Who Is The Thief? — by David Yeubanks

Many a believer in Christ has quoted this well-known passage of Scripture. It has been included in countless sermons and, in most every case, the conclusion is made — without blinking — that Satan is the “thief” in view here. In fact, I’ve often heard preachers quote the passage as such: “the devil cometh not but for to steal, kill and destroy!” Now, far be it from this author to argue the point that the devil is a thief (for indeed he is), but I hope to encourage readers to take a second look at this passage so easily quoted and yet so often misunderstood. I hope to illustrate very clearly here the truth that Satan is not the thief being referred to in John 10:10!

The fact that the devil is often targeted as being the spotlight villain in this passage is not too difficult to understand for a number of reasons. In the first place, no one questions the fact that Satan is a thief. However, for many pastors who quote this verse in their sermons, it’s understandably more comfortable to identify the thief as the devil than to reckon with the character Jesus is actually warning His sheep about in this chapter. Just who is that character? That character is the professional pastor!

In verse one, Jesus first tells us that the thief is a MAN. He says that “the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.” Clearly Jesus intends us to recognize that there is a right way (and all other presumed ways are incorrect), and so it is vital that we pay attention to His words. The Pharisees professed to be the guides, shepherds and seers of the people. In all truth they were the religious leaders of the day. They were, in fact, the “pastors.” Jesus, in the previous chapter, healed a blind man and the religious leaders scoffed at the miracle. Jesus made a stinging comment with respect to their position among the people and their arrogant view of themselves as the official mouthpieces for God.

When Jesus said, “if you were really blind, you would be blameless,” He obviously means that if they had not been given any prior opportunity to know and understand the Truth, were genuinely ignorant, and yet remained humble to learn of Him — then they would not be guilty of sin. However, the religious leaders pretended to know the Truth — and not only pretended to know, but they pretended to be qualified shepherds and teachers of the people. They held to many doctrines and traditions, which they claimed were given by God, but which were really the invention of their own corrupt minds, and they imposed this legalism on others. We know also, from other passages of Scripture (e.g. Luke 16:14; Matthew 23:14; Titus 1:11), that the religious leaders loved money and used their position of “apparent godliness” to take advantage of the weak — to find clever ways of robbing them of their finances.

This is the background leading up to Jesus’ remarks in John chapter 10. And now we have Jesus bring this all to a concentrated focus, settling the matter of who the true shepherd/pastor of the sheep is! Those who have defined “the thief” in this passage as being the devil may have gotten the sinister nature of such a character correct, but they have missed the subject itself! This passage is not about the devil (who comes to steal, kill and destroy), but about corrupt religious leaders! These are those who try to set themselves up as shepherds of the sheep, but reject the Way of the Master Shepherd. It is extremely vital that we recognize the Master’s Way, because any man who ignores it proves that he is not a true shepherd.

The Scripture says, in verse 6, that Jesus was using a figure of speech in His reference to “gates” and “the shepherd of the sheep.” As He continues we find that not only does Jesus identify Himself as the gate by which the sheep enter, but He is also the Shepherd of the sheep! Before Jesus comes to this point, however, He makes a heavy statement: that all those who came before Him were thieves and robbers. This is a direct reference to false shepherds — those who had supposed themselves the “authorities” in matters of truth! No wonder the religious leaders of Jesus’ day hated Him so much — for He had just pronounced them utterly invalid and fraudulent!

It’s also interesting to note here that when this verse presents the words “all who ever came before me,” the actual Greek word used for “came” is not past tense at all! It is a primary verb meaning to come. The NIV also renders the passage as saying those who came “were”… but the Greek word here is actually in third person plural present and translates as are. Finally, there is nothing in the original Greek to represent the phrase “did not hear,” but rather only do not listen to. In other words, what Jesus said was: “ALL WHO EVER COME BEFORE ME ARE THIEVES AND ROBBERS, BUT THE SHEEP DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM!” This takes the verse out of a mere application to Pharisees in Jesus’ day and applies it to all who may attempt to stand in His place as the Shepherd of the sheep. As Jesus Himself said (verse 16), “there shall be one flock and one Shepherd!”

