus was sent to help the sheep and that's what he's gonna do. People need to be living their best and most abundant lives, and that means following what God wants for them. It's a pretty nice thought, actually.
(P.S. Although the people who put the Gospel of John in the Bible thought Jesus's disciple John had written it, scholars today are pretty sure that there were actually multiple writers. You can get the details here.)
Where you've heard it
The idea of having an "abundant life" with Jesus on your side is pretty powerful in Christian circles. Lots of folks have been inspired by thoughts of living large with the Big Guy. So you'll probably hear it there.
Additional Notable References:
- Martin Luther King Jr. gave a shout-out to this idea when he used it as the title for a 1954 sermon: "Creating the Abundant Life."
- Oral Roberts liked the idea of abundant life so much that he named a prayer group after it.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
You are not Jesus, so you will come off as pretty weird and definitely pretentious if you try to swipe his best lines during your next casual get-together.