Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Thieves and robbers
John 10:10
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
In John chapter 10 Jesus used the shepherd and sheep as a metaphor for His teaching about who He is and what His mission was. Jesus, in discussing the situation that the sheep are often in, introduced the presence of thieves and robbers seeking to exploit the vulnerabilities of the sheep. Jesus, of course, had the Pharisees in mind when He made most of the declarations recorded in chapter 10 of John’s account, but in so doing He revealed a lot about the criminal mind.
Thieves and robbers feature quite a bit in Jesus’ teaching and both their undercover activities and open crimes get mentioned.
Very early on Jesus warns to lay up treasures in heaven because the treasures we lay up here on earth are vulnerable to the attack of thieves who break in and steal, see Matthew 6:19,20. The story we know well as the story of the Good Samaritan featured the activities of thieves who stripped a man, took his clothing, and wounded him leaving him half dead, Luke 10:30. And then there were those whom Jesus drove out of the temple saying that the house of prayer had become a “den of thieves,” Mark 11:17.
Later, the apostle Paul also mentioned the fact that among the perils he faced for the sake of the gospel was “perils of robbers,” 2 Corinthians 11:26
The real turning point for a person with a criminal mind or criminal intent is an encounter with Jesus. In describing all those who have come to Jesus and experienced a change of life Paul wrote this to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Jesus, in our key verse, declared the same thing before, that what He provides is an abundant life that stands in stark contrast to the murder and mayhem of the thieves and robbers.
From the teaching of Jesus then, from the headlines today, and from some of our own experience, we know what thieves and robbers do. A thief will usually carry out his act in secret, often under the cover of darkness, or during the times of day when there is little activity, and no one is present nearby to see. We often don’t know when the thief strikes until we see the broken entry point or walk in to find a ransacked house and missing items.
A robber, on the other hand, is most times seen by the victims of their crime. Not only that, robbers also tend to be more aggressive and violent. Robbers use force and often employ weapons accompanied by threats of injury to subdue and overcome their victims during the robbery.
If you have ever suffered a loss to thieves, especially at your home, you would be aware of the sense of an invasion of privacy of personal space, and the feeling of vulnerability that you experience, that are sometimes even greater than the value of the items lost. In many cases, the items could be replaced faster than you could recover a sense of privacy and security in your own space. Those who were ever overcome by violent robbers sometimes carry the physical and mental scars for years to come, some for the rest of their lives.
The story of the Good Samaritan, for example, was told to get us to refocus on the idea of who really is a good neighbour, but if we unpack the story we’d have to spare a thought for the victim who had to both recover from the physical injuries, he may have scars for life, and from the mental trauma. He may also have to get over the emotional and psychological effects of being ignored by his own people. And, finally, he had to deal with the fact that he was saved by a scorned Samaritan.
But back to thieves and robbers. It would seem that theft is as old as mankind. God, in giving the ten commandments addressed this in commandment 8 saying directly, “You shall not steal,” Exodus 20:15
Stealing invades the stewardship that God has given to others over various things. Stealing and robbing, therefore, is an act and crime not just against the human victim, but against God himself who allowed them to acquire those resources and have stewardship over them.
In Exodus 22:1-15 God laid out the rights and responsibilities for property and the penalties that should apply to those who by theft interrupt that established responsibility. Ultimately, Jesus said that it is only in Him that we can deal with that which drives theft and robbery. Death ultimately stalks the way of thieves and robbers.
They come to steal that which others have, they kill when that is the only means that they see to get a hold of the possessions of others, and in the process, they destroy lives and property. Sometimes what they destroy are the intangibles like memories, hopes, and dreams.
We will only transform the thieves and robbers when we introduce them to Jesus who will give them life that is not based on taking from others but using what God has given to them. Life abundantly.
Think on these things:
- Have you ever been invaded by thieves or attacked by robbers?
- If you had that experience, how did you deal with the long-term effects?
- Have you ever stolen from someone, how have you dealt with the after-effects of that act?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that God would keep us safe from thieves and robbers, that victims would rest in God, and that we would be able to minister His grace to any thieves and robbers we may encounter.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex
