Institutions
and thieves
Scripture Reading: John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
The first half of this verse is one of the most misinterpreted verses in the Bible. If you took a poll, you would find that 90% of Christians would say that the thief in this verse is the devil. Now, there is a way to get there, but not directly. When you read this in its context, it is clear who Jesus is talking about, and it isn’t Satan. Satan might be an influence behind the scenes, but he isn’t who Jesus is calling a thief here.
In context, Jesus’ “Good Shepherd” sermon follows on the heels of the long pericope about the healing of the blind man. You should read that story in chapter nine. It would be comical if it wasn’t so tragically sad. Jesus heals a man who was born blind, and then the religious leaders go on a search-and-destroy mission. They demand answers and start excommunicating anyone who doesn’t side with them and against Jesus. I like the biting sarcastic wit of the man who was healed but am saddened by the cowardice of his parents.
So, in this context, Jesus is talking about the religious leaders who were supposed to be shepherds to God’s people but were instead only concerned with making sure they were being paid. Jesus, in their twisted minds, seemed to be a threat to their positions. It seems they were reasoning that if people started believing Jesus was the Messiah and were following Him, they wouldn’t be giving to the synagogues and religious institutions that paid their wages.
Jesus calls them “hired hands.” They were doing “ministry” for their own sake, not out of love and concern for the people. That is made evident in the way they treated and reacted to the healing of the blind man. Therefore, the “thieves” Jesus is talking about are the false teachers parading themselves around as religious leaders. Now, the devil may have been whispering in their ears and motivating them, but that isn’t who Jesus was talking about. At least not directly.
This is one of the dangers we have to be aware of with our religious institutions. I love the church. I attend church services every week. But I am also cognizant of the fact that we can build up the church as an institution and that institution and its leaders can eventually lose sight of the original mission and vision that brought them into existence. They can turn in on themselves and worry only about survival. The leaders can become overly concerned about getting paid.
An institution is an organization that has forgotten its original charter. It is like a drowning man, desperately flailing about, trying to keep its head above water so that it can continue to live. Be careful about getting too close to an institution like that. Like a drowning man, it will pull you under and kill you for the sake of its own survival.
Thank you for sharing this truth.