John 10:1-10 | What's the connection?

There are a lot of connections to historical references in this passage. However, the immediate context provides an interesting angle for how this conversation is taking place.

Just prior to this discourse in John 10, Jesus heals a blind man. Due to the testimony the blind man gives to the Pharisees, they kick him out of the synagogue community. What Jesus is speaking challenges their authority on such a decision. They think they have the authority to determine who is and who isn't the people of God. The covenant people are not decided by the religious elite. Jesus is coming to the defense of the healed man and convicting the Pharisees.

The undertone of the text is that the healed man was right to come by Jesus, and the Pharisees are counterfeits. They are the thieves and robbers. We tend to take the thief and mean Satan by it. The context provides that thief in discussion is any who would take from the flock of Jesus. This is exactly what the Pharisees are trying to do. They don't want Jesus to grow in His influence and they are willing to persecute any and all who would confess Jesus as Lord in any degree. They want to take these individuals from Jesus. They want them dead. And they want Jesus' influence destroyed. Jesus takes a different approach.

To these individuals who come by Him, He wants to provide them with life. He doesn't just give them a bit of life, but rather He gives the fullness of life. If I may be candid, that is an attractive offer.

What connections do you see?
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