It does seem, by the first part of Jesus’ comments, that there are those who may be qualified as “shepherds” of the sheep. However, all emphasis is laid upon Himself as the Shepherd of His sheep. The only possible way another man could be regarded as a genuine caregiver of His sheep is if he follows in perfect alignment with Jesus’ instruction. If he deviates from the Gate, he is nothing more than a thief and a robber.

All of this leads us up to verse 10, where Jesus says that the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. This is the result of any man who presumes himself to be a shepherd of the Lord’s people and stands in the way of Christ Himself. By placing himself as a mediator in-between, he robs the Lord of the people and the people of their Lord. But there is even more to this robbery. Jesus was not merely being figurative here as before. In fact, He gets very plain with the people. The Message version states the next couple of verses most eloquently, in my opinion:

If ever anyone needed proof from Jesus’ own lips that He does not endorse any such office as a “professional pastor,” here it is! Jesus plainly said, “a hired man is not a real shepherd.” In other words, “ministry” (serving others) is not a profession. Remember there was another time when Jesus spoke about the connection between serving God and making money:

Mammon refers to the subject of worldly wealth. Serving mammon means to trust in it as your source of provision. We know this is what Jesus was referring to because the rest of Matthew chapter 6 continues with Jesus telling the people not to worry about their lives — what they will wear, what they will eat or drink. When a man claims to be a “pastor” or a “shepherd” of God’s people, and does this as a profession, he risks illustrating that mammon has become his master — essentially his “god,” for Jesus leaves no middle ground between the two, and whatever a man serves in God’s place has become his substitute for God Himself. Some may regard this as too harsh, but I’d gently suggest they are really wrestling with Jesus’ statement, not mine. It is no accident that Jesus used the term “serve mammon” in contrast with “serve God.” Think about this for a moment. How many times have we heard of a pastor who resigned his position because it was not paying enough? How many times have we heard of a pastor who left because he got a “better offer” at another church? So often the core of the professional pastoral system is mammon, for a pastor rarely feels he can engage the task unless he is properly remunerated for his efforts. In short, he may come to believe that serving God and serving mammon meld effortlessly. I ask you, though: what happens when the money is gone? If a man cannot make a living at ministry, what does he do? Does he resign to take a full-time secular job? Does he begin preaching more often on the importance of tithing? Just who is he really serving?

Jesus made the matter plain. Is he a hired man? Does he accept a salary to support himself and his family so that he can “serve God”? Does he proclaim to be a shepherd, and that such is his profession? If so, then by Jesus’ own words he is not a real shepherd — he is a hireling, and the sheep are not his own (John 10:12). By the Lord’s own reckoning he is numbered with the thief, and his actions amount to destruction — regardless of whatever other good he may intend. He will kill and destroy instead of aiding those he claims to serve, because a man cannot love two masters. If he is truly devoted to God, then that devotion is enough as far as “ministry” is concerned. Whether or not he receives compensation for his service is not a factor that should even enter the decision he makes concerning heeding God’s call.

Please understand, I am not suggesting to the reader that it is wrong for anyone serving God to receive freewill gifts from God’s people. If they are willing of their own accord to bless someone in this fashion, that is wonderful. But a shepherd — a real shepherd — does not serve for profit. It is wholly inconsistent with Jesus’ own instruction.

My aim isn’t to wound the shepherd, but to point every sheep back to the Shepherd.

A closing thought, written years after this article first appeared: when I wrote it, my zeal sometimes ran ahead of my grace. I still believe every word about Christ being our one true Shepherd — but I want to be clear that I’m not branding any particular pastor a villain. Most, I’m convinced, are sincere — doing their honest best inside a system they inherited, exactly as I once did. If these words challenge a system, good. If they only make an enemy of a brother, then I’ve missed the heart of Christ. Read them, then, not as an accusation against people, but as an invitation — back to the Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep, and asks no salary to do it.